Category Archives: Articles

Travel season has arrived, and many pet owners are preparing to take their furry friends on their next vacation. However, traveling with pets requires more than just letting Fido hop into the passenger seat. Keeping your pet safe while driving isn’t difficult; with proper supplies, your pet can stay safe while driving and enjoy the […]

When I first started training dogs 55yrs ago, it was considered a cardinal sin to use food as a reward. The most appropriate tool for motivating and positive reinforcement we were told, was verbal praise, in the form of an effective ‘good sound’. It was stressed to us by our instructors, both in the police, […]

05-ALPHAbetize-biting

As any ethologist or experienced dog trainer, will readily admit, that of all subjects relating to canine behaviour, aggression in dogs is the most difficult, not only to understand, but to correct. This is especially true in the case of relatively mature pooches, for as most experienced trainers know, a dog’s character is developed during […]

USE OF DOGS BY CITIZENS OR NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH ORGANISATIONS.   I have lost count of the times where people have approached me with a request for advice regarding the training or use dogs of volunteer residents to assist in the location and apprehension of suspicious individuals who run away when challenged by local citizen patrols. […]

THE DOG’S NOSE KNOWS YOU KNOW John Cox   The most amazing thing about a dog is not that it’s brain appears to be about the size of a peanut but that their noses, or perhaps more accurately, their Olfactory Mucous Membranes seem to be about the size of a coconut!  During the evolutionary process, […]

SCENT DISSENSION John Cox   Of little practical use to a dog owner or indeed a professional handler, the scent discrimination exercise continues to remain a compulsory exercise in the senior Obedience Test.  It is also the exercise which strikes fear into the hearts of all concerned.  Scent discrimination is an extremely strange choice for […]

PRETORIA SHEPHERD DOG CLUB IS A REGISTERED APPROVED KENNEL UNION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA ESTABLISMENT. COMPULSORY READING PRIOR TO JOINING. (You will have a test on contents). DOG CLUBS: vs OTHER OPTIONS: WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AND WHAT WE WILL EXPECT OF YOU.  What are the options if you want to train your dog?  Simply put, […]

DOG DISPLAYS John Cox Most Clubs are involved, at some time or another in dog displays, either on an In-House basis, for members, or for outside organisations.  A dog display is an ideal practical way to advertise a club’s existence and activities, but we must not forget, that there is such a thing as a […]

COMPETITION STRATEGY John Cox   This is a very controversial subject, so I hasten to add that what is said here, is merely what I, with my own particular temperament, have found to be most practical.   I don’t enjoy failing a test and I do enjoy qualifying. I love winning but don’t mind one […]