As a handler, there are few things more frustrating in agility than an unreliable start line stay. As a dog agility instructor, there are few things more frustrating to me than a handler blaming their dog for a broken start line. Remember that your dog’s behavior is a reflection of your ability to teach and maintain criteria. [Read more...]

Does your dog experience loose stools after training class? While frustrating to deal with, the good news is with some prep work and support for your dog, you can reduce the likelihood it will happen again.  Just because your dog has a sensitive stomach does not mean training needs to come to a halt. With [Read more...]

Do you know what a behavior chain is? All agility competitors should understand this concept. If this is unfamiliar to you, this will change your understanding of how dogs learn. Let's get started! What is a behavior chain? A behavior chain is an event in which units of behavior occur in sequences and are linked [Read more...]

Dan and I are packing our bags and preparing for departure. Next week, we head to Perry, Georgia to compete against 1,300 dog and handler teams in the 2024 American Kennel Club National Agility Championship! I'm running Ska, my six-year-old English Springer Spaniel, and Dan is running Anthem, his nine-year-old Shetland Sheepdog. This is the [Read more...]

Here at Crossbones Dog Academy, I work with a lot of dogs that are relieving themselves in the house. Housebreaking seems to be one of those things that either goes smoothly or is really troublesome. A lot of it depends on how your dog was raised, both before and after you acquired him. Photo [Read more...]

At Crossbones, we have an unusual item on our group class "required equipment" list: an edible chew or enrichment toy. After many years of teaching group classes (Katherine started back in 2007!), we realized it's difficult for owners to manage their dogs and listen to the instructor at the same time. To set everyone up [Read more...]