Recently there has been an outbreak of "kennel cough" in some of the dogs staying at the Ranch. While not serious if caught early, it can be very contagious and take time to treat. Much like human Upper Respiratory Illnesses (URI), "kennel cough" is just a catch-all name for any URI a dog may acquire. In humans we tend to call this "bronchitis," but the causes and treatments are very similar.

Once again, a great piece of writing and advice from our friends at The Good Dog Training and Rehabilitation.

I know this sounds a bit simplistic, but when it comes to dealing with reactivity issues in your dog, I see two super common issues with owners: they move too slow to correct, and when they do correct they’re often at too low of an intensity for it to be effective.

Well it’s been quite an awesome year of some amazing work with some amazing dogs and their committed owners…As we roll into 2016 in our new training space “The K Nine Solutions Gym”…..

This bit of writing comes again from our friends at the Good Dog Training and Rehabilitation program…it’s really good stuff and important to remember as we go down the road of making changes for our dogs through our own attitudes and behaviors.  Read and enjoy!

So often we get tense and nervous and we can’t relax (if you know those lyrics then you are of my generation and I applaud you for the obscure reference) but it’s true.  We forget to breathe.  I’ve seen it in so many things throughout life…skiing, working out, interviews, golf…the list is long and of course one of the big ones these days is with our own dogs…we forget to breathe for all sorts of reasons.

It is so clear to me that pets, and in our case, dogs especially, bring so much joy and love to the table from a pure human emotional place. It’s why many of us have them and for better or worse they really add to our lives and give us layers of feelings, experiences, responsibilities and learning opportunities we never thought we’d have.

Picture in your mind an English field line Labrador Retriever enthusiastically returning his master’s downed duck from a marsh in a Canadian province. Or conjure up a young Border Collie intensely working sheep on a farm in the American west, insuring that the farmer’s flock make it safely back to the corral at the end of the day. These dogs serve well the purpose for which it was bred, and it can retire at night to the company of its master and a relaxed evening at home.

Few industries have as much contentious, friction-filled, vitriolic, opinionated, near-religious beliefs being flung around as does the dog training world.

Opinionated owners and trainers will noisily (and nastily) condemn the tools, training methods, and approaches being used by others. It might be pure positive trainers (or believers) cursing prong collars, e-collars, and/or any form of correction – or even saying “no” to your dog – or perhaps it’s “balanced” trainers slinging mud at each other for perceived poor training, or training that doesn’t mesh with their beliefs.

It’s pill time! Or, “How to fake me out and get me to take my medication.”

Most of you who know me know me as a very well behaved dog.

I hear this all the time at the K-Nine Solutions Training Gym…new clients come in with a dog who is, shall we say, much more energetic than I am, and the humans look over at me sitting obediently on my place cot and think to themselves, “that’s how I want my dog to be…calm, confident, cooperative.”

I recently had a situation with my own dog that reminded me how important it is for everyone who works with, or owns dogs to know how to break up a dogfight without getting hurt. The incident has inspired me to write this piece.