What's the best dog related advice you've ever received?

LOL!

To clarify, I don't mean look at the dog specifically during specific exercises, but, look at the dog. Like, the dog decides what is reinforcing. LOOK at the dog. Don't see what you think the dog is doing or how you expect him to react, LOOK at him.

Maybe a better way of putting it is observe the dog? :rofl1:

Every time you interact with your dog, see it as an opportunity for training.

In my own words, since there's a consequence to every behavior, think about what consequence you want to provide. It actually becomes pretty nearly automatic.

Relax.

Stop over-thinking it.

Have fun.

Mostly in that order. I tend to get all wound up, anxious, trying to be superwoman and I forget all the basics and then it's just no fun for me or the dog. For a long time, I had to stop training sessions all together and just work with it during play time. Throw in a random sit for a tug or something, rather than trying to get all serious and overthink everything. Someone on here gave me that advice, actually.

Another one I think has already been mentioned: Leave it on a good note, even if it's something simple.

As far as dog advice in general....

Nutrition
Hydrogen Peroxide
Dyson

"Make your problem the dogs problem.", "Don't work to the dog" and "Lifes short - enjoy your dog."

"If you love her, let her be"

Basically what my dog's breeder told me when I got Eve as a puppy, and what she was really saying was that I shouldn't micro-manage my dog, but rather let her be and allow her to learn on her own, to learn to problem-solve and think for herself rather than just following me while I do all the thinking.

I couldn't be more grateful for that advice. Raising puppies is so much easier for me now that I have learned to "pick my battles". I lay down a few ground rules when the pup first arrives, things that I will always intervene if I catch the pup doing, but the rest of my pup's world will not be filled with "hey, no, no, what are you doing, puppy, puppy, hey, puppy, no, no no". Praise the positive, and pick your battles with the bad. The pup gets a chance to interact with their environment without any input from me, and it makes them wiser, I think.

Oh I remember another one. It came from the breeder of my Doberman. She said, "Let your puppy be a puppy." I thought that was a good one because sometimes we tend to get too serious and worried about training and want them to grow up too fast.