Are You SURE Your Dog Prefers That Food Toy?
It just occurred to me that it is super easy to make assumptions about how much our dogs prefer a particular food toy, or even whether they really enjoy them that much. Don’t yell at me. To be clear: I use food toys for my dogs every single day. I think they can be enriching and that they are ethical things to use. But food toys present us with a funny little problem. The laws of behavior get in the way of something we might like to know. How can we tell… Continued
Santa Claus May Scare Dogs
People around the world enjoy the winter season and many nations celebrate a version of Saint Nicholas. In the United States I witnessed an increase in commercialization and marketing hype since I was a child and Christmas decorations now appear after Halloween in my locale. There is a lot of social pressure to “be happy” during the Christmas season. Personal and social expectations of “joy and happiness” rose substantially over the years and today pet owners may draw their dogs into the frenzy by dressing them in holiday attire or… Continued
An Open Letter to Pet Industry Representatives Regarding the Use of Shock in Animal Training, Management and Care: We now know enough to stop shocking our pets
Shocking pet dogs remains a common, if controversial, training practice worldwide. In this open letter, Pet Professional Guild (PPG) combines decades of research, the opinions of certified animal behaviorists, and the question of ethics to explain why using electric shock in the name of training and care is both ineffective and harmful. PPG concludes that shocking constitutes a form of abuse towards pets, and, given that there are highly effective, positive training alternatives, should no longer be a part of the current pet industry culture of accepted practices, tools or… Continued
Making Peace with Muzzles
I’ll give you the moral of this story first: Make peace with muzzles. Be OK with dogs who wear them, applaud owners who use them, and put one on your own dog if the situation warrants it. Now I’ll tell you the story. It’s about mistakes I made that led me to this moral. I hope it’ll bring you there, too. (And if you only read this far, at least check out The Muzzle Up! Project’s website.) Years ago I had a gentle, low-key mutt named Sachem. She was easygoing with… Continued
How to Teach Your Deaf (and Blind) Dog to Wake Up Gently
By Debbie Bauer There is a myth that deaf dogs can be “dangerous” because they will bite when they are startled or woken up. Could this ever happen? Yes, it could. But it could also happen with a dog that can hear just fine. Does it happen a lot? No. Most deaf dogs are no threat when startled. Can this scenario be prevented? Yes, definitely! You can teach your deaf dog to wake up easily and happily. By teaching this skill to your new dog, you can prevent this issue… Continued
Clicker Training for Cats (1/6)
By Paula Garber and Francine Miller Why train a cat? Why indeed. Myths about the trainability of cats abound: “Cats can’t be trained because they’re too independent.” “Cats are difficult to train because they are not food motivated.” “Cats don’t need training like dogs do.” These are all common misconceptions, but get ready to kick all the myths to the curb and add some useful cat training tools and techniques to your repertoire. Clicker Training Professional dog trainers will already know all about clicker training and many use the method… Continued
Why do food rewards win, but not for separation anxiety?
By Julie Naismith Rewards-based training is the best. Dogs love it because it’s fun and it doesn’t involve fear or pain. And best of all, it works. In fact, research shows that it works better than any other method. Hands down, the best tool for training is food. But, despite the fabulousness of food, it’s best left in the cupboard when we’re training a dog with separation anxiety. It’s not that we couldn’t use food for separation anxiety training, it’s just that we don’t need to. When it comes to… Continued
Rehomed Dogs – Expectations and Reality
Everyone knows that worldwide there are millions of dogs in the most awful predicament. The lucky ones are rescued, rehabilitated and await homes in shelters – so, why not be their saviour? Rehoming a dog is a richly rewarding experience for both parties, but there is a caveat – know what you are in for and be prepared. If you are not, this is to the detriment of the dog of course and you. Can you do this? Seriously, question this! The majority of people want to help and not… Continued
Dogs Are Better Partners to Humans Than to Other Dogs
The New York times recently published an article describing a study that compared dogs’ and wolves’ ability to perform cooperative tasks. The article, and the short accompanying video, are somewhat disdainful in their assessment of the dogs, who did not perform as well as the wolves on the task. The rope-pulling task used for the study is one at which other species, including elephants, chimps, and multiple bird species, have succeeded. Two test subjects must pull on ropes at the same time in order to bring a tray with food rewards… Continued
With Her Tail between Her Legs
Most of us know that a dog’s tail can be a fairly good indicator of mood. We can observe whether the tail carriage is low, medium, or high and whether it is loose or stiff. Whether and in what manner it is wagging. We can often draw some pretty good conclusions from those observations, keeping breed in mind. A dog wagging her tail loosely at a low angle is possibly friendly. A dog holding her tail upright, wagging it stiffly from side to side is one to watch out for. A… Continued
Being Your Dog’s Best Advocate
In 2012, my wife and I enrolled in a therapy dog training class which led to a Pet Partners evaluation process for therapy animal teams. I partnered with Buddha and my wife partnered with Gandhi. It was only by working closely together for our mutual benefit that we truly became teams and passed the evaluation. The instructor taught me two significant concepts I had never before considered. One was that I was my dog’s best advocate, and the other was the application of PETS. Although I had kept dogs in… Continued
An Open Letter to County Commissioners re: Consumer Transparency – the Methods Used in Animal Training, Care and Management Will Protect Pets, Their Owners, Local Residents and the Public at Large
By Susan Nilson and Niki Tudge Introduction: The Importance of Transparency between Clients and Service Providers Frieden (2013) states that: “Free and open information empowers people to make informed choices and reduces the likelihood that misinformation or hidden information will endanger health.” It is not unusual and, in many cases, is mandated, that providers and manufacturers of potentially dangerous services and products place warnings on said products, thus providing transparent details to the end user regarding any risk from use. Tobacco, alcohol, gardening equipment, power tools, and even some children’s toys… Continued
Why Become Credentialed?
