Tag Archives: 101 Dog Training Tips

Dog book news

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Over the weekend, I finished reviewing the page proofs for 101 Dog Training Tips, which is coming out in June.

The book is substantially different from Outwitting Dogs, which I co-wrote with Terry Ryan, a professional trainer. Tips is shorter — 12,000 words — and includes 50 photos, most of which I took myself. Outwitting Dogs came in at around 90,000 words, if I remember correctly.

So I was a bit taken aback when I read my publisher’s description of the new book. They’ve made it sound like it’s a comprehensive training book. It’s not. It’s . . . tips. Sigh. Outwitting Dogs is a comprehensive training book. Tips, on the other hand, is something you’d pick up when you need just a quick idea, or to brush up on your training. It’s more like a checklist. A good checklist, mind you ;-)

It’s funny to feel uneasy and excited at the same time. I’ll be awfully happy when I am actually holding a bound copy in my hand. I remember the thrill when my copies of Outwitting Dogs got here, and somehow, I don’t think that thrill ever goes away.

Pet tricks: good and good for you

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Pat, at Doggiewoggie.com, found an article on Kentucky.com (reprint from Newsday) about teaching your dog or cat to do tricks.

If you’ve read up on dog training, you’ve probably heard the new adage “a tired dog is a good dog.” And it’s certainly true that if you find a way to burn off some of your dog’s energy, he’s less likely to get into serious mischief. (Especially with a puppy. Phew!)

But some trainers today argue that how you tire out a dog is also important. Prolonged, hard physical stimulation — such as a frenetic afternoon in a dog park — may actually raise levels of a dog’s stress hormones, with potentially negative consequences for his behavior and ability to learn (not to mention his health).

Instead, you should find activities that combine more gentle physical activity with engaging mental work — like teaching your dog to do tricks.

Teaching your dog tricks may have other benefits as well, such as helping her learn how to learn, and to look to you for reinforcement.

There are a number of books on teaching tricks. Although it’s a general dog training book, Outwitting Dogs, the book I co-wrote, has a section on tricks. Many trainers offer tricks classes. Here in Rochester, for instance, Cindy Harrison offers a great tricks class.

Which brings me to the last point about working on tricks. It’s fun! We can sometimes get overly serious with dog training, but with tricks, it’s easy to just chill out and enjoy our dogs. Hey, who knows, maybe we even become better trainers in the process ;-)

UPDATE: please also take a peek at my new book, 101 Dog Training Tips.

It’s fiction . . . it’s a memoir . . .

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No: it’s a Freymoir!

Even better: we’re now using cathartic television to help us recover from the trauma caused by . . . cathartic television. Oprah feels “duped.” Frey ‘splains it all was a “coping mechanism.”

Meanwhile, back in the real world, A Million Little Pieces languishes at #4 on Amazon.

No word on whether Amazon plans to re-tag the book as Literature and Fiction instead of Biographies and Memoirs. Or get rid of the now-embarrassingly-dated editorial reviews.

(Gawker live-blogged the show, if you’re interested in a minute-by-minute.)

Update: Also meanwhile, my dog training book is enjoying an Amazon ranking dip so deep it’s scraping barnacles off its belly. Maybe I should post about how naughty my dog is???? Secret’s out! I caught her gnawing a wooden block today! That is NOT a chew toy!

50 photos later . . .

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And I’m done, I’ve got everything together for the new book, 101 Dog Training Tips. Captions, even. Although Windows says my CD has only 48 objects. I guess I’ll have to re-check what I’ve done before I overnight everything to my editor on Tuesday.

I’m using the photo of my dog with her nose squashed up against the window. Most of the other photos I’m using are pretty utilitarian (luring a dog into a sit etc.) but there are a couple I like just as pics that I’ll post here sometime.

Now I’m kicking back, drinking a glass of wine (Chateau Lavagnac, mmmmmmm) doing a de-lurking surf, heh heh heh, finding some great blogs. You know who you are :-)

Update: Well, I take it all back. Now Windows has decided it can’t read my CD!!! :-(

Update 2: I composed a rant earlier tonight, then went back & deleted it after I’d cooled down, because I don’t really intend for my blog to be a space for tantrums. Sigh. But this hasn’t been pleasant. It’s now 1:20 am and I’m emailing my photos to myself so that I can burn a new CD, using my laptop instead of my desktop . . . what a pain.