Tips for Working with Clients with Mobility Impairments
By Veronica Sanchez A large and rambunctious dog can pull an owner off their feet, even if they do not have any physical limitations. However, people who have mobility impairments are at a higher risk. Additionally, the consequences of an injury may be more serious. Fortunately, there are a variety of strategies that can help clients with mobility limitations be successful in training their dogs to walk on a loose leash. Many people may experience a mobility limitation, including people with disabilities, people with temporary health injuries as well as… Continued
Portland Blog Competition: May I Speak to the Manager?
By Tina Ferner Last week, I received a voicemail that a trainer NEVER wants to hear. It went like this, “Tina, this is Eileen. Dolly just killed Miley.” Dolly was a rescued mixed breed dog that weighed approximately 65 pounds while Miley was a Maltese mix that weighed 8 pounds. There had been problems in the past with resource guarding and several “scuffles” between the two dogs. After our initial consultation, Eileen and I had mapped out a management plan. This plan involved leashes, gates, crates and securely closed doors.… Continued
The What, Where and When of Rewards
By Lily Mickleburgh The use of rewards in dog training is becoming increasingly popular as an effective way of encouraging desired behaviours. However, subtle differences in what you use as a reward, where and when you reward them, can all change depending on your end goal. This may also vary depending on breed traits, age of the dog and whether you want to build energy or encourage calm in your goal behaviour. WHAT is the motivator? Toys are a great way of building energy and enthusiasm for something like heel work or recall,… Continued
Dog Owner Confidence Crash!
There’s so much written about emotions of our dogs, how they’re thinking and what they’re feeling in various provocative situations and scenarios, but sometimes I think we, the dog owners, may end up being a little neglected! You can’t successfully help dogs with behavioral or training issues alone; you also have to see how they interact with their owner/dog guardian and what that relationship is. It’s a complex dynamic. One component of that incredibly complicated relationship I want to bring to the fore here though is confidence – one small… Continued
Getting Started with Touch Cues
By Debbie Bauer There are two types of touch cues – these are cues that you give to your dog by touching various parts of his body in different ways, to mean different things. If your dog can’t see or hear you cues, touch cues give you the perfect way to begin communicating with him. Having a way to communicate is crucial to living in harmony with your dog. You can tell him what to expect to happen, and how you want him to respond. And your dog will feel… Continued
A Quadrant by Any Other Name is Still a Cornerstone of Operant Learning
This 2003 edition book is $4.89 on Amazon. Contents: priceless. There is a science that deals directly with how organisms learn and how to use that information to change the environment in order to change behavior. It’s called applied behavior analysis (ABA). It is the applied version of behavior analysis, which was referred to as the experimental analysis of behavior earlier in the 20th century. It is descended from the work of the behaviorists such as Skinner and is a sub-discipline of psychology. It is a rich field of study.… Continued
Getting Scientific about Dominance
By Don Hanson What we know about the science of canine behavior and dog training is continually evolving. As such, every year I like to select a new book to recommend to my students, my staff, area veterinarians, and my colleagues that I feel will be the most beneficial to them and their dogs. This year I have chosen Dog Smart: Evidence-based Training with The Science Dog by Linda P. Case. At the beginning of her book, Case states she has two primary objectives: “…to provide accurate summaries of some… Continued
Want Your Dog to Listen? Stop Doing This!
By Yvette Van Veen Dog training often boils down to a single statement. “I want my dog to listen.” It’s a reasonable request and seems simple. We ask our dogs to do something. In return, we want the dog to listen to that request and respond in a timely manner. Training is the process by which we teach our dog to do this. People are often disappointed when they wind up with dogs that only seem to listen some of the time. They are disappointed that their dog only listens if they reach for a… Continued
Over the Moon!
By Debbie Bauer I am over-the-moon proud of my boy Vinny this month! He and I were away from home for three weeks this month, visiting new places, doing new things, and he took it all in stride. We had a blast! It was, of course, so hard to leave the other dogs for that long. Both Vinny and I missed them so much! And this was the first long trip that I did not bring Treasure on since she came to live with me 8 years ago. It was… Continued
10 Reasons Why the Holidays Might Not Be So Full of Festive Cheer for Your Pet
It’s nearly Christmas, traditionally the time of year when we look forward to enjoying lots of yummy food, time with our friends and family, hopefully a break from work and of course – pressies! Lots of us also think about involving our dogs and cats and other furries in the festivities; gifts, advent calendars, novelty costumes etc. but how often do we think about the psychological impact of those couple of weeks? True, it’s lovely to have lots of fun with our pets, they’re part of the family after all,… Continued
Which Pavlov Is on Your Shoulder?
