Our Motivating Dog Training Food

When training dogs, I always use a motivating, nutritional food and most of the time, this is food that I bake. I bake trays of dog training food at a time, wrap what I’ll not be using immediately in waxed paper, and store them in the freezer in sturdy freezer bags. Later, I take out and defrost as needed. The waxed paper helps keep freezer crystals from forming and the plastic freezer bags insulate the food. They defrost nicely. Take {Read More}

Hiring a Professional Dog Trainer

If you are a service professional, have you found that people come up to you to ask for free advice just because you are present? I would bet more service professionals than not would answer the question with a resounding yes! It eventually happens. As for me, a couple weeks ago, someone who I’ve had scant conversations with asked me a how-to dog-training question on the fly. The question she asked me needed more than a 60-second sound byte, especially {Read More}

What Makes You Giddy?

When a dog gets it right during our dog training sessions, we celebrate! When she gets it wrong, we are silent. There’s no need for pain or punishment. This humane method of dog training works. There’s nothing better for me as a humane dog trainer than watching my dogs learn to learn while moving along a training plan to a goal. Dobermann Emilie Lifts Her Dumbbell and Makes Me Giddy from Helen Verte Schwarzmann, CTC on Vimeo. Do you want {Read More}

Spatial Dog Training

Like any dog, my new rescued Dobermann, Emile, is learning from both me and the environment. She’s curious and cautious, which is a good combination. When she first arrived, her house manners were scant because, I believe, she hadn’t been in a house before. She would quickly turn around so hard and fast that she gave no credence to what was behind her. The last time she did this, she’d slammed her head into a door. I was worried about {Read More}

Trick Dog Champion

The AKC is starting a new set of titles for people who like to teach their dogs tricks. The titles are Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Performer. I trained my Australian Shepherd to the Trick Dog Champion title through Do More With Your Dogs. So now that the AKC is recognizing and grandfathering in DMWYD titles through 2017, I’ve decided to apply for Dudley’s AKC equivalent for his TDCH title – Performer. Below is the video we put together when Dudley {Read More}