Game On – Teaching Self Control
How to moderate your puppy’s play. Grab the best treats you can think of; roast beef, a bit of chicken, something special and different. Let your puppy begin to play with another. Observe how stimulated and energetic their play becomes. Before things get too over the...
To Punish, or Not to Punish Your Puppy?
The use of punishment with a puppy has diminished sharply among professional trainers. And yet there are still some who use it. I must admit, this mystifies me. Without delving too deeply, the definition of punishment includes the use of something aversive, like...
When Puppies Growl – Recognizing Distress
Augie’s Story: A few months ago one of our puppy parents took Augie, their 13 week old doodle puppy to meet a neighbor’s six month old lab puppy. Augie was in the Jumpstart Program at the time and was doing well. He learned quickly, was gregarious, and enjoyed...
Puppy Whisperer – Marin IJ Interview
August 22, 2019 Reprinted from the Marin IJ newspaper, February 20, 2019. By Kate Fitzsimmons” What family wouldn’t want help potty training and socializing a new puppy? Hillary’s Hound House offers that and much more, especially for families with young children....
Roughhousing vs Play – When Puppies Learn How to Fight
When we allow puppies to roughhouse with each other, especially with larger puppies they quickly move from lighthearted play to sparring and mock battle. What they are doing is reverting/regressing to sibling behaviors that encourage competition and bringing down...
Letting Dogs ‘work it out’
In the old days when I was growing up socializing puppies wasn’t something anyone planned. People turned their puppies and dogs out together and hoped for the best. The larger, more affable puppies tended to have an easy time and we chalked that up to their...
Socializing Your Puppy Safely
Socialization is a bit more complicated than most people think. Rather, socializing a puppy means teaching him social skills, impulse control, and lessons in how to play with, greet, and interact with other puppies, dogs, and people. It’s a multi layered process....
Dog Parks – The Danger of Unsupervised Play for Puppies
Imagine for a moment you have a four-year-old she wanted to go into a playground nearby. In that playground are 13 and 14-year-old kids and they’re playing with no supervision. Are you going to send her in? Throughout many years of asking this question I have yet to...
Could Your Puppy Have Giardia?
What is Giardia? What is it and do I need to be concerned? Giardiasis is an intestinal infection in people and animals. It is caused by a protozoan parasite Giardia intestinalis (also known as Giardia lamblia). Most dogs become infected by drinking water contaminated...
Ralph and The Perfect Storm
Sometimes a dog can become frightened of something he’s known his entire life. Take Ralph, an 18 month old beagle that developed a terror of grocery carts. Ralph had excelled in our Jumpstart Puppy Program as a youngster and knew the in’s and out’s of grocery carts at...