This Blog has Moved!

This blog has a new home at dogsbf.net! Please visit our new site so we can keep in touch!

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Obey Leash Laws!

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Obey Leash Laws. There's nothing quite as scary as an off leash dog charging towards you as your walking your rascal. And if you think it's scary for you, imagine how your furry friend must feel. Even if the off leash dog is friendly, it can be terrifying for your rascals to stand by and watch as a Stranger is racing towards them, often times barking and carrying on. The leashed dog's anxiety is amplified not only by the scared human at the other end of the leash, but also by the fact that they cannot run away. They are obeying the law and are leashed up for safety! So please, be respectful to other pups and humans, and keep your dogs leashed. It's the law!

RoveReactive Support Group ~ March 29, 2011

Designed as a forum to help graduates of RoveReactive Classes/Private Training continue working on their Feisty Fido skills. This group provides support for dog parents, with monthly progress check-ins and problem solving sessions to help deal with issues that may have arisen since the last meeting.

$20 Per Dog.

RSVP @ rebecca@rebeccadogsbestfriend.com by Sunday, March 27th.

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Wait for the Right time to adopt a furry sibling!

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ It's never a good idea to adopt a dog in order to solve your current dog's behavioral problems. For instance, if you have a rambunctious puppy, I don't recommend adopting another dog, hoping that the second rascal will curtail the first rascal's energy. Better to train your pup first, get him/her well adjusted and ready for the world, then add a furry sister or brother. Once your pup is ready for a sibling, there's nothing sweeter than adding more fluffy love to your home! (See how Harper cuddles up to older sister, Haley)

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Don't Get Complacent

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Special Equipment, such as Easy Walks and Gentle Leaders, are not meant to be used forever. They are meant to be used as an aid while training your pup, not as a crutch. Be careful not to get complacent and forget to train your dog how to walk nicely. The goal should be to get your dog off equipment and on to walking nicely on a Flat or Martingale Collar. Just like Toby here, who worked very hard to get rid of his Easy Walk. That was a happy day!

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Teach your Pups to LOVE kids!

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Teach your pups that kids are wonderful by giving them a treat EVERY single time they see a child, big or small. It's not just enough to expose them to kids, you also need to make sure their experiences are Positive ones. If your rascal gets something amazingly yummy every time a kid is around, just imagine how great they will think those little two legged rascals are!

Olivia Practices Recall

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Praise your Pup!

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Praise your Pup! So often we reprimand our dogs for doing the "wrong" thing (just being a pup), when in all honestly, 99.9 percent of the time, they are being P AWESOME. They're laying nicely on their beds, chewing their bones quietly at our feet, or cuddling sweetly in our laps. In these times, we forget to tell our pups how great they're being, and how much we appreciate what good pups they are. So take the time to tell your dog, "good boy," just for being a "good boy." You'll see the appreciation in their eyes!

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ A Short Walk goes a Long Way!

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Is your pup laying around, looking bored, and possibly even getting into mischief?! If so, give your dog an extra walk. Short walks, with quick sniffs of the fresh sea air, and fun grassy smells can go a long way. Don't feel like you have to take an hour long walk every outing. Several short walks a day can also be extremely helpful. They give your dog extra stimulation, and break up their routine. The walks can be short, as long as they are sweet. A little walk can go a long way!

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip - Teaching Puppy Kisses

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Turn those Puppy Nips into Kisses by teaching KISSES. All you do is rub a bit of yummy peanut butter on your hand, and place it next to your puppy's mouth. As soon as your rascal starts licking, say, "KISSES, KISSES." If the Kiss turns into a nip at any time, move your hand away, saying "OOPS," to let your rascal know she needs to keep her pearly whites off your skin. Try again with the KISSES, and repeat the process until your pup is stuffed. Practice this everyday, and you'll have a puppy that loves to KISS, and what's better than that?! (thanks, Olivia, for demonstrating and to Tamar Gellar for showing us this trick years ago).

Watch Olivia Demonstrate!

Introducing Harper and Haley, Dog's Best Friend's Dogs of the Month ~ March

Harper and Haley entered our
lives just a few months ago,
bringing their Golden
love to our days.

They've worked so hard, along with their
parents, Rachel and Roman, and have
been such delightful students
and friends.

Harper and Haley
have beautiful, kind souls and
adore people more than anything in the
world. If you look up "Love Bug"
in the dictionary, you're sure to find
photos of these two lovely gals.

When we first met Harper, she was just a
little rascal, happy and enthusiastic
about everything in life, especially treats!
She immediately took to the training
and has been a star student ever since.

Her big sister, Haley, already
knew the ways of the world, but had
greater aspirations. She dreamed of
being a Canine Good Citizen and
set her sites on achieving her lofty goal.

Harper graduated from her In Home
Puppy Program in January, and jumped
right into our Group Class, where she
showed off all her skills and graduated
top of her Class.

Haley achieved her lifetime dream and
became a Canine Good Citizen, and has
convinced her little sister to follow suite.
So Harper will be joining us in our next
Caning Good Citizen Class.
We can't wait!

Congratulations, Harper and Haley,

you are two of our best girlfriends, and
we feel so blessed to have had the
opportunity to spend time with you.

Thank you for being such good girls in
class, and bringing your Golden
sunshine to our lives

We love you,
Dogs of the Month!


"Golden retrievers are not bred to be
guard dogs, and considering the size of
their hearts and their irrepressible joy in
life, they are less likely to bite than to bark,
less likely to bark than to lick a hand in
greeting. In spite of their size, they think
they are lap dogs, and in spite of being
dogs, they think they are also human, and
nearly every human they meet is judged to
have the potential to be a boon companion
who might, at many moment, cry, "Let's go!"
and lead them on a great adventure."

