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- what positive dog training and clicker training really is
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- what you need to know NOW to avoid the mistakes most people make with their dogs
- housetraining made easy
- the 2 things you need to do to stop digging in your garden
- the easiest and kindest way to stop your dog jumping on visitors
- why dogs bark and what you can do to stop unwanted barking using clicker training
- the 4 basic tricks your pet needs to know now to avoid 95% of all other dog training problems
- how to turn your dogs begging at the table into an asset!
- which "missing ingredient" causes at least 75% of all dog behaviour problems
- the number 1 cause of dog bites and how to avoid them
- how to administer medication easily and without frightening your dog
- how to be the world's laziest dog trainer and still have a polite, friendly and happy dog
- what medical conditions may be causing dog behavior problems that even your vet might not know about
- crate training without tears, whining or howling
... and many, many more useful tips for having a well-mannered dog who complements your modern lifestyle and is an asset to your family!
All this using positive, dog-friendly techniques that anyone can apply, no matter what your age, gender or physical abilities may be. What's more - they work like crazy!

I hear a lot about "dog whisperers" or "dog listeners", people who reportedly use the dog's natural "instincts" to bring about a state of harmony or balance which somehow solves behavior problems.
That's an interesting idea. I trained as a Bowen Therapist, and that's exactly what we said we did when trying to fix people's bung knees, creaky backs and frozen shoulders. Who am I to argue? Sometimes it worked. Often enough to have some very happy clients.
So I like this idea of 'balance' and I do believe in it. But I also like to understand things. I suspect most of us go through life never really understanding anything. We are reinforced so often for our "beliefs","intuition" and "personal theories" that we really don't need a true understanding of any topic.

Sometimes people have dog training or behavior problems which seem completely impossible to solve. Sometimes we just put up with unwanted behaviors such as aggression, fear of fireworks, barking or whining, or think we can't train a special trick or useful behavior just because it seems too difficult.
Today I've got a special treat for you, step-by-step instructions for tackling "Mission Impossible". There's a saying "if you can believe it, you can achieve it" - and I'm going to make a believer out of you!

Did anyone else see Tamar Geller on Oprah? Competent, confident, attractive and she takes a positive, hands-off approach which is my own preference. Oprah was also sold on the idea, and for good reason - as we saw on camera, her methods worked for Oprah and her three young Golden Retrievers. I like it when TV shows air actual results, and don't just try to tell you they got them (anyone hear a whisper?)
It pleases me to hear that Oprah's dog trainer these days is a positive trainer.

Since this new website was launched I've been asking people who send me questions to post their question to a Blog on this website so that everyone may benefit from their question and any answers received. Not only do you get my response, if any of our other registered users (some of whom represent the best dog training brains in the business) have anything to add then they are free to do so via the "Add a Comment" button below the post.
So how do you submit a Blog to this site?
First, you need to Log In (click here to log in or log in below the main menu on the left hand side of this page).
Dear friend, I hope you've been enjoying the e-course Secrets of Positive Dog Training for Real Results so far. It is my sincere hope that every time you read an issue you come away with something powerful and new that you can use to benefit your relationship and life with your dog. Is that the case? You can comment below this page - be honest with me!
I have written more than 50 articles about dog training and behavior over the last couple of years for this ezine, for my ecourses and for other publications such as Karen Pryor Clicker Training (clickertraining.com). In May 2007 I collected every useful article and training recipe I have ever written and arranged it into a single, handy reference - The Positive Petzine Collection.

We now reward you with Doggy Slobbers for contributing to this site, and you can reward us by Digging us. Each page, article or blog will have a Digg It button at the end of the content.
If you are a registered Digg user and you like the content on that page, hit the Digg It button to show your appreciation and let other Digg users know that it's a page worth viewing. (Note: we recommend selecting the Science>General Science category)
We think it's a very cool idea and thoroughly in keeping with our website's philosophy.

If you haven't read my original blog entry about the Calm-O-Meter, click here. (Will open in a new window).
I've been using the Calm-O-Meter for a few weeks now so it's time for an update. When we started, Sabella was a consistent Grade 6 or 7 before we did anything exciting like go for a walk. She can still peak out in certain situations, but has learned to quickly regulate herself.
So I'm working towards a consistent Grade 4 now, she is demonstrating Grade 5 consistently right now (in the trained situations, new situations will always require a looser criteria/higher grade).
I would definitely say that she is learning to self-regulate. Sometimes she gets really excited, but when she remembers to pull her head in she quickly drops to a Grade 2 or 3. I think that's a great result, but I'm not getting ahead of myself. I just work towards one Grade at a time.

Would you believe that your dog is capable of following a track left by a person and finding them at the end, and that you can teach this in the time it takes to feed his normal daily meal without any extra training? Many dog owners are learning about the sport of Tracking. Find out if your dog has what it takes to be the next Tracking Champion or Search and Rescue hero!
The plan is really quite simple. You take a portion of your dog's normal meal in a plastic bag. Then you 'lay the track', just walk normally across your yard, placing a piece of food in each step.
Pretty easy right? Your dog shouldn't have any trouble at all finding all the food you left lying around the yard. When he gets to the end of the track, tell him what a good boy he is and give him the rest of his meal. He doesn't actually have to find anyone at the end, yet. He just needs to find the food.

I've long since thrown out our dog food bowls, I feed mostly raw anyway. But after reading BrainWork for Smart Dogs I've decided never to just give my dogs a free meal ever again.
Yesterday I poured two cups of premium dry food (not one of the recall list foods) into an empty 2 litre plastic milk bottle with the lid off (see safety tip in comments). Sabella had a great time flipping it, punching it, kicking it, shaking it - whatever she could to make the food spill out.
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