Need a step-by-step process to get your dog to wear their harness comfortably? If your dog is growling, fleeing, or biting when you attempt to put on their harness, using positive reinforcement-based husbandry training could be the answer to your problems. Follow the steps in this article to help your dog love their harness!
Read MoreIntroducing a new animal into your family is always an exciting (though sometimes, stressful) process. When Googling “adopting a new dog”, you will find a wide range of suggestions from the science-based to personal opinion. This can make the process of introducing a new dog into your home smoothly seem challenging and taxing. However, it definitely doesn’t have to feel this way.
Read MoreWe have finally reached the end of our Teamwork for Trainers series about the takeaway for pet professionals from the Ferrazzi’s book, “Leading Without Authority” (2020). The final chapters of the book included several gems about overcoming negativity within team settings, which is something all pet professionals will experience at some point in their careers; whether this is with students or other professionals. Gossip, negative remarks, and bringing down others is something everyone will fail victims to dishing out and receiving at some point throughout their career.
Read MoreAs we near the end of this blog series, as I was reading in Ferrazzi’s book, “Leading Without Authority” (2020) we are following for this series, I wondered when we would reach the topic of positive reinforcement. Any experienced animal trainers know how important reinforcing desired behavior is, but they also know about the positive effects on psychology in both animals and humans. And finally, that chapter has come!
Photo Credit: https://puppyhero.com/breed/nova-scotia-duck-tolling-retriever
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, wearing face masks has become a way of protection from the virus. However, some dogs might have difficulty adjusting to this change. This can cause some dogs to bark, growl, or hide when they see a person in a mask.
So, why are masks scary to dogs and what can you do about it?
Life, however, doesn’t just give us people we agree with, and sometimes there will be a good reason for us to need to peacefully collaborate with people whose ethical stances are different from our own. Even in professional debates and conversations at conferences, there is a chance for each person to input their opinion into the conversation for review by the group.
Read MoreThe American Kennel Club announced their newest virtual title program called Virtual Home Manners today. This new title program fills a gap in their programs for dogs unable to attend in-person classes, either due to Covid-19 protocols, age, or health complications.
Read MoreIn today's world, we are used to instant gratification. We can have items shipped to us from across the world in mere days, we can download a new game in less than an hour, and we can have a fully cooked meal given to us through a drive-thru window within minutes.
However, there is nothing like living with an animal (especially a young animal) to teach you patience.
As professional animal trainers, trust is a colossal part of our job whether we are aware of it or not. We need the trust of the animal so, we can function as a team with the animal and we aren’t injured. However, we also need the trust of the human-side of the equation. The animal’s owner must trust in our opinion, expertise, and ability to provide the results they are asking for in a humane and effective way.
Read MoreJust like humans, dogs have different preferences. Not all dog treats, toys, or experiences hold the same value for every dog. So, try out a wide variety and if it increases your target behavior, it is a reinforcer for your dog. Here is a big list of possible reinforcers your dog might find, well, reinforcing! Remember to add new reinforcers safely and double-check with your vet before changing your dog's diet.
Read MoreThe dog’s owner, vet, vet behaviorist, doggie daycare, pet sitter, and anyone else interacting with the animal on a semi-usual basis is on our broader team. We must consider if what they are doing is working for us or against us and how we can extend what Ferrazzi describes as “care, concern, commitment, and camaraderie” to everyone on our broader team to accomplish our common goal; a happy, healthy animal the owner can live with (Ferrazzi, 2020).
Read MoreWith my training students, I have found many come to classes or private sessions after attempting to follow step-by-step guides, DVDs, or YouTube videos on how to train a dog.
They are often frustrated that the dog in these books or videos isn't like *their* dog. That dog is already well-trained, a different breed, more focused, or just simply *better* in some way than their own dog…
Read MoreOne of the most common questions I get as a professional dog trainer from students with puppies is about aggression and biting. We unfortunately have even had people email us inquiring about signing up for classes to have them reply back that they rehomed the puppy before class even started because the puppy was "aggressive".
True aggression in puppies is extremely rare. I have only seen one to two cases of true aggression in a puppy under four months of age in all my years of working with dogs.
So, what are puppy owners actually seeing then?
Read MoreDid you know that you could making your dog's behavior worse by saying "No"? Daily we get emails from people who say that they say "No" a thousand times a day to their dog and they just don't understand why it isn't working and why the dog's behavior is getting worse.
There are two questions I want you to ask yourself:
1. How did you train your dog to respond to the word "No"?
2. How much time do you spend on Facebook?
Read MoreMr. Webster defines the term “communication” as follows:
Communication
1. the imparting or exchanging of information or news
2. means of sending or receiving information, such as telephone lines or computers.
One could imagine from these definition that good or proper would mean that we are able to impart information quickly, throughly, and understandably to the other party with as little effort as possible.
Read MoreLoose leash walking can be a challenging skill for many owners and dogs. There is a lot going on when trying to train your dog to walk nicely next to you. First you have to learn to hold the leash and the treats, usually while your dog is pulling you everywhere. Not to mention, your dog’s focus is elsewhere as they sniff every blade of grass and pull towards every dog and stranger they see.
Read MoreEverything seems to come in waves around here!
This month we are seeing a wave of medical and psychological professionals who would like to have therapy dogs to take to work with them to assist with patients, so I wanted to make this post again for anyone who missed it last time and just to further educate on what our process looks like in this case.
Read MoreI very rarely think about getting my dogs away from treats or toys during training anymore. So, sometimes when clients ask me about this, I can have some difficulty understanding why they are concerned because I know that dogs work for many things beyond treats and I can harness those things to use to my advantage.
Read MoreI have a story about my luck with professionals lately and I thought it helped make a good point about searching for a dog trainer. So, settle in and read on!
Did you know that the dog training industry is unregulated?
Let me tell you about my personal experience with a (mostly) unregulated industry recently. When purchasing our new home, we had a home inspection done, just like any reasonable home buyer would do…
Read MoreOne of the most exciting parts of bringing home a new puppy is figuring out what your puppy likes and doesn't like. As their personalities blossom before us, we often start seeing naughty behaviors appear as well. A good setup for your puppy cannot only prevent some of these behaviors from ever beginning, but it can be a puppy's safe haven where they learn to relax and become independent.
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