Is your dog child friendly?  Many of my clients call with concerns about the interactions between their dog and their children.  Happy, normal rambunctious puppy behavior can be overwhelming to small children and even frighten them.  Even though the behaviors may be well within the normal parameters for a puppy, that doesn't mean that we can't train softer, more family friendly behaviors.  Your dog may not intend any harm when he races towards your toddler, but he could still cause an accident.  Typical problems that families experience include puppies (or older dogs) jumping up and knocking children down, grabbing food from their hands, mouthing or nipping at running hands or ankles, chasing or cornering children, stealing and/or destroying children's toys, destroying playground equipment in the backyard, and/or more aggressive behaviors.

Dogs can happily learn to brake to a slow pace when they come near a small or more fragile family member (including older family members), to sit quietly near a child, to take directions from a child, and to play without biting or grabbing.

Call NOW and talk to us about your puppy
520-266-3124

No matter where you are in Arizona; Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, Glendale, Peoria, Wickenburg, Tuscon, Sierra Vista, Green Valley, or Casa Grande, or anywhere else in the Southwest - contact us to ask about a free family dog assessment and for all your training needs.

Tags: Chandler Dog Trainer | Phoenix Dog Trainer | Phoenix Dog Training | Puppy Camp | puppy training | Scottsdale Dog Trainer | Sierra Vista Dog Trainer | Tucson Dog Training

A Product of Kinaesthetics for Animals

This article is one in a series of articles designed to introduce key concepts from the world of bodywork as they are applied to the dog world.  The author and founder of the Kinaesthetics system of therapy has worked with humans and animals for over 20 years.  Her animal clients have included World Champion performance horses in a multitude of disciplines, dogs of innumerable breeds, and a variety of other animals.

Tags: Canine Kinaesthetics | Dog Training | Kinaesthetics | Training Dogs

For many years, after first spotting the picture of the monks on the cover of How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend, I was fascinated with the whimsical notion of dogs in church, accompanied by their monastic handlers.  This, to me, had all the beloved idiosyncracy of a British murder mystery set in a quaint but eccentric small town.  My idea of wonderful.  That the monks in question seemed to know dogs, really know dogs was intriguing to me.  That they apparantly walked their walk, all day long, incorporating their dogs into all aspects of a community, in this case, a religious community, was even more intriguing.  That the dogs in question were German Shepherds was, for me, the icing on the cake.  I had always loved them even though it would not be until many years later that I would first own one.    I wonder, in retrospect, how much those subliminal impressions influenced and informed my later decisions.