Everything You Need to Know for Taking Your Dog to a Festival

Summer is our favourite season – with the warmer weather and the longer days come the outdoor festivals! The best part about these festivals is that many allow our dogs to join us. This enables us to spend more time with them and include them in more fun outings. There are even festivals that are all about dogs and have a wide range of activities geared towards them.

As much as we love dog-friendly festivals, we see too many unhappy, stressed, and over-heated pups. We are proud to have...

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3 Reasons Why We Love Virtual Training

The pandemic has moved the world online. Although there have been some downsides to this, we have been thrilled with what it has enabled us to do at Dogma. On top of navigating all the uncertainty, keeping the business afloat and supporting our team and clients, we have managed to move all of our programs online. This was a complete and fast restructuring – a story that is a post on its own. For now, I want to focus on virtual dog training and why this is one outcome of the pandemic...

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To Crate Train or not to Crate Train

The debate on crate training (or kennel training) will probably continue to rage until the end of time. The reality is that each person needs to make the decision based on what’s right for them and their new puppy.

It is true that when it’s done properly there are advantages to kennel training your puppy, not the least of which is keeping him out of things he shouldn’t get into, like the garbage.

Crate training will also help with potty training, keep him calmer, curb...

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Tips For Success In Training Your Dog

Good dogs are not born, they are made, so you’ve got some work to do. Training a dog is not easy and it takes commitment. You made the choice to adopt your dog and now it is your responsibility to help it become a good canine citizen and ensure it has a proper emotional and physical well-being. Below are a few items that will help you both to be successful:

  1. Be prepared: Collect everything your new dog will need (food, dishes, toys, grooming tools, leashes, collars, etc.). Create an...
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The Dogma of Dog Training: Three Important Traits of an Effective Trainer

There are many important skills that are important to being effective in your training with your dog. These include your handling skills, controlling your own body language, understanding your dog’s body language and many other essential traits/skills. However, when you are first starting training, or even if you have been training for some time, this post will cover what we consider to be essential to gaining success in training your dog.

Patience

It can be a frustrating and...

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The dogma of Dog Training: Introduction to Positive Training

At dogma, our approach to training is reward based. You may have heard this referred to as positive reinforcement training. The basic concept is that dogs learn primarily through association. So this means that if you reward them for a behaviour, they will perform this behaviour more.  Rewards can be anything and everything that your dog perceives as a positive. This includes food, toys, walks, getting to go through a door, your attention and affection, the opportunity to play with...

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The 3 Key Factors of Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

One of the biggest obstacles all dog owners have in common is training their pets. It can feel like an intimidating, mentally trying battle, but it’s well worth the effort.

Training a puppy gives you a chance to mold her manners and behaviour in the best possible way to fit into our human world. However, training an adult dog is another thing altogether.

You may have adopted an adult dog, or you’ve found that your dog has fallen into some bad habits. Regardless of the situation,...

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Surviving the Teenage Years

Sometimes it feels like an evil magic wand was waved over your puppy changing him or her from a loving well behaved little pup into a completely unruly dog! Welcome to the teenage stage!

Adolescence usually starts around 7 months of age and extends to about 18 months of age. This is when your dog’s brain moves into a new stage of development and hormone levels increase because they progressing into sexually maturity. During this time they’re becoming more independent and...

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Summer Safety Tips

Summer is a wonderful time of year! The days are longer, the weather is warmer, and you get to spend more time outdoors. However, things get busier, we can get distracted and there are new hazards for our dogs. With a few extra precautions and a bit of training, you can ensure your canine family members stay safe and stress-free during the Summer months!

Hot Weather: One of the biggest safety risks to our pets during the Summer is that warmer temperatures. Exposure to heat for too long...

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