If you haven’t seen this, you should.  Some pretty amazing training!

Actually, this dog looks a lot like Callie Golden Retriever.  Here she is, doing a soccer “noser.”

When you are obedience training your dog, it should be a positive and enjoyable experience for both of you. The same must apply to crate training.

There are some basic guidelines that apply to crate training your dog.

1. Never get cross at your dog, or yell at him when you are teaching him to go into his crate. While you may get frustrated at times, getting angry will just make him fearful of you, and fearful of the crate.

2. Make the crate as appealing as possible, with a soft bed and some safe chew toys. If your dog likes to chew, then you may need to remove the bed for his own safety. Don’t forget to always have a bowl of fresh water in the crate; the easiest way to do this is to attach a metal bowl to the side of the crate. The crate should be large enough to let your dog lie stretched out as well as stand up and turn around.

3. Encourage your dog into the crate with a treat, and reward him when he goes inside. Repeat this several times until he is happily trotting into the crate for his treat. You can then start to shut the door for a second or two, open it and reward your dog. Over time, increase the time you close the door, but always open the door before your dog becomes distressed.

4. When you first start to leave your dog locked in his crate, give him a toy to keep him occupied. A stuffed Kong is ideal; he will spend an hour or two trying to get to the treats inside, and won’t be too upset by being confined.

5. Don’t leave your dog in his crate for too long, particularly if you are toilet training him. The maximum recommended time in hours is their age in months, plus one. So, if your dog is 4 months old, you should let them out after a maximum of 5 hours. Even if your dog is an adult, he shouldn’t be confined for more than about 5 hours. This may mean you need to enlist the help of friends and family to tend to your dog if you are at work during the day.

6. Choose your crate’s location carefully. The ideal spot is where your family usually gather, either the lounge room or family room is ideal. This will allow your dog to still feel like a part of the family while he is confined in his crate. If you are concerned about the space the crate will take up, consider dog crate furniture. as this provides a stylish alternative to the wire and plastic crates typically used.

7. Keep the crate clean. Spilled food can spoil, and smell bad. If your dog has a toileting accident in his crate, it needs to be cleaned up with a non-ammonia based cleaner to prevent him repeating that behavior. Wash his bedding regularly to prevent fleas breeding in it.

8. If your dog has any problem with his crate training at any time, take a break. Then go back to the beginning and repeat the basic steps. He will re-learn quickly and if you stay positive, he will be back on track again very quickly. Never force the issue if he is anxious, it will only make things worse.

Life with your dog will be easier when he is crate trained, so add a crate to your shopping list next time you are going to the pet store.

Kathy Sdao, animal trainer and faculty member for the “Clicker Expos,” discusses her approach to dog training on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show.

Kathy is an associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist based in Tacoma, Washington and has spent the past two decades as a full-time professional trainer for dogs and other animals.

Pam Johnson, dog trainer and founder of “Pam’s Dog Academy,” in San Diego, talks about “Positive Reinforcement Dog Training,” on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show.  Pam discusses other dog training techniques, too, and she teaches you how to teach your dog to “crawl.”  Listen and improve your dog bonding skills!

Tune in next week, 8-9 p.m. in Phoenix and Pacific Daylight Time on KFNX (Phoenix), or listen to the live streaming audio on www.1100kfnx.com.  Our guest will be Sande Donahue, author of “JoJo, a Dog’s Tales.”

Saturday morning, a week ago, I was getting ready to go watch the Northern Trust golf tournament, which was being held at Riviera Country Club, near Los Angeles. I took Callie out for a short walk. My plan was to walk down the left “wing” of the driveway and walk to Callie’s favorite street corner.

But as soon as we left the house, Callie pulled me toward the right “wing” of the driveway. It was one of those “what is my dog telling me?” moments. I’ve learned that, when Callie does slightly unexpected things like that,  there’s usually a reason — a “doggie method” to her “doggie madness.”

