Dog Obedience Training For Your Pet Dog

Sometimes we dog trainers use this saying amongst ourselves to describe a predicament a certain client is in. We’ll say “It’s to much dog for him/her” Which really means that the dog is the equivalent of giving your 87 year old grandmother a Ferrari to drive to the market on Thursdays.

Often times this “to much dog situation” involves much care and attention from the trainer and much destroyed furniture, toys, house siding…on the part of the owner.

One of my most recent favorite Near “to much dog” stories involves this dog Ranger. Ranger came from a very high end breeding program that breeds for serious working dogs. He is a VERY high quality dog with excellent intelligence, maybe to much. Ranger’s owner is a previous client of mine and a very fine lady. She’s had Shepherds before so she knew what to expect. Well, she almost knew what to expect. This pup needed TONS of exercise both mental and physical and he was a bear to keep up with. So, while I can say he’s a handful and got near “to much dog”, his owner stepped up and managed to keep him at the ” all the dog I can handle” level.

So, as a tribute to this owner and Ranger, I took some photos of him today to show what a great dog he’s become. Kudos to Patti and Ranger for getting over the hump and moving on out into the world of fantastic companionship.

Sometimes we dog trainers use this saying amongst ourselves to describe a predicament a certain client is in. We’ll say “It’s too much dog for him/her” Which really means that the dog is the equivalent of giving your 87 year old grandmother a Ferrari to drive to the market on Thursdays.

Often times this “too much dog situation” involves much care and attention from the trainer and much destroyed furniture, toys, house siding…on the part of the owner.

One of my most recent favorite Near “too much dog” stories involves this dog Ranger. Ranger came from a very high end breeding program that breeds for serious working dogs. He is a VERY high quality dog with excellent intelligence, maybe to much. Ranger’s owner is a previous client of mine and a very fine lady. She’s had Shepherds before so she knew what to expect. Well, she almost knew what to expect. This pup needed TONS of exercise both mental and physical and he was a bear to keep up with. So, while I can say he’s a handful and got near “to much dog”, his owner stepped up and managed to keep him at the ” all the dog I can handle” level.

So, as a tribute to this owner and Ranger, I took some photos of him today to show what a great dog he’s become. Kudos to Patti and Ranger for getting over the hump and moving on out into the world of fantastic companionship.

Well, I never would consider myself a person to use the blog to plug products or places but this one is a MUST and it is far far overdue. The folks at Just For Pets on Far West have been a great helper to my clients for the last couple of years. Any time a client has food questions or any other question about what should ‘go into a dog’ I send them to talk to Jim. Those folks have forgotten more about dog food than I will ever know.

So, if you need treats, food, toys, beds…… go see them. And tell them Steve sent you.

Just For Pets
3742 Far West Blvd
Suite 104
Austin, TX
(512) 342-2220

Sometimes I get to work with dogs for a longer period of time and I get to know them well. It’s a curse for dog trainers that some of our favorite dogs are not our own, but those of our clients. Zachary is just such a dog.

Zachary and I have been working together for about three months now. He’s a wonderful dog and though he still has his ‘puppy’ moments he is attentive, sweet, and a very gentle soul of a dog. In short I wish that I could clone him and have a copy for myself.

Sometimes we professional trainers become a bit jaded from working with with so many dogs throughout the year, but just often enough we get a Zachary who comes along and reminds us of exactly what the true definition of ‘a good dog’ actually is.

As the end of Zachary’s training time with me nears, I’m starting to feel a sense of loss. I’m going to miss working with you Zachary, you’re a Very Good Dog.

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:Elinor Ln,West Harwich,United States

Just read this in the NY Times. It answers questions I get every day about running with your dog. Have fun and enjoy.
http://nyti.ms/aF6hbo

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:Elinor Ln,West Harwich,United States

I had an interesting client last week. These people had a very fine lab that I had worked with before for various issues and have always been quite pleased with it.

The issue was that in the past this pup had ‘eaten’ a couple of the family birds, and had been corrected (as it should have been) to the point that it was now scared of any bird in the house. She was fine with birds outside but in the house, not so much. In any case a new Solomon Island Eclectus arrived in the home two weeks ago and I was called to work on the fear issues.

When working on something like this the basic starting point is plain old behavior modification and desensitization works. Getting the dog to ‘do it’s commands’ when it gets nervous is a fabulous way to start.

So, after about 5 days of training here is the note from the owners:

“We all seem to be getting along! ”

Mission accomplished for the dog trainer.

My wife always says that my job as a dog trainer places me somewhere between the psychologist and the pool boy. The difference is not as great as one would think.

Today, however, I am the pool boy. See the photo below. My entry point.

Location:Marshall Ln,Austin,United States

Yikes. One of my trainers just saw a dog die of heatstroke while walking around town lake. Please be careful with your pups when it’s this hot and humid outside. Jog with them at night, not at noon.

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:Lady Bird Lake Trail,Austin,United States

Great lesson with two kids 8 and 9 years old. They handled their two gigantic ridgeback puppies amazingly well. I see a bright future in dogtraining for Lucy and James.

And, even more amazingly, they asked if they could work with the dogs ‘lots’ during the day. Guess that gets rid of the second week of summer boredom.

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:Redbud Trail,Austin,United States

So far the pup has met every TSA employee within 150 feet of him at love field. Seems like lab pups are very popular with TSA people.

After his initial round if barking in th check in line (dogs can’t use early check in apparently) he’s been pretty quiet.

Here he is waiting for the plane.

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:Dallas,United States