Search Results for: 10 Simple and Fun Indoor Games For Your Dog
10 Simple and Fun Indoor Games For Your Dog
Looking for simple and fun indoor games for your dog? Check out this list of 10 easy games you can play inside to keep your dog entertained, exercised and busy.
Positively Dog Training Episode 801
Victoria is joined by Victoria Stilwell Academy's Curriculum Manager, Aly Lecznar, to talk about VSA's newly-launched Online Dog Trainer Course and the introductory Fundamentals of Dog Training & Behavior Course, including what makes VSA such a groundbreaking new learning opportunity both for dog owners and aspiring professional dog trainers.
Love Is Ageless
Love truly is ageless. While this is the last day of Adopt A Senior month, we would say that every day is a great day to bring love and companionship into your life.
Change Happens
Once upon a time, I was contemptuous of positive trainers. Not because I knew anything about positive training, mind you. At the time, I had two Siberian huskies, both ma...
Do What You Love
The Victoria Stilwell Academy just celebrated its third birthday, and we couldn't be prouder of the place it has quickly earned as an elite learning institution for aspiring dog trainers. VSA allows me the opportunity to scratch my teaching itch, and I truly love it.
New Industry-Changing Online Professional Dog Trainer Course Launched
Following years of development, renowned dog behavior expert Victoria Stilwell and her Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior educational arm announce the launch of the Online Dog Trainer Course – a game-changing new online-only course designed to teach those aspiring to become professional dog trainers.
The Hand That Feeds: There Are Better Options Than Hand Feeding
It used to be standard operating procedure for some dog professionals to advise new rescue dog parents to hand feed said dog in order to effectively create a bond. In some cases, it still is standard. It depends on who you ask. The same protocol is also suggested by some trainers for dogs who resource Read More
Can You Dig It?
Let's start with why dogs dig. Dogs belong to the family Canidae, which includes domestic dogs, fox, coyotes, wolves and a few others. What do they all have in common? Well, plenty, including digging as an innate behavior.
Tell It To My Heart: What Heart Dogs Mean To Us.
Heart dog. Say those two words to any dog lover and their eyes will go soft. They will look wistful. They will be fondly thinking of a dog they currently share their life with if they are lucky. If they are less than lucky, there will tears in their eyes. They will be thinking of Read More
Delta Airlines Bans Pitbulls
Delta Airlines is banning service or comfort dogs identified as pit bulls. According to Delta’s own website: Delta, which led the industry in March by updating its service and support animal policy, says it will further enhance its restrictions, effective July 10. The enhancements include introducing a limit of one emotional support animal per customer per Read More
Food Issues
Follow a positive trainer around for a few days and you will quickly come to realize that we humans have food issues. Of course he is doing what you ask. You have food in your hand! (As in, I am paying you for this?) You’re sure giving a lot of treats. (Usually said in a Read More
Fourth of July and Fireworks
It’s not that dogs aren’t patriotic, but many dogs, and also some cats are terrified of the loud and sudden bangs we call fireworks. It’s actually adaptive to be hard-wired to be afraid of sudden loud sounds. We jump at such surprising sounds, and we might also run the other way or hide if we Read More
The Importance of Remembering That You Are Only Human
Through my work as a trainer and behaviour consultant I work with a lot of dogs. I also work with lots of humans, more humans than dogs, as most dogs have several humans in their lives. I have spent time sharpening my people skills and feel that I do a good job of making people Read More
DogTV Launches Season 2 of Adoption Show
By partnering with over 100 animal shelters throughout the United States, the Adoption Show promotes pet adoption and showcases adoptable dogs in various locations around the country.
Penis crowning (don’t worry, it’s all G – rated!)
Here’s everything you want to know but didn’t want to ask about the dog penis.
Introducing Positively TV – The Official Channel for Dog Lovers
The future of dog videos online has arrived! Positively TV – Victoria Stilwell’s exciting new premium subscription video-on-demand service – has officially launched and is available worldwide. Positively TV is a new subscriber-based platform which contains the entire library of Victoria’s Positively video content plus exclusive new videos that will be released only to subscribers Read More
Thinking Outside of the Block: Why Your Reactive Dog Needs to be Walked
It has been something of a thing recently in some corners of the dog training world to suggest that keeping an easily over-stimulated and/or reactive dog in his own home environment for a bit of time, along with enrichment toys, is a better idea than taking said dog out into the world to be walked. Read More
Growth Mindsets in Dog Training
In some of my other worlds, parenting and school teaching, the idea of Growth vs Fixed Mindsets has taken off. You can read more here, but in a nutshell, you avoid labeling children as smart or not smart. You look for and acknowledge behaviours like effort, persistence, thoughtful choices, small steps taken and achieved; and Read More
Owner or enthusiast?
I have a car. I love my car and I look after it well. I drive it carefully, clean it, get it serviced regularly and always enjoy looking at it and driving it. The thing is…I really know very little about how it works. I can check the water and oil and top them up. Read More
Where You Lead, I Will Follow
Be a leader. Not a phrase that you would expect to be uttered by a positive dog trainer, right? We spend so much time preaching about how to listen to your dog, give your dog choices, respect who your dog is, that it’s unexpected that I should be talking about leadership. It’s the elephant in Read More
How To Train Your Dog to LOVE Staying Close on Walks with this One Simple 3-Minute Game
Do you ever feel like you have one of those Catch 22 situations, where you want to allow your dog to have more freedom but as soon as your dog gets any kind of freedom you worry that soon enough he or she will likely disappear to… Run in the woods Scent in the grass Read More
Self-Control – The Reason You Aren’t Getting Real-Life Results (You aren’t using Real-Life Pulse!)
