We get a lot of questions like: "My dog use to do this perfect and now he won't do it as good, how do I fix it?" My response every time is how did you train it from the beginning? Once we determine how the dog was trained then we can come up with a plan on how to achieve the goal again. Sometimes you have to go back to the basics. Start the dog out fresh and build him/her back up. Since the dog already knows what is going on, they will try to "cheat" to get the reward but do not let them. They have to do what you are wanting to get the reward. We also emphasize on high praise and making sure the dog is having fun. Keep your session short and consistent with high energy. Consistency and repetition is the key!

Happy 4th of July! It's that time of year again for fireworks. If you have a dog that fireworks makes nervous, there are some things to help. Always have a quiet place the dog can go to that's away from everything. Sometimes if you leave on a TV or a radio, it will help drown out the fireworks outside. There is also natural calming medicine like Rescue Remedy, that can be given to dogs. I have no experience with the calming medicine, but they have good reviews as to helping calm the dog down. Never force the dog to stay outside or with you while fireworks are going off. This will only lead to adding more stress to the dog.