So I was happy to let Callie lead the way, and we went toward the right wing of the driveway. Then, I realized what Callie was doing. Barbara often takes Callie out that door in the morning, and the first thing they do is to pick up the morning paper. Sure enough, there was the morning paper, lying on the right side of the driveway. Callie knew exactly what she was doing. I just had to be smart enough to figure it out — as is often the case with doggie communication. Dogs use ail the tools at their disposal in order to communicate — including which direction they are looking, which direction they are walking, and — sometimes — which direction they are tugging on their leash.

Try figuring out what your dog is telling you. You will get better at understanding dog behavior, and your dog bond will get stronger.

Having problems with your dog?  Even minor ones?  Get help from a Pet Dog Trainer.  This is the message of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, who are celebrating the month of January, as National Train Your Dog Month.  Listen to Michelle Douglas, President of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, as she explains the benefits of training your dog — on the “My Doggie Says…” Radio Talk Show.

The “My Doggie Says…” show helps listeners gain a deeper appreciation for “Man’s Best Friend.” The show is broadcast live from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights, on KFNX 1100, Phoenix. It is streamed live on www.1100kfnx.com. Host Fred Haney interviews dog whisperers, dog trainers, authors of dog books, and experts on all aspects of dogs and dog behavior and dog nature. The show is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Go to the iTunes store, click on “Podcast,” and search for “My Doggie Says…”

Check out the dog-relationship books written by all of the authors who have appeared on the “My Doggie Says…” show.

Also, remember to take our on-line poll:  “How does your dog show affection for you?”

Maryna Ozuna has some great stories to tell about successes with “Canine Kinaesthetics” — as well as some very interesting basic concepts.  Here’s the podcast of her interview on the “My Doggie Says…” on January 6, 2010.  Some very useful concepts in understanding dog behavior and in dog training.

For more information about “Canine Kinaesthetics,” click on this link.

You have until Friday night, January 15, to win a free MARS Wisdom Panel Mixed DNA test kit valued at about $80.  See the details here.

Barbara The Marathon Runner got some new running socks for Christmas, and she put them in a tidy little pile with some other presents.  And then, magically, they disappeared.

Well, we’ve learned where to look when socks disappear — in Callie’s crate!  Sure enough, that’s exactly where they were.

I love Callie’s attitude about her crate.  She’s the first dog I’ve crate-trained, so I wasn’t sure what to expect after we met the basic goal of house-training her.  That accomplished, Callie uses her crate a lot — voluntarily.  Most of the time, the door is open, so she’s free to come and go.  Sometimes, she’s fed in her crate, but not always.  Her water dish, always full of fresh water, is in her crate.  Frequently, she sleeps in her crate for part of the night, but not always; it’s her choice.

Maybe more important, many of her toys “live” in the crate.  Callie doesn’t always put them there; sometimes we do.  But many times during a day, Callie walks into her crate, selects a toy, and carries it in her mouth to another part of the house.  It’s fun to try to figure out why she chooses a particular toy.  In the case of “Stinky,” her stuffed doggie security object, it’s obvious.  She retrieves Stinky every night before bedtime, so she can suck on it and “wind down.”

So maybe it’s not surprising that, when Callie finds a wayward pair of socks, they end up in her crate.  I think it’s cool that she feels some sense of ownership toward her crate.  She probably thinks “a dog’s crate  is its castle,” so that it should be off-limits to humans.  And we generally respect that, except when it comes to missing running socks.

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.  You are his life, his love,  his leader.  He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.  You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”    Anonymous quote, from “51 Puppy Tricks,” by Kyra Sundance.

You will want to hear Kyra Sundance tell how to train your puppy!  Learn Kyra’s specific techniques and how to teach your puppy the “Ring a Bell to go Outside” trick.

“Dogbonding” is a process of building a close relationship with your dog.

If you would like to have a closer relationship with your dog, you will want to remember some of the pointers in this article.

Much of dog training is about obedience – getting your dog to pee outside, not chew the furniture, come when called, etc. This kind of training is obviously important. You might save your dog’s life by getting it to “come” away from the path of a speeding car.

To achieve the full potential of your relationship with your dog, though, you need to get past obedience training and into activities where there is true interaction – give and take at your pet’s level.

