When teaching obedience, one of the most common questions I get is about the difference between an Implied Stay and a Taught Stay. Both are useful, but they work differently, and understanding them helps you choose what fits your dog and your lifestyle best. An Implied Stay is exactly what it sounds like. When you tell your dog to “Sit,” “Down,” or “Place,” the stay is built into the command. The dog learns that once they do the behavior, they should remain in that position u

A well-behaved dog is about more than just knowing commands like sit, down, place, stay, and recall. It’s about the relationship between you and your dog. Without trust and respect first, even the best-trained dog won’t listen when it really matters. That’s why I’m big on mastering the fundamentals inside the house before adding distractions or going outside. If the basics aren’t solid at home, expecting your dog to perform them at the park or around other dogs is like asking

Prong collars get a bad reputation, but a lot of that comes from misunderstanding how they’re supposed to be used. At Packline Canine, I recommend a prong collar in a few specific situations: When a dog is completely disconnected from the person on the other end of the leash When a dog is pulling so hard they’re choking or gagging themselves (flat collars and martingales aren’t enough in those cases and can actually damage the trachea) When the dog is simply too strong for th

If you’ve been told that e-collars are just “shock collars” that hurt your dog, I get why you might be hesitant. A lot of people are unintentionally misinformed about them. Here’s the truth from my perspective at Packline Canine Training: The e-collar is one of the best communication tools available because it’s the only tool that lets you effectively touch and communicate with your dog at a distance — completely hands-free and off-leash. I only use high-quality e-collars fr