So Much PETential

09/15/2025

Teaching your dog to settle and turn off from play or other stimulating activity, is an important lesson. When it comes to dog training and puppy training, think of this as a learned behavior just like you’d think about teaching your dog to sit or come.

There is a difference between teaching your dog to stay and teaching your dog to settle.

Often, teaching stay means you are teaching your dog to be in a position until you release your dog to go do some sort of valued activity. Maybe that is playing ball or doing agility.

When you are teaching your dog to settle or turn off, this is teaching your dog to relax.

ALL dogs can benefit from this lesson!

Often sport dogs especially want to go, go, go.
Dachsund Charlie is one example. He can be perpetual motion. Constantly looking for what he can get into, forage, sniff, tear apart – both outside AND inside.

Giving him ways to fulfill those biological needs is very important.

So too is teaching him how to be able to turn himself off.

Charlie’s guardians were frustrated. Now they are learning how to help him get BOTH needs met.

And getting needs met means more acceptable behaviors in a human world. It is a win-win!

09/11/2025

Can't wait! I am interviewing Simone Mueller this afternoon for my Lives Touched By Pets podcast. Simone is an international expert on dog predation. I have taken a course from her and she is fantastic! We are talking about walks with dogs that have 'high prey drive.' You'll get to hear it soon....

Send a message to learn more

09/10/2025

Aw, dear sweet girl! It is not uncommon for me to get photos like these from dog training clients after I leave. 🥰 Do not discount the fact that dog training games is absolutely fun, tiring mental exercise! (Note the word FUN - it is part of training)

09/03/2025

HI everyone! I have needed to take a few days from posting but will be back later this week. So this is among what I have been doing...today, spending some time with the star of Back to the Future on Broadway! He is here for his show's 2 week run with Broadway in Cincinnati - I can't wait to see him on the big state!

08/29/2025

A best friend doesn’t need words to communicate because a good friend practices understanding and supporting your needs without words.

These are among the lessons I teach in my kids’ classes on dogs. With the help of Certified Therapy Dog, Murphy, students learn how to be a safe, respectful and fun friend and teacher to their family dog.

I partner with my hometown of Wyoming Ohio to offer these free as a community service, as these are important lessons for young dog friends. (for kids ages 6 to 11)

If you live in Cincinnati, please consider registering your child.

My first fall class is September 3 at 6:30 pm at the Wyoming Civic Center. I limit space for these so everyone can participate. Pre-registration is REQUIRED at https://somuchpetential.com/kids-and-dogs/

08/28/2025

I have posted many photos and videos of dogs on or going to a ‘place’. Teaching go to place was an early behavior I taught my dog, Dawson, when he was a puppy. There are a lot of reasons why this dog training lesson is important. There are a lot of reasons why this dog training lesson is an important one.

Why teach it?

Being on a PLACE can be an alternative to naughty behaviors.
Being on a PLACE can support your dog in stressful situations.
Being on a PLACE can create safer situations.
Being on a PLACE can be a great tool for teaching the ability to wait.

In my blog post, I share more plus a video of Phoebe's guardian and best friend, Shelley, learning to teaching Poebe this behavior. https://rebrand.ly/go-to-place

08/26/2025

Happy National Dog Day! Who are you celebrating today?

08/16/2025

I love how this dog is included in family time in a way that allows everyone to feel comfortable. The little kids are focusing on reading time with their mom rather than the family dog. There is no climbing on the dog, running around, using loud voices, either the dog or the kids invading each other's spaces. There is no social pressure. Just time to BE.

Kids can be discomforting to a dog as they can be unpredictable, invade personal space, move quickly, make 'weird' sounds (from the dog's standpoint). That is why awake, active, adult supervision, management, and these kinds of moments are so important when it comes to sharing your life with a dog AND kids, and helping everyone to feel safe and comfortable.

08/14/2025

A best friend doesn’t need words to communicate because a good friend practices understanding and supporting your needs without words.

These are among the lessons I teach in my kids’ classes on dogs. With the help of Certified Therapy Dog, Murphy, students learn how to be a safe, respectful and fun friend and teacher to their family dog.

I partner with my hometown of Ohio to offer these free as a community service, as these are important lessons for young dog friends. (for kids ages 6 to 11)

If you live in Cincinnati, please consider registering your child.

My first fall class is September 3 at 6:30 pm at the Wyoming Civic Center. I limit space for these so everyone can participate. Pre-registration is REQUIRED at https://somuchpetential.com/kids-and-dogs/

08/13/2025

Oh Charlie, those eyes! Mr. perpetual Motion. Your enthusiasm for well, most things, is contagious!

08/12/2025

When it comes to training with positive reinforcement, an important element of this is the ‘reinforcement’.
In dog training (or training any other kind of animal), an assumption about what is or is not reinforcing to your dog is just that…an assumption.

So often, new clients have treats that ‘they’ think their dog loves…until their dog gets a sniff and taste of my treats.

I see many people praise their dog for good behavior by leaning and bending over to rub their dog on the head, and many dogs leaning or moving away when this happens.

A dog may find ball chasing high value after rest time but may not be interested after a long hike in the woods.

Always keep in mind, when it comes to reinforcers, ONLY your learner gets to decide what is or is not reinforcing. And the only way you will know is by observing the impact of that consequence on the rate of the behavior. If you see more of the behavior, it is being reinforced. Otherwise, it is not. And sometimes, what you intend to be a reinforcer can actually be a punisher if you see less of the behavior because of the consequence.

Remember that the value of any reinforcer can and often does change depending on a lot of factors – the environment, the animal’s health, the animal’s activity level, genetics, as examples.

Practice being observant of your dog. Your dog will tell you what he does or does not value, what is or is not within his abilities at the time, how he feels.

And practice using that knowledge to help you be a better, more inspiring kind of teacher.

Oh...and of course, have fun!

08/08/2025

Something to think about when it comes to dog training (or parrot training or training any other animals)…if you demand or beg for participation, it is not REALLY about cooperation. It is applying pressure, coercion, even force. You may notice more dog stress signals or avoidance. You probably will not see an eager willingness to stay in the training game. Let’s talk about that.

It is a common dog training problem.

Want to learn more? I wrote about it in one of my Indian Hill Living and Hyde Park Living (Ohio) columns.

Remember - An important foundation to training is teaching your pet that training is fun, listening to you is fun, working is fun. And it is totally worth the effort!

By Lisa Desatnik, CPDT-KA, FFCP, FDM, CPBC-Pet Behavior Columnist Something to think about when it comes to dog training (or parrot training or training any other animals)…if you demand or beg for …