Top Dog Training Tips

When you have a dog like mine, or are about to adopt a new dog, finding top dog training tips can be a really necessary step in maintaining your sanity (and your carpet and your yard and anything/anyplace else with which your dog may interact.)

While I love my dog Shasta, she can be a real handful. I have a sneaking suspicion it's because we only took the time to accomplish a few things in the early days: housebreaking, teaching her to sit, and showing her how to 'shake'. (Okay, so we didn't really take a lot of time at all - could be part of the problem!) Focusing on the 'cute' aspects of puppyhood left a lot to be desired in the overall doghood picture.

Now that she's almost 12, it's a little late to bemoan the fact that she won't stay when told to, won't stop barking on command, doesn't play well with other dogs, and begs at the dinner table (or at my desk as that's where I have most of my meals), among other things.

Lately, though, I've been taking to watching DOG WHISPERER by Cesar Milan on National Geographic Channel (one of my favorites for now one more reason). I love it that he takes what seem to be hopeless cases and shows that any dog can be taught the basics or 'rehabilitated': how to heel, how not to pull, how to reduce barking, how to improve relationships between dogs and their people, how to get your dogs to get along with each other, how to reduce aggression against people and other pets and so much more. I don't always agree with everything he teaches (probably because I'm still not quite sure how to implement it with my dog), but the majority of it is just plain common dog sense, something most of us don't use when dealing with our canine buddies. (Or our people sense with people, but that's for another a whole other blog...)

So while I look for ways to make Shasta more of a good dog, thus making her more of a good friend, I figured I'd post the things I find in case it helps anyone else with their problem pooch.