Dog Training: It’s Not Just Semantics
Stop press! Have you heard? You don’t need to be a military commander to train a dog! You don’t need to yell or shout. You don’t need to use threats or physical punishment. You don’t need to know a single command. You don’t need to be the dog’s “master” or “pack leader”. The dog does not need to be “calm submissive” and you definitely don’t need to dominate him! So, how can you train a dog without using any commands? It’s actually really simple. You teach the dog what you… Continued
The Arrogance of Punishment
As a professional force-free dog trainer I often hear dog owners use the term “punishment” and understand it from their perspective as a word in common use. Webster’s dictionary: 1 the act of punishing; 2 a. a suffering of pain or loss that serves as retribution; 2 b. a penalty inflicted upon an offender through judicial procedure; 3 severe, rough, or disastrous treatment. I will address each definition in context of “punishment” as applied to pet dogs by their owners, rather than the use of the term as understood by… Continued
But It Worked for My Dog!!
What happens when someone shares a “success” story about training with aversives? Here’s my response to a commenter who did so on one of my previous posts. A Parable Once there was a woman named Reva who had a serious health condition that needed intervention. Her intexagog was inflamed and could rupture any day. Reva looked up intexagog specialists in the phone book. She found Dr. Bleppo, who had an ad that was both slick and reassuring, and picked him. She made an appointment. He was a likable guy and radiated competence. He said sure, he could fix… Continued
The Prodigal Dog
It is so hard not to be cross when Rex runs off. You call him, and without even a backward glance he keeps on running towards something he would rather be doing than keeping you company. I think of the parable of the prodigal son where in essence the younger son is a waster who leaves home and the older son is a good boy. After many wrongdoings, the younger son eventually comes home prepared for trouble, but instead of punishing him, dad celebrates his return because he was lost… Continued
Why is Empathic Practice Important?
While historically empathy has perhaps been seen as a fluffy, feel good emotion with little relevance to science, or science based practice, our lack of empathy has, arguably, led us into the dangerous territory we entered in decades gone by. Those beliefs include the view that animals are non-sentient, unfeeling and non emotional; all ideas prompted through the historical views of Descartes, Malebranche & La Mettrie (Brown, 1995) then, Kant’s later view that animals possessed sensation but no reasoning. In much the same way as Watson’s original behaviorism led to… Continued
Free-Feeding From A Bowl Can Be Costly!
Food is sustenance; it keeps us alive, it fuels our activities, but for most of us it is emotional comfort. Food can trigger wonderful memories of family gatherings, or console us when we’re sick or upset, so no wonder we want to show our love for our pets with food. And it behoves us not to set down a big bowl of “love” so our pets can graze all day long. The problem is that pets, such as our dogs do not equate food with love; they don’t respect… Continued
How To Train Your Dog to Stand Using Capturing
When people consider how to teach a dog to stand, they usually envision the action of standing up. They focus on getting the dog up on their feet from a sit or a down. But that’s the hard way to start, especially since by the time most people get to training stand, they have reinforced the dog a billion times for sitting or lying down. But most dogs also stand, right? Unless a dog is very old or has a physical problem, she probably stands frequently. We don’t have to start by… Continued
Working Dogs Want to Have Fun, Too
Off-duty working dogs enjoy many of the same dog sports as pet dogs … but training for and competing with a career dog raises some interesting questions. Deni Elliott, whose guide dog, Alberta, has nearly earned her Rally Advanced Excellent title, but their start in the sport was a bit bumpy. Deni needs a sighted guide (human) to read the signs to her, but that was the easy part. The biggest adjustment was for Alberta, who had to figure out that, not only was she not supposed to guide Deni… Continued
Progressive Zoos Never Use Aversive Punishment — Should You?
This series of blog posts recounts topics drawn from the Pet Professional Guild Radio Show, featuring Linda Michaels (2). Question: What are some of the benefits of using Positive Reinforcement (+R)? Answer: The benefits of using Positive Reinforcement training with our companion animals are pretty much the opposite of the drawbacks of using aversive punishment. Goodness, today, all progressive zoos and wild animal parks use management and positive reinforcement ONLY even with large and potentially dangerous animals. (See Video from San Diego Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo). Surely, we can train our… Continued
Pet Professional Guild Announces Third International Chapter, PPG Singapore
The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) continues with its quest to promote humane, scientifically sound training methods for pets worldwide with the opening of its first international chapter in South East Asia, PPG Singapore. The Singapore Chapter represents the third overseas launch in just six months, following the successful establishment of PPG British Isles and PPG Australia. PPG is a pet industry organization that currently represents animal training, behavior and pet care professionals in over 26 countries, all of whom are committed to results-based, science-based, force-free methods. The new chapter will… Continued
Let’s Get Tricking
Why I Believe We Should All Be Teaching Our Dogs To Do Tricks. You probably don’t realize it but you have already taught your dog to do lots of tricks! Have you taught your dog to sit, lie down, stand, stay or come? Have you taught your dog how to fetch a ball to your hand? Have you taught your dog to zigzag in and out of weave-poles? Name a behavior and I will tell you it is a “trick”. The words behavior and trick are often interchangeable. Trick dog… Continued
Defining the “C” in PCT-A
The Pet Professional Guild and force-free training are on my mind on a daily basis and I often think about the trainer certifications I have worked for. I have always been introspective and try to understand things on a deeper level in a world that seems to grow more superficial with every internet post. Lately I have been thinking about the deeper meaning PCT-A credentials have for me, and how that may extend to the community of professional trainers at large. Specifically, I wish to define the “C” in PCT-A… Continued
