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
Positive Is a Perception: Empathy to Understand the Perception of the Other
Two things happened to me recently that set me off thinking about positive reinforcement from the recipient’s perspective. Firstly I read a very negative review of positive reinforcement training through a Facebook blog. The writer was suggesting that positive reinforcement is a misnomer and, from the dog’s point of view, it is not positive. Secondly I’ve had a lot of folks asking me ‘what is a high value and low value treat?’ (wanting me to specify food/other primary reinforcement into categories). All this set me off thinking about how we… Continued
All I Want for Christmas…
Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is an e-collar…that I can use without violating my professional ethics. Thanks to modern technology and micro circuitry dog owners and trainers alike enjoy a variety of devices for use in training. Unfortunately, not every one of those devices is enjoyable by dogs. Some, in fact, are utterly shocking. A common justification for using shock collars is that people need to communicate with their dogs at a distance, while hunting or if the dog is working livestock. Slapping an e-collar on their dog… Continued
Five Ways to Survive the Holidays with your Dog
‘Tis the season of family, laughter, fun and joy. Gift giving, good eating, and relaxing are just a few of the things we look forward to during the holidays. But, along with the holiday spirit, also comes a little stress and chaos. This stress and chaos not only affects us humans but our canine companions as well. To help you and your dog during this time, we’ll take a look at five of my favorite ways to help give you and your dog a little break from the… Continued
Just an Ordinary Dog!
My dog Jambo is a Trick Dog Champion. In fact, he was the first Staffordshire Bull Terrier to be awarded the Title. Jambo is an adorable, loving pet dog. Jambo is not an exceptional dog. He isn’t particularly athletic. He isn’t unusually intelligent. He is a dog who has been set up for success because of the way he has been taught. Jambo is not trained for hours every day. In fact, Jambo’s “training” sessions are always very short. If you asked Jambo, I am sure he would say that… Continued
Rio Goes to Tampa
I was so excited to attend the PPG Summit in Tampa, Florida last month. Tampa is just a bit more than a 2 hour drive for me. And for years I’ve wanted to take one of my dogs to a professional training conference. All the locations have been too far to drive and my dogs are too big to fit under the seat of an airplane. So while I have been fortunate to attend many conferences, this was the first time I was able to take one of my pets.… Continued
Do No Harm!
That maxim is one of the fundamental principles that health care providers are taught in school which roughly means that given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something or do nothing than risk causing more harm than good. I believe as positive reinforcement trainers and other dog professionals, we also have a duty to do no harm. The type of harm I’m referring to has nothing to do with using aversive techniques, but rather the harm when we unwittingly pass along advice that can have serious… Continued
A Laser Light and OCD
It’s really strange how it all started. My clients have had the little Bichon Frise for just a few weeks – he came over from Ireland with an unknown past – and the young lady quite unwittingly bought him a laser light thinking that he would enjoy chasing it. Just a few seconds triggered something in the adorable and affectionate Buddy that has been unstoppable since. The slightest shadow or reflection starts him off, as even do flying birds. On a walk recently some swallows swooping about overhead had him leaping… Continued
Listen To The Opening Address at The PPG Summit – Tampa, 2015
A few of the most important points I felt were covered in my opening address at PPG’s First Educational Summit in Tampa, FL. Click here to listen to the full 19 minutes. • I reflected on the sometimes rocky but never boring journey it has taken over the last four years to get PPG to where it is today. • In my humble opinion the profession of animal training, behavior and pet care is a tripod of art, science and relationships, and each is as important as the other. •… Continued
Learning from Real Dogs
I read a lot of academic studies of dogs. My students often enjoy dissecting these studies and figuring out better ways to investigate the same questions. Oftentimes, their ideas come from their extensive observation of real dogs doing real dog things — with other dogs. Researcher and writer Carl Safina makes this point convincingly and with regard to many more species than dogs. His wonderful book on animal communication and thought, Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, gently skewers academics for some of absurdly human-centered studies and the equally… Continued
Keeping Thanksgiving Fun and Safe for Your Dog
Thanksgiving can be such a special day, full of family, friends, and if you’re like me, the family dog. It is a day to show gratitude for everything you have. For many, it’s a time for large family gatherings, football, excitement, and loads of good food. Thanksgiving can also be a time of stress and short fuses. Generosity and sharing tend to be a common theme during the Thanksgiving holiday, which can mean your guests may be tossing food to the family dog. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of… Continued
The Shocking Truth
With recent events in Scotland regarding so called e-collars (the ‘e’ stands for electronic), the debate has been heating up. I thought I would take this opportunity to air a few suggestions to some of the statements that are being made. There appears to be some serious misconceptions and incorrect information surrounding e-collars that I would like to address in one swoop, here is an excellent platform to do just that. I wanted to start with a deeply scientific article about using e-collars but you know what, the people that will read that… Continued
Taming the Dreaded Oreckosaurus Rex
Some dogs run and hide at first sight of the vacuum cleaner or unleash a barrage of barking, lunging and biting at the dreadful thing. Others quickly identify the vacuum cleaner’s lair and the fear response begins as soon as the person reaches to open the closet door. Cleaning house soon becomes stressful for dog and owner alike. Imagine what a vacuum cleaner appears like from a canine perspective. Dogs are conscious of height, size and elevation as it relates to their sense of security. With more sensitive hearing than… Continued
Observational Skills For Empathy
As Jane Goodall pointed out in an article this week, story-telling is sometimes the best way to share ideas and information. So, I thought I’d share an experience I had with a brilliant trainer utilising her empathic observation on me a few years ago. Some years ago I acquired a rather large, 6 year old Welsh Cob (horse) who’d had very little handling. Fortunately he had the most divine temperament, but he was very big and also very scared of just about everything! Although I was confident handling and teaching… Continued
Seven Stages to a Bite
It’s sometimes good to remind ourselves of what our dogs are. Dogs are relatives of the modern day wolf, both having evolved from a common ancestor. Is it not fascinating that when we chose to domesticate an animal, we chose a predator and welcomed him into our homes. Irrespective of the form the current dog takes, he does share genes with a predator and those instincts will expose themselves in extreme conditions. What I am getting at is that all dogs, if pushed far enough, can bite! When a dog bites, it’s rarely… Continued
You Don’t Have to Go Through the Door Before Your Dog!
