Smokey. Smokey is a 17-week-old mini Aussie who’s board-and-training with us. Her daring enthusiasm is matched by her persistence to get what she wants. This is the kind of pup we love at Outsmarting Dogs. (OK, we love all pups.) With our delicious and motivating training food and solid training plans, she is fast on her way to being a bright star. Smokey’s favorite non-food reinforcement is our recent staff-and-family addition, beautiful Emilie the Dobermann. Smokey loves to play chase {Read More}
Dogs Who Say Please
June 4, 2017 By
Dogs who learn behaviors via humane, reward-based training will communicate by offering behaviors for attention or a cookie. What a brilliant mind of a dog to use what she’s learned to ask for something. Dogs who offer behaviors, in essence are saying, “Please.” “I just saw you give that puppy a cookie for pooping in the yard. I can do all this. Please may I have a cookie, too?” That was my 9-year-old Australian Shepherd, Bunny, saying please. For a {Read More}
Training A Dog To Think
May 31, 2017 By
Training dogs with food results in a well behaved, fun dog, who uses her smarts to think herself through a lifetime of possibilities. Reward-based trained dogs offer behaviors for the possibility of a reward while dogs trained with pain-based methods, respond to commands out of fear of a painful reprimand. Dogs trained with pain do not offer behaviors. But a dog trained with food results in a dog who thinks and who then uses her skill of learning to fearlessly {Read More}
Dog Training Food: Why Have Variety?
May 24, 2017 By
Having various flavors and desirability of dog training food at-the-ready is imperative when training a dog. Because, when working on a behavior that’s difficult for a dog to learn, getting and keeping a dog’s complete attention and willingness to move forward will be more challenging. That’s when the steak-level training food is brought out with the well-vetted training plan. For example, when working with a dog to step onto a skateboard as he advances on the training plan will require {Read More}
A Big Step
May 22, 2017 By
I grew up with a parent who believed a pet dog should not be stepped over, but rather should move out of a person’s way, even if the dog were enjoying a peaceful snooze. He should wake and move out of the way fast. So the family dogs were never comfortable lying in the pathway of foot traffic. And most places in our house were foot-traffic worthy. Because the dogs had been conditioned to jump up and move out of {Read More}
