Empathy for Human Learners
As I develop as a teacher I’ve been revisiting some of my experiences as learner, empathically engaging with my human clients who might be struggling with new skills. Being a good learner is something I last thought about seriously when I was a student (a long time ago!). I trained as a podiatrist in the UK, something that requires a lot of practical skills as well as theory. I was pretty comfortable learning all the theory, what I found very difficult (and uncomfortable) was learning the practical skills. I was… 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
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
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
Accidental Punishment
I charged straight into a positive punishment scenario by accident recently. I’ve been somewhat in the training doldrums lately, probably because I am putting so much energy into finishing my book. I have several training activities that I fall back on when I don’t have much energy. They are fairly unchallenging for me (read: I can’t mess them up too badly) but still fun for the dogs. Even those have been hard to do lately. But the other day I had some time and energy and decided to play a shaping game with each dog. We don’t… Continued
How Safe Is It for Your Dog to Jump off Furniture?
As a dog Mom and professional dog trainer, dog safety is always on my mind. It seems every year, I start to question things I’ve done in the past, as to whether or not it is safe. My current dog, Dexter, is a small breed dog. Ok, so he’s double the breed standard, but still is only 27 pounds. He’s my first small breed dog. He’s also the first dog I’ve cared for that was allowed full access to furniture. But let’s back up a few more years. Before Dexter,… Continued
How To Bring Empathy into Practice?
Drawing empathy into our training practice is so important. As positive reinforcement training is involves multiple choices (such do we shape, capture or lure this behavior? What sort of reward should we choose; food or something else? What is our secondary reinforcer going to be – a clicker/our voice or something else) all these choices require we make intelligent, informed decisions for the benefit of our non-human student as we work. What works for one dog won’t be so effective, reinforcing or clear to another. In order to make emotionally… 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
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
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
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
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
Dog Bites and the Importance of Education
I was very fortunate to be able to attend PPG Special Council member Victoria Stilwell’s second Annual Dog Bite Prevention and Behaviour Conference, held earlier this month at the University of Lincoln in England. The conference is a national event dedicated to finding practical and workable solutions to the issue of dog bites through education and heightened awareness. It began with a welcome introduction by Victoria Stilwell, which had us all eagerly awaiting the presentations that were to follow. Three of the presenters hailed from the University of Lincoln itself.… Continued
Before You Share That “Cute” Dog and Baby Picture…
First things first. I didn’t write this with you in mind. Let’s not make this about your dog or your parental decisions. But there’s a problem with sharing that “cute” dog and baby picture. The problem is bigger than your individual situation, your family. The problem is that posting a picture such as the one above sets an example and feeds a dangerous myth. A myth so dangerous that people die because of it. Children, especially, are hurt, and sometimes die because of it. The myth is that good dogs, family dogs, your dogs–don’t bite. The myth… 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
Tired Dogs, Good Dogs, Dogs Being Dogs
“How much exercise does my dog need?” This question sounds straightforward enough, but peel it apart and you’ll find it has several layers. Inquiring dog owners crave reassurance that they’re doing right by their dogs, meeting their needs. Also embedded in the query may be “I love my dog but…how can I get her to leave me alone when I’m trying to relax?” And sometimes, let’s be honest because we’ve all been there, it’s a plea for a manageable minimum investment of time: “Life is crazy busy, and I don’t want… Continued
How Force-Free Training Helped Save My Dog’s Life!
Written by Louise Stapleton-Frappell Yesterday I shared a post on Facebook about Pamela Johnson’s “Rattlesnake Avoidance Training Using Force-Free Methods,” a Pet Professional Guild webinar. (You can register and watch the webinar here). Last night we had a thunderstorm and my Staffy bull terrier, Jambo, was frightened so I stayed up with him. The storm finally passed and at 2am I took him and Tessa, our German shepherd, outside for a bathroom break. There was a toad at the bottom of the steps but unfortunately, I didn’t see it until Jambo made contact. As a… Continued
PPG World Service Radio Show Launches with Trial Podcast
PPG World Service is the official international e-Radio web-casting arm of The Pet Professional Guild. The mission of PPG World Service is “Global News & Views on Force-Free Pet Care” and will serve as an advocacy forum for force-free dog training and pet care issues. The PPG World Service broadcast will initially be aired once per month with the goal of increasing this frequency as the audience builds. Together we are hoping to create a fun, educational and informative show. So come along and join us, bring your questions, expertise… Continued
The Far Side Of Behavior Solutions
One of my favorite Gary Larson, Far Side cartoons, is a drawing of a girl reading a book about equine medicine with the caption, “Doreen breezes through her first semester of veterinary school.” The page shows a long list of possible horse ailments and only one antidote…shoot him! Unfortunately this is how a lot of people deal with their dog’s behavioral issues. And while symbolically shooting the dog may seem like the right thing to do, after all the dog is “behaving badly” and therefore needs to be taught a lesson;… Continued
Do Animals Grieve?
“There is a cycle of love and death that shapes the lives of those who choose to travel in the company of animals. It is a cycle unlike any other. To those who have never lived through its turnings and walked its rocky path, our willingness to give our hearts with full knowledge that they will be broken seems incomprehensible. Only we know how small a price we pay for what we receive; our grief, no matter how powerful it may be, is an insufficient measure of the joy we… Continued
False Bravado: Reframing the Old Dog Training Myths
By Karen Deeds, CDBC If you work with dog owners or cruise the dog behavior groups on Facebook you will often see dogs that are labeled ‘dominant’. I hear this most often in client homes where they have multiple dogs and have categorized one as the dominant or “alpha” dog because of his or her interactions with the other dogs. He/she is often described as the dog who is stealing all the toys, pushing the others out of the way at the doorways, hoarding all of the chew bones or… Continued
Ten Ways To Use Problem-Solving Games in Behavior Modification
Mental, intelligence games and problem solving activities can be used in a behavior modification program. We use games in environmental enrichment, but why couldn’t we use them, like we use toys in behavior modification? How would you do that, you ask? And, you might not know that this can be done? So let’s explore the 10 ways physical-type purchased intelligence games (like Nina Ottoson, and Dog Kingdom Pet Supply) can be used, as well as homemade games (1) and problem solving activities (2) that uses the dog’s brain to mentally… 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