The Challenge of Breed Discrimination
By Kym Iffert It was finally a beautiful day in Chicago so I grabbed my bag, my leash, a pocket full of treats and tennis ball and set out for a walk. The neighbors were out and it was the perfect opportunity for a social outing – but not for me and my dog. As we walked down the sidewalk, others may have looked, some would wave, a few may have offered a smile… and then crossed the street. Social pariah? No, just me and my Rottweiler out for a… Continued
The Click Starts the Behavior
By Yvette Van Veen A common expression used in clicker training is that the click “ends the behavior.” Rarely do we stop to think what this really means but it bears closer examination. Typically, the phrase indicates that dogs get reinforcement post-click, even if they have broken out of position. We click. The dog gets a cookie. There is no reneging. When I say click, I really mean marking the behavior. For the sake of clarity, I will also be using the word click to reference the wide array of… Continued
Thunder, Lightning and Barometric Pressure
By Carolyn Kocman Owners and caretakers can almost always recognize phobia related behaviors. Shaking, drooling, panting, restlessness, pacing, clinging to owners and hiding are all fairly overt and recognizable behaviors that can be triggered by such things as loud noises or thunderstorm activity. Immediate Recommendations for Panicking Dogs There are a number of things pet owners can do to comfort an animal that is in the throes of phobia related behavior. What follows is a list of more immediate recommendations. These are not tips on modifying the behavior and should… Continued
Building the ‘Super Learner’
By Kate Mallatratt One of my behavior colleagues posed a very interesting question recently, “If you always set your dog up for success and aim for errorless learning, are you not stunting your dog’s ability for critical thinking, limiting his opportunity to enjoy problem solving and shortening his fuse for frustration?” This excellent question raises several more in my mind: Can learning truly be 100 percent errorless? Does setting up a learning environment for a successful outcome really have a detrimental effect on a dog’s learning ability? Do mistakes actually… Continued
Pups and the Power of Positive Touch
Don’t you just love being able to have that closeness with your dog? The snuggling in, the mutual touch, and just really enjoying each other’s affection? But sadly it’s not always like this. Not all dogs enjoy or are comfortable with our advances or attempts to hug, stroke, pet, or cuddle them. This can be distressing, upsetting and frustrating for both parties, especially as many people love having a dog in their lives so they can benefit from that mutual affection. The Right to Interact? ‘Consent’ is a… Continued
Introducing Cats: Slowly Does It
By Patience Fisher There are many challenges for shelters in finding adoptive homes for cats. As an adoption counselor, I always found it disheartening to have a cat returned to the shelter for not getting along with the resident cats. During the adoption process, the concept of slow introductions was explained, but upon the cat’s return we often found out that the introduction process had been rushed. As a result, I saw a need for a very simple, short, how-to brochure for introducing a new cat to a resident… Continued
Exotic Animals and Shelter Awareness
By Lara Joseph As animal trainers and behavior consultants, our work can appear very appealing to pet owners and those who work with and take care of animals. What we demonstrate in our training is a very important tool we can use to educate the public about how our work is done, its impact on behavior and mental stimulation, and responsibility in animal care. Being an animal trainer and understanding applied behavior analysis, using it, and showing others how to use it is very important to me. My intention… Continued
The Aftermath of “Boot Camp”
By Amanda Ballard [At the time of writing] Kobe is an 18-month-old terrier cross, who is loved madly by his person, Lizzie. My private consultation session with them is the only one in 10 years that has moved me to tears, right there in front of the owner. It absolutely broke my heart to witness a dog displaying visible signs of anxiety, triggered by hearing very basic and commonly used verbal cues. Sadly, it would not be the last time I would witness this. There is no doubt about… Continued
New Bird on the Block
By Vicki Ronchette Over the years I have introduced several parrots into my flock of companion birds. During this time I have found there are some things that should be done early on to help shape the bird into a good companion, while also giving him time and respecting his boundaries. I have talked to a lot of people who were disappointed that their new bird’s behavior changed after a couple of months in their home. Some people call this a “honeymoon period.” I do not use that term… Continued
I Pushed My Friend off the Sofa! Whoops… [How to deal with undesirable guest/animal interactions]
By Ryan Cartlidge I’m not proud of it, but recently I pushed a friend – who was staying at our house – off our sofa! Find out why below (as well as how to avoid doing it yourself) … This happened during the festive season, and if you are like us, you probably have lots of people coming to visit and/or stay at this time. So what do you do if these people (who might be strangers to your animals) come in and engage with your animals in ways… Continued
Compulsive Eating in Dogs
By Maureen Tay Also known as compulsive eating disorder, compulsive eating is a disorder where a dog tends to eat everything – from food items to non-food items. The specific practice of eating non-food, non-nutritive substances, such as wool or paper, is known as pica. Stool eating (coprophagia) can also be categorized under pica. Common among Puppies Puppies are curious animals. They eat just about anything they can find, including things that are inedible. Puppies love to investigate their surroundings. An excellent way to do this is for… Continued
Training a Blind Dog
By Miki Saito Unfortunately, even knowledgeable and experienced trainers sometimes hesitate when it comes to working with a blind dog. It is as if they consider the dog’s blindness an obstacle that cannot be overcome. Since blindness cannot be changed, this mindset can lead trainers to believe that these dogs cannot be trained but this is, of course, untrue. The dog’s blindness does not inhibit training. His emotional state, however, may be preventing him from having a positive learning experience. As explained by Dr. Jesus Rosales-Ruiz at the Clicker… Continued
What Puppy Toy Next?
