The Dog Zone

The first time I realized how useful it is to have a confinement area for your dog, was when Tommy moved in. Tommy came from the Walvis Bay SPCA and seemed to be the gentlest of souls. Until he met our parrot Jacob! Jacob was used to being out of his cage all day long, but we soon realized we could not leave Jacob out with Tommy around. So we had to lock Tommy away Read more…

If you control what motivates your dog, you give him good reason to pay attention to you. Your dog will want whatever YOU want him to do.

The Dominance Myth You have probably heard people say things like, “don’t let your dog dominate” or “show him who is the alpha”. The idea of the dominating dog that needs to learn his place is wide spread. But research has shown beyond doubt that dominance in dogs is a myth.  The idea of dominance in dogs comes from a misunderstanding of wolf pack research that was then applied to pet dogs. Because we humans Read more…

How many times do you say No! to your dog? Could it be that your dog thinks his name is No? Just kidding. But the sad truth is that most of us tend to notice our dogs when they do something naughty. But when they are good we kind of take it for granted. Positive reinforcement training turns this habit around. Positive trainers focus on saying yes! and rewarding the dog for good behaviour.  Positive reinforcement Read more…

Dog training is not difficult. Every dog can learn to sit and lie down, walk nicely on a leash and come when called.