Have you ever seen someone at the side of the road with a sign "Will work for food"? Well, dogs do, too! Dogs only do so much "volunteering." Many dogs love to "volunteer" a great deal but most dogs want to get "paid"! I align food with "Dog Money" (D$) Dogs, as do all living things, need food to survive. As such, food can be a wonderful motivator. Think on it... haven't you ever been "rewarded" with a dinner out for a good deed or special effort by friends, family or a co-worker? Another thing to think of: in your dayjob, what would you say if your boss came to you one day and told you "you've learned this task well, now it's time to stop paying you." EEK! So therefore it is a happy hound that gets "paid" for things it does all along. Once your dog gets the idea that working for D$ is beneficial, then you can change "currencies" ... D$ become D-GBP (British Pound) for example... an ear scritch! ... or a DYen ... a toss of a tennis ball, or the DEuro ... be let outside to chase squirrels. I'm certain you can find plenty of DCurrencies your dog will work for!

Well, this is a "context specific" problem. If you dog begs at the table, then the dog has been rewarded in the past for begging at the table! Maybe only with attention given to your dog, but attention is often a huge motivator. I give you a challenge: take your dog to a park bench a couple of times a week and feed your dog its *dog food* meals there. Do NOT eat "people food" at that location. Now, a couple of days later, go to that park bench and eat a sandwich. Is the dog "begging"? Ah-Ha! The dog has learned "parkbench + food = I need to pay attention to this human." You have one clever canine pal, my friend!

Well, as long as you feed your dog, which I assume you plan to do for the rest of your dog's life, then you can use those meals as training and reward opportunities. Then, you can use other DCurrencies (see Q "Why should I use food?") to reward your dog for good behavior. Ironically, in 11 years of teaching dogs and instructing people I have NEVER heard the question: "when can I stop punishing my dog?" Hmmm... food for thought...

Certified Pet Dog Trainer. Please check out www.CCPDT.com for more information. I was one of the first 136 to take the CPDT test in September 2001 in Ellenville, NY. I do not know how many passed the test on that day, but I do know I passed with flying colors :-) Since then I have recertifed in 2004, 2007, and will be recertifiying in 2010, as well as every three years thereafter.

Dear New Puppy Owner: thank you for this excellent inquiry! I would like to have Stephanie, mom of Isaac, Allie and Kimber, answer this question for you: "I've said this before but I feel like we learn so much more than you describe. Part of it, I think, is that people don't understand what things such as 'Bite Inhibition' and 'Name Recognition' really are, or how important they are. I didn't know what Bite Inhibition meant before class. When people think of 'socializing' they think it is just a time for puppies to see or play with other dogs. They don't understand that without proper and abundant socialisation puppies turn into big fearful scaredy-cats! In your Puppy Class, you are teaching the puppy to learn, and that learning is fun. You DO teach obedience things such as sit and down with the luring, come and loose leash walking. The puppies even learn a trick or two! You get the puppies to walk through tunnels etc. We learn so much more in your classes. I was SO glad I came to Puppy Class. The Puppy Class was by far the most helpful simply because it got us started on the right track. After that class, everything else just falls into place, and the dog learns with ease."

GREAT question! A great number of local Veterinarians will have received my mailing regarding Dr. (DVM) R. K. Anderson's Letter named 'Puppy Vaccination and Socialization Should Go Together.' (See Downloads) The importance of socialization is much greater than the possible risk of a dog becoming ill from exposure to disease. A dog is at a greater risk of dying through euthanasia due to behavioral issues than of getting sick through participation in a class. I'd like fellow APDT member, companion professional canine colleague, and Veterinarian Louisa answer this question: "I encourage owners to take their pups with them almost everywhere. The only exception would be if the pup was ill or if it were a place where a lot of unvaccinated dogs hung out or if there were a distemper or parvo outbreak. Pups need to get out not only for their psychological growth, but [also] for the strengthening of their immune systems. Pups need low level exposures to trigger their immune systems. This is also for dieases that we don't vaccinate for, as well as Parvo and Distemper." Louisa Beal DVM, Veterinary Behavior Consultations, WA

Jumping is the canid way to say HELLO! Just as you surely wouldn't slap a person's face when they reach out to shake your hand as a greeting, it would be extremely rude of you to punish your dog for jumping up on you. Jumping is generally a friendy, appeasing behavior. As you have several dogs, I suggest you use peer pressure to help curb you dog's enthusiastic jumping response. ...I would like to have Wendy, dogmom of Shadow and Rascal, answer this question! "I have to share a Rascal story. You told me how peer pressure could work and boy, did it, with Rascal. My sister sent me some ham and turkey leftovers from the holidays, and my dogs were in dog heaven. Rascal started jumping up on me while I was dishing out the treats to the other dogs who were sitting. It did not take him long at all to realise he would not get any meat until he sat, too. He jumped and then his paws froze to the floor and he would not move until he got his treat. You could see him figuring out what he needed to do ... Thanks for all of your help."