Noelle making dog biscuits with Mo's "help."

Unfortunately there aren’t a ton of ways a girl in elementary school can volunteer with dogs on the level Noelle wants.  So when she asked her parents to contact us two years ago after seeing one of our marked cars in a parking lot,  we had to find a way to incorporate her into our team.  Since then she has helped us do everything from bake dog biscuits to manage our booth at various events.  She even participated in the Pit Crew’s training class, helping the dogs practice for their challenging roles as therapy dogs.  Still, this isn’t quite enough for her, as all Noelle wants to do is spend time with dogs.

Thankfully, allowing fantastic kids like Noelle volunteer and learn about animals just got easier in Austin.   With the help and support of her parents, Noelle is able to be part of Austin Pets Alive’s new Big Brother/Sister Program.  A lucky (and quite adorable) dog named Bunny got Noelle as her “Big” recently.   Noelle is familiarized with Bunny’s schedule and needs, wrote Bunny’s bio to help her get adopted, and gets to do fun stuff with her like play and teach her obedience cues.

Noelle Jack

While most ten year old girls are playing video games and making lists of all the toys, clothes and shoes they want, Noelle is focused on something entirely different.   She reads countless books on anything dog-related  and volunteers as much time as she can to opportunities that will allow her to help dogs and the people who love them.

Noelle’s love for animals, sense of humor, perseverance, and utterly amazing tendency for giving to others before she takes for herself, have made her a true inspiration in our lives.  We are proud to say she is part of our team and thankful for programs like APA’s Big Brothers/Sisters for giving her the opportunity to learn and grow as a truly good and wonderful person.  We hope to be more like Noelle when we grow up.

It’s a common misconception that allowing dogs on the furniture will “ruin” their temperament.   There is no magic respect switch that is flipped in a dog’s brain when they are not allowed on the furniture, and we’ve seen thousands of dogs maintain perfectly sweet and polite dispositions while enjoying the couch and bed with their people.  No use depriving them just because that episode of the Dog Whisperer said so. Instead, think of it as a personal decision.

Mo is no dummy: The couch is the most comfortable seat in the house...especially when his favorite neck pillow is available.

Some people don’t mind furring up the couch for a little extra snuggle time with their pets, while others prefer dogs stay off of their nice furniture and remain on the floor.  There is no right or wrong to this.  If approached properly, most dogs will see furniture as nothing more than what it is:  a comfortable place to cuddle with their family or a zone in the house that is simply off limits to them.

If you wish to share the couch or bed with your dog, that’s ok!  Just keep in mind that, like all other rewards, couches and beds are a privilege best controlled by the humans in the house.  Here are some simple tips and guidelines on how to do just that:

Puppies & New Dogs:

Keep puppies off of the furniture until they are about 1 year old and no longer chewing destructively or having accidents in the house.  Your couch will thank you for it later.

For mature dogs that are new to a house, we recommend 3 to 6 months without furniture access.  If other behavioral issues are being worked on, it may be best to wait a full year before allowing this privilege, or until those issues have been worked through with success.   The goal is to raise a dog that knows that furniture access can be taken away without causing any emotional distress to the dog or undoing any valuable training.

If you want to share your bed with your dog, first teach them to sleep separately on a dog bed or in a kennel for at least 6 months (possibly a full year or more  – especially for destructive and hyper puppies).  This teaches healthy independence as your dog learns that they can sleep alone – an essential lesson for young puppies as they build confidence.   It also helps maintain your freedom to sleep without your dog when you want, and prevents unhealthy dependencies that may contribute to separation anxiety.  Dogs who are allowed to sleep in bed from the time they arrive home often experience strong emotional distress when their human families travel and must be away from them for any period of time.

The On and Off of Things:

All dogs allowed on furniture should be taught an “off” cue so they can be asked to move politely when needed.  This is simple to teach and makes it easy for your dog to understand that just because they are allowed up on things, doesn’t mean they own them.

To earn access to the couch or bed, ask for a simple sit first.  After a nice sit, invite your dog up as the treat !  After a brief snuggle on the couch, then you have the perfect opportunity to practice off.  Get a treat and hold it to your dog’s nose.  Say “off” and guide them off the couch.  When four land on the floor, give them the treat and praise with “good dog!”

