Joan the Dog Coach

July 5, 2009

Being a Politically Correct Responsible Dog Trainer Has a Price: Humiliation

What a lovely weekend it’s been here in Ventura. Just got home from an ocean swim with my friends Terri and Mary, along with the other great folks of the Rincon Tri Club. Nice way to start a Sunday…I…

July 2, 2009

Dog’s Celebrating the 4th of July Can Create An Explosive Situation

I remember when I was very young, going to Echo Park every 4th of July for the fireworks show. I also recall hiding under my pink blanket, tensing up, whimpering a little, all out of fear. My parents were…

June 27, 2009

Dog and Puppy Socialization: Great No Matter Our Age

If you know this 10-pound mutt, and my mom the rockin’ certified professional ventura dog trainer, then you know we’re all about proper puppy socialization! But what does dog and puppy socialization really mean? Well, I’m here to tell…

June 25, 2009

A Simple Dog Adoption Question

As a positive reinforcement, reward-based certified professional Ventura dog trainer, I am always looking for a “Good Dog!” moment – not just for my own dog Poncho the dog, but for all dogs… It just pains me when I…

June 20, 2009

This Dog in Training Thinks “It Games” Are Fun!

My mom the savvy Ventura dog trainer has been practicing a lot of the “it” dog traininggames with yours truly – and I mean a lot!!! I had a severe “tap into my predatory drive” moment the other day…

June 17, 2009

Dog Training and Behavior Terms Defined: “What do you mean by that?”

If you know about me, this lil’ ol’ certified professional dog trainer of The Inquisitive Canine here in Ventura, then you know I prefer to sit in the “science camp” of dog training. I’m usually pretty cautious when throwing…

June 15, 2009

Dressing Dogs Up: Borderline animal abuse? Not if you make it fun!

I just read a question posted to a reporter news feed about wanting opinions from animal professionals on the topic of dressing dogs up… Okay, so this just happened to fall on the birthday of my beautiful, handsome, lovely,…

June 9, 2009

Crate Training Your Dog: Creating a “Home Sweet Home” atmosphere

I’ve been working with many new puppy parents, as well as families that have recently adopted adult dogs. From each and every one, I’ve received the proverbial crate question: “What do you think about me crate training my dog?”…

June 6, 2009

Reasons Why This Dog Trainer Appreciates Dog Owners

I just had one of those awesome private dog training session today, with clients that just make me love my profession even more than I already do; the reason I love going to “work” (Really? This is “work”?), even on…

June 4, 2009

Dog Training “Tips”: Really? Not In This Dog Trainers Opinion

There are a lot of great dog training tips out there – really. I provide many myself, as you probably already know, on this dog training ventura blog as well as the Noozhawk dog behavior advice column Poncho and…

Author: Joan Hunter Mayer