From pulling on the leash to complete lack of recall, from barking non-stop at everything that passes the home to howling all day while the humans are away, from aggression to separation anxiety, from stealing food to destroying the home, in the last two decades I may not have seen absolutely every possible dog behavior problem, but I would be very surprised if I haven’t (I once saw a dog fake having a broken leg to get attention). For over 20 years now, I have been travellin

Happy New Year! I hope that the festive season has been kind to you and yours. I know from long experience that I will not be the only one using the idea of new resolutions to once more take control of my diet. The problem with all that food is that it is soooooooo good! I am always impressed with my body’s ability to gorge food as if it is going out of style – a trait that we all retain (along with the stored calories) as part of our instinctive make-up to survive. Give me a

Last week I received a message from a friend of mine who works in dog rescue. Her husband had been out walking their Golden Retrievers in a local off-leash park when they met a couple with a clearly over-excited Boxer. This couple let their dog off, whereupon it ran straight towards the Goldies and started attacking one of them. My friend’s husband received a mouthful of abuse from the owners of the Boxer as he tried to get the attacker off his dog. They also told him that th

Meet Gypsy, a stray dog who had been brought into the local vet surgery with serious injuries after being hit by a train in Victoria, Australia. She had been rescued by railway workers, whose responsibility is to patrol the track, removing any items of debris that could cause an accident (including dead animals). They found a tiny, fragile dog lying by the track in a terrible state. When they went to throw what they thought was a dead dog into the container, she moved. They i

I once met a couple in Canberra, Australia who were being bitten on a regular basis at home by their dog. They decided that the offending pooch needed training, so they started attending obedience classes. Their dog became the star pupil, winning all the prizes at competitions for his impressive repertoire. The wife became so good at the obedience skills too that she became an obedience instructor – excellent… They were still both getting bitten on a regular basis at home tho

In this current era of #metoo with the likes of Harvey and Donald setting a really bad example, maybe this is not the time for me to write an article questioning the effectiveness of castration. Speaking as a male, I admit that I also have a soft spot (well, two really) for my own “equipment; men will wince in empathy should they hear a story about some poor chap whose “poor chap” was involved in some kind of painful accident. That said, it is as a dog trainer (and not as a m

The head of the pack, the Alpha Dog, what are your thoughts on Good Leadership? Are we to believe that Force and Physical Dominance is the only way to go or should we Lead and Rule by good example and gain Trust and Respect with our Canines? Tony Knight the Dog Listener explains the age old argument “for and against” and helps us better understand the relationship between the Dog and his Master... Read the full article here. #LeaderofthePack #TonyKnightDogWhisperer #Hierarchy