The Benefits:

There are benefits to allowing your pets on the furniture.  Not only do you get bonus snuggle time with your dog, but you are more likely to catch any health issues early on.  For example: a client of ours recently found a small lump on her dog’s belly that she swears she would have missed if it weren’t for her nightly couch snuggle time with her dog.  And things like smelly ears and halitosis are classic signs of infection or digestive issues that may be missed if you aren’t accustomed to being so up close and personal with your dog.

Furthermore, this is one more place you get to practice polite habits and boundaries.  A dog who is never allowed on the couch may not understand the “off” cue as clearly – something that comes in handy in a number of other situations other than furniture manners. We view it as a great sign of respect when our dogs happily remove themselves from a warm, soft seat so that we can enjoy the spot.

When furniture is not OK:

A small percentage of high status-seeking personalities may identify having furniture access as a status symbol, and may become territorial of the furniture as a result.  In severe cases the dogs will behave this way toward humans in the house.   It is more commonly seen in multi-dog homes where the pack structure is unstable and the dogs are competing with each other.   One dog will guard an area from another, which can cause some serious conflict.  This is usually not limited to just furniture though.  We’ve seen dogs guard entire sections of a house from other dogs in the family – and sometimes other human family members as well.  The couch or the bed are just one more zone that a dog on a power trip can guard, but limiting access to these spots alone is not a magic fix as it is not the root of the problem.  This behavior is a sign of imbalance, and that more boundaries, training, guidance, and exercise are needed with the dogs.  In the worst cases we’ve seen, the dogs typically have no daily structure, no feeding routine, no prior training, and therefore no real respect.  It’s typically doggie chaos that causes these problems, not the magic height of the couch.    In other words, if you see signs of furniture guarding (or any guarding) in your home, chances are the humans need to step it up on their dog duties before someone gets hurt.

Any dog who displays this type of behavior should have their furniture privileges revoked immediately to remove at least one catalyst for doggie disagreements.   This is a sure sign that further behavioral troubles are on the horizon with your dog (if they aren’t already rearing their ugly head), so contact a professional to further explore the reasons as to why your dog feels they can control things like furniture access in your home.   It’s not hard to address these problems, and the sooner you work to fix them, the easier they are to fix.

1. Find a safe spot to pull over and assess the scenario. Ok, you are going to take action here, but breath and think first.  What kind of street are you on?  If you jump out of the car, how likely is it that you will become a street pancake?  Do you have any tools to catch the dog like a leash or treats?  You aren’t going to be much help to anyone if you get injured in the process.
2. Where is the dog going to ride if you do catch them? If you have children or another dog in your car with you, we recommend avoiding this scenario.  Again, compromising the safety of yourself and your family is a bad idea.  You have no idea what that dog you are about to pick up is going to do or what condition they are in.  If you are confident that you and your vehicle can handle this situation, take action.  If not, consider pulling over and and attempting to stray the dog away from traffic at the very least.
3. Call 311 to report the stray. If catching the dog is not an option, take note of where you saw the dog (cross streets & landmarks)  so you can give the authorities the details.  If the dog is impeding traffic, they are considered a hazard and you will be forwarded to 911.  An officer will be called to respond ASAP.   If not, animal control will be sent out to capture the dog.  Either way, it only takes a minute to call.   As a frequent caller, I can tell you that they are always quick to answer and I’ve found them to be pretty quick on the scene.  Animal control may get a bad wrap, but they have saved a fair number of dogs from very dangerous situations.
4. If you can catch the dog safely, there are a number of actions you can take:

