Pets, Medications and Pills – Oh My!
OMG! My cat/dog has a medical issue and needs to take medicine daily! What to do? I’ve never given him medications and pills. Teach Your Pet About Medications and Pills Now! There are so many things that your pet needs to learn! You begin as soon as you bring your new pet home; in fact, […]
Behavior Analysis: Why Does My Dog Do That?
Behavior analysis involves considering what the behavior is doing for the dog. Simply put, the dog is performing the behavior because of the results that behavior brings. He achieves a goal, solves a problem, or gets something he wants, by doing this particular behavior. When we understand this, we can give the dog something else […]
Mealtime Training
Are you the exemplary busy pet owner? Between work, family, and home care, it seems weekdays only allow time for feeding your dog and letting her out for potty breaks. We all fall into that category at times. (Thank goodness for weekends!) Mealtime training is the answer to building the behaviors you and your dog […]
Association: Pairing Emotions and Events
Association in Pavlov’s Lab The tinkling of a bell was a neutral stimulus to the dogs in Ivan Pavlov’s lab. It was just background noise with no meaning, no different from the sounds of carriages passing on the street or human voices discussing next steps in the research. The dogs had no association with the […]
Retrieving Games, a.k.a. “Fetch!”
A happy dog races after a ball when you throw it, brings it back to you and places it in your hand with a smile in anticipation of another throw – was retrieving one of your dreams when you fell in love with your furry buddy? Problems with Retrieving I sometimes hear people say, “My […]
What it’s Like to Adopt a Rescue Dog
“Lucy! You’ve Got Some Training to Do!” My husband’s mom adopted Lucy, the Shih-Tzu, about a month ago. Lucy tugged on Nedah’s heartstrings and motivated her to use her brain power to make sure Lucy’s new life would be wonderful. I interviewed Nedah so she could share her experience with adopting an adult rescue dog […]
Baby Gate Training
What would it take for your dog to escape your backyard fence? How about a baby gate? It’s not the physical barrier that’s keeping him in. What keeps him in is his choice to stay where you put him, rather than conquer that barrier to gain access to the wonderful world beyond. Why do dogs […]
What Are Your Training Goals?
While driving the other day, I was thinking about animal behavior, pets, and my students. I turned on the recording app on my phone to help me remember my ideas, and the result is a vlog post! I hope you enjoy watching and listening, and I hope it causes you to reflect on the fulfillment […]
Paw Target: A Fun Behavior for Everyone
Your pet gets to exercise his or her brain. In the process, you can develop a simple paw target into a useful behavior and/or a parlor trick! Positive Reinforcement Builds the Paw Target Behavior Use the mantra, “Reinforce the behavior you want.” Practicing your positive reinforcement skills helps make this is a good training exercise […]
Training Methods in a Magazine Article
My sister read an article about the inspiration that can come from having a dog. Then she asked me some questions about training methods that came up for her while reading. Even though I’m about to pick apart one aspect of the article, it’s a good story about a guy and his dog and well […]
