Keeping the Welfare of Your Best Friend at the Forefront of Dog Training
calm: [adjective] not showing or feeling nervousness, anger, or other strong emotions. Note that the dictionary definition of calm includes what a human or animal is feeling, not just the outward behaviors. Dogs are sentient beings, and research on brain activity and behavior shows clearly that they experience the same emotions that we do—they love, they fear, they seek enrichment and happiness. Knowing this, I was deeply disturbed by a video from a shock collar trainer, demonstrating how crate anxiety (and associated whining and pawing) can be “cured” with one of… Continued
Fear Is an Emotion, Not a Behavior
There’s an old saw in the dog world that just won’t go away: “Don’t pet or comfort your dog when she’s acting scared—you’re just reinforcing that behavior.” But fear is not a behavior to be reinforced – or punished. It’s an emotion, like excitement, affection, playfulness, and sadness. Behaviors and emotions are tied together in important ways, but they are not the same, and require different approaches when they become a problem for your pet. Behaviors are Learned – Emotions are Involuntary Take for example the fallacy that forcing a… Continued
Pets and Their People
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