Normalize GOOD Behavior for Dogs
What is “Normal?” There was a time in our society when most dogs slept outside. These days, that doesn’t seem “normal.” When I was a kid, many, if not most, dogs in the South died of heartworm disease; preventive medication and effective treatments had not yet been developed. That was “normal.” Many dogs still die […]
Chicken Training
What comes to mind when you think of chickens? Eggs? A pastoral farm? You probably don’t immediately think of a trained chicken running an agility course or retrieving. However, there is an elite group of animal trainers in the world who learned from Bob and Marian Bailey through chicken training to use behavior science with […]
Road Trips with Dogs
Summer Vacation Road Trip! Road trips with dogs can be delightful if you’re prepared. We drove through several states, sleeping in hotels in some of them, to reach North Carolina where I spoke at a national conference for animal shelters. We had fun, shared behavior science with people who need it, and practiced a variety […]
Your Dog Could be Much Happier
Cassandra Seale consulted me before writing this mic.com article about how your dog could be happier. I provided a few tips about how to set up a dog’s life to ensure he or she gets everything necessary for a happy life. Dogs need food, water, and shelter for survival, but they need a few additional […]
Respecting Animal Agency or Choice
In which areas of life does your pet have “agency”? In social science, agency is defined as “the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices.” Of course, it would be irresponsible to have dogs and cats living in a human world and give them carte blanche to do as […]
Is Your Dog Happy? Help Your Dog Feel Content and Secure
PLAN AHEAD Is your dog happy? Probably. But you can probably increase his satisfaction with his life. Dogs respond well to being able to predict what’s going to happen next. This starts with you doing things the same way every time. If your dog has a history of trying to blast out the front door […]
How to Use Cues in Dog Training
Verbal cues have a different meaning to dogs than to humans. Humans tend to think dogs are actually understanding the language, but dogs are simply listening for an indication of what they can do to make things work, to get things they want. “When I see my human pick up a leash, I know fun […]
How Do Dogs Learn?
Your dog is an individual but he or she learns in the same two ways as any other animal. Dogs learn through association and consequences. Association is how animals learn reflexive, involuntary responses; things they do automatically, without thinking. Emotional responses like fear and excited, joyful but over-aroused anticipation are the easiest to notice. Dog […]
Cooperative Husbandry: Teach Your Dog to Love a Nail Trim!
(The Process Works for Cats, Too!) As I write this, my mentor, Dr. Bob Bailey, is teaching keepers at the Copenhagen Zoo how behavior science can help provide better husbandry for the animals there. Husbandry refers to the management and control of domestic and kept wild animals, most commonly to their medical care and grooming. […]
Balanced Training for Dogs or a Poisoned Cue?
Balanced training for dogs: is just a little punishment helpful? “Balanced training” seems to be a popular approach to dog training. Those who don’t understand behavior science think it’s a good approach, but it has zero support from science. A little scrutiny of balanced training for dogs reveals severe conflict between it and best training […]
