Watch Your Language
By Bob McMillan It was an electric moment. After having Oona for seven weeks, something clicked. Our Irish wolfhound puppy realized that the sounds I was making with my mouth meant something to her. She looked me directly and unflinchingly in the eye and — wham —a gap had been spanned. Clear communication was suddenly happening. A lifelong connection had begun. After that subtle but memorable moment, our rowdy puppy was changed. She was interacting with my wife and I with more purpose in a more mature way. She was… Continued
The Many, Many Problems with BSL
I recently had the pleasure of both attending and speaking at the Coast to Coast Bully Walk in Chesterton, IN. The walk is held every year, in various locations across the USA to celebrate Pit Bull Awareness Month. Both Jambo and I were kindly invited by Piper’s Page of Life but, unfortunately, Jambo could not attend. In my speech there, I focused on the importance of training your dog without force; improving the image of the “bullies”; why it is important to spay/neuter dogs; and why we should all fight… Continued
Eight Common Dog Training Errors: Cautionary Tales
As the great trainer Bob Bailey says, training is simple but not easy. The principles are very simple and straightforward, but actually applying them in practice can be very difficult. I’ve mentioned many times that I am not a professional trainer. But I hang out with some phenomenal ones. Plus, I am a student of life and tend to do lots of observation of myself and others. (What, you had noticed?) And I don’t mind sharing my own errors if it can help somebody along. Here are eight of the… Continued
Letting Go of Restraint for a Force-Free Blood Draw
A number of years ago I saw Dr. Karen Overall, the Veterinary Behaviorist, speak for a two-day workshop. If you have a chance to see her, GO! She has an amazing way of making the complicated seem simple. One quote that she said during the weekend was, “We must let go of the idea of restraint!” She was referring to vets and how they restrain dogs and cats for everything. She was also talking about grooming and regular pet care. This concept has stuck with me ever since, mainly because… Continued
Spending Time with Dogs Brings Joy to Our Lives
When I add a dog to my life, I consider our relationship the beginning of a voyage. I look forward to creating a bond based on understanding and trust. There isn’t a timetable for these events to occur. The bond takes time to happen. My idea is to enjoy the journey. In these days of cell phones, texting and reality TV, many of us expect instant gratification. In human and canine relationships, taking the time to establish communication is critical. I like to prioritize the behaviors I want my dog… Continued
Pet Professional Guild Announces Second Virtual Force-Free Training Competition
The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has rolled out the guidelines for its second international virtual community event, The International Day of Celebration for Force-Free Training and Pet Care (ICFF). Taking place on 17 February each year to honor one of PPG’s founding members, the late Leah Roberts, the event was created to recognize Roberts’ lifelong crusade for force-free training and better treatment for all pet dogs. Like its predecessor in 2014, ICFF 2015 will entail a photo and video competition where members are invited to make their submissions under a… Continued
When is Dog Training Like a Video Game?
My kids and I have been playing a game called Botanicula on my iPad. It’s one of those intuitive, trial and error games with no instructions. In each scene of this weird world, you just tap and swipe till something happens. Then you have to deduce what actions made it happen, so you can repeat or avoid that outcome in the future. And it dawned on me: I bet dogs in training classes feel like I do playing Botanicula: It’s all a crap shoot, a guessing game, until they… Continued
Yes!
I am just back from ClickerExpo here in the UK and found the whole thing incredibly reinforcing. I gained a deeper understanding of things I thought I already knew. Having been immersed in so much positivity for three days, back home I am seeing things around me through different eyes. At lunch in a café yesterday I watched a mother scolding her little girl and found it hard not to intervene. Today I visited for the third time a struggling client. She was still finding it impossible to avoid ‘No’… Continued
Growl versus Scowl
Growling is often punished. If we understand that growling is communication and that there are many different types of growls, then we would respond as if a human was scowling at us. or Scowling says a lot without sound. Imagine adding a growl to the above looks. The definition of a scowl is to frown in an angry or bad-tempered way or an angry or bad-tempered expression. We would listen to the implications directed toward us and give this human space, take it as a warning. Dogs do everything with… Continued
Sudden Death
The original title of this post was “I’m Broke, But My Dogs Are Fixed!” Sadly, that is no longer the case. I still am broke, only like all good short stories we read in school, this one took a surprising turn that I would not have predicted. September was a busy month! Busy at work and then busy transporting three senior dogs to and from the vet clinic that is 20 miles from my house. But the good news was that everybody was doing great or on the road to… Continued
Socialization — Rolling with the Punches
By Bob McMillan Oona, my Irish wolfhound puppy, is about to turn 15 weeks old. Depending on which studies you follow, her developmental window for socialization is now closed or is closing fast. Adolescence is upon us — the wild child phase. We’ll see if I got it right this time. I had a year to plan extensive details for her socialization while waiting on my breeder’s list for Oona’s litter to be born. I’m certainly no pro at it. It wasn’t until I got my first wolfhound, Finn, that it… Continued
In Defense Of Treats–And The Dogs Who Love Them
“My dog will do anything as long as there are treats.” Don’t dog owners say this all the time? Often the tone is light, with a grin and a “that’s a dog for you” wink. But sometimes it’s got an undertone, an edge. Some owners wonder why their dog won’t act a certain way or do a specific behavior just because they said so, or just to please them. They may chafe at “paying” for behavior they think they deserve for free. What I call food-motivated, an asset in training, they… Continued
Is It Worth It?
