Dog Adoption, Done Right
Dog adoption is near and dear to my heart, and one which, hopefully, leads to a celebration that lasts for the life of the pet. The main concern I have heard people express is that adopting a dog is likely to result in dealing with “issues” such as fear, aggression or separation anxiety. I often hear the person express a desire to buy a puppy in order to begin with a clean slate and avoid pre-existing “issues”. I appreciate that not everyone is suitable to adopting a pet with pre-existing “issues”… Continued
Portland Blog Competition: Aggression by Any Other Name
By Stephanie Peters “Help, my dog is aggressive!” This is often the first thing that I hear from potential clients when they contact me for a training or behavior consultation. They may be troubled by certain behaviors their dog is demonstrating, and are either panicked that they have somehow caused the behavior, or worried that their dog is inherently “flawed.” Our culture sometimes has a tendency to pathologize aggressive behaviors in our beloved pets—who are, let’s remember, animals—and there is something of a dearth of information available to pet guardians… Continued
The Challenge of Breed Discrimination
By Kim Iffert It was finally a beautiful day in Chicago so I grabbed my bag, my leash, a pocket full of treats and tennis ball and set out for a walk. The neighbors were out and it was the perfect opportunity for a social outing – but not for me and my dog. As we walked down the sidewalk, others may have looked, some would wave, a few may have offered a smile… and then crossed the street. Social pariah? No, just me and my Rottweiler out for a… Continued
Reading List for Dog Owners
When I got my first dog in 1983 I knew nothing about living with dogs, so naturally I got a puppy. Needless to say I knew even less about raising a puppy. Samantha relied upon me to teach her, and I relied upon the only source available at the time: a book. If there were local dog trainers or puppy classes in particular I was unaware of them. There was no internet to search nor a Pet Professional Guild to inform me. I bought the best selling dog training book… Continued
Multinational Canine Behaviour Modification
Over the last two years or so, my behaviour practice has welcomed more and more dogs from overseas. Sometimes these are canines with profound behavioural difficulties. I have always assisted several imported dogs per year but there seems to have been an explosion of dogs from a variety of countries, thanks to the efforts of many local and larger International welfare charities rescuing such animals from dire conditions. So this year alone, I have assisted dogs from USA, Russia, various countries in Africa, India, Romania and many European countries. The… Continued
Dog Park Etiquette
If I had $1 for every time an owner told me how irate they were about something that had happened in the park when they were walking their dog – well, you know the rest! So what are the unspoken rules about how us dog owners should conduct ourselves, what’s expected of us, what’s frowned upon, what constitutes unruly canine behaviour and how can we prevent it in the first place? That’s a whole load of questions for one blog but let’s start at the end and work back! What’s… Continued
Expectations, Disappointment And Opportunities
When we get a puppy or a rescue dog, as a first time or an experienced dog owner or as a competitor in a dog sport, we have certain expectations. We hope for the perfect companion or the perfect agility dog. Depending on our level of experience we try to make sure we get it right. We might research first the breeds, then the breeders, look for the best puppy pre-school and best teenage dog classes, join a club or train with our ‘doggie’ friends. However, regardless of how well… Continued
Is Calm Really Just Another Behavior?
What is the most difficult thing to teach our dogs? Coming back or a great recall? While I do agree that this is a difficult behavior, I do think teaching calm is much more difficult. Being calm is not the same as a cued ‘sit stay’ or ‘down stay’. Without becoming too airy fairy: Calm is also not just the absence of arousal, heightened state of alert or stress. For dogs, calm means that they are content, happy, and relaxed. They are able to lie on their bed and watch… Continued
Finding the Underlying Cause for Barking
Go to any online dog forum and the question will come up rather sooner than later: My dog barks, what should I do? The advice then often starts with citronella or even shock collars, rattle cans, and other unpleasant devices such as high pitched noises to name a few. I find it rather scary how easily we resort to punishment; at best doing something unpleasant and at worst something painful and scary to the dog. I am making no excuses; this is abuse plain and simple. There is a reason… Continued
Marshmallow Tests for Dogs
A guide dog partner, Deni Elliott, devised a dog version of the marshmallow test for her guide dog. She administered it to her guide Alberta a few years ago. Alberta did well; she actually did many of the things that children who take the marshmallow test do — she looked away, she distracted herself. She didn’t use her toes as a piano or sing a song, but she did distract herself from temptation. In her case, temptation was a bowl full of dog cookies. We were delighted with her response,… Continued
Insecure Teenage Dogs at the Off Leash Park
Recently I got asked: “What should I do when my dog goes over to another dog, puts his head over the other dog’s shoulder and, depending on the other dog’s reaction, they will start squabbling?” So far no one got hurt. The dog is just two years old and has no previous history of aggression. Most dogs go through a phase where they become a bit ‘stroppy’ (as we say in Australia) with other dogs in off leash situations. Anecdotal evidence suggests that male dogs may be more prone to… Continued
What Makes a ‘Good Dog’ and Do Current Dog Training Classes Teach these Skills?
