Last year I gave a talk to the children at my son’s childcare centre about dogs, titled Can I Pat That Dog. I divided the talk into three parts: 1) How to approach a dog; 2) How to look after a dog; 3) Dog training and tricks.
In addition to basic obedience commands, I like to demonstrate the power of play in my dog training classes. I don’t let the dogs run around and chase each other in mad circles. Instead, I demonstrate with my dog, Harry, how to motivate and reward your dog by playing one-on-one with it.
My Lab Harry is almost eleven and half-years-old. He’s never been a very energetic dog – as I’ve commented to my training classes, his heeling in dog obedience rings was like dragging around a reluctant sack of potatoes!
