The Dog Decides
“The dog decides what is reinforcing.” Positive reinforcement trainers frequently say that to their human students. What they mean is that people can easily be mistaken about whether something constitutes reinforcement. For instance, we may think praising or petting our dogs are reinforcers, but if they do not cause behavior to increase or maintain, they are not. Dogs don’t sit down and make cognitive “decisions” about reinforcers; that’s just a semantic shortcut. But their subsequent behavior is what tells us whether something is a reinforcer or not. If you give your dog a piece of… Continued
Look at the Whole Dog
In a class I’m teaching on dog communication, we recently discussed a study on how well people interpret dog body language. The study, Description of the behaviour of domestic dog by experienced and inexperienced people, was published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science in 2009. We looked at some other sources as well, but the discussion of this study with a group of future dog behaviorists and trainers was particularly interesting. The study’s authors wanted to know whether the amount of dog experience a person had improved his or her skills… Continued
Compulsivity and the Dog
Since humans are unable to ascertain the aspect of a disorder in an animal that deals with obsessing, animals are not generally given the diagnosis of OCD. However, it is completely possible that a pet can have a compulsive disorder. Compulsive behaviors include behaviors that are induced by conflict or frustration, behaviors that are displaced (displayed at inappropriate times), redirected behavior (acted out on a different target), vacuum activity (self-directed), and stereotypies (Landsberg, Hunthausen, and Ackerman, 1997). Abnormal behaviors often stem from an animal’s inability to adequately cope within its environment.… Continued
The “Choice” Challenge
Thanks to Debbie Jacobs and Randi Rossman for their input on this topic. Any weird conclusions are mine alone. I have come to believe that most of us who thought we were using “choice” as a reinforcer were mistaken. Wait! Before you come running after me with pitchforks, let me explain. I’m not saying that choice isn’t a wonderful, enriching, and humane thing to provide for our dogs. It can be all that! Rather, I’m concerned about the trend of glomming onto attractive-sounding language without proper analysis of what is actually happening. The problems attending… Continued
Teaching the TrickMeister Way!
How important is it to teach your canine companion what you would like them to do? I believe it is extremely important but what is even more essential is that you teach in a way that doesn’t cause any stress; that you teach in a way that is fun for both teacher and student; that you teach in such a way that each ‘lesson’ is easy to understand; that you teach in a way that not only encourages learning but enhances it and that you teach in a way that… Continued
Just Say No to Saying No
“Can I say no to my dog?” is a question I often hear from new clients. My short answer is “Yes, you can use any word or sound you please in training.” Pavlov proved that long ago. The problem is in the way dog owners use “no” and whether it leads them closer to success. Owners usually approach dog training as a way to stop undesirable behavior and saying “no” seems a logical choice…to a human being. I begin reframing their goal by suggesting “Let’s think about what you want… Continued
Stress-Free Dog Brushing
Brushing your dog on a daily basis has many benefits. Grooming or brushing your dog is more than just keeping his appearance spiffy. Brushing your dog’s coat every day not only keeps it free of debris but free of mats that can pinch your dog’s skin and cause infections. Daily brushing can also be a time to bond and check your dog over for lumps and bumps. Brushing your dog on a regular basis can be used as a training opportunity to help teach your dog to enjoy handling… Continued
I Only Have Eyes For You!
One of my specialities is doing in-home training so that the human gets trained and then I highly recommend taking Fido to a group class to practice the new skills in a more distracting environment. And for puppies, this is very important as it will help with the socialization process of playing with other puppies off leash, meeting new humans and of course teaching the human how to work with Pup around more distractions. But working in more distracting environments is NOT the same as when you are working at… Continued
Interpreting Feline Non-Verbal Communication
Jane Ehrlich examines the basics of feline body language. This article was first published in BARKS from the Guild, March 2015, page 26 Keep an eye on your cat’s body language to know what he/she is thinking and feeling. To that end, here is a scenario. In fact, you probably already know the signs. It is only a matter of putting them together and monitoring at what point Noodles starts demonstrating even one of these signals. It is the same as reading a human’s body language: one sign may not… Continued
True Friends
It’s been a couple of years since Gregory Berns published his research that uses MRIs to show that dogs love their humans. Now, British and Brazilian researchers have published a paper showing that dogs recognize our emotions as well. Sure, dog lovers have many stories about dogs showing empathy or reacting to the anger, happiness, sadness, or other emotions in our tone of voice. But this study is the first to show that dogs actually make a connection between our facial expressions and the emotional qualities of our speech. The… Continued
Cats in Conflict
Jane Ehrlich examines some of the many types of feline aggression, one of the most common behavior problems in cats, and tries to shed some light on this complex issue. This article was first published in BARKS from the Guild, March 2015, pages 24-28. Inter-cat aggression is one of the most commonly reported behavior problems by cat owners, second only to feline marking behaviors such as urine spraying and middening (Magnus, Appleby & Bailey, 1998; Overall, 1997). The only cat owners likely to have not experienced this often convoluted… Continued
#PPGSummit 2015: The Future Is Now
At times, with all the cruelty and destruction in the world, it can seem disheartening for pet professionals who are trying to make a stand for animals, to be their voice and ensure they get the best care possible and are never subjected to pain and suffering along the way. While there is still great resistance from many quarters regarding the power of training via positive reinforcement – scientific study notwithstanding – as everyone in attendance at the PPG Summit already knows, the results speak for themselves. As Ken McCort… Continued
Lives of Streeties – A Study on Free Ranging Dogs
This Christmas I gave myself a gift. I finally permitted myself to publish my study on street dogs in Bangalore, India. I have been working at it for a year and I am thrilled to present it finally. The idea for the study was sparked when my colleagues and I were mulling over the question of how much exercise dogs need. We decided that we needed to do a study. The premise was simple – animals inherently know how much exercise they need. Animals in the wild don’t need to… Continued
Training ‘Thoughtfully’
Many of you will know that I think all training should be fun but science-based. I teach all behaviors as ‘tricks’ because I believe that, in doing so, we set up both trainer and learner for success. Whether teaching a ‘stay’, a ‘recall’, a ‘spin’ or a fun routine, teaching behaviors as ‘tricks’ sets the theme – learning should be playful! I therefore loved the fact that at a recent seminar I attended, much emphasis was placed on play. RAGE, FEAR, GRIEF/PANIC (punishing) and SEEKING, LUST, CARE and PLAY (rewarding/reinforcing) –… Continued
What New Pet Owners May Not Know
I recently came across an article in which the author spoke about why people give up exotic birds…and it got me thinking. According to the ASPCA, approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats. Of the dogs entering shelters, approximately 35% are adopted, 31% are euthanized and 26% of dogs who came in as strays are returned to their owner. Of the cats entering shelters, approximately 37% are adopted, 41% are euthanized, and less than 5%… Continued
Happy New Year! Happy New Life!
