“Naughty” Dog Or Normal Dog?
I’ve lost count as to how many times I’ve heard that Fido is ‘really naughty,’ ‘he’s doing it deliberately,’ ‘he’s trying to spite me,’ or, if an owner has more than one dog, ‘they’re trying to gang up on me!’ But are these labels in any way helpful? Let’s consider this for a moment. Ask yourself ‘Why?’ before reacting The number one point I would like all dog owners to consider when their dog is not responding in the way they would like their dog to respond is ask a simple question… Continued
Local Enhancement and Socially Facilitated Behaviors in Dogs
This post started out as one thing and transformed into another as I went along, as many of mine do. I have been familiar for a while with the term local enhancement for a type of social learning in dogs. I had some videos that I felt were good examples. But while researching this post and putting the clips together into a movie, I learned that the concepts and definitions were a lot less cut and dried than I thought. This topic is up for lots of interpretation and discussion… Continued
Putting More Tools in the Tool Kit
Recently I worked with an adolescent dog that I trained as a puppy. Like many adolescents he suddenly forgot several of his training skills and got stuck offering two behaviors in specific circumstances. When greeting people he climbed upon them with his fore paws, seeking attention. And to greet another dog (while on leash) he pulled hard and quickly became frustrated he could not reach them, barking and screeching while his owner strained to keep her footing. I have observed that when dogs enter adolescence they often develop annoying behaviors… Continued
Leave It: Not Just for Dead Men Anymore
The other day I was pondering the trend of talking about teaching “self-control” and “impulse control” in our dogs. I got to thinking about “leave it,” both the term and the behavior. I realized a couple things. First, the term “leave it” doesn’t pass the dead-man test. (I’ll get to that below.) Second, the behavior “leave it” is not just one, but several behaviors. Third, I realized that this combination of problems could present some difficulties when training. What is your dog actually doing when she successfully “leaves it”? You know what that means:… Continued
If You’re Loving It, Why Leave?
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 write about their animals having a choice. But here’s another thing that gets under my skin. These days it seems like many people who use the language of choice… Continued
Is Calm Really Just Another Behavior?
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. Being calm is not the same as a cued ‘sit stay’ or ‘down stay’. Without becoming too airy fairy: Calm is also not just the absence of arousal, heightened state of alert or stress. For dogs, calm means that they are content, happy, and relaxed. They are able to lie on their bed and watch… Continued
Electronic Containment System or Ambush Predator?
Much has been written about electronic shock (training) devices in their various forms. With all models a dog wears a collar fitted with an electronic device with two metal rods touching the neck of the dog, delivering electric shock. Delivery systems fall into three categories: 1) A person must press a button on a handheld remote control to initiate the shock; 2) The collar has a microphone to detect (barking) sound and trigger shock; 3) A buried wire emits a signal detected by the collar, triggering shock. I will address… Continued
Finding the Underlying Cause for Barking
Go to any online dog forum and the question will come up rather sooner than later: My dog barks, what should I do? The advice then often starts with citronella or even shock collars, rattle cans, and other unpleasant devices such as high pitched noises to name a few. I find it rather scary how easily we resort to punishment; at best doing something unpleasant and at worst something painful and scary to the dog. I am making no excuses; this is abuse plain and simple. There is a reason… Continued
Dominance in Canine Behavior: Reality or Myth?
By Don Hanson BFRAP CDBC ACCBC CPDT-KA 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 on a regular basis because sadly there are still too many people promulgating the dominance myth. Unfortunately a popular reality TV show has captured people’s attention and is talking about dogs as pack animals and again perpetuating the idea of using “calm-assertive energy” (read: fear and intimidation) to resolve issues with problem dogs. Like most… Continued
Marshmallow Tests for Dogs
A guide dog partner, Deni Elliott, devised a dog version of the marshmallow test for her guide dog. She administered it to her guide Alberta a few years ago. Alberta did well; she actually did many of the things that children who take the marshmallow test do — she looked away, she distracted herself. She didn’t use her toes as a piano or sing a song, but she did distract herself from temptation. In her case, temptation was a bowl full of dog cookies. We were delighted with her response,… Continued
Insecure Teenage Dogs at the Off Leash Park
Recently I got asked: “What should I do when my dog goes over to another dog, puts his head over the other dog’s shoulder and, depending on the other dog’s reaction, they will start squabbling?” So far no one got hurt. The dog is just two years old and has no previous history of aggression. Most dogs go through a phase where they become a bit ‘stroppy’ (as we say in Australia) with other dogs in off leash situations. Anecdotal evidence suggests that male dogs may be more prone to… Continued
Pet Professional Guild Releases Position Statement on Pet Correction Devices
Pet Professional Guild Press Release Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has released a new position statement on so-called “pet correction devices” that are used for the management, training and care of pets. PPG does not recommend such devices and the move comes as part of its ongoing mission to create greater awareness amongst pet owners, industry professionals, and the general public of non-aversive training and pet care methods. The newly-released document, Pet Professional Guild Position Statement on Pet Correction Devices, defines pet correction devices as “aversive stimuli intended for pet care,… Continued
Countering The Aversive
