Being a professional dog trainer who encourages getting out and having fun with your dog as the best way to a well trained dog, dog beach is on the radar often.  When the story broke this morning on NBCSanDiego.com about Golden Local:  Best Dog Beach, I just had to chime in.

Their survey asks you to vote which San Diego Dog Beach is better… Coronado or Ocean Beach?  Well, San Diego dog friendly orientated as I am, the elephant in the room is what about Del Mar Dog Beach?

Go ahead, give us your on both websites (and feel free to leave a comment about your dog beach)…. but lets be fair to San Diego County and the many options to take dogs off leash, have some fun, get some exercise and find the balance in life.  Which dog beach do you like best?

San Diego Dog Training Camps & Private Coaching

Canine Cross Training:  5K Training w/ K9

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Godiva, a 10 month old Pocket Beagle, is one of the most adaptable dogs I know. One of the biggest keys to a well balanced dog is getting clear direction in combination with exposure to as many people, dogs, places, and things as possible.

Godiva has a serious head start compared to most puppies her age. She came to her San Diego Dog Training Camp this time to move her along in her quest to be an excellent therapy dog and she proved to be one of the best candidates ever to sign up.

She traveled to That’s My Dog located in Wisconsin to assist me with our Advanced Professional Dog Trainers Business & Personal Development Course as well as E Palooza in it’s 5th year hosting professionals bringing fresh ideas to professional dog trainers.

Godiva traveled by plane with me and managed to get even the TSA crew to smile. She was my teaching assistant and sat on her “park it” spot or dog bed while I presented. She was introduced to agility, met the neighborhood cows, went downtown and walked in the distraction of lots of people, dogs and activities. She learned to “stay” in the distraction of about anything and even mastered a few tricks like “give 5” and “play dead”. She’ll rival that dog on the Letterman Show any day of the week!

Sit, stay, a strong recall, and walking nicely on a leash allows a dog like Godiva to go and do just about anything a dog or her family can imagine. She’s ready to go back to her family, soccer games, rides in the car, and much more as well as being the entire family’s best friend.

Godiva went home today from dog training camp after returning to San Diego from our trip to Wisconsin. I miss her terribly. She’s become my little protege and has gone so many places with me its odd not to have her around. Yet, I know back at home with 4 kids and two parents with a very active lifestyle, she’s fallen right into stride and has a fabulous life.

Good girl Godiva… and I look forward to updates of her great life.

For more dog fun dog photos, tips and tricks, and dog news follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog

And for your own dog’s exclusive dog training camp, private training lessons, or online programs contact us at www.SitK9Sit.com

San Diego Dog & Puppy Training

This last week has brought warmer weather than normal for San Diego County and for those that live here its a bit unusual. That goes for the dogs as well. Though most dogs are acclimated to a warmer climate, the lack of breeze and warmer weather can effect a dog much more than humans due to the fact that their cooling system works much different than ours.

Heat stroke can strike without you realizing it as lack of hydration and high temperatures with no breeze can effect a dog rapidly. The symptoms and what do about about heat stroke are described in detail in this article: Heat Stroke Prevention for Dogs

Heat stroke and other dog emergencies require medical attention immediately. A list of emergency veterinary care in North County San Diego can be found in this article: Dogs 101: Where to Take Your Dog in North San Diego for an Emergency

Don’t be afraid to get out and have some fun in the warm weather. The beaches offer a great place to cool down and have some fun. Going for a walk or run is a great idea too, just remember to keep your dog hydrated and be smart about the time you are out and acclimating to the activity or event you and your dog are planning on doing. For more information on how to make sure your dog is getting enough water check out this article: Hydration and dogs: 7 Ways to Keep Your Dog Drinking Enough Water

For more dog training tips, cool dog photos and the latest dog news follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog

For San Diego dog and puppy training camps or private dog training lessons contact us at www.SitK9Sit.com and for online dog training programs check out www.GoTrainYourDog.com

San Diego Puppy Potty Training

This is the case with Charlie, a 9 month old female Peekapoo who was purchased from a pet store at 6 months old. She had been returned once most likely due to the first owners not being able to get a grasp on something like house breaking or potty training. Sad really, since she is the sweetest happy little puppy who just needs some training to bring her best behavior out.

Charlie’s new owners decided it best to get her into a dog training camp so they could ensure potty training success for their new puppy. Choosing K9 Coach San Diego & Temecula came down to the fact that she would be trained in a home situation with one or two other training partners. The difference; full time attention and the commitment to success.

The challenge for a dog like Charlie is she lived in a small area indoors all the time. She learned to go potty where she lived. Changing that picture takes some serious supervision. Most dog owners don’t understand how dogs think and learn and training a puppy like this who sees going inside as the only real option need to understand that re-training will mean showing your dog where to go outside.

