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Did you know that the most important thing about being a dog owner is being able to read their body language?  You can talk to your dog all day long, but do you also know how to listen? It seems many people do not. I have created this slideshow to give you some insight into your dog's only language: Body Language!!!  

What does it mean to work with your dog's drive? First, you want to find the thing that most motivates your dog. Think of something that piques your dog's interest like food or prey. Arousal is the level of excitement they show when presented with that stimulus, and persistence is the annoying way they obsess over that thing! So when you think of different things that capture your dog's attention, take note of their level of arousal and the length of time they choose to stay engaged with that stimulus, which is their persistence.  Some dogs will have more food...

"Dogs are very sensitive to body language, so the least little tense movement--a change of gait, a slight hunching of the shoulders--can be observed and interpreted as something being amiss. When we're upset, our voices can go up slightly in frequency as well. Dogs get these nuances in ways most people don't.  Masking strong feelings by acting like things are OK may not always work, either: It's quite likely that dogs can smell fear, anxiety, even sadness... The flight-or-fight hormone, adrenaline, is undetectable by our noses, but dogs can apparently smell it. In addition, fear or anxiety is often accompanied...

  Physical compression of space = Emotional compression, which can lead to fight/flight response if your dog feels trapped Trigger points: Front door and other doorways/thresholds, car, bed, crate, fence, barrier, leash, tie-out, etc (all create physical compression of space)   Why this concept is important: Your dog’s threshold (emotional capacity) will go DOWN according to the amount of compression he feels. This can lead to “unexpected” events where your dog acts more aggressive or fearful than he does when not under compression. It’s also important to recognize when your dog is “denning” himself because he’s seeking safety. If you...

Because dogs are predatory by nature, their instincts dictate that they channel their energy (and built-up stress) into hunting activities. For different breeds, this means different things, such as eye-stalking, digging, tracking, etc. However, the culmination of every hunt is the bite, because the goal of hunting is killing the prey. So the act of biting, and specifically biting and carrying an object, represents a successful “hunt.” And then chewing and ingesting completes this cycle of emotional grounding. Try to keep this in mind when working, walking, and training your dogs. Keep their jaws busy and you will have a...