Some pet dog trainers that are either using aversive methods or some that call themselves “balanced”, and use a combination of both aversive approaches and food rewards, may carry the notion that positive reward based trainers are against them personally, or that are looking to have them stop training dogs. While I can only speak for myself, it is not personal at all. What it boils down to for me, and many others, is the potential fallouts of using shock or choke, and/or physically reprimanding a dog that has me and… Continued
Spray Bottles Are for Houseplants, Not Cats
By Beth Adelman, MS It’s piece of bad advice that just won’t die: When your cat is misbehaving, squirt her with some water. Even some veterinarians still say it. What’s wrong with the spray bottle? Well, for starters, it doesn’t work. Yes, when you squirt your cat, she is very likely to stop what she’s doing and run away. But if you squirt her, say, when she jumps on your dinner table, what have you accomplished? You may have taught her to run away at the sight of the bottle;… Continued
News Flash: Dogs Remember
Science has once again confirmed the obvious: Dogs can remember things. OK, maybe I am being a bit hard on the researchers. They were specifically interested in whether dogs have episodic memory. Well, they call it “episodic-like” memory, since some would argue that only humans can actually have episodic memory. I’ll leave that argument for another day. Episodic memory is remembering things that have happened to you or that you have observed directly — that is, remembering “episodes” from your own life. It differs from “semantic memory,” which is memory… Continued
Practice? Liszt or Chopsticks
Years ago in another life I was a music teacher. In addition to class music lessons for many years, I also taught the piano and the flute. What’s this got do do with dogs, you might ask. My pupils’ results showed I was quite a good music teacher. Being a piano teacher in the exam system was actually more about motivating my pupils to practice than anything else. I could have been a rubbish piano player myself and created great performers. I could on the other hand have been a concert pianist unable to teach… Continued
Total Recall
I suspect most dog owners wish their dogs could be off leash and enjoy themselves without restriction, or at least be free of the leash in most situations. In that ideal world a dog could assuredly be called back on cue and no harm would occur if he occasionally strayed afar. My personal dog stewardship is limited to five Labradors. Three of them were very safe off leash, one was pretty reliable and the other was…a bit sketchy. To tell the truth his recall was not sketchy at all. It… Continued
Toads, Snakes, Spiders and Chocolate!
Did you know that an encounter with a toad could have devastating consequences? During a recent class I was teaching, one of the students said that her training buddy and his friends had found a large toad in their yard. They were very fortunate as none of them made actual contact with the toad. Two years ago, I posted a blog, How Force-Free Training Helped Save My Dog’s Life! in which I told the story of my Staffordshire bull terrier, Jambo’s encounter with a toad in the middle of the night and… Continued
Sticks and Stones…
..may break my bones, but words will never harm me” This, or one of its variations, is a childhood phrase that most of us are familiar with. We know that physical violence hurts and, as is suggested by the rhyme, words cannot cause harm. Or can they? As a dog behaviour counsellor and trainer, there are several words which, when used in connection with dog training and behaviour, I think harm our relationship with and understanding of our dogs. Our world is filled with words – be it online, through… Continued
A Bit on the Nose
When you’re teaching people to use luring, it can be hard for them to actually find their dog’s nose. And then it can be hard for them to put that tasty treat that they’re using to lure the behaviour right up close to the dog’s nose. I’ve tried all sorts of things. In my dog free lesson at the beginning of my courses, I take a model dog to class. On the Nose 101 – find the dog’s nose. I demonstrate what I mean by ‘close’. I then get each participant to give the… Continued
Laughter and Learning at the PPGBI Mini-Summit
The PPGBI Mini Educational Summit, which took place in early September at the Leeds Mercure Parkway hotel in Yorkshire, England, was a roaring success. Much fun was had on the first night as the attendees started to gather, register and receive some PPG Swag. Everyone then got to know each other over a welcome drink in the bar. This was followed by a weekend packed full of fun, educational learning and networking. PPG President, Niki Tudge, opened the Summit with a welcome address to the attendees and also presented several,… Continued
Beware of the Behavior Chain
Isn’t it frustrating, we try to train our dog to not jump up but it gets worse? It is the ‘behavior chain syndrome’. We train behavior chains all the time, sometimes on purpose and sometimes by mistake. Behaviour chains can be great and useful or useless, ineffective or even dangerous. There are lot of behavior chains that are useful, like a ‘go to mat’ cue, ‘come when called and let me touch your collar’, a formal recall or retrieve in obedience. We often train these using back chaining. This simply… Continued
That Tickles!
Many, many years ago I enrolled in what seemed like a fun weekend workshop with my dog. The ad read, “No limits to learning” or something similar, so of course, I jumped at the chance to attend with my dog. As we sat in the small room with other dog owners, you could feel the excitement build as the speaker grabbed his microphone to engage the crowd who, by the way, seemed very familiar with this particular speaker. Imagine my shock (the operative word here), when he started bashing positive… Continued
Training is Simple as A-B-C
Animal training can serve useful purposes, be great fun and strengthen the human-animal bond. It can also frustrate folks, especially if they have not formally studied learning theory. Welcome to Learning Theory 101. Training is as simple as A-B-C. The “A” stands for antecedent and that is what occurs before a behavior. “B” stands for the behavior that you observe and “C” is the consequence of that behavior. If I ask my dog Buddha to sit using a word, that verbal cue is the antecedent. It gives Buddha a prompt.… Continued
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