What is the best containment solution for you and your dog?
You love your dog and would probably do anything to keep him safe! In order to give your dog the best life possible, it is crucial to find a way to keep him contained in your yard and out of undesirable locations. Luckily, depending on your specific situation there are many great ways that you can do this. Options include a physical fence, an electronic fence, and boundary training. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, so it …
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Proofing, it’s not just for baking!
Anyone out there that has baked bread has heard of proofing your dough. It is the final step of allowing the shaped dough to rise before baking. Proofing is also a term that is used in dog training and much like in baking, proofing is one of the final steps before completing the training process. Proofing your dog’s behavior is simply a fancy way of saying that you are teaching your dog to perform a certain command (or act in …
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Enriching the Lives of Shelter Dogs
For any true dog lover, spending a day surrounded by dogs can leave them with a feeling of immense fulfillment. As a company, Suburban K9 has dedicated a large amount of time to working with dogs that are up for adoption as well as dogs that have already been rescued. We have seen amazing progress working with dogs that have severe issues and wouldn’t normally be able to be adopted into forever homes. Seeing improvements with these dogs over time …
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Beyond the Food Bowl
On a scale of 1-10, how excited does your dog get when it comes to feeding time? 11? That sounds about right. You pull the lid off of the food container to the wafting smell of Salmon and brown rice…or some other delicious ingredients. Your pup looks up at you with eyes that say It’s about time, I can’t even remember my last meal! As the kibble dings the stainless steel, Fido drools, and nearly runs you over to get …
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Using Nosework to Help Solve Behavioral Issues in Dogs
Lets face it, most people have busy, hectic lives filled with work, cooking, cleaning and a thousand other tasks. The average dog on the other hand does not have a “job” to keep them busy and is often bored. Some dogs handle this boredom well, but others develop anxiety or other behavioral issues. For millennia, we’ve bred dogs for utility; herding livestock, pulling sleds, hunting, and many other useful activities. As we’ve migrated into more urban populations over the last …
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The Science and Art of Dog Training
When I was an up and coming dog trainer, the psychology of training animals absolutely fascinated me. We are two different species yet we need to communicate on a daily basis! How do we get there if we don’t speak the same language? By touch? By food? There were so many questions and an overwhelming amount of information to be found. I’d spend hours researching and reading theory. In this article, I’ll explain B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory and how …
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Training a Deaf Dog
You’ve just gotten your new puppy and you notice that he isn’t responding to his name. You started off joking that your dog can’t hear and that’s why he isn’t listening. As time moves on you begin to believe that he really can’t hear you! The first thing to do would be to determine if there actually is a hearing issue. Unfortunately we can’t simply ask the dog if they can hear us. A good test to determine their level of hearing is to …
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Choosing a Training Methodology
Choosing a method of dog training is extremely important. If you chose a method compatible with your worldview you are more likely to follow through and put in a lot of enjoyable hours training your dog. If you train your dog consistently you will both have a much better life! Much like our article on the science of dog training, this is a topic that could garner a large amount of debate. I am an open minded individual and am …
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