Behavior Matters to Your Dog
Some of the most popular behaviors people teach their dogs include sitting/staying until released to eat a meal and sitting before crossing a street when they’re out on a walk. What makes these behaviors so commonly used? What do dogs and dog parents gain from doing them? Do these behaviors matter to dogs? How Obedience […]
Wait at the Gate
Look at those dogs clamoring at the gate, so excited to get into the dog park! They jam their noses at the gate, jumping and twirling, overwhelmed at the prospect of going through to the beautiful green grass and mesmerizing smells. You can barely get to the handle to open it and let them pursue […]
Behavior Modification Training is Powerful
What is Behavior Modification? Trainers may often use the term “behavior modification” to differentiate problem behaviors that need to be changed from basic skills that people teach dogs, like “manners,” tricks, or puppy training. However, behavior modification is simply changing behavior patterns. This means that all training is behavior modification, because the goal is changing […]
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 […]
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 […]
How to Identify a Qualified Dog Trainer
Why is it so hard to identify a qualified dog trainer? The field of animal training can be confusing. For example, a jumble of letters often follows a dog trainer’s name. Some titles mean little or nothing. Others indicate the trainer had to study behavior science and meet high-level criteria. Most importantly, the industry is […]
Virtual Dog Training Classes: You’ll love them!
Thank goodness for Zoom! Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we entered a world of telecommunication previously familiar only to astronauts, researchers stationed in Antarctica, and characters in science fiction movies. How would we have functioned throughout the pandemic without it? Because of safety restrictions during the pandemic, dog trainers had to cancel group classes and […]