Congratulations on your new pup! As a compassionate pet parent, you may be wondering how you and your inquisitive canine can start out on the right paw together. In our experience, the key to bringing out the best in your best friend is focusing on preventing problems, rather than having to solve them down the road. So, whether you are a new pet parent … Read More
Did you resolve to spend more quality time with your inquisitive canine this year? You’re not alone! In fact, January is National Train Your Dog Month. So if you’re looking to enhance the human-canine bond and interested in tips to make training your dog a breeze, you’re in the right place. Last year, The Inquisitive Canine provided a series of posts, Fido’s Homeschooling DIY … Read More
On leash walks, dogs often pull to get closer to things they’re interested in – ‘terrific’ scents, new places, other dogs, people to meet. They might even pull to prevent leaving a desired location or to escape something that scares them or that they don’t like. This is all normal! But it can be frustrating for us humans who might have a different vision of … Read More
The ‘Leave it’ cue is extremely versatile. It can be handy as you and your inquisitive canine prepare to enjoy a successful pawliday season together. And it can even be a lifesaving skill to have in your behavior toolbox! A very useful cue, ‘Leave it’ means, “Stop what you’re doing and check in with me for an incredible reward!” Think about the times you would like … Read More
Welcome back to Fido’s Homeschooling DIY Training Program! We left off with tips for training the ‘Go to Your Place’ cue and its many applications. However, what you really want in many of these situations is for your pup to ‘Go to Your Place’ and stay there. So, let’s back up for a moment and explore a pawsitive approach to the Sit and Stay … Read More
This year, no matter what you have planned, we encourage you to enjoy pet-friendly holidays by preparing in advance. Your pawliday prep might include teaching new skills or refining existing ones, strategizing management of your dog’s environment, communicating pet safety guidelines to family, friends (and guests) and, most importantly, carving out some quality time to savor with your inquisitive canine. So, from The Inquisitive … Read More
Next up in the series, Homeschooling Your Dog: Inquisitive Canine Edition, is teaching the cue “Go to Your Place.” This is referred to as a targeting exercise, where dogs learn to “target” (place) a body part -or even their whole bodies- on an object. Since dogs can learn to offer this behavior in a variety of places and/or situations, it’s ideal for any time you’d … Read More
In this next installment of Fido’s Homeschooling DIY dog training program, we will explore the art and functionality of target training. Targeting is teaching animals (humans target too!) to use a body part to touch something with intention. This core behavior has many applications for other important skills such as cooperative husbandry (placing a paw in a human hand for nail trimming, for instance) and “place” training … Read More
Have you heard of clicker training? Do you think it might be complicated or tricky in some way? In this next installment of Fido’s Homeschooling DIY dog training program, we will explore the beautiful simplicity of clicker training. In the previous post on Essential Training Concepts we discussed the importance of both clear communication and timing. To recap, when it comes to training a specific behavior, … Read More
Halloween 2020 will indeed be a little scary, spooky, and downright different this year. But, it doesn’t mean we still can’t have a little fun with our inquisitive canines! As a matter-of-fact, the current situation might work to our advantage, in that we can use the time to practice for next year — or whenever trick or treating will be on the “allowed” list. … Read More