Indoor potty pads have become a new craze with small dog owners. Dog trainers for the most part cringe as it makes it very difficult for a puppy to understand why they shouldn’t be picking there restroom to be inside the house.

The key to potty training is supervision, supervision, and more supervision. If you do have a puppy or dog purchased at a pet store or who has spent a lot of time in rescue at a kennel, plan on finding the perfect outdoor potty spot and training your dog to go to that.

K9 Coach offers exclusive dog training camps in San Diego & Temecula, as well as private lessons and online training programs for those who want to train their dog at home.

Follow us on Twitter for more dog and puppy training tips, cool dog photos, and breaking dog news. www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog

Restaurants are among many of the dog friendly places in San Diego. A key to great dog training is to expose your dog to many as new places as you can. If going out to eat is one of those things you like to do with either family or friends, the opportunity to bring the dog is prevalent here in San Diego.

Check out this link for a few new restaurants you and your dog are welcome to frequent.

San Diego Dog Friendly Restaurants

Look for more dog friendly lists as the summer progresses from K9 Coach providing Dog Training Boot Camps, Private Dog Training Lessons, and Online Dog Training Programs in San Diego and Temecula, CA.

Follow us on Twitter for dog training tips, cool dog photos, and the latest dog news at www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog

A health trend is becoming more of a focus as the number of Americans who are obese has increased by 2% in the last two years. This is a good thing as action is required to changed those statistics.

There are more Americans who now have come to believe they are overweight and now with the current economic state have realized the importance of losing weight and getting back into shape. The simple need to stay healthy, cut costs, and be able to maintain current homes and work positions is abundant.

Those Americans statistics also say that up to 70% also own a dog. And guess what? Yep, the dog is most likely a bit overweight as well. The good news about that is if you find yourself feeling like it’s time to take off a few extra pounds and you do own a dog, you have yourself the perfect training partner.

There is no magic bullet in losing weight and getting more fit other than cutting calories and increasing your exercise. Make sure the calories you eat are healthy, meaning not full of fat or a large percentage consisting of carbohydrates. One rule of thumb that makes it simple for people to gage is to not eat more food than the size of your fist at any one sitting.

This is true of dogs as well. Free feeding is out. That means filling the dog bowl up with food and letting your cutest best friend eat whenever and however much food anytime during the day is not a good way to promote a healthy lifestyle for your dog.

Many dog food companies are recommending too much food right on the bag. There are many reasons for this, (information for a future article), but for simplicity lets just say it goes along with many downfalls of our health care system. Providing recommendations for health isn’t the underlying agenda; providing recommendation to keep you at the doctor or vet have become the industry standard. If you’d like to look at some good food options for your dog check out Life’s Abundance for ingredients and recommendations. Again, great information for another story….

Here are few things you can do today to develop some great new behaviors to start on the road to weight loss and fitness for you and your dog:

•At meals eat the only the amount of food that would equal the size of your fist
•Give your dog measured amounts of food twice a day; do not free feed.
•Start walking with your dog at least 20 minutes a day* (we plan to build this over time… keep following our blog!)

*If you have not been exercising please make sure to get a physical to know what kind of health you are starting with, be safe, and know where you want to go with your health care needs.

Get out and get your health and happiness back with your dog!

For more fun photos, dog training & health tips, & cool dog news follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog and for more stories and online training events follow us on K9 Coach Facebook.

And as always, for private dog training and coaching contact us at K9 Coach.

This is a post that was done by one of my colleagues on Facebook this morning. She gave me permission to re-post this to my blog. It’s very important for dog owners to know that just because its sold in the big pet stores doesn’t mean it’s safe! Thanks to Tracey Lamerbert and if you need a good dog walker in the San Diego area contact her!

I thought i would share this with any of my friends that own a dog and use the very popular retractable leash.

This morning as i was out making my rounds. I was heading up Alga and saw a client walking her dog. Happy bear a very friendly,energetic cocker spaniel knows my truck well and loves me lots

He heard me coming up the hill with 7 other cars and all of the sudden darted out onto Alga. My heart jumped! We were all traveling about 50mph…He came within inches of a on coming car. His owner in a panic had a hard time controlling him with the retractable lead and like most of them,when the dogs darts doesn’t lock correctly. Now she will not be using the retrractable lead on busy streets.

Here is a little more information on the dangers of theses leashes:

A veterinary rant on the plague of retractable leashes in our midst

A plague of retractable leashes is upon us! Though that statement comes perhaps ten years too late, I’m happy to offer you my take on this important subject here and now.

Call me a hater, but I HATE retractable leashes. Here’s why:

I’ve never found one that didn’t click and stick or unspool suddenly at the exact wrong time (like when a stray cat crosses your path and an oncoming car has to slam on the brakes to spare your dog’s life). Sticky situations like this serve to illustrate how the “canine lunge line” can serve to thoroughly foul up your control over the animal.

