These 7 family-friendly dog breeds generally make great family pets due to friendliness, energy level and ability to train.
Jill Breitner
Jill Breitner is a professional dog trainer, award-winning author and body language expert, plus creator of the Dog Decoder smartphone app (iTunes and Google play) on dog body language recommended and used by veterinarians, shelters, trainers, educators and guardians worldwide. Fear Free Certified, Jill has been teaching gentle handling/basic husbandry skills to clients’ dogs for 40 years. She helps you to be your pets advocate for a happier and stress-free life. Jill also does online, Zoom dog training, worldwide.
These simple leash-training tips will have you loving walking your dog on a leash. Start on familiar turf, keep training sessions short, make a lot of turns and reward generously.
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Small dog breeds often resort to unwanted behavior problems like growling and biting because their guardians misunderstand them.
Start training from Day One before those cute puppy behaviors become bad adult-dog habits.
What does it mean when a dog lifts a paw? A dog paw lift can convey everything from anticipation to anxiety. Let’s learn how to tell the difference.
Understanding and management are key to helping your dog feel more happy and less anxious.
As your dog goes through life — puppy, adolescence, adult and senior — new and old behavior challenges appear.
Should your puppy sleep in your bed with you? Going from a warm pile of littermates to a cold lonely crate can be traumatizing, so we think “yes.”
Do raised hackles, a.k.a. the hair standing up on a dog’s back and neck, always convey aggression? Find out how to figure out what it means when your dog’s hair stands up.
Do you wonder what causes fear in your dog? Learn what signs to look out for and how to help your dog overcome his fears.
How do you manage feeding, sleeping, greeting, going outside, playing, and toys and treats in a multi-dog household? Trainer Jill Breitner weighs in.
Why do dogs smell each other’s butts? It may seem like a gross, inappropriate behavior to us humans, but to dogs, it’s a natural way of greeting that provides some key insights.
Learning how to read your dog’s stress signals can help prevent dog bites during the busy holiday season. We illustrate some signals and what to do.
The American Canine Good Citizen Program is designed to help people positively train their puppies so they live safe and happy. Here’s how to get your puppy to pass the test!
Playful biting, joyful jumping and incessant chewing may be ‘cute’ when your dog is a puppy … but can turn into serious behavior issues by the time he’s an adult. Start training now before those naughty puppy behaviors become bad habits forever.
Think how to train a dog to walk on a leash is as simple as hooking his leash into his harness and walking? Think again. Like other dog-training commands such as sit, stay and come, proper leash walking must be taught — if you want to avoid leash pulling.
Wondering how to take care of a dog? Whether this is your first four-legged friend or your 15th, we’ve compiled a few good reminders on what NOT to do when it comes to how to take care of a dog.
What are dogs scared of? And how can we help a scared dog overcome his fear? Try these tested tips from a professional dog trainer.
Does a wagging tail always mean a happy dog? How about a wide grin? What about a dog looking away? Some dog body language signs are easily misinterpreted.
Dogs can’t talk exactly, but paying attention to dog body language can help you successfully communicate with your canine. A pro trainer shares tips.
Whale eyes in dogs might sound funny, but usually, whale eyes are a sign of fear that shouldn’t be ignored. Learn the signs and what to do about whale eyes.
Have you ever thought: “My dog is scared of everything?” Here’s how to train a fearful dog to feel safe and trust again.
A shake off can be perfectly normal, but it also can signal stress or anxiety. Here’s how to tell the difference.
This is wrong on so many levels, but most concerning are the potential for malfunction and how it would weaken the bond between people and their pets.
Socializing puppies is crucial to behavioral development, but it must be done safely, as one pet parent learned the hard way.
Dogs who bully not only start fights, but they can turn timid dogs into bullies themselves. Let’s look at the signs of bullying and how to help your dog stop this behavior.
It’s important to know what the adult dog is trying to teach the puppy so that we can allow the lesson to be learned.
Writer W. Bruce Cameron and producer Gavin Polone have seen the footage and commented, but they are not experts in veterinary behavior or dog body language.
Two dogs attacked children walking to school this week. One child died, and the other is seriously injured. Here’s how we can prevent incidents like this in the future.
Sunny bit Malia’s friend. Let’s talk about what happened and how we can prevent bites by learning to read dog.
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