Our very own Dog Blog for training and the State of the Trade in The Age of Wingnuts and Zealots.
A collection of articles written by Linda Kaim on the State of Dog.
All comments are moderated, but open, intelligent discourse is welcome. Posts MUST be signed with a real name. Anonymous, unsigned comments will not be published. Inflammatory, troll-like behavior will not be rewarded by inclusion, nor will profanity, threats to my person or other nonsense. Spam is welcome in some parts of the world, I guess, but not here.
If you are still with me, read on…
Exploiting Normal Puppy Behavior
We decided it was time for Zwei to begin fulfilling his role as chief distraction and functioning working partner, starting with our 8 am appointment. Our Thursday morning regular is a young Lab mix named Murphy. Murph is a great dog, although his enthusiasm is a...
A day of discovery; getting to know your pup
Today kept us largely at home. Dog Training clients in the morning and chores in the afternoon kept me close to the house and to our new English Pointer pup, Zwei. As I suspected he would, Conor abdicated to spend the night at a friends' house on the last day of his...
Socializing your new puppy
It helps that our son Conor doesn't go back to school until Wednesday. He was also very enthusiastic about being Zwei's caregiver overnight for his very first night in his new home. We organized Conors' room to accept his new guest much to the dismay of Goth Cat. She...
Houndawg Homecoming; Puppy comes home
Little guy has been here for about 4 and a half hours and he's konked out in his crate after a pretty busy afternoon. All of his party guests left and there wasn't much left to do besides pass out from exhaustion. I imagine he's pretty happy, we made good and sure he...
Making plans; the importance of proper puppy socialization
It's always a good idea to think about not only why you want a dog, but what your plans are for your dog once you bring him home. Everyone has high aspirations for their new dog. Intentions run wild with possibilities as you and your new pup get acquainted, but even...
Preparing for a new puppy
Well, in less than 40 hours, our house will be welcoming our new puppy. An 8 week old Pointer pup will be setting up housekeeping here and we are thrilled to have him. Having a medium for bragging about his exploits is always wonderful, and I am sure there will be...
Purebred Dog Dilemma: Beautiful dogs vs Healthy Dogs
I thought this was a topical discussion considering the Samantha Brick article regarding the purported disadvantage of being attractive and a comment on FaceBook about the deliberate, planned breeding of mix bred dogs. My mind works in funny ways, I agree, but bear...
An Evolution of Dog Training Collars
The world of the internet abounds with information regarding the selection and use of dog training equipment, specifically collars and other devices of more recent design ostensibly to facilitate the training of dogs. This article was constructed to provide...
Dog Behaviorist vs Dog Trainer
The concept of a dog behaviorist isn’t surprising, since the term dog trainer seems to conjure an image of a drooling, toothless troglodyte these days, while the term behaviorist renders the image of a sensitive intellectual steeped in academia that can solve your dogs issues with a prescription pad and a pen.
The Laws of Social Attraction
A lot of potential client contacts include some form of "My dog won't come when I call him". It says a lot about the relationship they are currently experiencing with their dogs when they initiate a conversation with that statement. It isn't too difficult to figure...