• Take the dog to your home.  If you bring a stray animal home, they should be kept separate from children and other pets.  If you do not have space for this, it may be a better idea to ask a friend for help, or contact a rescue or shelter.  Bite risk is very real in dogs that do not feel well, and it’s not always obvious when a dog is sick.  Take no chances.
• Keep the dog. We’re all in favor of adopting a homeless pet, but before you ever consider keeping a stray, you absolutely MUST post flyers in the neighborhood and list ads with photos to the various “Lost Pet” websites like: Petfinder.com, Pets911.com, and FidoFinder.com.  It is also a good idea to report the dog to the local shelter as found in case someone calls there looking for them.  This also removes any liability from you should you decide to adopt the dog later.   If you do not do your due diligence, an ex-owner can show up any time and take the dog from you.   However, dogs escape fences and run right out the front door all of the time.  Finding a dog on the street is no indication that the dog was not loved or that the owners are bad people.  Give the family at least a few weeks to contact you before you consider adopting the dog as your own.
• Contact a rescue and offer to foster the dog. So no one has called and you can’t keep this poor, homeless dog permanently.  Fostering is a labor of love and the best way to ensure that the dog you saved finds a happy home with nice people.  Different rescues have different terms on accepting dogs, but many will help you get medical care for the dog and assist in advertising them for adoption.  Austin is booming with fantastic rescues that hold huge adoption events, getting thousands of dogs adopted every year.  A little patience and a good deed completely done, and that once homeless and sick stray could live happily ever after  - all thanks to you!
• Contact a rescue to see if they will take the dog.  This is a tough one because the main thing rescues need is more foster families.  Sometimes they can take dogs in when a foster family has space, but most rescues pull dogs from the shelter as soon as space frees up.  Consider yourself very lucky if you find a rescue who can take in a found dog.
• Take the dog to a shelter.  In the U.S. alone there are 7 dogs for every 1 person and millions are euthanized every day.   This makes the outcome for a dog turned into a shelter pretty grim.  The age, breed, sex, and size of a dog all play a role in their adoptability, but do not make the mistake of thinking that Pomeranians and Yorkies don’t get put down in shelters every day.   Pure luck is the only way a dog is adopted from a shelter.  No-Kill facilities are rare and many are only no-kill as long as the animals do not get sick or go stir crazy in the kennel.  Life is hard for a homeless dog, and the big lab mixes and pit bulls have it the worst with the lowest odds for adoption.  If you do take a dog to the shelter, it is a great idea to contact local rescues and let them know about the dog – especially if the dog you turned in looks anything close to a pure bred dog.  Breed specific rescues like German Shepherd and Labrador Rescue often work with working dog groups, sending dogs with the right temperaments to train for everything from police work to handicapped services – but they have to know a dog that may suit their needs is in the shelter first.

To request more information or to have Healing Species visit your local school, please visit www.HealingSpeciesTexas.org

Students Learn Lessons from Dogs: MyFoxAUSTIN.com

Latte

Doesn’t she remind you of the dog, Doug, from the movie, ‘Up?’  Ok, maybe you’d just have to know her and have seen the movie.  But look at her face.  Just.  Look.  At.  Her.  If joy could be contained and sold, it would be sold in increments of Latte.

Brinks & Nuni

I receive new photos and footage of Brinks and Nuni regularly and I hope it never ends.  They’re always up to some new shenanigans which never cease to crack us up.    They should have their own TV show.  Seriously, I’d watch.

Stupid Bee Hat

Not even us, professionals of the pet care and training industry! (with bonus exclamation points!!), can resist putting cute hats on dogs.  What is it about this that brings us such joy?  My theory is that the hat instantly sucks the joy right out of the dog and beams it directly to our brains.  Or at least that is what Mo would have us believe while he gives us his saddest Eeyore donkey face.  Geez, he looks so pitiful.  Ok, ok…we’ll take it off, buddy.

Imposter!

We adopted Jack when he was almost full grown, so you can imagine my shear glee when we noticed a mini Jack look-alike at PetSmart one day.  It was like the puppy, Riley (aka Mini-Jack), instantly recognized Jack as one of his own and romped directly for him.  Unfortunately Jack was not so amused, so when cute photo opportunity time came, this is the best we could get out of him before he walked away in disgust.

Hefty indeed.

And finally, what would a photo post be without the bonus cat?  Here we have a much younger Titus literally sleeping while sitting up in a Hefty box.  So zen.

]]> http://www.leapsnhounds.com/2010/08/16/newphotos/feed/ 0 http://www.leapsnhounds.com/2010/07/25/yourdogsandthenewbaby/ http://www.leapsnhounds.com/2010/07/25/yourdogsandthenewbaby/#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:31:06 +0000 Crystal http://www.leapsnhounds.com/?p=698 Bringing a new baby home is stressful enough all by itself.  Factor in an excited jumping dog who counter surfs, steals baby toys, and is accustomed to sleeping on anything they choose, and you have a recipe for seriously stressful situation.  But it doesn’t have to be this way.

First things first: consider and prepare your dog.  They are a part of your family too, and while they will understandably take second place to the attention your new baby needs, expecting them to understand this without any preparation wouldn’t be fair at all and would only make things more difficult for you and them.  Take the time to do the following before your baby arrives, and set you and your dog up to succeed.