~ Dean Koontz

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ Teaching Trade

It's extremely important to teach your dog(s) "Trade," or "Drop It," so that you can easily take valued objects from them, when needed. It's best to teach them when they are youngsters (as soon as you adopt your puppy, get to it), but older dogs can learn too (watch Rusty, my senior boy, demonstrate). All you do, is give your dog a yummy bone or toy, then in your hand have an even yummier treat. Hold the treat a few inches from your dog's nose, and as soon as they drop their bone, give them the yummy treat from your hand. As you make the exchange, say "Trade," or "Drop It." This way, they're always learning that something being taken away from them is NOT a bad thing, rather it's awesome, they get something even BETTER:) (do not try this with dogs who already Guard their Resources. Call a professional for help with that).

Watch Rusty Demonstrate!

A Strange Dog Day ~ The Best and Worst of Humans

My day started out so well today, I was taking a peaceful walk in downtown Hermosa Beach, and passed a lovely young man working with his dog on Pier Avenue. He was so kind and gentle, and when the dog did what he asked, he gave the dog a nice treat and praise. They both looked so happy, and I was so proud to be a human!

Then, as I proceeded down to Starbucks with my rascal, Toby, we approached the very busy coffee shop, where probably a dozen dogs were camped outside with their humans enjoying a morning cup of Joe (the people, that is). There were probably fifty people there (I'm not exaggerating). As we passed two cute, but nervous and fearful, Chihuahuas, all the peace ended. The two little rascals went nuts, barking and growling at Toby (please note, I don't blame the dogs for this, I question their Human's decision to put them in such a circumstance, keep reading). As the dogs were getting upset, their Human (if you can call her that), ran out and SMACKED one of them across the face. SMACKED! The dog cowered and yelped and stopped barking (yeah, I would too, if I knew that was going to happen). I immediately intervened, and said, "Hey, is that necessary, the dog is just scared?" She went on to tell me to mind my own business, blah, blah, blah, adding a "Honey," at the end of her rant. I walked away with my pup, Toby, feeling horrible about those two little guys taking such abuse. At least she stopped hitting the dogs, for the time being. The worst part, next to the actual treatment of the dogs, is that NO ONE, NOT ONE other person said a DANG thing! In fact, I don't think anyone cared. The energy was so complacent, I felt like jumping up and saying, "Hey, what's wrong with you people? She just smacked a poor, innocent, animal. Don't you care?" This BROKE MY HEART. Is this the world we live in? Are people so scared of conflict or embarrassment, or of "not looking nice," that they'll stand idly by and watch something like this happen? Is this the world we live in? I sure hope not! If so, we are all doomed! One thing I cannot stand in the Human Race is lack of Courage. I wish more people had the Courage to stand up against what's wrong, rather than numbly walking through life in a fog of fear.

Sigh...

So for the rest of my day, I will focus on that lovely young man and his happy, well adjusted dog. People like him give me Hope!

(and dogs like my sweethearts, Toby, Spencer and Rusty, shown in photo above)

Walker Walks

Puppy Party, November 2010

Butter Learns Touch

Spencer on the Catwalk

Rascal Romp, January, 2011

Check out the photos from our latest Rascal Romp!

I'm very proud of all our wonderful puppies!

Rascal Romp 2011

What Exactly is Positive Reinforcement Dog Training?

A client of mine recently told me she met someone on the street that said they were a Positive Reinforcement Dog Trainer. However, this statement didn't ring true to my client (coming from this trainer), as the Trainer had a PRONG collar on a 12 week old Golden Retriever.

This got me thinking of the question....

"What EXACTLY is Positive Reinforcement Dog Training?"

This is my answer ~

Positive Reinforcement Dog Training is when we Reward your dog for doing the right thing, by using treats and praise (or whatever pleases your dog). Our goal is to teach your dog to do what you Request because they trust you and KNOW what to do. They understand the world they live in, thanks to our guidance. PR trainers never use force (physical or emotional) to train your dog. That will break down your relationship in a second! If your dog does something "wrong," we do not punish, we redirect your dog, and show them the Correct thing to do. If they have made a mistake, it's simply because we humans have not successfully shown/taught them the correct thing to do. So how unfair is it to punish them?! True PR Dog Trainers never use Prong, Choke or Shock Collars. Never. If they do, they are kicked out of the "Club." The trainer my client was speaking of is NOT a Positive Reinforcement Dog Trainer, no matter what he/she says!

*Can you imagine putting a Prong Collar on sweet Chloe below?

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~ January 9, 2011

Dog's Best Friend's Daily Training Tip ~

No more COMMANDS. I've recently dropped the word Command from my vocabulary when it comes to training dogs, and replaced it with the word, CUE. Why have I done such a silly thing? Well, because I don't Command my dogs to do anything. I give them a CUE. I ask and request (not to be confused with beg or plead). In other words, I ask them to sit, they do, and they get a yummy treat or praise. The word Command is just too harsh. It's easy to be "angry" and/or "terse," when you are Commanding a dog (or a person, for that matter) to do something for you, and I never want to be harsh with my dog. I want to stay centered and be the Calm Parent, guiding my dog. Not the harsh Commander ordering my dog around. I am not the Great Santini (the old folks will get that reference). So, I'm giving you the Cue, to give up the word, Command. Please. Your reward will be a dog that trusts you, and is happy to comply with your Request!