Last weekend, my aunt’s dog was on a placid walk up in northern Florida when another dog came bounding suddenly from the end of a twenty-foot super-Retracto. Dog-fearful Trixie did what any other encroached-upon dog might under the circumstances. She bit the dog.

My aunt, being the responsible dog owner she is, offered to pay for the care of the bitten dog and called immediately to determine what measures she might take to prevent similar incidents in the future.

My take? It’s the other owners fault. And not just because lovable Trixie spent six months as one of my foster dogs before finding a home with my aunt. If my aunt truly had control over Trixie and the bitee’s owner didn’t have control ever her extendo-apparatus, then, well, it seems pretty clear, right?

The same situation plays out in our waiting room on a regular basis. Owners with ill-behaved or over-stimulated and stressed dogs often lose control of their charges. No degree of thumb clicking and hand over hand reeling-in will suffice when the thin line is already wrapped thrice around an elderly woman’s ankles.

Retractable leashes do have their places. But heavy dog interaction zones are not among them. Pet owners thinking about using this kind of leash as their tried-and-true standard would do well to consider the vet’s point of view: They’re a liability.

For more dog training tips & tricks, cool dog photos, & dog news follow K9 Coach San Diego Dog Training on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog

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It’s Mother’s Day weekend. Many husbands and kids are out shopping like crazy trying to find something Mom might like for Mother’s Day….. here’s an idea to add to what you have gotten her already, or if you haven’t come up with the perfect gift take this idea and build on it.

Mom’s take care of so much every day, and most likely if you are a family who has a dog, this includes all the dog things too. Since dogs have no transportation, only paws, a wag, and a bark to work with, it’s a little tough to really get anything special for Mom. So…. help Mom out with the dog. If Mom feeds the dog, picks up the poop, and does the walk thing… take the slack up for her as a Mother’s Day present from the dog.

Do all the feeding, clean up, and even go out for a walk with the entire family. Just be in charge of the dog walk. Leash on dog, bags for poop and ready to take charge of the getting the dog to walk with you.

Mom’s love time that’s dedicated to them… they dedicate so much to every one else. So have a great day and give a gift to Mom from the dog too!

For more tips and training tricks follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog

For live online web dog training events follow us on K9 Coach Facebook and if your dog needs a little help from us in private lessons or a dog training camp contact us. We are located in San Diego & Temecula and train small dogs, big dogs… and dogs that fall in the middle of all of that!

With all the media on swine flu these days things that we never even thought of tend to pop into our heads… and it does start effecting all those things that are near and dear to us in our lives. As a professional dog trainer I get dog specific questions every day. Lately I’ve been getting questions about swine flu and dogs.

Here is the good news. According to a professor at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, located at the University of California, Davis, Sharon Hietala said that the H1N1 influenza virus “has never been shown to transmit to dogs and cats.”

An expert in clinical immunology and diagnostic techniques for infectious disease in animals, Hietala added that at this point there is no need to be concerned about your dog or cat becoming sick from swine flu, but that they should take all precautions for themselves as humans including washing hands, avoiding contact with your face and eyes, and certainly being aware of staying out of public places should your develop any symptoms to help stop the spread of swine flu to others.

Health concerns of influenza transmission is from human to human, not from human to dog or cat or vise versa.

So in these times of “pandemic” don’t be afraid to get out and get some fresh air with your dog. Healthy exercise for you and your dog builds a better immune system and allows you to maintain health and wellness for your family.

For more dog tips and training, cool dog photos, and dog news follow K9 Coach on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog

For online dog training events you can join become a fan of K9 Coach on Facebook.

And of course for private lessons and dog training camp in the San Diego and Temecula areas contact us for more information about your specific dog and puppy training needs.

Well there you go. The truth about puppies. Crazy. Michelle Obama asked about the new White House dog and she described him as “crazy”. Hearing that both Michelle and President Obama jumped up late at night when they heard the puppy making ruckus to see what it was all about was cool in the fact that they are the same as everybody else.

And, yes, the puppy is just like any other puppy. Sort of like having a baby. Sleep, play, eat, go potty, sleep, play, go potty, sleep, play, eat, go potty.. and it doesn’t exactly go on a normal 24 hour schedule. It’s more on a every few hours schedule.

The key to puppy training… supervision. Number one mistake people make is thinking the puppy knows something clearly because they do it a couple of times right. It really takes repetition. So for those of you potty training, a few times of going in the right place is awesome… however, it doesn’t mean the job is done. Get yourself on a schedule to take your puppy out and don’t let them run loose in the house without supervision for literally hundreds of correct repetitions.

It may seem like a big job in the beginning, but the pay off of having well potty trained puppies gives years of joy.

For more dog training tips & tricks, cool dog photos, and dog news follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog

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