When Annie Phenix of Phenix Dogs recently mentioned to me that the “door myth” is still alive and well, I got to wondering what that actually would look like. The advice to always precede your dog through the door is propagated by those who think the key to having a well-behaved dog is to be a good “pack leader.” They also say to always eat before your dog. I had a guy recommend that after seeing one of my YouTube videos. How inconvenient is that? What a hassle! Instead, you can actually train your dog behaviors… Continued
What You Think Is One Dog’s Punishment May Be Another Dog’s Fun Game!
I was first introduced to a positive reinforcement instructor many years ago when I adopted my shelter dog, Freddie, an adolescent dog who was very enthused about EVERYTHING! As the instructor explained how to reinforce our dogs, and even as I was seeing results, what I really wanted to hear was how we were going to punish our dogs when they did “bad” behaviors. While I look back on that kind of thinking with laughter, it got me thinking about how humans are “wired” to want to correct a “bad”… Continued
Learning Becomes Almost Effortless
An excerpt from an upcoming article in BARKS from The Guild. Why do I love teaching tricks and why do my dogs love learning them? Why would you want to teach your dog tricks? What are tricks, anyway? How old should your dog if you want them to learn how to do tricks? How do I teach them? When do I find the time to teach them? Why do I use rewards? What is it that makes both teaching and learning tricks so much fun? Surely I should be teaching… Continued
30 Reasons to Join the Pet Professional Guild
You may be wondering what exactly are the benefits of joining a member organization such as PPG so we’ve decided to help you out by listing a mere 30 of them. Whether you’re a seasoned pet professional, a novice trainer or a pet owner concerned with your pets’ well-being and best interests, PPG is the place to be. There are plenty more reasons to join PPG, but here are 30 to get us started: The only membership organization… Continued
Do Cats Really Like Music?
By Jane Ehrlich According to a study by Snowdon et al., ‘cats may ignore human music—but they are highly responsive to music written especially for them’ according to their study published in applied Animal Behavior Science. Professor Charles Snowdon, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is the lead author of the study. In the study, 27 males and 20 females ‘took part’. ‘The cats were significantly more positive toward cat music than the classical,’ according to the report. I spoke to Prof. Snowdon about the study by phone. JE: ‘Why… Continued
Teaching Thinking Dogs
A study that was published recently by an Oregon State University researcher compared wolves with dogs … and many people reading the conclusions appear to have understood the study to mean that we teach dogs to be stupid. The study tested pet dogs’, shelter dogs’, and wolves’ ability to open a container that had sausage in it. The dogs mostly sniffed around, then sought help from the nearest human. The wolves tried harder to open the container. The dogs and wolves were all tested under two conditions: alone and with… Continued
Will Your Halloween Be Fun or Scary?
Halloween can be a fun time for the entire family, including the family dog, or it can be a scary, and sometimes even a dangerous situation. Think about it for a moment from your dog’s perspective. Loud, screaming, running monsters, rushing up to the door, ringing the doorbell, screaming and running off. Whew, just that one sentence made me edgy. Now, put that scenario into play for two hours. Deciding if a dog will join the Halloween festivities needs to be a decision carefully thought through. Will the family dog… Continued
Is Planet Earth Flat?
Well the simple answer to that is NO! Of course we know that. If anybody asked you that question nowadays you’d probably be very amused. Why do I ask this on a dog training blog I hear you say? Well, I have been asked this question so much lately on social media, training consults and class…..what is the question? “Do I need to be a pack leader?” “Do I need to be alpha?” and, dare I say it, “Do I have a dominant dog?” Let’s look first of all at… Continued
Keeping Your Social Butterfly Social
When my wife I adopted Buddha he was a two-year old Labrador with no training and serious case of separation anxiety, thanks to a puppyhood that was disrupted by misfortune beyond his control. His foster family had just begun working on his SA and suggested that Buddha could become a therapy dog, if only he was given the support he required. I not only adopted Buddha but also the goal of seeing him become my Pet Partners registered therapy dog. If human kindness and sound dog stewardship could heal Buddha… Continued
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