Your Dog's Friend

A NONPROFIT IN ROCKVILLE, MD WITH FORCE-FREE, POSITIVE DOG TRAINING, WORKSHOPS & ADVICE

News

Randolph Road Closures & Detours in July

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Randolph Road in Rockville to be Closed for CSX Track Maintenance:
Full Road Closure to be in Place from July 18 to July 26, 2015

For students coming to the training center in July, please be aware that if you normally cross the train tracks at Randolph & Nebel Street, you will have to follow the signs for the detour. This will likely add more travel time, so leave a bit earlier if you can to ensure you can arrive to class and not miss anything.

The detour will likely take you on Nebel to Parklawn and be slow due to all the extra traffic.

Here’s a (hopefully faster) route to try: Take Rockville Pike (355) North. Make a right on Twinbrook and a right on Parklawn. YDF will be on your left if you come this way.

Map of the area near Your Dog's Friend, pinpointing the closure at the train tracks on Randoph Road

Get Dog Food Recall News Immediately by Email

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Dog with bowl of kibble
Photo by BigKid on Flickr

The unfortunate truth is that sometimes, batches of dog food are recalled. Often, these recalls are for safety concerns, so it’s important to get the news as quickly as possible in case your dog’s food is affected.

Dog Food Advisor offers a free service for dog parents. Sign up for their email list and they will send you an email as soon as a recall is announced.

 

5 Steps to Positive Dog Training

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Photo by bullcitydogs on Flickr
Photo by bullcitydogs on Flickr

You don’t need a psychology degree to understand positive, rewards-based dog training. This article from our Newsletter Archives describes the five simple steps to create a lifelong bond between you and your dog.

The first step? Decide with your family what behaviors you want your dog to learn and what word(s) you want to use to cue that behavior.

  • Sit
  • Down
  • Off
  • Drop It
  • Leave It
  • Wait
  • Stay

The next steps can be found in our Newsletter Archives!

Read More

Basic Manners Classes at Your Dog’s Friend

If you’re in the Rockville, Maryland area, we’d love to have you and your dog join us for Basic Manners class! Or, if you have a puppy, join us for Puppy Kindergarten!

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Overcoming Your Dog’s Distractions

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distractionsYour dog may perform actions like Sit, Down, or Shake at home or at your training school, but does his ability to do those things go out the window when you’re outside?

Distractions come in many forms. They are most difficult to overcome when they occur in clusters. Rarely is your dog faced with one distraction at a time.

In this article from our Newsletter Archives, read about the dozens of distractions your dog faces when you are out in public.

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Related Classes at Your Dog’s Friend

If your dog could use some practice working with distractions, we have several classes that are helpful.

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Positive Training Without Food

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Photo by speshulted on Flickr
Photo by speshulted on Flickr

Positive training naysayers will say things like:

  • “The dog only does what it’s told because it wants the treat.”
  • “If you don’t have treats on you, the dog won’t work.”
  • “The dog doesn’t respect you; it just wants food.”
  • “What happens if you don’t have treats on you?”

The good news is that while positive training works extremely well with treats (and even later if you don’t have treats on your person), it can also work well with other things your dog finds reinforcing. In this article from our Newsletter Archives, read more about other ways you can tell your dog, “GOOD JOB!”

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Cesar Millan & Dominance

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Photo by puck90 on Flickr
Photo by puck90 on Flickr

Those of you who watch Cesar Millan’s television show are familiar with the concept of dominance. Fifteen years ago, most dogs were trained using this concept, which led to training based on force and submission. As Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS explains on her website: Traditional training techniques are based on the idea that we must become the dominant leader and rule our pets the way a wolf would rule a pack. That is, they assume most misbehavior in dogs is due to the dog trying to be dominant and then they employ techniques that they think a wolf (since dogs are seen as having a social structure similar to wolves) would perform in a wolf pack. Since then, however, research on both canine learning and the social structure of wolves has led to new, scientifically-based methods of dog training that differ from those used by The Dog Whisperer and other traditional trainers[…]

Read the rest in our Newsletter Archives

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