For those of you who are sick of hearing about this crazy retriever and his ball, our challenge is almost over. Ace (not pictured) is far from cured of his obsession, but at least we are making progress in the right direction. I took Ace to the dog park on Friday. I went early, hoping …
Dog behavior
Ace and I visited family last weekend, and he had the chance to play some fetch in my grandpa’s backyard (the “family” even posed for this group shot). At first I thought he would be too obsessed to be allowed to play fetch, but he wasn’t too bad. We’d throw the ball for five minutes …
Since I’ve been doing most of my work with Ace outside, I decided to try working with him indoors. We basically did some of the same exercises we’ve tried before, I just want him to know he is expected to follow the same rules no matter where we are. The next step is to work …
My dog Ace took and passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen test Friday. Passing the test itself is not all that important, but the concepts in the test should be goals for every dog owner. The test was a fun way to compete with my dog and get recognition for my work. I like that …
Some people have made it clear that I am nuts for trying to stop a Labrador from being obsessed with a ball or that what I am doing is wrong. But I think it’s because people misunderstand my goals. My dog is part lab, and that means he will always, always love playing fetch and …
Note: This is a guest post by Rachel Duncan who writes the blog, Bakedblog. Her story proves that just because a dog has had a rough start doesn’t mean we have to feel sorry for her. If we can move on and give a dog a second (or third) chance, the dog can move on …
Ace and I just got back from a two-day trip to visit family where Ace had the freedom to run in a big yard. The problem with that is it was harder to control him when he wasn’t on a leash. Sometimes he brought me sticks, totally fixated on them. All the toys were put …
You could have your dog find anything. Treats or a toy work well. The reason I taught Ace this game was to challenge him to search for an object rather than play fetch where my dog obsesses over a ball. To teach Ace “find it,” I had him sit outside in a baseball field. There …
Bitter apple spray works to stop a dog’s chewing and other bad habits. Bitter apple spray is a bad tasting liquid you can spray on furniture, leashes, etc.
Reader Vee DeOllos-Hudsonasked me what to do when her dog cries and acts overly excited on walks when he sees other dogs (dog in picture is not Vee’s dog). The problem is, he loves other dogs and can’t control himself around them because he is so friendly. He is OK when he meets dogs in …