In my other job as a life coach, the most common advice in the entire field, to the point where it’s basically a cliché, is to set clear goals. This advice manifests itself in a thousand different ways in the coaching world, but still people, even myself, have a hard time of taking it really seriously to the point where we make our goals clear.
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But if you don’t set a goal and plan for it, then you’re really setting yourself up for a much higher potential of failure than would be the case if you had a clearly defined vision for what your success looks like. In other words, have a plan and a goal, or you’re going to be following someone else’s plan – your spouse’s, your parents’, your boss’s, and, yes, even your dog’s!

So often I get calls and e-mails from owners who can talk for hours about their situation and how bad it is. They list the problems they are having, but they just as well could say they are having every dog problem ever written about.

These cases, and most problems, should start back at the basics, and when that’s the route you take, suddenly what was once unmanageable and infuriating will become much more relaxed and hopeful.

So if things seem overwhelming and you are looking for how to get things going in the right direction – start here:

1. Play hard to get – too often dog lovers give their dogs everything in exchange for nothing. This is not the basis of a healthy relationship whether it is between two humans or a human and a dog. Give attention, toys, food and play to a dog that is behaving in a way you like. Love your dog by focusing on the bigger picture and not by focusing on what is easy to do. 
2. Own your space – a mentally healthy dog and human should be able to be alone and entertain themselves. Even if it’s not preferable, it’s a skill that is required to survive in the modern world. If your dog always HAS to be on your lap, or HAS to be underfoot, encourage him to be on his own. Don’t let dogs touch you all the time unless it is something you want and have requested. Simply not allowing dogs to be all over you will be a good start to solving problems (jumping, harassing guests, etc) and creating a strong minded independent dog. You can share space sometimes of course – I love cuddling with my dogs – but when the time is right and both parties want it.
3. Learn to walk your dog – It’s not that hard to learn how to productively walk your dog. This is something tangible that you can accomplish and build upon. If you master the walk, you are on the same page, you are bonding, and you are giving your dog the most basic of jobs to fulfill him on a deeper level. For many dogs, the walk is their only chance to not only work, but to leave the property they live on – make it count!
4. Use structure – It doesn’t have to be forever, but with a new dog or a dog that needs a restart, their day should be structured. I don’t mean structured as in everything is timed out and planned, but I mean their time with you should be quality time, even if it’s not a lot of time. So when they are not crated, they should be actively training, tethered to you, walking on a leash, productively playing with you, etc. Milling about the house does nothing to help a dog other than to help them learn bad habits. Chasing your dog around and reacting to his mistakes is not a good or quick way to train your dog. As the trust and understanding grows, their freedom can grow with it.
5. Practice follow-through – When you give a command or create a rule, make sure that you stick to it. Having a structured routine will help make this easier because you will always be in a position where you have strong influence. This idea is so important because this is how your dog will learn about who you are as a person. If you set out to walk your dog every morning when you wake up, do it. If you don’t want your dog walking in front of you, don’t get frustrated and let them pull because you’re tired of changing directions or correcting them.

If you can follow these basic concepts, you’re well on your way to developing a healthier bond with your dog that will certainly lead to more harmony and happiness for everyone involved.
 

​​For all the modern conveniences the modern dog is given in our current world, we have a tendency to love dogs a lot more than we honor who they are.  
 
In a world where dogs are unemployed and always on-leash, we are seeing a rise in many problem behaviors. And perhaps none more brought about by current living conditions than separation anxiety.  
 
Separation anxiety is one of the most difficult issues you can face as a dog owner, and it usually stems from what I see in dogs as a failure to launch – meaning they’ve never really crossed the line from a small, dependent puppy to an independent, strong member of the community. This is often times brought about by a lack of a job, or a lack of strong leadership and direction. Some dogs, like Weimereiners or other “Velcro dogs”, almost seem to have it bred into them. Like most bred behaviors with pure bred dogs, if it’s not carefully trained out of them from the start, you're going to have issues.  
 
Like anything, if you prevent separation anxiety from day 1 by fostering independence, teaching the dog how to entertain himself away from you, effective crate training, and general good obedience work, it is much easier than dealing with it once they are already destroying your floorboards or your door frames. 
 
If you’re already dealing with separation anxiety, then here are some steps you can take to start getting it back under control: 

Finley, a tween Great Dane, checked in this week and her biggest problem is a lack of confidence. A lack of confidence is almost cute in puppyhood, creating a lot “aw shucks” moments with your developing dog. If the confidence isn’t grown; however, then soon your puppy will turn into a problematic adult dog.  

A lack of confidence is the cause of most behavioral issues and leads dogs to aggression, separation anxiety, clinginess, and any other behavioral problem you can probably think of.  

I always tell people: dog training is either building a dog up a little bit or knocking it down a peg or two (nicely of course). Building up confidence is one of the most important things you can do and here is how: 
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