Working in the industry of companion animal behavior and training, we all do things that are not financially lucrative and maybe take up a lot of our free time. Whether it is writing training articles and blogs; helping to raise money for animal shelters; running a Facebook page to help educate people; taking the time to talk to somebody who has concerns about their dog or maybe just taking the time to let somebody who is scared of a certain breed – or perhaps even scared of dogs in general… Continued
Seven Effects of Punishment
Here are seven documented possible side effects of the use of punishment, negative reinforcement, and of aversives in general. Escape/Avoidance: If you hurt or scare your dog, he will likely try to avoid you, the places you frequent, and whatever else it associates with the hurt. Operant Aggression: If you hurt or scare your dog, it may hurt you back. Elicited Aggression: If you hurt or scare your dog, it may hurt your other dog or your kid. Apathy: If you hurt or scare your dog a lot, he may become apathetic and not do much of anything. Conditioned Suppression/Learned Helplessness: If… Continued
Pet Professional Guild Launches Force-Free Dog Training Program at New Educational Facility
The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has launched the first in a series of practical force-free dog training workshops and educational seminars at the new Canine Behavior Center on King Lake in Wesley Chapel, FL. The first workshop took place 27 – 28 September, 2014 at the state-of-the-art dog training and educational facility, which is set on 23 fully-fenced acres against the backdrop of the lake, a 500-acre inland water feature hosting some of the state’s richest bird species. Sponsored by The DogSmith, the inaugural two-day workshop “Refining Your Training Skills”… Continued
Multiple Dogs Create Joy and Challenges
For many of us, dogs are like potato chips, you can’t just have one. Living with multiple dogs can be joyous and chaotic. For 3 years, I had 3 dogs. The dogs, Dale, Jesse and Rio, got along fine for the most part. Dale was firmly in charge of our household. She was the play police, making sure canine activities didn’t get too wild. That is, until it was time to run out the door to bark at our neighbors dogs. Then she led the charge. Quite the queen, the… Continued
The Best Laid Plans: Adding a New Dog to the Fold
How to introduce a new dog or cat to a home with resident pets has been well-documented by many an expert. Personally, I have done it successfully so many times over the years I rarely bat an eyelid when another creature needs a place to stay. So bringing home dog #5 wasn’t really much cause for concern. I knew our dogs would be okay with her and eventually the cats too, but the dog herself was something of an unknown quantity. No worries I thought, we can handle it. I… Continued
Forcing Hugs on Dogs Amounts to Punishment
Imagine if somebody, particularly someone you didn’t know, were to approach you directly, grab you and, despite your resistance, squeeze and rub him/herself against you, what would you do? Struggle to escape? Shout at them? Call for help? Slap them? I’m sure you would be very fearful of what might happen next. According to human etiquette, not only would it be a totally unacceptable invasion of our personal space and extremely bad manners, but pretty threatening also. In the workplace it would be justification for a complaint of harassment. ‘Hugging’… Continued
Pet Professional Guild Promotes Force-Free Training Methods for Hearing Impaired Dogs
Tampa, FL – In line with Deaf Dog Awareness Week taking place from 21–27 September, 2014, the Pet Professional Guild (PPG) is highlighting the message that deaf dogs respond equally as well as their hearing counterparts to force-free training. According to the Deaf Dog Action Fund, deafness occurs in dogs for a number of reasons, including injury, old age, reactions to medications or genetics. Breeds such as Dalmatians and Boxers are more prone to deafness than other breeds, as are white dogs, although any dog can be deaf. Regardless, deaf… Continued
DOWN WITH DOMINANCE
When was the last time you heard “my dog is dominant” or “my dog is trying to be dominant with (fill in the blank)” or “my dog doesn’t see me as the dominant one”? Dominance in dogs is scientifically proven to be a myth. The AVSAB (American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior) in its concern for the resurgence of dominance theory issued a position statement. By definition the state of being dominant according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is defined as “a dominant position especially in a social hierarchy”. This definition is… Continued
Ten Questions to Ask Your Dog Training Professional – Before You Hire Them!
Ten Questions to Ask Your Dog Training Professional – Before You Hire Them! What dog training equipment do you use when training a dog or do you recommend I use? A force-free professional trainer will recommend using equipment that has been designed with a dog’s safety in mind. While collars are great for holding ID tags, they can do damage to a dog’s neck and throat if the dog is walking with pressure on the leash (i.e. pulling). We recommend using a properly fitted front- or back-clipping harness to lessen… Continued
PPG Responds to American Kennel Club’s Backtracking on the Use of Shock in Dog Training
In the light of a recent study stating that – unsurprisingly – electronic training collars present a welfare risk to pet dogs, The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) was delighted to hear American Kennel Club Vice President Gina Dinardo speak out in favor of positive reinforcement training methods in an interview with Fox News on 13 Sept, 2014. “There are better training methods than using shock collars,” said Dinardo. “Shock collars can cause stress, distress, sometimes pain. Used inappropriately they can prevent dogs from even being receptive to other training methods in… Continued
I Have a Dog. What Do I Do Now?
Now and then over the years I’ve tried my hand at painting. Portraits — human and canine — baffled me time and time again. No matter how painstakingly I tried to capture a likeness, the finally product warped. A nose was too long. The eyes weren’t quite right. Or, if I faithfully nailed the lines and proportions, I failed to capture the elusive spark that made the person or dog sitting before me the unique individual they were. The lights were on but nobody was home. Practice didn’t make perfect, but it… Continued
These Snoots Were Made for Walking
Walking a dog is good exercise. True or False? Wait! Before you answer, realize this question actually has a couple questions buried beneath its surface. One is, what KIND of exercise? Are you fixated on the physical aspect and overlooking the mental part? Another is, exercise for WHOM? Whose walk is it, after all? To be fair, at least some walks should be primarily for our dogs. So what are you trying to accomplish on dog walks? Maybe power-walking your dog is your way to get a cardio workout. You get your… Continued
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