I define a ‘good’ dog as a dog who is considered part of the family, can stay home alone if necessary but goes places if possible, lives in the house, goes on holidays, gets enough mental and physical stimulation, is ‘cool, calm and collected’ most of the time, takes changes like moving or an new addition to the family in his stride and most important spends his entire life with one owner. As most professionals in the pet industry I try to be an advocate for the dogs and puppies… Continued
Do Dogs Have a Right to Say NO?
Aren’t dogs supposed to do as they are told and follow so-called “commands?” They are just dogs after all. Interestingly enough, only about 20 years ago we took no for a no and children who approached dogs when they were sleeping or eating were in no uncertain terms reminded to ‘let sleeping dogs lie and leave the dog alone when he is eating’. We seemed to understand then that dogs were dogs and had a right to say no. These days it seems we all get really upset when the… Continued
Why It’s Important to Teach Your Dog to Love Wearing a Muzzle
By Maureen Backman, MS, CTC, PCT-A of The Muzzle Up Project How wonderful would it be if dogs were conditioned to love wearing their muzzles early on so that if they needed to wear one later in life, it would not be an aversive event for them? The following scenarios illustrate why muzzle training is important for every dog: Aggression If he bites, I’ll muzzle train him. All dogs have the ability to bite. Most dogs display various warning signals prior to biting. These signals may be obvious, such as… 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
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
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
Sink or Swim: Eight Ways You Might Be Flooding Your Dog
Thank you to Marge Rogers, Debbie Jacobs, and Randi Rossman for discussions regarding this post. The point of view expressed and any mistakes are solely my own. The journey of becoming a positive reinforcement-based trainer sometimes seems like an endless stream of goodbyes to methods I once used. Goodbye prong collar (yes, I used one). Goodbye collar pops. Goodbye pretending to eat out of my dog’s bowl before she did. (Yep!) Goodbye forcing my dog’s butt down if she didn’t sit. Goodbye making my dog back up by walking into her space.… Continued
An Open Letter to Canine Research Scientists
PPG Member Linda Michaels MA PCT-A calls on canine research scientists to lead the way on the ethical treatment of companion animals and take a stand against shock collars. It would require a long list to delineate the benefits of companion animal canine research conferences and live streams. Admirably, these conference bring canine researchers into the mainstream of the canine applied practices fields, i.e., dog training. Many pet parents and trainers take careful note of scientific positions and plan to incorporate the lessons-learned into their practice. The researchers benefit in… Continued
Socializing a Formerly Feral Dog
When I started this blog, I assumed that I would write a lot about Clara’s training. Clara burst into my life as a 10 week old feral puppy [see note at end about feral dogs], and her socialization window was in the process of closing by the time she came to me. I slipped in that window before it shut and was fully accepted and trusted. But she growled at all other humans, even at that young age. In general, she related to them as a wild animal would, with huge wariness of… Continued
“Bad” Dogs Make Good Teachers
OK, I’ll admit it, I’m having a tiny bit of puppy envy. I’m working with a private client and his 13 week old springer spaniel. This wide-eyed cutie pie has already met everyone and everything on the ASPCA socialization list except the hot air balloon (and since we’re not in Albuquerque, we can probably skip this one). He’s game for anything and well on his way to being practically bomb-proof. He’s had very few chances to develop exasperating habits. He started learning basic manners the moment he stepped through the… Continued