Don’t Buy That!
The other day I was not able to get out to buy groceries, so I asked a friend if he’d mind picking up some items for me. I handed him a list which looked something like this: Don’t buy the following: Bananas Cauliflower Cereal Soy milk Swiss cheese Cherry soda So my wonderful friend came back with a bag of potato chips, apples, chocolate bar, eggs, whole milk and hamburger buns. I told him I didn’t like any of those things either. Well he was a little upset, but being… Continued
A Puppy in Winter
By Bob McMillan It’s true, I did not time this very well. It was Indian Summer when I got my Irish wolfhound puppy, Oona. We frolicked in the yard among the butterflies and roses. This month, Old Man Winter’s hung a big “kick me” sign on my Tennessee county. The Arctic chill let up just long enough for it to rain. Again. The yard is either slime or… frozen slime. It’s unfit for either polar bears or mud ducks. And Oona is a canine juvie now. With cabin fever. A… Continued
My Dog Said “Sorry” To My Cat. I Think.
My dog Huckleberry and my kitten Cato play rough-and-tumble games all day. Huckleberry chases Cato, Cato pounces on her neck, Huckleberry fake-bites his leg, he jumps on her belly and fake-gnaws her ear. They’re friends. Not “friends” like the dog and cat who sleep together in the dog’s bed because it’s the softest, warmest spot in the house and they both want to stake their claim to it. Real friends, who have devised a code of fair play that transcends their differences in size, strength and species. You can watch… Continued
“Only You Can Prevent__________”
That slogan, which has been delivered for over seventy years by the iconic Smokey Bear, is so familiar that we automatically finish the sentence with “forest fires”. If Smokey had said, “Only you can put out forest fires”, the message would have been very different; as well, some might have been compelled to submit applications to their local firefighting training academy! As I walk around my neighborhood that is heavily populated with dogs, I see time and time again, the human trying to “put out the fire” that is the… Continued
Watch Your Language
By Bob McMillan It was an electric moment. After having Oona for seven weeks, something clicked. Our Irish wolfhound puppy realized that the sounds I was making with my mouth meant something to her. She looked me directly and unflinchingly in the eye and — wham —a gap had been spanned. Clear communication was suddenly happening. A lifelong connection had begun. After that subtle but memorable moment, our rowdy puppy was changed. She was interacting with my wife and I with more purpose in a more mature way. She was… Continued
Yes!
I am just back from ClickerExpo here in the UK and found the whole thing incredibly reinforcing. I gained a deeper understanding of things I thought I already knew. Having been immersed in so much positivity for three days, back home I am seeing things around me through different eyes. At lunch in a café yesterday I watched a mother scolding her little girl and found it hard not to intervene. Today I visited for the third time a struggling client. She was still finding it impossible to avoid ‘No’… Continued
Socialization — Rolling with the Punches
By Bob McMillan Oona, my Irish wolfhound puppy, is about to turn 15 weeks old. Depending on which studies you follow, her developmental window for socialization is now closed or is closing fast. Adolescence is upon us — the wild child phase. We’ll see if I got it right this time. I had a year to plan extensive details for her socialization while waiting on my breeder’s list for Oona’s litter to be born. I’m certainly no pro at it. It wasn’t until I got my first wolfhound, Finn, that it… Continued
In Defense Of Treats–And The Dogs Who Love Them
“My dog will do anything as long as there are treats.” Don’t dog owners say this all the time? Often the tone is light, with a grin and a “that’s a dog for you” wink. But sometimes it’s got an undertone, an edge. Some owners wonder why their dog won’t act a certain way or do a specific behavior just because they said so, or just to please them. They may chafe at “paying” for behavior they think they deserve for free. What I call food-motivated, an asset in training, they… Continued
Pet Professional Guild Launches Force-Free Dog Training Program at New Educational Facility
The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has launched the first in a series of practical force-free dog training workshops and educational seminars at the new Canine Behavior Center on King Lake in Wesley Chapel, FL. The first workshop took place 27 – 28 September, 2014 at the state-of-the-art dog training and educational facility, which is set on 23 fully-fenced acres against the backdrop of the lake, a 500-acre inland water feature hosting some of the state’s richest bird species. Sponsored by The DogSmith, the inaugural two-day workshop “Refining Your Training Skills”… Continued
DOWN WITH DOMINANCE
When was the last time you heard “my dog is dominant” or “my dog is trying to be dominant with (fill in the blank)” or “my dog doesn’t see me as the dominant one”? Dominance in dogs is scientifically proven to be a myth. The AVSAB (American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior) in its concern for the resurgence of dominance theory issued a position statement. By definition the state of being dominant according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is defined as “a dominant position especially in a social hierarchy”. This definition is… Continued
I Have a Dog. What Do I Do Now?
Now and then over the years I’ve tried my hand at painting. Portraits — human and canine — baffled me time and time again. No matter how painstakingly I tried to capture a likeness, the finally product warped. A nose was too long. The eyes weren’t quite right. Or, if I faithfully nailed the lines and proportions, I failed to capture the elusive spark that made the person or dog sitting before me the unique individual they were. The lights were on but nobody was home. Practice didn’t make perfect, but it… Continued
Drill-Sergeants Not Needed
I’ll never forget the first (and only) time I ended up in a law suit. It was many years ago and I was young and terrified. I had given my landlord a 28 day notice to vacate my apartment, but a 30 day notice was the law. In his complaint, the landlord additionally sited me for tossing out a (moldy) vinyl shower curtain and urine-stained carpet from the previous tenant’s cat. We met at the court-appointed mediator’s office to resolve the issue and it was there that I got to… Continued
Which Puppy Would You Pick?
