Kim Mayes

Have you ever described your dog as strong-willed, independent or let’s face it… just plain stubborn? Or maybe this is how your friends and neighbors characterize your pet? I can tell you that as a dog trainer, I hear this description of “stubborn” on a weekly basis, but I can honestly say that I have …

In dog training, there are many different types of tools that can be used to help make your goals more attainable, but in over 25 years of professionally training animals, I can think of no better tool in my toolbox than platform training. By using this simple idea of elevation, you can help not just …

Excessive jumping. No dog is immune to it. Whether you have a big dog or a small dog, it is one of the most common bad habits us trainers get asked to “fix”, one of the hardest habits to keep from being reinforced and in the end, the most important fact to remember about jumping …

In dog training, there are many ways to teach a new behavior. Luring, capturing, molding, mimicry and yes of course, shaping. So what is shaping? How does it benefit us in training and how do we apply it? Hopefully, I can answer some of those questions for you today so you can start teaching your …

If you have a dog that is plagued with stress due to fears and anxieties, you might feel like the process of training him or her in the beginning, seems like a daunting task. Their fears, just like us, hold them back from doing things that your neighbor’s or friend’s dogs seem to do without …

In the world of trick training, there are hundreds of tricks you can teach your dog and a wide variety of skills needed to perform those tricks. Some are flashy, like a performing animal in a circus, and others might require the development of a particular skill such as nosework, coordination or precision-based training, to …