Apparently, a dog fight has been brewing in my dog pack. At the end of a particularly stressful day, I took my pack for an off leash hike on my property. I was sharing a great bottle of wine with a great friend. Then a vicious dog fight breaks out in my pack. My two lead male dogs, Gumbo and Savior, had waged war. Both locked on, screaming, blood, the works. It was terrible. All the other dogs ran and … Read More
What to Expect From Your Adolescent Puppy Are you experiencing the adolescent puppy blues? The holidays have come and gone, and many of us were blessed with a fluffy and irresistibly cute addition: a puppy! That adorable little bundle of fur was quickly enrolled in a puppy training class and you thought he was well on his way to being a polite, well-behaved member of the family. But wait… is that a yellow stain part way up the drapes? After … Read More
Frequently at Wags, we will recommend a secret weapon to our clients to help them better manage or work with their dogs. Our “secrets” may involve unique treats, a walking tool, or another piece of equipment that we have had great experience with. Unfortunately, sometimes for our clients, we may be speaking a different language! We thought it would be nice to explain some of our most frequently recommended items in one place for our clients to peruse. Even if … Read More
Most clients would like to know how to stop their dog from chasing squirrels or how not to pull on the leash. Those questions are somewhat easy to answer with a well-laid training plan. A few days ago, I was asked a different sort of question that I found much more difficult to answer. Identifying the Issues This client’s agility dog struggled with several issues: separation anxiety, counter surfing, start line problems, bar knocking, and a few other things. … Read More
For those of you who haven’t met me, my name is Liz and I am one of the staff trainers at Wags. I recently was able to assist my first foundation agility class with one of our longtime instructors, Lisa McFarland, and it was a really eye-opening learning experience for me. Real Value of Rewards One of the most interesting things I learned via assisting was how important it is for us as instructors to help our students learn the … Read More
No matter what style of training you use, teaching a dog to walk nicely on a leash is often a source of frustration for the human. That’s where calming ovals can help. Questions we often hear are: When do I click? When do I feed? What hand do I feed from? When do I stop? Do I turn around? What if the dog won’t walk? When do I yank the leash? Well, hopefully, you are coming to our … Read More