Practical answers from Scott Lovel, drawn from fifteen years and more than three thousand dogs. Browse by topic below.
Use both, for different jobs. The crate is for sleep and short confinement, the pen is for supervised awake time. Here i…
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Only as much space as you can actively watch. Here is how to expand room by room, what has to be proven first, and when …
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Often yes, for dogs who settle better with less to look at. Here is when a cover helps, when it makes things worse, and …
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Yes, and most puppies need two or three a day. Enforced naps stop the biting and the wildness that owners usually blame …
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Settle the rules before the dog arrives, not after. Here are the nine decisions to make, how to get everyone to agree, a…
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In a crate, right next to your bed, for the first week or two. Here is why, what the first three nights look like, and h…
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The long line goes back on today. Here is why recall breaks at ten months, how to rebuild it in six weeks, and what to s…
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End with a cue, a stationary behavior, and ten minutes of sniffing. Coming down is a trained skill, and most dogs have n…
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Ahead is fine when the leash is loose and he still responds to you. A formal heel is a skill for specific moments, not a…
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Pay the glances you did not ask for. Here is how to turn voluntary attention into a habit in two weeks, and why calling …
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Make greetings permission based, pay neutrality, and learn to say no to strangers. Here is the script, the helper drill,…
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Teach him to move on cue instead of stepping over him. Here is the yield drill, why nudging with your feet backfires, an…
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No. A wag means the dog is activated, nothing more. Here is how height, speed, and stiffness change the meaning, and wha…
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Somewhere between 18 and 30 months depending on size. Here is the timeline by breed, what improves first, and why maturi…
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Frequent correcting means the dogs need more management from you, not that one should be disciplining the other. Here is…
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Hackles mean arousal, not aggression. Here is what the rest of the body has to tell you before you can read it, and why …
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Rough is fine, one sided is not. Here is how to read the difference in ten seconds and the interrupt schedule that keeps…
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He is asking for less social pressure. Here is the consent test that tells you what he actually wants, and how to pet a …
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Yes, but only briefly and only while he can disengage. Prolonged staring rehearses fixation. Here is the two second rule…
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Train the pass at a distance first, then shrink the gap. If the space is genuinely too tight, turn around instead of for…
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Plan the route, not the reaction. Here is how to pick times, use parked cars and driveways as cover, and turn early enou…
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Staring is the step before lunging. Interrupt it in the first two seconds and most reactions never happen. Here is how t…
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Stress adds up across a day until a small thing causes a big reaction. Here is how to spot stacking, how long it lasts, …
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Fear has a trigger in front of it, anxiety does not, and reactivity is the behavior on top. Here is how to tell them apa…
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Barking, biting the leash, and quitting are frustration, not defiance. Raise the reward rate, shorten the gap, and make …
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A shutdown means the pressure is too high. Stop the session, get one easy win, and lower the criteria. Here is how to sp…
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No. A marker word does the same job and you never leave it at home. Here is where clickers genuinely win, and where they…
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It is a useful tool, not a requirement. Bowl feeding does not weaken your bond. Here is when hand feeding earns its keep…
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Yes, and the damage is real. Sessions that run long produce worse learning than no session at all. Here are the limits a…
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Build it in tiny steps over three weeks, from muzzle touch to lip lift to brush. Never restrain through panic, and stop …
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Hard exercise raises arousal instead of lowering it. Here is why tiring him out backfires, and the four things that actu…
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Do not extend the excitement once they leave. Move him into sniffing, chewing, and rest, and expect the recovery to take…
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Bring the crate and the same bedding, rehearse settling at home first, and manage the hallway noise. Here is the arrival…
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It is motion sickness, fear, or heat, and they need different fixes. Here is how to tell which one you have and the shor…
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Not for most dogs under two. It quietly undoes house training structure and hands your dog unlimited yard barking. Here …
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No. A rushed over threshold walk is worse than no walk. Here is when to skip, what to do instead, and which dogs genuine…
4 min readEvery drill in these articles comes from the WorldWide K9 Academy course library. Start today.
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