The Conscious Equestrian – Extinguishing Force From the Rider’s Repertoire
By Sara Richter CPDT-KA As an equestrian coach and riding instructor, most of the clients that I work with come to me with a pre-existing knowledge of traditional horsemanship. One of the most prevalent challenges that I face in my line of work, is transitioning those riders from aversive techniques to force-free methods of riding. Many riders have trouble fathoming that control can come from a non-compulsive approach when they have been using traditional methods with “success” for years. After all, sitting on the back of a 1,000+ pound animal… Continued
Report from the Pet Professional Guild 4-Day Pet Care Technician Certification Program Workshop
Professional Pet Care requires knowledge, skills, individual competency and a high level of responsibility. I recently had the pleasure of attending and presenting at a 4-day workshop designed to do just that. In this blog post, I am going to give you a brief overview of the topics covered and some of the assessment exercises required to qualify as a Certified Pet Care Technician. Don’t worry, I will also share more information about the workshop and all the fun and learning which took place, along with my personal ‘take-home’ points,… Continued
See the Dog in Front of You
Anyone who has had more than one dog in their life has probably fallen into the pitfall of living many years with their “perfect” dog and then suffering a devastating loss. When another dog eventually enters our life we compare, looking at the dog before us through misty eyes and seeing the dog we wish we still had. Sometimes this sets everyone up for frustration and disappointment. At other times the consequence of faulty vision is catastrophic. My first two Labradors were safe and reliable off leash. Samantha was a… Continued
Declawing Can Cause Behavioral and Emotional Changes in Cats
By Bridget Lehet CAFTP CFTBS Take a moment and look at the world through a cat’s eyes. He is removed from his safe, warm, and familiar home and taken to the veterinarian’s office where he gets poked with a needle. When he awakens from general anesthesia his paws are throbbing in pain. For the next 2-3 weeks his paws will be so sore and tender that his ability to walk, climb, and jump may be drastically compromised. He may also begin associating the pain he suffers while scratching in his litter… Continued
It’s Official: Dogs Have Feelings
That dogs have feelings, emotions, and thoughts probably seems obvious to PPG members and readers of my Thinking Dog Blog and to most people who share their lives with pets. But, as I tell my students at Bergin U, sometimes things need the stamp of approval of science, via peer-reviewed research, to be fully accepted as Truth. Many, many studies of dogs’ behavior and cognitive abilities do not, actually, reveal anything that we didn’t already “know.” But these studies solidify that knowledge and induct it into the Body of Knowledge… Continued
Join Me at the Pet Professional Guild Force-Free Summit!
Presenting: TrickMeister Reinforcement Strategies for Success! I can’t believe how quickly the second Pet Professional Guild’s Force-Free Summit is approaching! It doesn’t seem like two minutes since we were in Tampa attending the first Summit in November, 2015! November, 2016 will soon be here and we will all be back in Tampa for the second round! I’m fortunate to be presenting at the Summit on a subject that I believe to be absolutely crucial to our pet clients’ well-being – reinforcement! My presentation and working LAB is entitled: TrickMeister Reinforcement… Continued
The Challenges of Teenage Dogs
Dog owners are not always prepared for the challenges of a teen-aged dog: This can include their emotional response and sometimes over the top reaction to certain stimuli, ‘forgotten’ training, increased exercise requirements, need for more mental stimulation, ongoing socialization and training. Many new dog owners will do a puppy pre-school and if the class is well run this will set them up to successfully navigate the first few months; house train their puppies, teach them to sleep in their designated area, get the first steps in training right, socialize… Continued
You’re Too Close! Dogs and Body Pressure
So you are standing at a party, or in your office, or on your front lawn. Someone you know only vaguely walks up to you. He walks up very close, face to face, close enough that you can see up his nose and smell his breath. He starts a conversation. What do you do? What you desperately want to do is step back! You may or may not do it, depending on the social situation or a host of other reasons. But when someone we don’t know well enters our personal space bubble,… Continued
No Trainer Is an Island
When I opened my new dog training and behavior consulting business four months ago, I reached out to local veterinarians, groomers and boarding facilities. I also took a little time to research other trainers in my area to see who was out there and what kind of services were being offered in our community. It came as no surprise to find some of the national punishment-based chains . The good news is that I also found a handful of force-free trainers who shared my training philosophy and whose websites promoted… Continued
Advocacy is Where You Look for It
In April 2016 I attended the 11th annual Applied Animal Behavior Conference hosted by the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Each year veterinary professionals and students gather to learn about animal behavior, a subject not typically included in veterinary curricula. The conference was divided into small and large animal presentations. I only work professionally with dogs so I chose the small animal option. The entire day was focused on Dr. Marty Becker’s Fear-Free iniative and its practical applications. Steve Dale, CABC began by addressing feline enrichment and fear-free… Continued
Things You Don’t Know
There are many myths and misconceptions about dog training, some of which are broadcast on TV or written in popular books. Do you know the truth? You don’t need to worry about being alpha. Dogs don’t need to be rolled over on their backs, approached aggressively, or made to wait while their owners walk through doors in order for dogs to “know their place” or learn respect for their owners. Dogs understand and respect those who treat them with kindness and who behave consistently. Clear-cut, consistent rules make for healthy… Continued
Teaching Your Dog Eye Contact
How many times have you thought to yourself, “I sure wish my dog would focus on me and not x.” Well, this is something you can certainly start to tackle by teaching your dog a reliable “Watch” behavior. Imagine, how nice it would be if a squirrel ran down the tree and you said, “watch” and your dog happily gazed into your eyes instead of barking or chasing the squirrel. It can be done, and I’m going to teach you the foundation skills on how to do it. But, first,… Continued
Human Attitudes
I’m sure others might feel the same way as I have recently so I have decided to share this as I have found a positive way forward if one is feeling somewhat burned out… The last few months I’ve been feeling slightly overwhelmed with what I face when visiting pet dog and horse owners who call for my assistance. Like many of my colleagues who read this, I’ve got a very strong view on how other animals should be perceived and therefore treated – sometimes what we see out there… Continued
The Game Of Know, Not No!