1. Set up a consistent walk/meal/play schedule that you (or someone in your home) can manage with a new baby. Now is a good time to start delegating, so don’t hesitate to ask other people in your home for help.  Dogs find stability and happiness on a daily schedule and will struggle less with other changes in the home if the factors that impact them the most don’t change.

2. Refresh that obedience.  We all let the rules slide from time to time, especially as our dogs get older and more relaxed.  But a new baby means a lot of change and you need to be able to communicate what you want from your dog in order to get it.  If your dog doesn’t know a lot of obedience, now is a good time to teach them.  It’s never too late to learn and challenging their mind gives the added benefit of a sleepy pooch.  We all know that a tired dog is a good dog – and every pregnant woman can appreciate that!

3. Teach new useful cues for optimal baby/puppy management.  “Back up” is an infinitely useful tool, especially if you have an excitable dog who likes to invade your space.  This helps you establish a personal boundary for you and your baby and can be used by visitors and in numerous other settings as well.   Teaching “avoid” using a blanket on the floor also helps teach your dog that some blankets are not for them – a very useful command for when you want to lay baby on their blanket without worrying about the dogs taking over.  A strong “leave it” and some practice with a few baby toys is also a good idea.  Other useful cues that speak for themselves include: Out, In, Go, and Settle.

4. Create baby and dog zones.  Teach your dog that controlled play time happens in a certain place of your home completely separate from where the baby will be.  The dog’s area should contain their toy box full of entertaining things and maybe even a bed or their kennel where they can go to get some peace if needed.  Every dog needs a safe zone where little hair-pulling hands can’t reach.

5. Set boundaries.  It’s easy to replace old pushy behaviors like jumping up for attention or helping themselves to your lap by teaching your dog what to do instead.  Enforce the earning system by requiring your dog to sit politely before receiving, food, attention, toys, play, or special privileges like access to your lap.  Also, all rough play and dog-to-dog romping belongs outside. Your dog may try to show off for you, competing with baby for your attention by displaying all of their athletic play moves.  This is normal, but will be a lot less dangerous if your dog already knows that those smooth moves belong outside.

6. Prepare yourself mentally.  Decide now that you will use these cues to communicate with your dog.  Practice the scenarios with a baby doll or rolled up blanket to get a feel for how they will play out.    Create a plan for caring for your pets while you’re at the hospital.  Delegate the responsibilities within your home to make sure your loyal friend continues getting what they need, even if it can’t come from you.  And most importantly, promise to yourself that you will be kind and calm with your dog when they are naturally curious about the new baby.  You are the role model on how to behave around the baby and your dog will pick up on your calm and soft energy.  Yelling or angry tones only create stress and negative associations.  Staying calm and relying on what you have taught your dog to control the situation will help foster a positive association between your dog and baby while keeping you in control and baby safe.

7. Introduce your baby.  First have someone bring home a blanket or piece of  clothing that smells like the baby and allow your dog to smell it gently.  Say your baby’s name repeatedly and give soft praise to create a positive association and identifier with the smell.  Then place the blanket in/near the crib and out of reach.

Have more questions or need help?  Just call or email us to set up a free consult: 512-814-PAWS    / Crystal@leapsnhounds.com

This post is dedicated to our new friend Abigail.  Welcome home Abby, and congratulations to your proud parents, handsome brothers, and loyal dogs: Jet & Tank.  You could not have picked a nicer family.

Instantly I rushed to the Android Apps site to find all the cool pet apps that they offer, fully expecting them to rival iPhone’s excellent selection, yet only to find out that Android has totally missed the boat on this one.   In fact, there isn’t even a “Pet” category – Just a stinkin’ “Lifestyle” category that contains one virtually useless dog whistle app.

Usagi says: "Get with the program, Android!"

C’mon Droid developers!  Don’t you have pets?

Just because I bought the practical app phone that will still function even after being dropped on the concrete a million times, in a cup of tea, and once in directly into a pile of dog poo; that doesn’t mean I don’t deserve the cool app that tells me when my dog’s shots are due, where the nearest dog park is, and how to find the closest vet.

Then there’s DogiDuty: A pet sitting app that sends reports directly to the client after each visit.  How cool is that?  We keep an active journal for all of our clients and send email updates regularly, but this is just awesome!

So I’m not ditching my trusty (and tough) Android phone just yet.  But I was thinking… maybe I need that iPad after all.