Louise Stapleton-Frappell B.A. Hons. PCT-A. CAP3. CTDI. DN-FSG1. DN-CPCT2 – Wow that’s a lot of letters and I recently added some more: PCBC-A! (Professional Canine Behavior Consultant – Accredited) So why do I feel the need to continuously further my education in the field of force-free, rewards based, science based dog training? I am sure that many of you are already aware that the field of dog training is as yet an unregulated industry. Whether you live in the USA, the UK or elsewhere, you will probably be surrounded by people calling… Continued
Case Study: Introducing a New Dog to Resident Cats
I used clicker training to help introduce my newly adopted dog, Ness, to the four cats in my household. Ness was under-socialized and had no experience with cats prior to adoption. The cats had only occasional exposure to visiting dogs during family holidays. During those visits, I provided my cats with a safe retreat and positive distractions such as Kongs filled with salmon paste. At the start of the introductions, Ness was tethered to me at all times on a loose leash while I was home. Since Ness was near… Continued
Type-Delete-Reset. Manage your Social Media Activity. Your friendships, business and mental health deserve it!
by Niki Tudge I spend about an hour each day, broken down into short time periods, on social Media. Most of my postings are on Facebook and Twitter as I prefer these two platforms. Many of my business posts are done remotely through a social media software and are scheduled in advance. But, each AM, mid-day and PM, I do enjoy short sessions scrolling through my news feed, keeping up with friends replying to comments and responding to any tags. On any given day I cannot tell you how many… Continued
Partying or panicking? How to be a separation anxiety sleuth
By Julie Naismith Dogs like company. They like being with us. I heard Dr. John Bradshaw say in a radio interview this week that ”All dogs hate being left on their own. You can train dogs to be ok with being on their own. But you do need to train them”. And some dogs hate being alone so much they tip over into full-blown anxiety. They’re not just unhappy that you’ve left them. They’re in a panic. But how do you know which it is? Are they disappointed you left… Continued
Bring Your Dog Inside, Have a Better Relationship and Much More Fun
I believe that a large majority of dogs would probably exchange the biggest backyard in the world for quality time with their owners. Yet apartment dwellers are sometimes frowned upon for owning a dog. Here in Australia, however, strata laws are changing in favor of pet owners and renters. Personally, I firmly believe that dogs can live happily in an apartment with appropriate care and enough mental and physical stimulation Dogs are very social animals, they want to be part of the family and they thrive on companionship. These days we… Continued
Prepare Clients for Potential Emergencies
As I write this, huge areas of Northern California are on fire. I lived in Sonoma County for a while and have many friends there. I now live in Missoula, Montana, where we had a brutal fire season. Tens of thousands of people have had to evacuate their homes due to the fires. Over the summer, thousands more in Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean evacuated due to hurricanes. What happens to all of those people’s pets? Here during the most intensive fire activity, two local organizations helped with pet and… Continued
How to Teach Your Deaf (and Blind) Dog to be Quiet
By Debbie Bauer I’m always amused when people find out my dogs are deaf. One of their first questions is, “Do they bark?” Oh yes, and boy, can they bark! Some deaf dogs have a very high-pitched bark. Some have a deeper bark. You may hear that deaf dogs bark more than hearing dogs. Some people may even tell you this is because they can’t hear themselves so they don’t know they are barking. The truth is that dogs bark! It is a trait specific to dogs. And deaf dogs… Continued
Spook Night, Fireworks and Dogs Don’t Mix!
In the United States, Halloween is widely celebrated and can be a challenge for dogs (see Halloween Hazards for Pets), while here in the United Kingdom, Bonfire night on November 5 is fast approaching – great fun for most of us but not so great if you happen to be a dog! This subject is re-hashed every single year, but I want to deal with things succinctly from a behavioural point of view and specifically of course, from a dog’s viewpoint. Leave Him At Home! You know, this is so simple!… Continued
My Dogs Do Know Sit! A Hint for Training the Sit Stay
Turns out my dogs do know sit. About two years ago, I wrote a post called, “My Dogs Don’t Know Sit!”. I described how my dogs couldn’t hold a sit stay when I stood still right in front of them. I analyzed the problem, and my conclusion was that part of the cue for them to stay was actually my walking away from them. This was probably because I added distance too soon when originally training the stay. I ended up with the perverse situation that my dogs would hold… Continued
Why Prong Collars Hurt
Prong collars, also called pinch collars, are metal chain collars for dogs that include links of prongs whose ends press into the dog’s neck. When a dog pulls on leash, moves out of position, or is “corrected” with a quick snap of the leash, force is exerted on the dog’s neck through the points of contact of the prongs. Force is also exerted in these situations when the dog is wearing a flat collar. A correction applied to a dog on a flat collar can also be uncomfortable or… Continued
Halloween Hazards for Pets
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. A bag full of treats and scary costumes make me happy, but these things can be a real terror for some pets. Hazards come in two flavors: environmental and edibles. I once trained a Dachshund puppy named Sparky* and he was a happy little guy, until he entered adolescence and a developmental fear stage. Then he became alarmed at every person passing by his home. He often stood guard at the window waiting for scary things to bark at. For Sparky, environmental things… Continued
An Open Letter To Pet Owners About The Pet Professional Guild’s Shock-Free Coalition
According to the American Pet Products Association (2017), 68 percent of Americans return home to a pet (or pets) each day. An estimated 48 percent of US residents are dog owners while 38 percent share their home with a cat (or cats). In spite of this, for many people, more time is spent planning the family vacation than on bringing a pet into the home. Compounded by the fact that many of us not only work full time and raise children, we are also swamped with family commitments and countless… Continued
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