Many years ago when I was first learning this “new” method called positive reinforcement training, even though my dog was learning in huge leaps to do all the behaviors I asked him to do, I had this nagging question: But how can I tell him when he does something wrong? Humans seem to be wired that way and are more apt to point out someone’s errors more often than looking for something correct. And unfortunately for our canine friends, we take the same punitive stance. This makes sense to some… Continued
Yelling at My Dogs
The “yelling” question comes up regularly for positive reinforcement-based trainers. “Am I a bad person if I yell at my dogs?” “Is it positive punishment to yell at my dogs?” And the accusatory version, “Do you NEVER yell at your dogs? Of course you do! And that’s punishment, so you aren’t a ‘positive’ trainer after all. Gotcha!” Rather unbelievably, I’m not going to go into a quadrants discussion here. Wow. But check out “Only if the Behavior Decreases” if you want to address the question of whether yelling can be punishment. Instead,… Continued
Scent Tracking as Part of Your ABC
When consulting on canine behavior problems, you will be looking at your ABCs – Antecedent – Behaviour – Consequence – as part of your functional assessment. The immediate antecedents, such as direct environment, setting the dog off doing something the owner is not happy with, are often fairly easy to spot, although sometimes challenging to address. There are excellent protocols developed for that, such as BAT (Behaviour Adjustment Training, developed by Grisha Stewart), LAT (Look at That Training, developed by Leslie McDevitt, author of the book Control Unleashed) and Reactive aggressive… Continued
Do Docked/Missing Tails Lead to Miscommunication in Dogs?
Are dogs with docked or missing tails vulnerable to miscommunication or misunderstanding by other dogs? Or do they learn to rely on other body language communication? I have a little rescue dog (right) who came to me from Romania with her tail missing. I don’t know where it went or why it was removed but I have spent three years watching and being fascinated by her body language, behaviorally. I have also noticed she has a real fear of being knocked on her rear and if she is bumped into by… Continued
Prettier by Another Name
How much does a dog’s breed matter, particularly when that dog is of mixed breed heritage? When people are seeking a pet dog, breed, or, more likely, what they think they know about various breeds, can heavily influence their choices. But in the end, knowing — or guessing at — the dog’s mix of breeds doesn’t tell you very much about an individual dog. A shelter in Costa Rica, as described in Bark magazine, took a creative approach to communicating this message. Working with marketing professionals, the shelter promoted each mixed-breed… Continued
The Benefits of Keeping Cats Indoors
By Paula Garber, MEd, CATEP, CFTBS Some cat owners believe it’s “natural” for their cat to be outdoors, or that their cat won’t be happy unless given the opportunity to roam. These days, most pet cats aren’t as suited to outdoor life as one might think. They are simply ill equipped to successfully navigate the risks and dangers in the modern outdoor world. Understanding the Outdoor Dangers Indoor cats are protected from many threats and potential dangers. Keep this list handy for the next time you’re tempted to let your… Continued
Socialize Your Puppy but Let Him Play, too!
Fifty years ago not too many trainers or owners talked about socialization. Not because puppies did not need it, but because for the most part puppies ‘self-socialized’, they wandered and roamed the neighborhood, accompanied children to school, hung out with other dogs, sometimes got into trouble with one of them, occasionally a child got bitten or a dog hurt by a car. Even 20 years ago back in Switzerland our dog would go to work with my husband, roam the streets, spend time with strangers, steal sandwiches and come back when it… Continued
Quick Fix or Never Fix
When someone first calls me for help, they usually hope their pet behavior problem will be resolved in a couple of weeks. They have tried everything they can think of for themselves, watched TV trainers and scoured the internet. Now they have decided there is nothing for it but to pay for professional help. That should fix the problem! Each day, at consultations, by phone and email, I am encouraging and motivating clients with reactive dogs to keep going and to put in as much time as possible whilst empathizing with their problems. This short sentence in… Continued
What’s in the Bag?
What you don’t know could kill your pet. Like all dog owners I want my pets to be healthy and enjoy a long life as members of our family. My first puppy, Samanatha, was the joy of my life and it came as a painful shock when she died abruptly at just over 12 years of age. It was not long enough and I wondered why she died so young. In retrospect I remember buying the cheapest possible dog food and commercial treats, and giving her things to chew that… Continued
To Prompt or to Reinforce
Click – treat, click – treat, click – treat. As trainers, we all know what is going on here; someone is conditioning a clicker. But the lines can get blurred from here. First we click and treat until the animal alerts to the click. Then we use the click to indicate to the animal that they have done the thing we want and that they will, in all likelihood, get a treat. Before that, though, we use the treat to lure the animal to perform the behaviour we want. This… Continued
Teaching Your Dog to Eliminate on Cue
Teaching your dog how to eliminate on cue (when asked) can be very helpful. I often think back to my service dog training days when discussing the benefits of a dog knowing how to poop on cue. For example, you may know that you are going on a 12-hour car ride and going potty now will help prevent an unnecessary pit stop in 30 minutes because your dog has to go. Or, you know a thunderstorm is going to roll in and taking that poop break will help ensure he doesn’t… Continued
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