By Bob McMillan Whether you’re making the selection yourself or your breeder picks a puppy for you, what can you tell looking at an eight-week-old puppy? Other than it’s heartbreakingly cute and you wonder how many you can make it out the door with before anyone notices? Luckily, there’s a testing procedure to that can give you insights into what to expect in the months and years ahead from this squirming ball of fur and razor-sharp teeth. Evaluating puppies is a both a science and an art form and it’s not… Continued
It’s Not Painful. It’s Not Scary. It Just Gets the Dog’s Attention!
Some dog trainers who use tools such as shock, prong, or slip collars, or startle the dog with thrown objects or loud noises, claim that these things are done only to “get the dog’s attention.” They may further insist that the dog is not hurt, bothered, or scared. This sounds like the Holy Grail of dog training. It’s the Magical Attention Signal! It can get your dog’s attention, get him to do something, or stop doing something, all rolled into one. You don’t have to use those pesky treats or toys, and it certainly… Continued
How Long Will I Have To Treat My Dog?
By Fran Berry, CPDT-KA Of all the questions I receive, “How long will I have to treat my dog?” tops the list! It seems that some humans are resistant to give their dogs “treats” during training; their opinions run the gamut of “Dogs should do things because I say so.” to “I don’t want my dog getting fat (spoiled, sick, etc.) Not so long ago, I’d hear the question and launch into a tirade (in my head, of course); actually, I’d start explaining the fundamentals of animal training and wouldn’t… Continued
A Little Truth in Advertising, Please
Can a dog trainer advertise that they’re “force-free” and then strap a shock collar on your dog? Surprisingly, they can — and some do. This puts dog owners in a bad place if you believe positive training is the only acceptable way to help your furry friend learn your rules. How do you wade through the sometimes outrageous claims dog trainers make? What red flags do you look for? First, realize that dog training is an unregulated industry. Doctors, lawyers, big rig drivers, hair dressers and nail technicians all have to… Continued
Corrections. Paradigm Shift?
Let’s face it, humans are “trained” to correct other humans. We correct our spouses, our children, our co-workers and so it isn’t a stretch that this thinking spills over into dog training. We wait for something to go wrong or for someone to do something wrong so we can then correct it. The reality is corrections evoke fear and erode trust. I certainly wouldn’t want this man in my face, would you? Why are animals subjected to this type of body language? Corrections The word itself is offputting. When it… Continued
Stress and Dog Training
I’d like to thank The Pet Professional Guild for asking me to blog for their website. I feel there is no better organization for pet dog guardians or pet professionals to be members of. I’m honored to be part of the PPG team both as a professional member and as a contributor of information via their blog roll. My blog series for PPG is geared towards the very active and very inclusive dog-human dynamic. Essentially if your companion dog is as much every part of your life as your human… Continued
Why is Colin Growling?
Understandably we don’t like our dogs to growl and it can be embarrassing, but growling is GOOD. Growling tells us what our dog is feeling. Growling gives us the key to open the door to the dog’s emotions. When we know what he is feeling, we then know what to do about it. Colin is a four-year-old collie-terrier cross looking like a very small Border Collie. He lives with his lady owner and a 16-year-old shih tzu called Barney, who is very slow moving, blind and deaf. Whenever Barney approaches Colin, he growls. The… Continued
If I Knew Then What I Know Now
By Bob McMillan If the Hound of the Baskervilles ever needed a stand-in, my dog Cuchulain would have pushed to the head of the line. A Scottish deerhound/Irish Wolfhound mix, he was a 130-pound guided missile of shaggy black fur, crazy long legs and very big teeth. The day he started rushing at strangers and snapping is the day I began to seriously rethink my approach to dog training. “No really, he’s not aggressive,” I reassured them shrilly. I was a little less convincing than the dog looking them level… Continued
Heading for the Dog Park? Remember the Parable of the Gorilla and the Human in the Lion Park
Gaining some insight into how their dog might be feeling can be a big motivator for people who implement methods of force with their dog-reactive dogs, and can potentially make all the difference. People may commonly label their dog ‘aggressive’ and resort to using force, which makes matters even worse. Without realizing it they may be forcing their dog into having no other options but to behave aggressively and he may even be pushed to redirect his frustration/fear/anger onto them. It is very damaging to their relationship. A dog should be able… Continued
Never Look Back: How the Switch to Force-Free Changed My World
Like so many of us, I got involved in dog training thanks to a dog who entered my life. While I had always had dogs, my only attempted at formal training was a failure. Back in the early 80s, the methods were forceful. My dog hid when I got the training collar out for class 2. I took note of his message and terminated our classes. In 1999, another dog entered my life who was extremely challenging. She was mouthy, easily aroused and reactive to other dogs. After several classes… Continued
Reality Check for Carers/Owners of Dogs with ‘Issues’
LOSING HEART Why do so many clients with fearful or reactive dogs, who often have started off so well, lose heart? The reason is because they just don’t fully accept the time and work that changing fear-based or guarding behaviors in particular can take. Teaching people is the easy bit. A large part of my job is about keeping people on track. REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS We live in an age of devices and gimmicks which make things work quickly or instantly; extra fast broadband, instant online ordering of goods, instant communication… Continued
How Did The Aversive Get There? A Call for Honesty
I am mystified by one particular argument of those who use protocols for fearful or reactive dogs other than desensitization/counterconditioning (DS/CC). These other protocols often use negative reinforcement; if not that, then sometimes desensitization without counterconditioning; sometimes extinction; sometimes habituation. People who practice these protocols intentionally expose their dogs to their triggers at an aversive level at times, as opposed to people who practice pure DS/CC, which is ideally practiced at a distance or intensity such that the trigger is not aversive to the animal. The argument that bothers me is this:… Continued
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