Training the Pointing Labrador

#130 New Pup and Don't Always Believe what you Literally See

In this episode, I introduce a new puppy I'm going to showcase over the next year on the podcast and on Facebook.  We also discuss that just responding to your dog's behavior without really thinking about it first can sometimes cause problems.  Dogs will tell you their story.  You  need to step back and listen more sometimes... Happy New Year to All!

#129 What do Dogs Know and How Important your Mindset is

In this episode, we look at research that supposedly tells us how dogs know who we are.  There are many interesting ideas about the dog/human relationship, perhaps none more significant than what you actually think about your own dog.  It is a fascinating topic and very helpful when you are engaged in any kind of dog training.

#128 Podcast by Request: Why Puppies and Dogs often have Health Issues

This particular episode is done by request from a man who recently bought a new pup, against his wife's wishes.  The pup came with what appeared to be some health issues and he was worried because his neighbors dogs had come up with odd health issues as well.  He wanted to know what to think of these problems, and what he might be able to do to fix them.  An interesting peak into why dogs often get 'sick'.

#127 "Kicking in" the Point and a Story

In this episode, aimed at my pointing retriever people, we talk about ways to get the pointing dog to point when they may not have pointed yet, or only tend to point for a few seconds before breaking on the bird.  We finish off with a story of a very titled and talented dog who was a fantastic flusher until one magic day in the snow....

#126 Using Patience and the Yellow Phantom Story

In this episode, we talk about the most important ingredient in your dog training endeavors: patience.  Patience can overcome the most determined dogs and dog behavior and can solve most problems encountered in training and achieving your goals.  The story of "The Yellow Phantom", a dog I trained and basically washed out, only to become hugely successful because of his owners patience is a perfect example of how this can work for you and your dog program.

#125 Being the Best Dog Trainer You can Be

In this episode, we break down the elements of being a good teacher for your canine student.  You're really more of a Project Manager than a simple trainer and it helps to look at all of the pieces that go into a good dog training program.

#124 The Danger of "Shoulds" in Training and Listener Questions

In this episode we talk about the harm to believing dogs 'should' do something in training before really knowing what they will do and what they think.  Two listener questions are covered, the first on adding additional training responses after early training has been thoroughly conditioned into a dog and the second regarding whether people with physical or learning limitations are capable of training dogs successfully.  Early hint: yes they can.

#123 More on Puppies and Listener Puppy Questions

In this episode we talk about philosophical approaches to raising and training puppies, based on retriever training skills (though it applies to other breeds and dog skills) and then how to negotiate the puppy skills as they grow through the puppy stages.

#122 Listener Questions

In this episode, I address some interesting listener questions.  How to introduce a pup to gunfire without any repercussions or pan banging; how to take a well-trained competitive dog and go hunting with all the unpredictability of that without sacrificing your training and finally, when to teach the 'down' response in our field dogs.

#121 Becoming a Better Trainer when you Train by Yourself

In this episode, we break down some ideas and methods for improving as a trainer even when you do much of your training work alone.  It is easy to get a little loose and drop standards and expectations when you have no one around watching, but it is very possible to get better and better as a trainer when you learn how to develop an awareness of yourself and your student as your move through your training program.