Dog Tired? When Exercise Wakes him Up Rather than Tires Him Out!
By Sue McCabe Many years ago, at a seminar in Edinburgh, I heard Patricia McConnell say that most dog walks wake the dog up, rather than tire the dog out. ‘But why is he not tired?’ I’m often asked. ‘I’ve taken him for a really long walk.’ We’re just back from a 10km walk followed by a sandwich in the sun. A good brisk march with plenty of variation from sniffing and fetching, meeting and greeting dogs and even swimming. Despite this apparent morning of stimulation, after we arrived home, Jellybean… Continued
How Long Does It Take to Train a Dog?
By Sue McCabe At puppy class recently, we started retrieve training. Students were shown this video (below), with the steps needed to train a reliable retrieve to hand. The video compresses quite a bit of learning (weeks of short sessions) into just under 2 minutes of demonstration. ‘How long did it take to train?’ they asked. I guess the answer is never straight forward and well, it depends. https://www.facebook.com/muttamorphosisDogTrainingandBehaviour/videos/1377284962322971/ ‘How long will it take to train my dog?’ is a common question trainers and behaviour consultants get asked. To understand what influences… Continued
Dispelling the Myths: Tuggy, Retrieve and Safe Play
By Sue McCabe I still regularly hear from clients that they have been told they shouldn’t play tug with their dog. It causes aggression; it creates a hard mouthed dog who will damage game (if you’re into that sort of thing); you’ll never get a decent hold if you teach tug. I still hear the only way to play tug safely is to make sure the human always win the game. Would you really want to play with someone who always wins? Let’s get things straight. It is possible to play tug and allow… Continued
Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Started Training Dogs – Gus, the Dominance Myth, An Alpha Roll, and a Damaged Relationship
By Don Hanson In a recent interview, I was asked a series of questions about how to choose a dog trainer. One of the questions was “What would you like to have known when you started training dogs?” In the spring of 1991, I had a new 12-week old Cairn Terrier puppy named Gus. I had no knowledge of dog training, but a desire to learn. I started to learn by reading two of the most popular dog training books at the time; How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend and Mother Knows… Continued
The Last Trip To the Vet: What If Your Pet’s Last Breath Is on the Operating Table?
Alex in the foreground, with Rusty and Andrew behind him—photo from 1993. Yes, they are in a bathtub. Many years ago I lost Alexander, my dear, dear cat to stomach cancer. This was before veterinary medicine had the technology that’s available today. It was also before I took as proactive an approach to my animals’ health and welfare needs as I do now. I knew nothing about training or socialization. My cats were not crate- or carrier-trained. I didn’t know to use counterconditioning, desensitization, and habituation to teach them that… Continued
Herrnstein’s Matching Law and Reinforcement Schedules
When we bake cookies, some reinforcement is on a variable interval schedule. Have you heard trainers talking about the matching law? This post covers a bit of its history and the nuts and bolts of what it is about. I am providing this rather technical article because I want something to link to in some other written pieces about how the matching law has affected my own training of my dogs. In 1961, B.J. Herrnstein published a research paper in which there was an early formulation of what we call the matching law… Continued
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
A Quadrant by Any Other Name is Still a Cornerstone of Operant Learning
This 2003 edition book is $4.89 on Amazon. Contents: priceless. There is a science that deals directly with how organisms learn and how to use that information to change the environment in order to change behavior. It’s called applied behavior analysis (ABA). It is the applied version of behavior analysis, which was referred to as the experimental analysis of behavior earlier in the 20th century. It is descended from the work of the behaviorists such as Skinner and is a sub-discipline of psychology. It is a rich field of study.… Continued
Which Pavlov Is on Your Shoulder?
The trainer Bob Bailey is often quoted as saying that when one is training an animal, “Pavlov is on your shoulder.” He is reminding us that while we are training operant behaviors (sit, down, fetch, weave), there are also respondent behaviors and respondent conditioning occurring. Respondent behaviors are behaviors that are generally involuntary and that include reflexes, internal surges of hormones, and (probably) emotions. But there’s another part that is not quoted as often. Bob Bailey also says that while Pavlov is on one of your shoulders, Skinner is on… Continued
When Standard Positive Reinforcement Fails
By Yvette Van Veen Early in my dog training days, I remember having a brain storming conversation with a trainer friend who was also a mentor. To put it in context, this person was ahead of me in their learning curve. She was quite good but was also early in her journey. I learned from her and we would brainstorm various problems together. I remember one conversation very clearly. She could not get her dog to like nail trims. We broke down the problem. We talked about technique. We Googled.… Continued
Why Your Dog Doesn’t Know Sit
By Yvette Van Veen When I was a young girl, my grandmother would send gifts of books from Czechoslovakia. The books were filled with stunning moving pop-up illustrations. I learned a lot from those books. I learned how those illustrations popped up. I learned how one moving part operated another moving part. What I failed to learn was how to read Czech. My attention was so fixated on the illustrations that I memorized the words. I recited the story based on the illustration. I never focused on the letters. Illustrations… Continued
How to Achieve Purrvana
By Daniel “DQ” Quagliozzi Okay cat guardians, summer is coming to an end and it’s time to make some resolutions that are going to count for your cats. It takes a joint effort between cat and caretaker to make positive changes manifest in the right way. If you can make the right causes for your cat, a bounty of kitty abundance awaits in a place that I like to call, “Purr-vana”, where all of your cat’s needs are met in an environment that honors what it truly feels like to… Continued
7 Ways to Get Behaviour
Guest Post by Karolina Westlund Ph.D There are two important questions to ask before teaching an animal a new skill. In another blog post, I discussed the first question, one that is extremely basic but often overlooked: “what is the cost/benefit of the behaviour”. Is it useful, useless, abuse or an ethical dilemma? Once a behaviour has been found to be useful, it’s time to consider how to best go about teaching it. The second question. Which is the best technique to teach the animal how to perform a new skill? You know the… Continued