Close your eyes and think for one moment what is the one thing that you absolutely love to do? No-one has to pay you for it, no-one needs to ask you to do it….it lights you up, makes you feel alive, excites you…. and if you could do it right now you would do it Read More
Starting out with your new puppy
You’ve been planning for months, and at last your new puppy is here! Your expectations are enormous: this is going to be the perfect dog you’ve always wanted. And maybe that’s right, and your little puppy will become your Brilliant Family Dog. But for many of us - and for many of our puppies - Read More
Positively Dog Training Episode 707
K9 officer Shawn Humphreys talks with Victoria and Holly about the world of police dog training, its challenges, and the changes he’s noticing with his move towards more positive training. Also, new VSA course dates, how to find a licensed trainer as well as leash-walking and separation anxiety issues.
Consider the Source
Before I started my career as a dog trainer, I studied broadcast journalism in college. I remember one of my professors constantly repeating the phrase "consider the source." That phrase has stuck with me throughout the years, and I've found it to be quite relevant to my work as a trainer.
Reality Check: Nine Things That Your Dog Wants You to Understand
Knowledge in all forms seems to wax and wane according to the dynamics of the times that we live in. This is consistent on all subjects but in particular, with dog behavior knowledge. We have come so far with an understanding of dog behavior and how to modify it, yet old school techniques and thought Read More
Positively Dog Training Episode 704
Why dogs and Halloween don’t mix, November’s pet awareness holidays, how to detect signs your dog is in pain. Also, consistency when paper training pups, mouthing puppies, constant barking, issues that come with adopting street dogs.
Your puppy is not a blank slate
Here’s why… Your puppy is a product of its parents’ genes. These provide the blueprint for appearance, temperament and behavior. This is why a Jack Russell looks and acts like a Jack Russell, and a Labrador looks and acts like a Labrador. If you want a dog that will look and act like a Labrador, you Read More
5 Little-Known Puppy Training Tips You’ll Be Glad You Found
I spend much of my time as a trainer working with young puppies. They’re little sponges, absorbing every bit of information we send their way – both good and bad. You’ll hear the same puppy training advice over and over: make sure to socialize your puppy, start potty training immediately, and the like. But in Read More
Positively Dog Training Episode 701
Victoria and Holly reconnect after a few months away and discuss how to recognize signs of pain in your older dog, keys to curbing rambunctious dog play, managing noisy nighttime behavior, overcoming anxiousness when guests visit your dog, and how to get dogs used to water.
Deaf Dog Awareness Week: How a deaf dog changed my life.
Deaf dog awareness week began on Sunday, September 24th. The idea behind this week is to highlight deaf dogs and show that they can make wonderful pets! 5 years ago, I had no idea this week even existed. Now, every day of my life is dedicated to deaf dog awareness, thanks to the amazing little Read More
Building Tolerance To Frustration
As a behavior specialist, I am always thinking ahead: how does what is happening today influence how the dog may behave in the future? An always-important aspect of dog training is to teach tolerance to frustration and to build impulse control.
It Pays to be Complementary! Dispelling Myths About Those who use Complementary Therapies
There is no lack of division in the dog world; training methodologies, training tools, cropping and docking, spaying and neutering are but a few potentially explosive topics. Complementary therapies however, are way up on the list of hot buttons to discuss. One person mentions something that even *might* fall into that category and everyone else Read More
Beyond the Fairy Tale
And they all lived happily ever after… I’m a sucker for those stories too. I love to see the heroes and heroines overcome adversity and wander off into the sunset for their fabulous forever. Sadly we all know that happy ever after is just a fairy tale ending to a fairy tale. Neither are real, Read More
Are you teaching or testing?
They aren't the same thing. Testing MEASURES what the learner knows/ can do. Test: measure; check the quality, performance, or reliability of something; reveal ... capabilities by putting them under strain; evaluate the abilities, aptitudes, skills, or performance of an individual or group. A test asks your dog the question; what can/ will you do right now in this situation? Read More
The Magic Hand Game For Focus And Concentration
The Magic Hand game involves placing food in the palm of your hand and gently pushing individual treats through your fingers for your dog to catch. Focus and concentration win the day! The more your dog develops the ability to focus and concentrate, the more likely she will succeed in learning tasks involving moving Read More
Off-Leash Reliability? Recall? Leash Off Game On!
Your dog focusing on you off-leash, recalling them away from other dogs or even them just choosing to stick close to you can seem so daunting. All too often, our dogs learn that when the leash comes off… the game is on with everything in the world but us. We teach each of our dogs Read More
Boundary Battlefields: Dogs, Yards and Walks
Every responsible dog parent who walks their dog(s) in their own neighborhood has a mental list of houses that they strive to avoid. Either because a dog is alone in a fenced in yard barking like a fiend or because a dog is often loose (and unsupervised) in an unfenced or Invisible “Fenced” yard. Either Read More
