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Play is an essential part of being a dog. No one needs to create a dog that plays. It is already in them. Some dogs

If a dog bed or crate was a natural den for a puppy or dog, then they would go in there willingly, on their own,

Has “dominance theory”, extrapolated from the study of wolves, been debunked for both wolves and dogs? First, let’s define “dominance”. Dominance is “Social interactive behaviors

The Typical Claims About Using Dog Treats For Training: So, what is the deal? What is right and what is wrong? Is it OK to

Let’s say your requirement for hiring a dog trainer is that you only want to use positive reinforcement (R+) training. What does that mean for

How many lessons does it take to train a dog? I understand why this question comes up: budget, setting expectations, maybe shopping around for answers

Remember a few years ago there were all these dog trainers filming themselves doing “pack walks” with groups of dogs? The trainer was in the

How do you assess your dog’s level of training? Here’s how I do it. Thus, if I see a dog that won’t respond to any

Is it wrong to allow a dog to be at your feet in the kitchen when you are preparing their food bowl? Some trainers would

Is it OK to let dogs play with squeaky toys? Do squeaky toys teach dogs to kill? You see a lot of weird made-up stuff

Do you know I have a second blog, called PoochMaster? There are things I post there that I don’t post on my web page. It

Really? Should you make your dog meet strange dogs? On walks? At dog parks? In your neighborhood? In your home? We can impose either reasonable

If you have been around dogs long enough, you will see these “dominance” focused trainers, owners, and rescue volunteers end up seriously injured. These stories

Do you have a gentle dog? I have worked with a lot of very gentle dogs. You better know what kind of dog you have

If a dog is pulling ahead of you whether on leash or off leash, does that mean you are not your dog’s “leader”, that you

There is ongoing confusion regarding the idea of being a dog’s “leader”, being the “alpha”, and controlling a dog’s dominance. Thus… the “Dog Whisperer” phenomenon,

There is a fundamental difference between training pet service dog breeds (Malinois, German Shepherd, Giant Schnauzer, Airedale, Dutch Shepherd, etc.) versus those which have been

Dog breeds are, and were, created to specialize in doing certain tasks. By selecting and emphasizing various traits, it makes a specific breed easier to

Superbowl Sunday Is here… do you have a plan to keep your dogs safe? Here is a simple checklist:

Working dogs, and I’m referring to the police service breeds, have very high prey drive. They will do just about anything for a toy, and

If a dog makes a mistake, or doesn’t do what you wanted them to do, should they show signs of worry? Twenty plus years ago,

Why is it that many dogs, especially new dogs introduced into the home, actively avoid or are hostile to the man of the home but

There are innumerable articles and videos regarding what breeds are best for this or that. There is no such list that makes any sense. These

Why do I feel the need to tell people to not be rough on their dogs? Because many people think that being rough on their

I have a rule: I don’t train sick dogs What I mean by “sick” is any dog that isn’t feeling well… infection, raging allergies, recovering

Humans are territorial creatures. When a human loses their home, it is an extremely stressful experience, having potentially significant impacts on their health and behavior.

I have encountered numerous people who were afraid of their puppies. In this article, I’m referring to people who have had no threatening behavior by

I am not an “old school” dog trainer. Here’s what I mean by that. Old School: You might have worked with the dog a bit

There is a lot of dumb stuff on the internet. It seems that the internet is a magnet for fools to say foolish things. I

Often dog training is just too serious, and the dogs pick up on that and that interferes with motivation and adds stress. Are your dog

Have you ever considered what these terms mean? Can a dog remain calm… greeting you when you get home, playing, jogging, coming when called, heeling,

It is time to evaluate if your yard is safe and useful. 1.) Remove excess rubbish and junk. 2.) Which nuisance and toxic plants need

There is a lot of talk about dopamine. Let’s break it down a bit. Edward L. Thorndike (1874 – 1949), proposed the Law of Effect:

Edward L. Thorndike (1874 – 1949), a member of the philosophy department at Harvard, made his mark by doing experiments with animals. His most famous

When a dog guards a resource, animate or inanimate, they are responding to a perceived existential threat. We get offended when a dog guards a

I was at a student’s house the other day. As we were wrapping up the lesson, her dog came running into the room, came to

What is the main difference between how I view puppy lessons and adult dog lessons? Here is my condensed version. The younger the dog, the

There are some big leaps that must be accomplished to take a concept and turn it into a real-world application for your dog. Here are

In this third article on Drive Types, I will begin the discussion of what I call Type C Drives. In previous articles, I have been