P.S.  I disinfected my phone after the poo incident very thoroughly- in case you were worried.

And if I am missing a cool android dog app, please feel free to share.

~Crystal

…and reap the benefits of the good behavior that follows!

This is an edited re-post of an older article taken from the LnH Newsletter – March 2009

We all know that belly rubs are great and that one spot you scratch, you know the one that summons the ticklish back leg kick? Yeah, that’s the spot! But the luckiest dogs will tell you that, aside from the great belly scratches they receive on a regular basis, their lives also include lots and lots of games that keep their minds sharp and their bodies busy!

Jack will do anything for that ball - even if it means the hard work of sitting still for a photo.

Games help build confidence, spend excess energy, teach self control, increase focus, and create a sense of stability and comfort in the home. Games can also decrease destructive urges by giving a more constructive outlet for releasing pent-up energy.  This is called harnessing drive – or channeling a dog’s natural urges to chase, catch, and retrieve into more constructive things than say: killing the squirrels or chasing the neighbor’s car.  Games can give your dog a sense of purpose, a challenge, and a job to do. All of these factors contribute to your dog’s overall well being and, best of all, build a stronger bond of trust and respect with you!

There are good ways and bad ways to play with your dog. If your dog loves to steal your underpants and run away while you chase them around the house, you’ve experienced some of the undesirable side effects of the chase game first hand. If they are failing to see the difference between your hands and chew toys, you may be inadvertently encouraging mouthing by wresting and playing too rough with your pooch. Playing with your pup should build good behavior, not bad habits.

A good game for a dog should engage their mind first. There should be clear rules outlined for them during this game using training cues that they have been taught in advance. For example, Fetch can be played using cues like Sit, Stay, Fetch, Come, and Drop it. If you find a game that you think your dog will love, make sure you prepare them ahead of time by teaching them any new cues that they may need to understand the game first. Then teach the game one step at a time. Every dog is different, and may respond to one game more than another. If your dog isn’t having fun with a game, don’t be afraid to make it easier or try something new.

Here are a few great games to try:

Hide n’ Seek (Intro to Coming When Called and Distance Stays)

Place your dog in a Sit or Down/ Stay. Walk a few feet away and call them to you in a very excited and fun tone. Reward when they come to you. Repeat the process, each time increasing your distance from the dog until you can go out of sight. Keep it simple at first, then slowly increase the difficulty level in finding you. Hide behind doors, in closets, and even outside (in a fenced area) to create a real challenge!  If your dog’s stay isn’t quite strong enough to play this game by himself, have someone hold them by leash and show your dog the reward you’ll have waiting for them when they come find you.  When you call, your helper drops the leash and your dogs scampers to find you.

Treasure Hunt (Intro to Impulse Control and Focus)

Put your dog in a down or sit stay and place a treat, toy, or something of moderate interest within sight. Wait a moment before releasing her to get the toy, encouraging her to go to the reward and eat it or play with it however she wants. Use a cue for this coupled with your release word.  If you say “OK” to release, then say something like “OK – Get it!”  in an excited tone.  If you act like you really love the game, your dog will pick up on your tone and be equally excited.  So if your dog isn’t extremely interested in the game to start, increase your energy and excitement to show them how fun it is.  Repeat this, varying where you place the reward and slowly increasing the value of the reward.  Start “hiding” the reward where the dog can’t see it, but where she can watch you place it and easily find it and retrieve it if she wants (behind a piece of furniture, for example). Release her to get the reward and guide her if she becomes confused. Next, hide the treat further away, then in another room, gradually increasing difficulty.  You can increase the distance and difficulty in finding the treasure as your dog gets better at the game. This is especially good for dogs that have begun to learn “stay” but are nervous about having their people go out of sight.  It is also a fantastic focus game to lengthen a puppy’s typically short attention span.

