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Big Wags Chicago Dog Training and Dog Walking

Big Wags Chicago Dog Training and Dog Walking

1 day 54 minutes ago

In today's installment of Dogs On Things, we have Tiko on a UPS truck.

Big Wags Chicago Dog Training and Dog Walking

Big Wags Chicago Dog Training and Dog Walking

4 days 19 hours ago

Chester loves his toys.

Big Wags Chicago Dog Training and Dog Walking

Big Wags Chicago Dog Training and Dog Walking

6 days 3 hours ago

The brindle baby on the left is Lucky and the scruff on the right is Pepper (the disembodied legs belong to their mom, Diane). I started working with these goofs

Big Wags Chicago Dog Training and Dog Walking

Big Wags Chicago Dog Training and Dog Walking

6 days 7 hours ago

To all the moms, stepmoms, foster moms, expectant moms, grandmoms, grieving moms and anyone else who identifies as a mom or takes on the role of one - have a

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Welcome to Big Wags Chicago!
#ForceFree/#PositiveReinforcement #DogTraining and #DogWalking
#Queer-owned🌈
Email bigwags@bigwagschicago.com for info!

In today's installment of Dogs On Things, we have

In today's installment of Dogs On Things, we have Tiko on a UPS truck.

#Havapoo #DogWalking #DogWalker #ChicagoDog #DogsOnThings

@chester_terrier loves his toys. #Terrier

@chester_terrier loves his toys.

#Terrier

To all the moms, stepmoms, foster moms, expectant

To all the moms, stepmoms, foster moms, expectant moms, grandmoms, grieving moms and anyone else who identifies as a mom or takes on the role of one - have a wonderful and happy Mothers Day!

#MothersDay #Mom

Hey all! I know this has been happening a lot late

Hey all! I know this has been happening a lot lately, but once again, the episode of Hound Opinions that was scheduled to be out tomorrow is going to be delayed.

Part of having an old dog is that medical things pop up with them pretty quick. And Chester had a medical issue over the weekend. He's doing better and hopefully I'm starting to get it under control. But I'm just exhausted and the podcast has been on the back burner.

Anyway, in two weeks, you'll get to hear the final episode of season 4. The pod will then take a break - an actual SCHEDULED break - for a bit before season 5 happens.

As always, thanks for being so understanding and for enjoying the podcast! Pic of my new student, Sammy, for tax.

#Podcast #DogPodcast #HoundOpinions

A couple from my Friday. 1. First up is my dude

A couple from my Friday.

1. First up is my dude Lincoln. He's just the best. I've been walking him since he was an itty-bitty potato who wouldn't walk down stairs.

2. Then we get to a ridiculous scruff named Sammy. She's my newest student. We started off working on something really important - coming when called. She was rockin' it and I know she'll be a pro soon.

#DogTraining #DogWalking #LabsOfInstagram #ChicagoDogs #DogWalker #DogTrainer #BlackLab

This is Luna (and her mom, Gaby). Luna is a bit le

This is Luna (and her mom, Gaby). Luna is a bit leash reactive and she's also just VERY easily distracted while outside. She LOVES exploring. She's also VERY strong and prone to pulling when on her leash. That's a tough combination and it can make walking her hard.

Y'all know I'm a HUGE advocate for letting dogs sniff and explore as much as they want. That said, we do occasionally need our pups to walk nicely on leash, which they need to be taught to do. But Luna's reactivity and near-constant desire to explore make that hard.

So what you're seeing here is an exercise I do with easily distracted #dogs. What I did was tell Gaby to start walking with Luna and then just occasionally change direction with no warning. No yanking or tugging on the leash. Just changing direction and getting Luna to follow. And of course, Gaby rewarded Luna for checking in and following her because, as I tell my dogs all the time, reinforcement drives behavior.

The idea is that by making the walk unpredictable - rather than your standard walk in a line/turn/walk in another line/turn/rinse/repeat walk pattern - it helps Luna learn to focus on Gaby. That's important because if she's focused on Gaby, she's not as focused on the world around her and there's less pulling.

And as you'll see, Luna absolutely CRUSHED this exercise. She's just laser focused on Gaby and we were in Humboldt Park. It's one of the biggest parks in #Chicago and there were a LOT of distractions out and about.

If you've got a dog that pulls or is distracted on walks, try breaking up the routine a bit. I bet you'll find it helps!

#DogTraining #DogBehavior #LeashWalking #ReactiveDog #HumboldtPark

I don't get nearly enough pics of Lincoln. He's th

I don't get nearly enough pics of Lincoln. He's the best.

#BlackLab #LabsOfInstagram

Rosie likes being tall. #DogWalking #ReactiveDog #

Rosie likes being tall.
#DogWalking #ReactiveDog #ChicagoDog

Chag Pesach Sameach to all those celebrating Passo

Chag Pesach Sameach to all those celebrating Passover. May your wine taste better than Manischewitz. May you find the afikoman. And much joy and happiness from my family to yours.

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