By Maggi Forootan One of the most important components of my system of dog training is the injection of a fairly heavy dose of structure into the lives of dogs and their humans who are struggling. Structure for a dog is a lot like the kind of structure you would provide for a small […]

By Maggi Forootan Adding duration to the Place and Down commands is one of the most important components of my system of dog training. This by far is where I see the most dramatic shifts in dog behavior. The tricky part in understanding this is that it doesn’t look like anything ground breaking is going […]

    By Maggi Forootan One of the saddest situations that I have to deal with as a dog trainer is getting the call from freaked out parents reaching out for help because their own dog has bitten their child. They are frustrated, frightened, and even angry. When a child is seriously injured by the […]

By Maggi Forootan – Lead and Love K9 In a dog’s world space is not some otherworldly dimension…it’s a language. Space. Their space, our space…and how our actions affect space matter greatly to them. How close, how far. How fast or slowly we move in space. What angle and what kind of stance we take […]

By Maggi Forootan  so·cial·i·za·tion /ˌsoʊʃələˈzeɪʃən/ Show Spelled [soh-shuh-luh–zey-shuhn] Show IPA noun 1. a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position.   “YOU HAVE TO SOCIALIZE YOUR DOG!” I hear from dog owners all the time about how […]