Leash Skills Series #1: Walking a dog
What’s your vision of walking a dog? One joyous vision of having a dog is going for long walks in the beauty of the outdoors with a beloved canine companion, enjoying the sights and smells of the world, and becoming more closely bonded as partners. This can occur only if both human and dog have […]
Leash Skills Series #8: Positive Reinforcement for Humans
Positive reinforcement works for all species Humans learn from positive reinforcement just as well as dogs do. Reinforcers for you might be the joy of a happy dog, a pleasant walk, and maybe pride in the wonderful partnership you’re building. Professional or self-help? Hiring a qualified trainer to teach you is helpful. Since training people […]
Science and Animal Training Series #4: Science-based Dog Training Matters
The big picture of dog training There’s a big picture of dog training, and it involves how we treat animals and humans. Positive reinforcement can help us get others to respond in ways we like. It requires us to observe our own behavior and choose what we do so we can get the responses we […]
Science and Animal Training #3: Behavior Science Principles
The application of behavior science is based on the behavior science principles of Stimulation, Reinforcement, Extinction, Punishment, and Generalization. Anyone who has a dog uses these principles every day, but you may not realize the power you have to use them deliberately. Stimulation or The Stimulus Stimulation is giving a cue. The stimulus is whatever […]
Science and Animal Training #2: Do I have to be a science geek to learn to train dogs?
You can be whomever you want! There’s an advantage to enjoying reading about the topic of behavior science. You don’t have to read the cold, dry language of scientific studies, but it’s helpful to choose books and articles that include references you can check. You have to be objective and you have to ask questions, […]
Science and Animal Training Series #1: What is Science-based Training?
Training “Training” most often refers to changing the behavior of an organism. The organism may be your dog or cat, horse or parrot, fish, lizard, or a human family member. The behavior may be your dog learning to retrieve a ball, a lizard going to a certain area of his cage, or your nephew learning […]
Fearful Dogs
When working with shy or fearful dogs, remember: Dogs respond well to having the choice to interact or not. “Approaching” dogs is a misnomer: dogs should always be invited to approach us, particularly shy ones. Don’t pet or handle a dog who doesn’t want to be petted or handled unless it’s an emergency. When a […]
Teaching Reactive DOGS A New Habit: Part I “Open Bar”
Read part II here: Teaching Reactive Dogs A New Habit, Part II: “Look At That!” Do any of these statements describe your dog? Your dog over-reacts to exciting stimuli, especially another dog walking by. He barks and lunges at passing skateboards, bikes, or other dogs, like he wants to attack them! Molly barks at people […]
Housetraining for Puppies
Housetraining is one of the most important things to teach a puppy, or a new adult dog. Whether you want your new puppy to use a potty pad indoors or go outside on the grass, he must learn the difference between the surface you want him to use and any other surface or location. We […]
Teaching Reactive Dogs A New Habit, Part II: “Look At That!” for reactivity
What is Reactivity? “Reactivity” in dogs describes a dog reacting quickly and intensively to stimuli that don’t warrant such a strong response. It’s a problem behavior that can be prevented and treated with a few simple exercises. Dogs that respond quickly to certain stimuli are often trained as hearing alert dogs; these dogs don’t miss […]
