Mountain View Dog Training

by Cathy Hughes

Obedience classes have gone through an amazing metamorphosis in the past two decades. Methods well grounded in the science of operant conditioning in general and positive reinforcement in particular are being used routinely in the training of service dogs and other “dogs with jobs.” A great number of obedience class instructors have embraced these methods and offer them to their students in all levels of training. The pet dog obedience classes may be where these changes are met with the most astonishment because many pet owners have not taken a basic dog obedience class since they adopted their last pup. In some cases this could be over 15 years ago. The leap from “traditional” forceful methods to positive reinforcement may be a bit much to swallow for these pet dog owners at first. The good news is that these changes are effective, safe and fun! Read the rest of this entry »

by Cathy Hughes

The world of the pet dog has certainly experienced a great expansion recently. Twenty-plus years ago, if the “training bug” hit you while attending a pet manners class, the limitations for advanced training included obedience and tracking for the most part. Hunting, herding, lure coursing and Schutzhund were available if you had a talented dog from a specialized breed and you lived near someone who could share his or her expertise in those fields. Nowadays a graduate of a basic obedience class has the choice of going on to agility, freestyle, flyball, rally, Frisbee freestyle … the list is growing as you read this … in addition to the aforementioned sports. There are even some pet dogs that have made it to commercials, print ads or the movies. Classes for all of these disciplines are more readily available than in the past. Read the rest of this entry »