I just got a bit of sad news.  Josie, an enthusiastic dog who was one of the stars of my instructional DVD set, is no longer with us.

Josie also happened to have been one of the dogs that I worked with before this website existed, and it was my desire to have a more permanent repository of “how to do” what we were doing in our lessons that led to the NaturalDogBlog.  I really enjoyed working with her and her family – as I recall she was all charged up and ready to go for our first lesson – in the middle of an icy winter!  We played an endless game of tug/fetchtug in over a foot of snow in the backyard, and everyone in her family got into the game despite freezing our fingertips off.

I think you also get a real sense of her joie-de-vivre in the DVDs too.  She was the perfect example of how a high-energy dog can be right there with you, in the pocket, with the full force of their emotion wrapped up in trying to guess what you’re going to do next.  I’ll definitely treasure the memories that I have of our time together – we had a lot of fun, to be sure.

My love to all of you and your pets – past, present, and future.  Josie, you are missed.

Feel like talking about it?  Head over to the NaturalDogBlog forum to discuss this article with the community.

In partnership with DailyOm.com, I’m thrilled to announce the release of my new course “How to Speak So Your Dog Will Listen.” This online course is geared towards strengthening the relationship that you and your dog share, and emphasizes how everything you do enhances (or potentially discourages) the connection between you and your dog. It’s a completely new twist on my approach to Natural Dog Training – with emphasis on relationship-building even as you push and tug with your dog.

Especially exciting for me is that this course contains my new “Inner Game of Dog Training.”  The Inner Game is a way to revolutionize your approach to training and playing with your dog, and it’s guaranteed to remove obstacles in your own psyche that might be getting in the way of your building the strongest possible relationship with your dog. The “Inner Game” will ultimately be available on its own as well, but here you’ll find it integrated as part of a whole connection-centric approach to what you do with your dog.

The lessons have both written and video content – along with exercises to complete – for a step-by-step approach to learning “How to Speak So Your Dog Will Listen.” Oh – and I almost forgot – you can pay WHAT YOU WANT for this course. Seriously. Just remember that I have a couple young kids to feed, ok? And my wife tells me we’re running low on chicken necks (just kidding Nola – those are yours).

For more information, and to purchase the course, please visit “How to Speak So Your Dog Will Listen” at DailyOM.com.  I’m looking forward to hearing what you think!

All my best – Neil