By Anna Bradley If you’re anything like me, I absolutely love buying my dogs new toys. The look on their faces is pure joy and excitement when the novelty factor of a new toy kicks in – there’s nothing like it! But then they get bored after a while and are already waiting for their next toy – which duly arrives. That’s how well trained I am! But rather than simply (and randomly) buying loads of toys on a whim, I do think carefully about what to buy, based… Continued
My Animal Is Not Food Motivated – AT ALL! [Your 9-point motivational checklist]
By Ryan Cartlidge Have you ever wanted to train an animal that was ‘not food motivated’? This challenge is something I have often heard people tell me over the years! And I always think to myself, “does your animal eat?” If the answer is ‘yes’, I’m curious if we can say it’s not food motivated. An alternative way to describe these animals could be to say, ‘they’re potentially not motivated by the kind of food you are offering, the way you are offering it and/or the context you are… Continued
Aggression from Hearing Impairment?
By Morag Heirs As any reputable behavior consultant will tell you, all animals presenting with a behavior problem should first be checked by a vet. As behavior consultants, we work on veterinary referral for a number of reasons. Firstly, we want to be sure that the problem is not a symptom of an underlying medical condition and, secondly, we may need to collaborate with the veterinary professionals if medication or supplements are needed to support the behavioral therapy. Sometimes we might receive a referral where the examining veterinarian has decided… Continued
A Positive Exchange
By Cecelia Sumner One of my general observations about dogs is they are not good at sharing. From a canine point of view, attention, food, toys, even a comfortable resting place might be worth protecting from encroachment. And, the encroachers might be any species, humans, canines or even felines can be subject to threats or attacks by a dog determined to retain a coveted item or location. When I was a child, my parents always cautioned me about approaching a dog when he was eating. As an adult, I can… Continued
Running in Circles
By Jane Gerard It is often stated that the relinquishment of dogs to animal shelters in Europe and the US is largely due to behavior issues (American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, 2008; Miklósi, 2007). I am saddened but not surprised by this. As a trainer I have witnessed it many times. Perhaps around half my clients have adopted rescue dogs and they often present with behavior issues. With behavior modification and training these can eventually be extinguished in many cases, but it takes time and commitment. If a shelter… Continued
The Art, Science and Ethics of Using Decoy Dogs
By Yvette Van Veen Learning to work with a reactive, anxious or fearful dog is a challenging process. Dog owners especially struggle. They must learn new skills and execute them correctly, while working with a difficult, if not dangerous, dog. In such situations, owners are often robbed of the opportunity to begin basic skills with an easy dog. It is not an ideal way for anyone to learn. Decoy dogs are one way in which we, as behavior consultants, can create some flexibility. Rather than honing skills during chance encounters… Continued
The Rollercoaster of Reactivity
By Mary Jean Alsina Leash reactivity can be one of the most common (and embarrassing) problems dog owners deal with on a daily basis. It is also one of the most requested behavioral issues I work on with clients. Disapproving glances from passersby, the constant feeling of being out of control, and not having a grasp on how to address the behavior are all concerns for owners of leash-reactive dogs. Dogs may react poorly when on leash for a variety of reasons, which can include fear, excitement, pent-up energy or… Continued
The Art and Science of Consent Testing
By Angelica Steinker Consent testing is the process of observing a dog’s body language to see if he is fine with whatever environmental change has been presented to him. It can be used informally or formally. Informal use would be during play or social interactions, when two dogs or a dog and a human are interacting. All the tester needs to do is observe if each party wants to interact. Formal consent testing is when a situation is staged and whereby the tester determines the dog’s desire to interact or… Continued
The Art of Teamwork
By Gail Radtke In a previous article I wrote about how my dog, Lanie, became a St. John Ambulance (SJA) therapy dog in British Columbia, Canada (see The Miracle Mutt, BARKS from the Guild, October 2014, pp. 36-39). Lanie was a year old at the time and had a beautiful, friendly temperament. A friend suggested that we apply to the SJA program and I thought it would be the perfect outlet for her natural abilities. Although Lanie and I had already done a great deal of obedience training at that… Continued
Knowledge for Life
A review of Puppy Socialization: What It Is and How to Do It by Marge Rogers and Eileen Anderson The greatest gift my parents gave me was a love of reading and a thirst for knowledge. It was a gift given out of love, knowing that it had the potential to benefit not only me but those around me. I believe it was the greatest gift I have ever received. It has nurtured my life-long love of learning, a character trait essential for any professional. What we have learned about… Continued
Reinforcing Foraging
This article sets out the steps the author used to train Cricket, the lone quail, to step on the scale for weighing, and how she later applied the same protocol for training chickens and roosters As a certified parrot behavior consultant trainer, I have had the opportunity over the years to train many different companion birds, ranging from budgies to yellow streak lorikeets. So when the chance to train a quail came up, I could not say no. Quail Surrender to Rescue My local rescue contacted me one day to… Continued
A Stronger Partnership
To celebrate the recent launch of PPG’s Horses with Voices initiative, this article discusses how we can give our horses a voice, as well as build confidence and resilience, through motivation. We sometimes ask a lot of our horses when it comes training. We use training for many different purposes, including specific activities, daily routines, and just spending time together. If we practice an activity, whether we have the aim of competing or not, we train our horses to repeat exercises over and over again. Often, we expect them to… Continued
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