Training with Treats Just about any dog can learn such basic commands as sit, come, and heel. Some can add a few others to their repertoire. Still others may be able to master surprisingly complex tricks. No matter what level of skill you’re aiming for, training your dog simply requires an investment of time, patience and, […]

Paper-Training Your City DogMost city residents have no access to backyard lawns or grassy fields. If they want to become dog owners, chance are they’ll need to paper train their puppies. The task of paper-training your puppy is relatively simple: Select an enclosed area with a floor that’s easy to clean, such as a bathroom […]

Five Fun Tricks You’ll Want to Show Off In just a few easy lessons, your dog can learn to be the life of the party. This manual covers “Sit Up,” “Speak,” and other crowd-pleasing tricks that never fail to delight. But trick training isn’t just for laughs. It’s a great way to spend quality time with […]

The sounds of "Stars and Stripes Forever" were blaring from a CD player in the backyard and children splashed in the pool. Matthew and Susan were hosting their annual Fourth of July cookout. As guests arrived in festive red, white and blue attire, they would ring the doorbell and immediately hear a few quick barks […]

There is a difference between Active and Passive dog training and all interactions with your dog matter. Many dog owners train their dogs daily, are active in taking group classes, and some even compete at high levels.  This is called active training. But you might not be aware that your dog is learning all the time. […]

By AKC GoodDog! Helpline Trainer Breanne Long This is the final installment of a three-part series on using verbal cues/commands correctly. In this segment, we discuss choosing a verbal cue that does not confuse your dog. In this last installment on verbal cues, we will discuss actions that humans use the same word for and […]

When we did agility with our dog, we drove 2.5 hours one way to take lessons from a world-class trainer. I have a friend in Houston who starts a 2-hour drive across Houston in 5 o’clock traffic to get to the best training school she could find. So when we surveyed 3500 dog owners and discovered […]

I think the three most important words to remember in dog training are consistency, patience, and fun. While many of us believe this, we sometimes forget to practice it. Consistency When you are training a behavior, you must consistently reward the behavior. If the behavior is new to the dog, you must immediately positively reinforce […]

AKC GoodDog! Helpline trainer Hilarie Erb explains why it is important to teach your dog each skill separately and to not package them together. In dog training, a good phrase to remember is “one thing at a time.” This means that every behavior you teach should be practiced by itself, not following or preceding any […]

Tips from the AKC GoodDog! Helpline TrainersYou should prepare your dog for the arrival of a new infant, the same as you would prepare your nursery. Most dogs get along fine with babies but it makes it easier on everyone if the dog had some advance preparation. Before the Baby Arrives ·         Make sure your […]