Clean Up

Get a box or bucket and collect a number of toys and other dog-safe items that you would like to teach your dog to recognize and clean up.   Scatter the toys in a small pile on the floor. Through shaping, get the dog to pick up the items one at a time and place them in your hand while giving the cue: “Clean Up.”  It helps if your dog already understands the concept of “Take it” and “Drop it” allowing you to start with these already familiar cues and work in the new “Clean Up” cue slowly.   Be sure to reward each “gift” with praise or treats (I’ve found exchanging one toy for another to be the easiest way to train this as treats distract most dogs from the game to start.)  While maintaining the fun of this “return for refund” game, move further and further from your dog adding distance to their retrieve.  Then introduce the toy bin and place each toy retrieved in the bin.  Lastly hold your hands over the bin and as soon as your dog drops the toy, move your hands allowing it to fall directly into the bin.  Praise heavily for this and get noticeably excited.  Repeat until your dog will place the toy directly into the bin without your hands present, then slowly move away from the bin each round adding more and more distance.  Your dog will likely lose interest in the early stages of teaching this game at first and that is fine.  Simply end the game on a high note and try again later.  This one can take a while to master and requires a lot of practice.

Tug (Confidence and Impulse Control During Heightened Excitement – Introducing the On/Off Switch)

The secret to playing this game successfully is for you, the human, to control it. For this game, choose one particular toy that will be used as your tug toy. Don’t use a bone, a leash, or anything that smells too much like you (like a sock) unless you are ok with all of your socks and undergarments becoming toys.  A good tug toy is long enough to avoid contact between a dog’s mouth and your hands, is sturdy, and is of interest to your dog.  This toy is special and unique for your dog, so it will be kept in a safe spot away from your pet until it is time to play.

You start the game by taking the toy out of it’s safe spot and encouraging your dog to mouth it with a cue like “Tug” or “Get it.” Some dogs will refuse to do this with you, especially if they’ve been punished for tugging in the past. If your dog is food motivated, try rubbing the toy with something tasty and smelly at first like a little peanut butter. However, tugging is instinctive for dogs (it’s a cooperative act in pack feeding) so your dog should catch on quickly. Tug a few times, then tell your dog “drop it” or “release.” Use a cheerful but clear tone. You can reward him for dropping it with either a treat, a different toy that he gets to play with for a minute, or another round of tug. Occasionally let your dog win by releasing the toy from your grip while saying “OK.” If your dog is the shy or timid type they should be allowed to win more often.   A more confident dog that who struggles with authority needs to win less often than you.

Remember Four on the Floor at all times – no jumping, leaping, or scratching allowed.  Angle your toy low to the ground so you don’t inadvertently encourage jumping behavior.  Any time your dog leaps or jumps, release your grip and turn your back stiffly to let your dog know you absolutely do not like and will not play with this behavior.   Make sure that you end the game if your dog gets too rough or agitated. Simply ask for a “drop it”, praise for it, and always put the toy away when you are done playing.

It takes two to tug!  If the dog refuses to let go, you let go of your end and walk away.  Wait until the energy has diminished a little and distract your dog with another toy so you can put the tug toy away.  The game always plays by your rules and begins and ends when you say it does.  It won’t take long for your dog to learn this and master the ability to turn off their excitement just as quickly as they can turn it on.

Fetch with Obedience (Impulse Control – Channeling Chase Instincts)

If your dog already retrieves the ball (or at least runs after it), have them sit and stay while you throw the ball. Attach a leash at first to make sure they stay when you ask them to. Then release them to “Fetch!” Reward the return of the ball with a chest scratch or a treat if needed. Build on the length of time that you ask them to stay slowly. This is an extremely good impulse control exercise for those dogs who just can’t wait to go get that ball!  For dogs who struggle with chasing things that they shouldn’t, work on this game to teach a similar attachment to the toy instead.  This can be used later in training to remove attention and focus from chasing bad things like cars, channeling that instinct into the ball (or fetch toy) instead.  For pro fetchers with great focus, increase difficulty by adding down and tricks before releasing to “Fetch!”

Other fun games to check out

Catch (with frisbee, ball, toys)

Racing (running to touch a target – dog must know “touch” on command)

Play & Freeze (incorporates games like Tug & Racing to build excitement, then challenges the dog to stop or “freeze” suddenly before play begins again)

Agility: formal or basic with hoop jumping, hurdles, and other props. You can even make your own props! (High impact and large jumps should only be done by dogs 12+ months of age.)

Tricks: If your dog loves to perform and has a knack for picking up the details, the possibilities are endless!*If you have more than one dog, it is equally important to spend quality time alone with each dog. Don’t hesitate to separate your dogs and play with one at a time, especially when playing a game or teaching them something new. Each of your lucky dogs will thank you for it.

For more in-depth rules and directions on teaching these games, check out books like 50 Games to Play with Your Dog and 101 Dog Tricks.