YNP #089: Reasons to Muzzle Train Your Dog

What do you do when things go wrong between the kids and your dog?   Something that isn't talked about enough is how the relationship between kids and dogs isn't always as magical as we imagined.   It's very common for the kids to get annoyed with the jumpy puppy and their sharp teeth.  It's just as common for […] The post YNP #095: When Things Go Wrong Between the Kids and Dog: With Justine Schuurmans appeared first on Playtime Paws.

How do you know if your kids are ready for a dog?  And if they are, how do you prepare them for bringing that new dog home? Well lucky for you (and me) Justine Schuurmans, the expert on families, kids, and dogs,  is going to answer those questions. Justine is the founder of The Family Dog and […] The post YNP #094: Are Your Kids Ready for a Dog? With Justine Schuurmans appeared first on Playtime Paws.

What is dog fitness?  Brittni of Potential Unleased Idaho has joined me to answer that question and then some. Brittni talks to us about dog fitness and how it can prevents injuries, builds confidence, and work both body and mind.  Of course, we also talked a lot about puppies and how to keep our their muscles and […] The post YNP #093: Dog Fitness: Keeping Your Puppy Fit and Safe with Brittni appeared first on Playtime Paws.

It can be counter intuitive but when your puppy has a potty accident, we shouldn't punish them. You may feel that you need to do something to let them know "this is wrong".   Or maybe you know that you're not supposed to punish your puppy's potty accidents but you're not sure why. In general, I discourage using […] The post YNP #092: Why Not to Punish Puppy Potty Accidents appeared first on Playtime Paws.

When I receive multiple questions from my listeners around the same topic I know it's time to do a podcast episode about it.   But not all questions warrant a full episode but can still be useful to answer. So that's exactly what I did in this episode.  I gathered 5 questions that came from you, my […] The post YNP #091: Listener Questions appeared first on Playtime Paws.

When your dog refuses to go outside in the rain, it can be annoying and time consuming.  It's even worse when you're trying to potty train a young puppy that isn't going to hold it until the rain stops.   For most dogs they will learn to tolerate it but for others it may always be […] The post YNP #090: When Your Dog Hates the Rain appeared first on Playtime Paws.

Muzzle training your dog means exposing your dogs to wearing a muzzle in a positive, stress-free way (see resources below on how to do this). This is something that most of us never think (or want to think) about doing with our dog.  It's understandable because muzzles have a bad rap and are thought of as a […] The post YNP #089: Reasons to Muzzle Train Your Dog appeared first on Playtime Paws.

Socialization is the most important training you can do for your puppy.  It's also the most overlooked and misunderstood part of your puppy's training. When done correctly as a puppy, socialization creates a confident, well adjusted dog.  And who doesn't want that for their puppy?   I've gathered the 4 things I think are the most misunderstood about […] The post YNP #088: Four Things You May Not Know About Socialization appeared first on Playtime Paws.

Is your dog trying to dominate you?  The short answer is no, they are not.   And though that might not come as a surprise to you, what isn't always clear is why it's not true.   Especially because this theory that dogs want to dominate us or some dogs are more "dominate" than others still comes […] The post YNP #087: Is Your Dog Trying to Dominate You? appeared first on Playtime Paws.

Teaching your dog to come when called (recall) is arguably the most important skill you can teach your dog.  It's also one that we struggle with the most.  That's because we try and teach it like we would any other cue like sit, down or stay. But that only gives us half the picture.  Recall is a habit […] The post YNP #086: Why We Struggle with Recall appeared first on Playtime Paws.