Blog — Canine Core Method
New Obedience Class Starts April 15th
Natural Obedience: 4 Week Session Starting April 15th This class takes place at The Chattery. Register here: Natural Obedience 1800 Rossville Avenue, Suite 108 Chattanooga, TN 37408 USA (map) In this four week course, you will learn what truly motivates your dog and how to train obedience behaviors using their natural drive. You will use food, toys, and praise to shape the following commands: Sit, Down, Stay, Place, and Recall. This class is for dogs 6 months and older. We will meet once per week for 4 weeks, and each class runs for 60 minutes. Class dates are April...
Your Dog is Talking Smack and You're Not Doing Anything About It
The Problem: Your dog is talking smack at my dog, my dog reacts, your dog gets even more amped up, the neighbor's dog notices and starts barking. Now we have two lunging/barking dogs and a whole neighborhood bark party going on. But WHY must it be like this? Things We Must Understand: 1. Dog's read body language from far away! Before getting anywhere close, they have assessed the posture, tone, tenseness, quality of movement, and intention of another dog (or person). This happens in an instant! 2. Your dog is better at reading body language than you are. Dog's are...
New Obedience Class at Play Wash Stay
Natural Obedience Level One: Working with Your Dog's Drive March 4th thru April 1st, 2023 In this course, you will learn what truly motivates your dog and how to train obedience behaviors using their natural drive. You will use food, toys, and praise to shape the following commands: Sit, Down, Stay, Place, and Recall. This class is for dogs 6 months and older. We will meet once per week for 5 weeks, and each class runs for 60 minutes. This program is designed to give you the tools needed in order to build clear communication, trust, and the ability to...
Is My Dog Fear Compliant?
In my last blog post, Dominance Debunked, I explained how physical force and emotional intimidation can make a dog fearful and even aggressive. The thing is, with a lot of these methods, including alpha-style "pack leadership" and even e-collar training, you can produce a dog who appears obedient and calm. But the underlying state of many of these dogs is actually a freeze-response. These dogs are fear-compliant. They obey out of a sense of self-preservation because their nervous systems are overwhelmed with fight/flight/freeze signals. This is why a dog may "snap" out of nowhere, because they are moving from the...
Dominance Debunked: Stop Pinning Your Dog
It may go without saying, but dominance in dog training has been debunked. The science just doesn't support it. Whenever you use pain or fear to train or intimidate your dog, the results will be bad. Your dog may end up showing you some obedience behaviors, but deep down they will be hiding a boatload of insecurities which can later manifest into problem behaviors. These problem behaviors may include, but are not limited to: submissive peeing, shyness, generalized anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, hyperactivity, hyper-friendliness, appeasement behaviors, and then there's just flat-out aggression. Using dominance techniques with your dog doesn't show them...