Dogwise Training Manual

Don't put the dog before the cart…until he is trained! Many people love the idea of being able to hitch their dogs to a cart and have them pull the kids around the yard or in a parade. Or they have a breed of dog that has been bred to work as a draft dog and are interested in participating in competitions held by clubs around the country that test both dog and handler's skill pulling a cart. While this may seem simple, training a dog to willingly and safely do the work to pull a cart actually involves a lot of learning and effort on the part of both the dog and the handler. In this new book, author Laura Waldbaum will teach you what you and your dog need to know to help develop a "happy draft dog." You will learn • The skills your dog needs to learn before he is introduced to the cart including attention, how to stop/go/go faster and how to back up. • All about the equipment you will need including a variety of harnesses and carts-and how to acclimate your dog to the equipment. • The training required based on what your interest in carting-from pulling a wagon around the backyard to participating in parades to formal competitions. • What you need to know about draft dog competitions including what to expect, the skills you need to master and how to troubleshoot problem areas. What dog trainers are saying about Carting with Your Dog Carting with Your Dog is an excellent beginning tool to use in the carting arena. Laura has done a very good job of spelling out the basics and offering helpful and informative ideas on how to make drafting a success for you and your dog from the beginning all the way through to entering a draft test. The book shows you what basic skills are needed and how to expand those skills to enjoy a successful carting experience. Valerie Horney, Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America President and Draft Judge A wonderful, clear, and useful resource! I love the focus on increasing the dog's desire and enthusiasm for this work through carefully planned steps based on positive reinforcement. This book is full of great training ideas and advice!

What Happened? Your cute, fluffy puppy has turned into a wild-eyed monster, running off at every opportunity, deaf to your commands, pulling on the leash and chewing up your house. Adolescence may be a challenging time for both owners and dogs, but it certainly doesn't have to be a disaster. Despite all the changes that are occurring, with a few sensible steps and a big helping of patience, you will find that it is a temporary stage. Author Sarah Whitehead gives you the tools to turn your rowdy companion into a well-mannered friend.

Barking is one of the many ways dogs communicate with each other and with humans. Think of barking as part of your dog's language. When a dog barks, he is expressing something and you can learn to understand what he is he is trying to say. In this book, author Turid Rugaas, well known for her work on identifying and utilizing canine "calming signals," turns her attention to understanding and managing barking behavior. If you can identify what your dog is expressing when he barks, you can take steps to minimize the negative effects of barking in cases where you find it a problem. Click here to view an excerpt.

Prior to 1970, our knowledge of the behavior of wolves and other canids including the domestic dog was extremely limited. Little research had been done in the field and, of course, this was before the era of DNA research. In The Behaviour of Wolves, Dogs and Related Canids, Dr. Michael W. Fox, presented in 1971some of the first scientific research in the field which lay the ground work for the studies in more recent years by such luminaries as Ray Coppinger. Fox was one of the first to note the role of submissive behaviors in wolves, calling into doubt that aggressive behaviors ruled in a pack of wolves. He also recognized that wolf packs are largely family units and that the parents (the alphas) show great tolerance and acceptance of their young offspring. Even though much of the research was based on the behavior of captive wolves, much of it has passed the test of time. The Behaviour of Wolves, Dogs and Related Canids is a Dogwise Classic Ebook originally published in 1971. Titles selected for this series are out-of-print works that are interesting, informative, and historically significant. They are the foundation for our current knowledge and Dogwise Publishing is keeping them alive for today's dog enthusiasts.

It is such a joy to work with a dog who proactively engages in behaviors while you build a relationship that will surprise you in its depth and versatility. Clicker training has proven to be the most effective means of developing a "Thinking Dog," one who offers behaviors in anticipation of a reward rather than a dog who has been trained only to wait for his owner's commands. One of the biggest obstacles the new clicker trainer faces, however, is his or her own history of training and habits of working with a dog. But you can make the transition once you understand how dogs learn and the mechanisms of operant conditioning. Learn from author Gail Fisher's crossover experiences as well as those of the hundreds of students she has helped make the change over the past thirteen years. You will learn: * How dog training has evolved over the past 100 years, the strengths and weaknesses of various training styles, and to what extent you can integrate your previous methods with clicker training. * The particular challenges you will face as you crossover from whatever style of training you have used in the past (compulsion, luring, etc.) to clicker training. * The detailed nuts and bolts of clicker training - from getting a behavior started, to methods of rewarding, to reducing the need to click and treat over time while still getting the results you want. * How to work with dogs trained with force or harsh methods and change them into behavior-offering dynamos. Click here to view an excerpt.

Almost every dog has some degree of prey drive - it's in his genes - some more than others. You may experience it when your otherwise well mannered dog suddenly takes off chasing after a rabbit, squirrel, or a jogger. The old approach to solving this problem involved the use of "corrective" devices like choke chains and electronic fences. A better approach includes training and management techniques that reward your dog for choosing to focus on and stay near you, the owner. Clarissa von Reinhardt has been working on the issue of how to deal with unwanted predatory behavior for many years. In this fascinating and inspiring book, she takes the readers step by step through her training methods, inviting them to learn more about a dog's complex spectrum of behavior, and ultimately to maintain as much control as possible over the urge to chase prey.

All kinds of dogs have a number of hard-wired traits bred into them. Hounds love to follow their noses, Retrievers love to fetch and Herding dogs love to herd. With few exceptions, these are pretty harmless activities and don't stand in the way of training. Terriers, however, were bred to hunt and kill vermin independently, digging underground and barking excitedly, almost impervious to pain. Let's see... just a few challenges to overcome in training: strong prey drive, independence, feistiness, digging, barking, the list goes on. In Terrier-Centric Dog Training, author Dawn Antoniak-Mitchell takes up the challenge to help terrier owners train their dogs by making sure they understand the instincts bred into terriers and what the most effective training and management techniques are to use when working with a "natural born killer." You can train your terrier, but just don't let him loose off-leash in a park full of squirrels!