Every day, Callie, my Golden Retriever, and I play soccer together. When Callie arrived at our house as an eight-week-old puppy, she squatted down behind an old soccer ball. She looked me in the eye as if to say, “OK, Fred, show me what you’ve got!” Since then, we have played soccer almost every day. My kicking has improved, and Callie has advanced from trapping the ball under her tummy to leaping in the air to do “nosers” – Callie’s version of a “header.” We interact in the same way that you would if you were practicing soccer with another person.

The essential ingredient of my soccer experience with Callie is that it was her idea – her invitation. And every day, it’s Callie who invites me — rather, “begs me” — to go outside and play soccer. She finds me in the house, makes eye contact, and turns to run outside. Then she stops and looks back to see if I am following her. If I am not cooperating, she lopes back to my side and starts again with the eye contact.

As a concession to “alpha” theory, I initiate the game by bringing the soccer ball out of its storage place, and I finish the game by putting the ball back where it belongs. But the game itself is an equal give-and-take between Callie and me.

This is where “dog-bonding” can come into conflict with some modern theories of dog training. Proponents of “all alpha all the time,” for example, put the emphasis on the owner being “top dog.” These people admonish dog owners “never to play tug-of-war with their pet.”

But tug-of-war can be a great give-and-take game to play with your dog – provided that (to make the “alpha” folks happy) it isn’t taken to the point that the dog’s behavior becomes aggressive. Next time your dog brings you a toy, or some other object, take it in your hand, but don’t wrench it away from your dog. See what it wants to do. And then try letting the dog decide the game. If it wants to play “give and take,” let it. If it wants to play “tug-of-war,” let it – without allowing your dog to become aggressive. You might find that your dog wants to play “let’s just both hold this for a while.” It seems to give them lots of satisfaction.

There is definitely a place for “alpha.” It’s just overdone sometimes. When Callie was a puppy and jumping up on our three and five-year-old granddaughters, we asked dog trainer Brian Lee for help. In two hours time, Brian worked magic with Callie, and part of the solution was not letting her sleep on our bed. This was subtle, but it seemed to reinforce some family hierarchy in Callie’s mind.

Some of my other favorite dog-bonding moments are:

• Callie’s daily “good morning” ritual. When she sees that I am awake, she walks to my side of the bed, drapes her nose on the edge of the bed, and “snorts” (literally) until I scratch her neck for a while. It’s a very special dog-bonding way to start the day.

• Our morning jog is always a shared adventure. Callie does a good job of “heeling,” but sometimes she asks politely if she can greet a friend – sometimes a favorite doggie friend, sometimes a favorite people friend.

• During the day, when I am working in my office, Callie is always close. Several times a day, she walks into my office, puts a paw on my knee, and asks for a little attention. Sometimes, she snorts, which is her way of getting my attention. Sometimes it’s a very short snort, but sometimes she continues to snort, as if she is trying to mimic human conversation. It’s very charming.

And it’s not just about dog-bonding with me. Callie has a great relationship with one of her favorite people friends, Jeff, a greens-keeper at the nearby golf club. Callie absolutely adores Jeff. Sometimes, Jeff endears himself to Callie by presenting her with a tennis ball, but Callie would love Jeff even if there were no tennis balls. If he can afford the time, Jeff gets out of his golf cart and gives Callie a nice scratch on her chest.

Ted Kerasote, author of “Merle’s Door,” and a guest on my talk show, suggests letting your dog “read the news” on your morning walk. He says, “I spend ten or fifteen minutes reading the news every morning; why not let Merle do the same thing?” By “reading the news” Ted means letting your dog have plenty of time to sniff around your neighborhood. That’s a dog’s way of knowing what’s been happening in its world. Try it; your dog will love you for it!

Another guest on the “My Doggie Says…” talk show, Kyra Sundance, has published several books about how to teach your dog tricks. Teaching your dog tricks is an excellent way to spend some quality time with your dog – and improve your relationship. You and your dog learn together, and your dog will appreciate the time you spend with it – and the attention it gets from you.

Invent your own forms of dogbonding. The important thing is to share experiences with your dog; to do things that it enjoys doing. It will be grateful to you for spending the time, and you will find your doggie relationship moving to a higher level.