Body Language – Your Dog’s Native Tongue
By Susan Claire, CPDT-KA This very fearful dog is showing that he does not want to be approached via his hunched position, flat ears, whites of the eyes and very slight curling of the top lip. Ignore his signals and you may get bitten. Photo: Susan Nilson If you own a dog, then you teach English as a second language. A dog’s native [...]
Service Dog Teams and Continuing Education
by Pam Hogle Photo by Nancy Garrett A few weeks ago, I was part of an amazing experience — the first-ever continuing education weekend seminar for guide dog teams that included trainers and puppy raisers, as well as 80 teams. The weekend was organized by the Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate council. Actually, it was two members of the council and their partners [...]
Choke Collar Pathology
by Daniel Antolec Recently I persuaded a local pet supply store to sell me all his choke collars (at cost) and refrain from restocking them, in return for recommendations for safe body harnesses such as Perfect Fit and Balance. He was persuaded by data I presented to him about the pathology of choke collars.“I never knew they hurt dogs, and only carried them because [...]
Do Dogs Use Tools?
by Pam Hogle More than fifty years ago, Jane Goodall made a discovery that shook some scientists — particularly those that had long lists of all the things that made humans unique and superior to nonhumans. She saw Chimpanzees using tools. Since then, other researchers have found other nonhumans using tools, from dolphins who use sponges to protect their beaks to elephants using tools to [...]
If You’re Loving It, Why Leave?
by Eileen Anderson Is “choice” a code word for negative reinforcement? It can be. Seems like that’s the context where I see it pop up the most. I’ve written a lot about choice. Two of my major points are: Many people are confused about using choice as an antecedent vs. a consequence; and People are rarely referring to choices between positive reinforcers when they [...]
We are ALWAYS training
Kay Laurence is a master trainer who points out the obvious in this blog: We are always training our dogs no matter what we are doing. Happy reading! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by Kay Laurence I had not really considered the props we use as significant objects for the dogs when competing in a ring or training environment. We are aware of using bedding or crates to [...]
A Positive Outlook on Canine Aggression
by Anna Francesca Bradley Reactivity indicates a dog is not comfortable in a given situation. Photo (c) CanStock Photo Reactivity indicates a dog is not comfortable in a given situation. Photo (c) CanStock Photo It usually starts when I receive a call from a distressed client who informs me that their dog is, or has, suddenly turned ‘aggressive.’ They tell me their dog [...]
Is Calm Really Just Another Behavior?
by Barbara Hodel 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. Calm Mum – Calm Puppies Being calm is not the same as a cued ‘sit stay’ or ‘down stay’. Without becoming too airy fairy: Calm is also [...]
Three reasons to use a clicker, or not.
Here is a blog by the Masterful Clicker Trainer Kay Laurence. Kay brings up some interesting points why it may be better to use a clicker, not because it has some sort of magical effect, but rather because it raises the human's awareness of the training process. by Kay Laurence The concept of “being a clicker trainer” is always going to lead to argument [...]
Dominance in Canine Behavior: Reality or Myth?
By Don Hanson BFRAP CDBC ACCBC CPDT-KA The concept of dominance in dog training is still pervasive today in some circles in spite of the advances made in behavioral science. Photo: © Can Stock Photo It was in the September of 2002 that the first version of this article appeared in Paw Prints, the Green Acres Kennel Shop newsletter. I update the article [...]
Pet Professional Guild publishes open letter to pet industry associations on the use of shock
Calls on organizations representing pet professionals to drive significant change by publicly saying “no” to any training technique that causes pain or fear TAMPA, Fla. – March 6, 2017 – PRLog — Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has released an open letter to pet industry representatives on the use of electric shock as a tool for training and behavior modification in pets. In the letter, PPG [...]
Dog Training’s Dirty Little Secret: Anyone Can Legally Do It
Dog training is an unregulated industry although dogs need to be licensed. By Marc Bekoff Ph.D. Dogs and humans beware During the past year I've had a number of emails from people both lauding and severely criticizing the dog trainers to whom they went to help them teach their dog to live with them in their homes and elsewhere. Of course, different people have different [...]