The trainer Bob Bailey is often quoted as saying that when one is training an animal, “Pavlov is on your shoulder.” He is reminding us that while we are training operant behaviors (sit, down, fetch, weave), there are also respondent behaviors and respondent conditioning occurring. Respondent behaviors are behaviors that are generally involuntary and that include reflexes, internal surges of hormones, and (probably) emotions. But there’s another part that is not quoted as often. Bob Bailey also says that while Pavlov is on one of your shoulders, Skinner is on… Continued
When Standard Positive Reinforcement Fails
By Yvette Van Veen Early in my dog training days, I remember having a brain storming conversation with a trainer friend who was also a mentor. To put it in context, this person was ahead of me in their learning curve. She was quite good but was also early in her journey. I learned from her and we would brainstorm various problems together. I remember one conversation very clearly. She could not get her dog to like nail trims. We broke down the problem. We talked about technique. We Googled.… Continued
Training Your Cat to Sit on Cue
By Jennifer Van Valkenburg I actually came to cat training completely by accident. My kitty was overweight and unhealthy so her vet recommended an entirely new lifestyle. This came with adding exercise (I remember thinking, how do you exercise a cat? – more on that later) and a new food regimen. No more leaving a pile of food in her dish every day, now her diet was strictly controlled. So now instead of eating whenever she wanted, she had to wait for me to feed her twice a day.* The… Continued
Portland Blog Competition: Tips to Reduce Leash Reactivity
By Michelle Wieser When a leashed dog barks, pulls or lunges at other dogs (or wildlife, skateboards, kids, bikers, etc.), it is known as leash reactivity. Dogs may feel trapped and restricted by the leash and, unfortunately, given that they can’t voluntarily remove themselves from the situation (think fight or flight), it can lead to reactive outbursts during leashed walks if a dog is feeling threatened, anxious, stressed, fearful, or, indeed, excited to meet a stranger or another dog. Regardless of the reason, it’s not fun for anyone so here… Continued
Dogs and ‘Digging In’
I work with many owners of rescue or re-homed dogs and one topic I’ve thought about many times, sometimes raised by owners themselves and possibly a little controversial, is do we sometimes give up on our dogs too easily? Of course, an important aspect of this is whether we have the necessary, realistic expectations when taking on a dog in the first place. In my experience, sometimes a dog and owner combination just doesn’t work for an infinite number of reasons – just like a human relationship! In this situation,… Continued
Portland Blog Competition: Canine Aggression – The Public Perception
By Hannah Blumenfeld “Not a nice dog,” says the woman on the sidewalk. Lucy and I had just walked past her, and although I was shoving treats in Lucy’s mouth, the woman locked eyes with my beautiful beast. This scares the bejeezus out of Lucy, so she barks. And, yes, sometimes lunges. I do not correct the woman; I don’t tell her that Lucy is, in fact, a very nice dog. A couple months earlier, we were walking past a family of four. First came the mom and older daughter.… Continued
My Dog Is Afraid of the Clicker. What Should I Do?
I wrote this article especially for people who are either new to using a clicker or have not dealt extensively with a fearful dog. If your dog is scared by the noise of the clicker, slow down. Switch to a verbal marker for now. Don’t immediately focus on trying to achieve softer clicks. Here’s why. Rat terrier Kaci says, “Train me!” Some years ago, I used to train my friend’s rat terrier Kaci. She is the star of my “backing up” video and was an all-around champ of a dog. She… Continued
Managing Dog-Dog Greetings
Recently I attended a dog event and observed about 30 dogs and their handlers come and go in the course of three hours. Most of the dogs were taken to one another for greetings. Call it the curse of knowledge, but I see such interactions through the lens of human handling skills and canine body language. Sometimes what I saw was relaxing and fun and at other times I worried about the outcome, especially when handlers allowed overly aroused dogs to engage each other. There is a correlation between arousal… Continued
Spice Up Your Walks!
Long explorations in the country, splashing around in the sea, trekking up hills, they’re the reasons we love having our dogs and enjoy their companionship. From time to time though, sometimes things become just a little bit ‘samey’! We can use this special time together as an opportunity to be more enriching and engaging and overall more bonding and fun! GIVE WALKS TIME I know this is easier said than done because we are all short on time, but where possible, allow that extra time for both of you. I’ve… Continued
For The Curious – Your Questions on Deaf, Blind Dogs Answered
By Debbie Bauer Thank you to everyone who contributed questions and wonderings for this blog post, and for what will probably be several more to come! (I received a lot of questions!) Here are a few to get you started: What kind of cues can you teach a dog that cannot see or hear? How do you communicate with a deaf and blind dog? How does your dog (blind and deaf) know what you want him to do? Dogs that cannot see or hear can be taught tactile cues. … Continued
Portland Blog Competition: Lessons from Bogie
By Shannon Finch I want to warn you at the outset, Bogie’s story doesn’t have a happy ending. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for this dog, with mistakes compounded by more mistakes. It’s been over 15 years since I worked with Bogie, but I clearly remember every detail about him. He was a 7-month-old German shepherd with severe fear issues that started when he was attacked in the car by his family’s other dog. The owners came back from dinner to a horrific sight of blood all… Continued
A Lure By Any Name is Still a Lure
By Yvette Van Veen Luring a dog towards something he fears is a problematic practice most recognize. Regardless of whether you use aversives in training or not, it’s an issue because it can create a slew of problems. From the dog’s perspective, luring into scary is a ‘gotcha.’ The first few times, they happily follow the food only to face something nasty. Animals aren’t stupid. Fool them once…they learn. After a couple repetitions, they realize that food can lead to nasty things. Food motivation may decline. Food snubbing may start… Continued
Pet Tutor…My Hero
By Smart Animal Training (A letter from Malena DeMartini-Price CTC CDBC) Dear Wes & Amanda at Smart Animal Training, I wanted to tell you about a client that I have been working with for a little while now that has been absolutely wonderful and of course, the Pet Tutor was my hero in this case! The client contacted me about separation anxiety however upon further investigation it really wasn’t quite separation anxiety, but more anxiety surrounding the guardians leaving the house, particularly Mom. Once gone, the dog in question was a… Continued
Five Days from Fear to Fun – Classical Counterconditioning
By Yvette Van Veen I decided to spend some recent holiday time working on a whistle recall. This is when a dog learns to come to the sound of a whistle. Pamela Dennison has a number of resources on how to teach this skill for anyone who might be interested. Unlike other whims, I remembered to grab my camera. When I blew the whistle for the first time, Karma tucked her tail and ran. I probably should have been a bit more thoughtful in my introduction of the whistle. However,… Continued
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