First impressions are often lasting ones and so it was with my first behavior case involving a two-year old Australian Shepherd named Ranger. He was in the custody of a breed rescue and was deemed beyond hope. Ranger was destined for euthanasia due to behavior problems that were imposed upon him through no fault of his own. Ranger began life as a puppy with an elderly lady who did not exercise, train or socialize him. He was not even allowed outside to relieve himself. By his second birthday Ranger’s behavior… Continued
Empathy for Human Learners
As I develop as a teacher I’ve been revisiting some of my experiences as learner, empathically engaging with my human clients who might be struggling with new skills. Being a good learner is something I last thought about seriously when I was a student (a long time ago!). I trained as a podiatrist in the UK, something that requires a lot of practical skills as well as theory. I was pretty comfortable learning all the theory, what I found very difficult (and uncomfortable) was learning the practical skills. I was… Continued
One of the Most Important Things to Teach Your New Puppy
By now, your new puppy is adjusting well to his new family. You probably already have started him in a good, positive puppy training class. After all, you have heard time and time again, that you should be socializing your puppy. Puppy socialization is a process in which you gradually introduce your puppy to a variety of people, places and things in the early stages of their lives. The opportunity for making the best impact on your puppy’s socialization is between 3 weeks and 4 months of age and continues until your… Continued
A Revelation about Resolutions
Over the years, I’ve made many New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, get organized, read more, and hundreds of other goals that became part of my never ending “To Do” list. But this year, I had a revelation and decided to do something different and so I made my resolution to find more ways of engaging with my dogs. Don’t misunderstand, I take great care of them, but sometimes, I’m so busy that I’ll give them a puzzle toy as a way of providing enrichment. Puzzles, are after all, great… Continued
Does Size Matter?
A dog’s size influences his or her behavior. We sort of know this don’t we. What about people? Our stereotype of a hyper and talkative person who is constantly on the move would be a small person, and a slow-talking, slow moving thinker someone much larger. This has always been my own stereotype for dogs too, but is it purely genetic or the way we treat them? Is it possible we treat small people differently and it affects how they behave? My own smallest dog, my working cocker spaniel Pickle,… Continued
There’s Nothing Simple about Dog Play
Dogs’ play behavior has, over time, been attributed to a variety of factors. It provides puppies practice for adult behaviors. Play with humans is about “dominance.” Play with other dogs is about “dominance” or “status.” It’s a replacement behavior for hunting and killing prey. It’s a way to learn about your environment. Etc. Turns out they are all wrong. Or partly right. Play can be any of these — depending on which dog is playing and when. “Why Do Adult Dogs Play?” an article published by John Bradshaw in Behavioural… Continued
Loving the Vacuum Cleaner
Here’s a little video I made of my dogs’ response to the vacuum cleaner. Hurray for classical conditioning! As soon as any dog comes into my home, I start pairing any potentially scary sounds of human life with great stuff. Two of my dogs weren’t scared of the vacuum in the first place, and taking this action greatly decreased the chance that they ever will be. (Sound sensitivity can appear as dogs mature.) Zani, my smallest dog, is potentially sensitive to quite a few noises, but we have turned her attitude around… Continued
Treats or Bingos?
Traditionally, tidbits given to dogs outside their regular meals are labeled ‘treats’. Pet shops sell ‘treats’ and we traditionally refer to any food the dog gets by hand for doing nothing as a ‘treat’. I feel this ‘treat’ word can sometimes get in the way of converting people who have ‘had dogs all their lives’ to positive, reward-based training methods. They commonly ‘don’t believe in giving their dogs treats all the time’ and for this reason refuse to carry food rewards around with them. The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘to treat’ as… Continued
Cats in a Dog’s World
Cats communicate in a variety of ways. Those of us who are most familiar with canines can often have difficulty differentiating the signals that cats send in attempts to communicate their intent. While many of us prefer to work with dogs, it is often the case that the canines with whom we work come from homes with a variety of pets, including cats. Therefore, it is advantageous for even “dog people” to understand feline communication. Like dogs, cats will often communicate through the use of the position and motion of… Continued
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