Blog of the Week Archives - Truly Force Free

Why Pets are Not Good Holiday Presents 2019
Why Pets are Not Good Holiday Presents 2019

Blog of the Week

Why Pets are Not Good Holiday Presents 2019

Pets are a wonderful addition to our human families. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays in full swing and sometimes the idea of getting a loved one a pet may be considered. People often think that giving a puppy, kitten or other furry critter at the holidays is a great way to celebrate and show their affection for their loved ones. Although people have their heart in the right place, these cute gifts could end up being disastrous! (for the pet and the human) […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2020-11-04T20:29:55-08:00December 4th, 2019|Blog of the Week|0 Comments

Teachable Moments
Teachable Moments

Blog of the Week

Teachable Moments

Behavior is always happening; therefore, our dogs are always learning. With every action there is a positive or negative consequence. When a positive consequence occurs, our dogs are more likely to repeat the behavior. If a negative consequence occurs, our dogs are less likely to repeat the behavior. Because of this, we can find many good opportunities to teach our dogs. The problem is, as humans we often overlook the opportunities to reinforce a desired behavior, yet we are often keen to notice the undesirable ones. Sadly, this often leads to our dogs experiencing far more punishments and far fewer positive reinforcements. […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2021-01-29T02:48:41-08:00January 23rd, 2019|Blog of the Week|0 Comments

Why Pets are Not Good Holiday Presents 2
Why Pets are Not Good Holiday Presents 2

Blog of the Week

Why Pets are Not Good Holiday Presents 2

While we’ve posted this before, the message definitely bears repeating. Before you decide to add a pet to your family over the holidays, please consider this post! Pets are a wonderful addition to our human families. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays in full swing and sometimes the idea of getting a loved one a pet may be considered. People often think that giving a puppy, kitten or other furry critter at the holidays is a great way to celebrate and show their love for their loved ones. Although these people have their heart in the right place, these cute gifts could end up being disastrous! (for the pet and the human). […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2021-01-29T02:52:02-08:00December 4th, 2018|Blog of the Week|0 Comments

Why Pets are Not Good Holiday Presents
Why Pets are Not Good Holiday Presents

Blog of the Week

Why Pets are Not Good Holiday Presents

Pets are a wonderful addition to our human families. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays in full swing and sometimes the idea of getting a loved one a pet may be considered. People often think that giving a puppy, kitten or other furry critter at the holidays is a great way to celebrate and show their love for their loved ones. Although these people have their heart in the right place, these cute gifts could end up being disastrous! (for the pet and the human). […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2021-01-29T03:23:43-08:00December 6th, 2017|Blog of the Week|0 Comments

Understanding the History of Dog Training
Understanding the History of Dog Training

Blog of the Week

Understanding the History of Dog Training

Dogs have been companions to humans for thousands of years but we did not start officially training them until the early 1900’s. Many consider the father of modern traditional training to be German trainer named Colonel Konrad Most. He authored a book entitled Training Dogs a Manual in 1910. Colonel Most had a military background. He started training dogs while serving as Police Commissioner at the Royal Prussian Police headquarters in 1906. He later trained military dogs in World War I and from 1919 to 1937 he was head of the Canine Research Department of the Army High Command. […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2020-11-04T20:31:03-08:00November 6th, 2017|Blog of the Week|0 Comments

Can you reinforce fear by petting your pet when they are scared?
Can you reinforce fear by petting your pet when they are scared?

Blog of the Week

Can you reinforce fear by petting your pet when they are scared?

Years ago people were told that if they comforted their pets when they were afraid, the pets would be more likely to be afraid next time. I remember hearing this advice and I could not comprehend why it was being used. If I am scared I want a loved one to comfort me and it definitely does not make me more fearful in the future. In some cases, I may be less fearful because I realize that the thing I was afraid of was not a big deal. If you think about this intuitively you can see that it does not make sense. […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2020-11-04T20:31:58-08:00October 4th, 2017|Blog of the Week|0 Comments

Socialize Your Puppy
Socialize Your Puppy

Blog of the Week

Socialize Your Puppy

With all of the new puppies over the Summer, we’ve had many questions on socialization. Here’s a refresher! In the past it was considered dangerous to take a young, partially vaccinated puppy out into the world. We now know differently! We now know that more dogs are euthanized each year due to behavior problems than puppies who acquire parvo virus. Many of these behavior problems could have been prevented if the dogs had been socialized as a puppy. Puppies learn about what is scary and what is safe during the first 4 months of life. If a puppy is not exposed to new people, places and things the puppy may later develop strong fears to these things. […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2020-11-04T20:32:40-08:00September 12th, 2017|Blog of the Week|0 Comments

What to look for in a Dog Trainer
What to look for in a Dog Trainer

Blog of the Week

What to look for in a Dog Trainer

There are no legal certifications or education requirements for dog trainers. That means that anyone can say they are a dog trainer, even if they have not actual experience, education or training. This can make it difficult to know if you are hiring a true professional or not. If you find yourself looking for a dog trainer but cannot decide who to choose, there are a few tips that can help you find a qualified trainer. […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2020-11-04T20:33:20-08:00August 9th, 2017|Blog of the Week|2 Comments

Consistency + Repetition = Success!
Consistency + Repetition = Success!

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Consistency + Repetition = Success!

Think of a time when you were learning something new- how to ride a bike, a new language, how to read, etc. To learn effectively we need a clear, consistent teacher and we need to practice (sometimes we have to practice a lot!). If our teacher does not have a plan or if the instructions are confusing, our learning will suffer. If we don’t practice, our learning will be difficult. […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2020-11-04T20:34:31-08:00July 5th, 2017|Blog of the Week|0 Comments

Reliable Recall (Come) is like driving a car
Reliable Recall (Come) is like driving a car

Blog of the Week

Reliable Recall (Come) is like driving a car

When teaching a dog to “come” you must provide high value rewards in order to motivate them to come to you. Recall or “come”/”here” is one of the hardest things for a dog to learn. In order for the dog to respond to the cue, he must stop what he is enjoying and chose to come to you. This means that you must be more exciting and motivating than the squirrel, rabbit, dog or other entertainment he is focused on. […]

By Shannon Riley (Coyner)|2020-11-04T20:36:31-08:00May 10th, 2017|Blog of the Week|0 Comments

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