If my dogs could write a blog post encouraging you to do canine conditioning, they would. They love this—like, I turn around and they’re staring at me with their paws on the workout stool. “Wtf are you waiting for, Mama? We’re ready!” Below is a brief list of some of the basic conditioning exercises you can do with most dogs.

A positive marker communicates to the dog that the behavior is one that results in a reinforcer (food). Any behavior that’s frequently reinforced builds a reinforcement history, which means the dog is more likely to offer it and more comfortable doing it when we ask.

“Ready, find it” is the skill I teach literally every single dog I work with. It can be applied in so many different situations across many areas of life.

“Management” in the context of dog training refers to the ongoing ways that we prevent unwanted and/or unsafe behavior. Management is always a part of responsible dog ownership, but often folks need help identifying what exactly needs to be done and why. I’d like to share a more complete explanation of what management is and why it’s so important, along with a few examples. 

Building a pattern of orienting toward the handler is a foundational skill for all dogs, no matter the "issues" or goals. Start here!

Thousands of years ago, long before our modern dogs existed, their ancestors started hanging arond humans. They were hanging around for food, and they kept coming back for food.

The journey to become the dog trainer I am today is a wild one with lots of wrong turns. I had to unlearn a lot of misinformation about dog behavior. This is the story of my first educational experience with dog behavior and training.

I used to think that dog tricks were useless—just for entertainment. I was wrong about that! Learn more about the value of teaching your dog tricks.