A Dog’s World
Do dogs see in color or black and white? How did my dog know that a thunderstorm was coming? Why does my dog bark when no one is there? How curious the dog’s world must be for them to respond so differently to their surroundings than we would often expect. Though we share the same surroundings, dogs perceive their environment quite differently than humans do. To begin to understand these creatures, we must try to wrap our heads around how they perceive their environment. Having a clear concept of the… Continued
People Skills for Dog Trainers
Being a dog trainer is great. I love training dogs. But, I also love teaching people. Being a dog trainer requires a huge and unique set of skills. First, you must be adept at recognizing and understanding canine behavior. Then, you need to develop the manual skills to teach that non- verbal being to follow your cues and live in a world with vague rules that have no parallel in the canine world. Once you have mastered the dog communication and training portion, you need to have people skills. Included… Continued
Defining Empathy
Over the last decade there has been an increasing awareness of the need to think, and act, empathically within healthcare settings; this information could be very useful for us. Helen Reiss MD of Harvard Medical School reports a variety of benefits to both patients and clinicians by including; greater patient satisfaction; better medical outcomes for patients; greater job satisfaction and reduced burnout for professionals; better adherence to treatment recommendations. The research has been so influential an organization called E.M.P.A.T.H.Y ™ has been founded to educate healthcare professionals in how to… Continued
The Mad Hatter
As a dog trainer, I wear my “professional hat” when I patiently educate my clients to help them resolve their dog’s behavioral issues. The joke is that when I get home, the last thing I want to do is start training my own dogs. I think the saying, “The cobbler’s children have no shoes” fits here. But I’ve come to realize that my relationship with my dogs (and cat) is so much more than just teaching them certain behaviors and consequently, I wear a variety of “hats” with them,… Continued
Please Go Away: Dog Body Language Study
One of the things I am very grateful for in my life with dogs is that my current three get along. They don’t adore each other, but two of them, Clara and Zani, actually play together and are comfortable in each other’s space bubbles. Zani helped “bring up” Clara, even though Clara got pretty obnoxious pretty fast as a pup. And both of them manage to get along with Summer, who would really prefer to be the only dog in the world. Or at least the only female. But thank… Continued
Pet Professional Guild New Advocacy Videos
Advocacy Videos 1. Calling Veterinarians & Pet Professionals. Let’s Work Together! 2. A Call For Change. Say No To Prong and Choke Collars! Checkout the link to our PPG Advocacy Page. Click here
Get Healthy, Get a Dog
I was excited when I read about Get Healthy, Get a Dog, a new report from the Harvard Medical School that describes the connections between life with a dog (or dogs) and better health. The article I read was very enthusiastic, and I immediately purchased a copy of the report, a collaboration between Harvard Medical School and Angell Animal Medical Center (in Boston). A few days later, I settled in to read the whole 50-page document … and was deeply disappointed . It’s not that the report contains anything negative.… Continued
Pet Professionals: Keeping It Objective
A dog’s behavior can many times cause the owner to experience feelings of embarrassment or even failure. Such feelings can be detrimental in the trainer/behavior consultant-client relationship and can certainly adversely affect the outcome of any training protocols that are put into place. When owners shut down or withhold information, behavior professionals will lack the necessary information with which to proceed. Yet while information obtained from an owner can be patchy, subjective, and even anthropomorphic in nature, owners are in fact the greatest source of information regarding their animal’s behavior… Continued
What Does Citronella Really Do to a Dog?
My ‘Paws for Thoughts’ blogs are just what they say – thoughts. I don’t profess to be an expert on my subject matter or feel that we should believe everything we read, but it should always make one think. This train of thought started with an email I received the other morning from a man with a cocker spaniel, Bertie. The four-year-old dog was now on his third home. A couple of months previously this client had canceled his appointment with me because my simple telephone advice had worked instantly. Obviously I was… Continued
Confession of a Professional Dog Trainer
My name is Daniel H. Antolec. I am a professional certified force-free trainer…and I own a shock collar. Not only do I own a shock collar, but it is among my most prized possessions and is proudly displayed in my library of 45 books and 25 DVDs on training and behavior. You see, once upon a time I met a little dog named Pete and his owner, Penelope. I changed their names for this blog but the story is factual. Pete was six weeks old when Penelope obtained him. He… Continued
The Impact of Using Shock to Train Recall
This series of blog posts recounts topics drawn from a recent guest segment by Linda Michaels on the Pet Professional Guild Radio Show. Question: Can you tell us if you think training an emergency recall with P+ (positive punishment such as a shock collar) could, in any way, be preferable to using R+ (positive reinforcement, such as a treat or affection)? Answer: This is such an important topic because both shock collar trainers and so-called “balanced trainers often use recall/come in demonstrations to the public or online, as a way to impress… Continued
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT REGARDING THE USE OF SHOCK IN DOG TRAINING
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT REGARDING THE USE OF SHOCK IN DOG TRAINING To download this as a PDF Click here The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) believes unequivocally that the pet-owning general public needs – and deserves – to have increased access to better education to help ensure that all pet animals live in safe, nurturing and stable environments. Such environments can go a long way towards preventing behavioural issues. However, depending on an individual dog’s genetics, environment and early learning experiences, behaviour problems may… Continued
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