Pet Professional Guild announces junior membership and accreditation program
New levels aim to ensure next generation of pet professionals is educated in force-free, ethical, scientifically sound training methods; first 20 to register sign up for free NEWS RELEASE – WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – Aug. 22, 2018: The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has launched a junior membership program to help educate the next generation of pet professionals in the application and practice of humane, scientifically sound training methods. As such, membership is now open to children, teenagers and young adults in order to help them learn and understand the fundamentals of pet care, behavior and… Continued
Ask Your Dog Questions – Overshadowing 2
By Yvette Van Veen How to ask your dog questions…overshadowing part two. My last blog introduced the concept of overshadowing by offering a simple example to illustrate the point. For an explanation of the concept, you can read that blog here. But that basic understanding doesn’t go far enough in my opinion. Many unusual variations exist and can interfere with training. To recap, animals are more likely to attach meaning to information that is more important and noticeable – the more “salient.” Abstract variations can be hard to spot. It’s… Continued
Get A Successful Start—Today and Every Day
By Veronica Boutelle As small business owners we live with never-ending to-do lists and a constant frustration that there aren’t more hours in the day. While we can’t do anything about that last complaint, it turns out that how we use the first hour of each day can significantly improve the productivity of the rest. Many successful people and “success gurus” have weighed in on how to use that first hour. While there’s no consensus about the one best way to start the workday, there are several strategies to experiment… Continued
Busy Toys Gone Bad
By Yvette Van Veen Toys…are neither good nor bad. Rather it’s how they are used. They can strengthen behaviour you like. If you’re not careful, they will strengthen behaviour you dislike. There are more toys out there than you can shake a stick at. You could say that busy toys are the new stick. Many people are convinced that if they just buy enough toys, the right toy, their dog will stop pestering them with jumping, nudging, barking, whining and more. They hope to buy calm. But could your busy… Continued
2018 Podcasts
Let’s Opinionate – The Podcast for March 14th, 2018 with Veronica Boutelle Stimulating some new thoughts and giving our neurons some new tasks to promote their survival! Veronica Boutelle, the founder of business consultancy dog*tec, joins PPG co-host Niki Tudge to share opinions on the state of education in our industry. You may not agree with everything they say but it will certainly stimulate some positive and respectful dialogue. Please click here to listen to the podcast on Vimeodog*tec The Podcast for February 21st, 2018 with Sherry Woodard & Teri… Continued
2017 Podcasts
The Podcast for December 20th with Lara Joseph Owner of The Animal Behavior Center, Lara Joseph, joins us to chat about her upcoming workshops at the PPG Behavior and Training Workshop at Best Friends: Building a Trusting Foundation and Target Training Parrots for a Successful Future and her presentations: The Evolution of Aviculture and Fine Tuning Our Training Skills with Parrots. Find the Animal Behavior Center LLC on Facebook Please click here to listen to the podcast on YouTube The Podcast for November 5th with Helen Phillips PPGBI Special… Continued
2016 Podcasts
The Pet Professional Guild BARKS Podcasts 2016 Subscribe to the full PPG World Service Show Playlist on YouTube here The Podcast for December 4th with Victoria Stilwell and Janis Bradley Victoria Stilwell was in the house to tell us why she stands firmly against BSL and believes it essential to teach the public to better understand their dog’s body and vocal language, promoting responsible guardianship and educating children, in particular, how to be safe around dogs. We asked Victoria about her involvement in fighting to save dogs that have been… Continued
Separation anxiety: 7 reasons why you need to have strong support
By Julie Naismith Have you been out for a coffee recently? Did you spend the time chatting about your dog’s separation anxiety? I’m guessing not. Or if it did come up, your friends probably didn’t want to go into it in any detail. At the risk of sounding dramatic, it’s a socially isolating condition. Having a dog with separation anxiety sets you apart. No one else is going to get it. No one understands what it’s like to own a separation anxiety dog until they have one themselves. I recently… Continued
An Open Letter to County Commissioners re: Consumer Transparency – the Methods Used in Animal Training, Care and Management Will Protect Pets, Their Owners, Local Residents and the Public at Large
By Susan Nilson and Niki Tudge Introduction: The Importance of Transparency between Clients and Service Providers Frieden (2013) states that: “Free and open information empowers people to make informed choices and reduces the likelihood that misinformation or hidden information will endanger health.” It is not unusual and, in many cases, is mandated, that providers and manufacturers of potentially dangerous services and products place warnings on said products, thus providing transparent details to the end user regarding any risk from use. Tobacco, alcohol, gardening equipment, power tools, and even some children’s toys… Continued
Type-Delete-Reset. Manage your Social Media Activity. Your friendships, business and mental health deserve it!
by Niki Tudge I spend about an hour each day, broken down into short time periods, on social Media. Most of my postings are on Facebook and Twitter as I prefer these two platforms. Many of my business posts are done remotely through a social media software and are scheduled in advance. But, each AM, mid-day and PM, I do enjoy short sessions scrolling through my news feed, keeping up with friends replying to comments and responding to any tags. On any given day I cannot tell you how many… Continued
How to Teach Your Deaf (and Blind) Dog to be Quiet
By Debbie Bauer I’m always amused when people find out my dogs are deaf. One of their first questions is, “Do they bark?” Oh yes, and boy, can they bark! Some deaf dogs have a very high-pitched bark. Some have a deeper bark. You may hear that deaf dogs bark more than hearing dogs. Some people may even tell you this is because they can’t hear themselves so they don’t know they are barking. The truth is that dogs bark! It is a trait specific to dogs. And deaf dogs… Continued