Loving a Reactive Dog
Loving a reactive dog can test your patience and push your buttons. It forces you to take the long way round because you know that the...
"But I Never Had to Give My Other Dog Treats!"
This is sometimes my client's response when I explain that we'll be using food as the primary motivator during our training. They're...
Your Dog is Not an Oven
My oven broke this past weekend. My husband Phil made dinner Saturday night, used the broiler, and turned everything off properly after...
Be a Consequence Machine
A common misconception about dog training is that it’s all about the “commands”; you have to teach the commands, or else your dog won’t...
Mary and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Neighbor AKA, why I Don’t Use Fear in My Training
I’m going to start this blog post with a story; it’s going to seem like a longwinded, irrelevant story, but I promise I have a point!...
We Need to Talk About the F Word
Alright folks. It's intervention time. We need to talk about your use of the "F" word. You've been using it all over the place, and I...
My name is Mary Thompson, I'm a positive dog trainer, and I said "no" today
I did it. It happened today. I was cooking something in the kitchen, and Phoebe threw herself at the door. She had just been out. I KNEW...
My Walking Rules for YOU
"How do I make my dog stay next to me?" "Should I allow my dog to walk ahead of me? Or will he think he's in charge?" "How do I make my...
"Walking with a Reactive Dog: Will it ever get easier?!"
It's no great secret that living with a reactive dog can be a lot of work. You might be constantly managing their environment, making...
30 Years Means Nothing
"Has been working with dogs for over 30 years" "Spent several decades working with dogs in the rescue world" "Has been training since...
