And Baby Makes Four

How do you explain a baby to your dog?

More and more families are waiting to have children, and often their dog is considered to be their furry first-born.

When a baby comes into the picture, the family dog often finds himself shunted to one side. Walks are curtailed and the family’s attention is eaten up by a wailing, squirming little creature who looks nothing like a normal human being.

"I thought lying on the floor and chewing things was my job..."

Some dogs adjust easily, and some adjust with difficulty.

Continue Reading

The Barking Butler: How Can Your Dog Help YOU Around The House?

The first in a video series showing some of the many awesome things your dog can do to be helpful around the house.

Yes, your dog CAN be this amazing.

Common Mistakes Dog Owners Make: Coming When Called

In this series we will discuss some of the most common errors made by dog owners, and how to address them.

Training the dog to run away when called.

This seems like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many pet owners accidentally train their dog to run away from them!

Coming when called should always be a happy occasion.

Once your dog is off-leash, the only control you have over him is your past history of rewarding him for returning to you. If you have not built this history strongly enough, then reclaiming your dog may be quite a challenge.

Continue Reading

5 Clicker Training Myths

Clicker Training can be a controversial topic in the dog training world. Some trainers heartily endorse it as a positive and fast way to interact with your dog, while others call it “bribery” and accuse clicker trainers of being unable to deal with behavior problems effectively.

What is Clicker Training?

“Clicker Training” is another term for “Using A Conditioned Reinforcer To Positively Reinforce Desired Behaviors.” Most people find that “Clicker Training” rolls off the tongue more easily.

All it means is that you teach your pet to recognize a unique sound (such as a distinctive click) to indicate that he has earned a treat. You use this sound to clearly communicate to your pet that he has done something right.

At Wag The Dog, we incorporate many different training styles, but we recommend it to all our clients as an excellent tool to add to their training toolbox. When we do this, we usually have to help bust certain common misunderstandings about this outstandingly useful training method.

Continue Reading

That Was Easy! How To Train Your Dog To Push A Button

Watch as our trainer Carol Millman demonstrates how quick and easy it can be to teach your dog a new skill in a matter of minutes!

Using clicker training, she trains her Sheltie, Odin, to push a button with his nose in a single 5 minute session. The video footage is one continuous take to prove that we aren’t using any editing tricks.

If you live in the Vancouver area and you would like your dog to be able to learn great tricks like this one,

email us at team@wagthedog.ca

or

call us at 604-781-8448.

Yes, your dog CAN be this awesome.