Main Content

Don’t Break the Dog
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There are lots of ways to mess up a dog. Fortunately, if you take care and teach your dog well, the little mistakes won’t turn into big problems. It seems a strange paradox that the more you train with your dog, the less likely it is that things will go wrong when you make mistakes!

How to Fool a Dog Trainer
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I know how to fool a dog trainer. The one I fool the most is me! While it may seem simple, learning to teach a dog with clarity isn’t as easy as it sounds. The road is filled with misconceptions and misperceptions. Hopefully by sharing some of my mistakes, you can avoid making them yourself. Don’t let the dog trainer in you be fooled!
Writing
Canine Nation is a series of essays about dogs, behaviour, and training. For years I trained my dogs using well-worn methods by the Monks of New Skeet, Barbara Woodhouse, and others. All compulsion based, dominance focused methods that worked well enough until they didn’t. They led us to a dangerous confrontation with our 18-month-old dog Vince. That forced me to re-evaluate everything I thought I knew about dogs and training. My 16+ year journey through changing how I live and work with my dogs is reflected in these essays. You can read them at the Life As A Human website. They are the basis for my podcast episodes.
From the Hill is a series of more informal essays on various dog related topics – training, behaviour, professional trainers, social media and more. They are a bit more personal. A bit more rambly. They come from a more philosophical point of view. Just an outlet for my reflective side to come out. They are generally more off-the-cuff thoughts that occur to me from time to time. These essays can be found here under the Writing menu. Just click on “From the Hill” to browse through them.
Guest Authors – From time to time I ask other dog people to allow to post their writings. I am grateful to know some very smart, very insightful people. Some are dog professionals, some are academics, some are dog owners and dog lovers Most are all of the above. I am pleased to have them sharing their thoughts here!