In previous articles, I have been explaining how I have decided to define Drive: “I’ve had to choose to organize the different definitions of drive

In a previous article, I described how I have decided to define Drive: “I’ve had to choose to organize the different definitions of drive into

In the classical sense of the use of the word, “drive”, hunger is not a drive. It is a motivation. However, since many scientific studies

Dogs can be subject to illusions. So can humans. A couple of weeks ago, I was outside to meet a couple for the first time

I have worked with several dogs that developed light and shadow chasing behaviors after someone had them chase laser pointer dots. These dogs not only

There are going to be instances when a lesson that you have performed countless times with other dogs fails with a particular dog. You will

Dogs don’t perceive the world the same way we do. You had better think about that when training, or making demands of, a dog. While

What should be the minimum daily protocol of activities for shelter dogs (and dogs in foster homes)? What can be done to help ensure they

Have you ever considered what dogs do with their time? Their activities can be divided into two types. They are either 1.) “looking” to satisfy

German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885) came up with the concept of a “learning curve” while studying the effects of repeated performances of a task and

We set a lot of dogs up for failure by building unrealistic expectations about our dogs and in our dogs. An anticipation is a learned,

What have I seen regarding the differences, other than physical, between puppies and adult dogs? When I evaluate a puppy, or any dog, I am

It isn’t unusual for a particular theory to use a hypothetical X to account for factors that the researcher doesn’t wish to isolate and examine

Does dog behavior operate according to recognized rules or laws? I would say this. While dog behavior can be described and often predicted in a

How do you build a well-behaved dog?  Most dogs are getting shortchanged. Current programs are still stuck in 100-year-old dog training models.  The available tools

Competition obedience is judged upon accomplishment of a stylized routine of precise exercises according to organizational rules in predictable situations. Real world obedience is judged

PoochMaster is my daily blog. I started this blog back in 2005 to write about current, daily topics on dogs. If you follow the link,

Do dogs have significant seasonal changes in behavior, especially in mood state, like people? I was asked this question recently, so I figured it was

I was speaking with a new student yesterday who was trying to understand why so many trainers use different approaches. In her case, she has

It is important to define and choose the appropriate physical and emotional boundaries you will enforce when people interact with your dog. Some things are

I’m currently reading an article from the Journal Of Experimental Analysis Of Behavior regarding stimulus control experiments, especially those of Guttman and Kalish (1956). This

Every year, after Thanksgiving, we have the Black Friday sales. Consumers have wads of cash, and they are ready to spend. A lot of these

Occasionally, a carefully planned dog training lesson… will turn out to be a mess. That is because every dog has a vote in terms of

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I believe larger shelters and professional boarding kennels can accommodate cage free areas for pets. The keys to success are a.) proper and continuous supervision

I had a lesson today with a new student. The appointment was to deal with his dog’s separation anxiety. However, it wasn’t that. This situation

“Some people prey upon other people. Whether we like it or not, this is one of the facts of life. It has always been so,

What is the difference between classroom dog obedience and real-world dog obedience? Yesterday, I was working with a student who has a service dog puppy

Many TV and social media training gurus advocate purposeful and focused intimidation, coercion, and other negative influences to attempt to fix dogs. Is that OK

I was hired a few years ago to train a young female pointer. She was about a year old when the husband took her out

There was a dog that was very aggressive towards humans. The owners enrolled the dog in a board and train program, but it didn’t work

A happy dog is easier in every way. That is why I make happiness a priority in all my dog training programs. When a dog

I have encountered and worked with dogs which exhibit abnormal behaviors at night. Here are some examples. 1.) Midsized dog, otherwise normal in every way.

Many people don’t understand why we train dogs. For some, they just think it is a bunch of tricks, and just want a dog that

There are times I must tell students that what they are doing is causing more harm than good. Sometimes that is taken in good spirit,

I’m currently working with a dog that has been shutting down during lessons. This was one of the issues I was hired to address. Imagine

A dog owner’s mindset can be a roadblock for making gains in training. I have heard many new students tell me that their dog “knows”

As I write this article, it is now the peak heat part of summer in Arizona. Every year, at this time, I encourage all my

Hello, Sam I just had a question about your opinion on certain dog collars and methods to prevent dogs from pulling while on a leash.

In the past 20 years, a lot of new people have come into the market as dog trainers. I remember when I first started out,

Dogs can be significantly harmed by unexpected traumas. For example… I did a lesson a lesson with a couple who adopted a Miniature Schnauzer a

A while back, there was a rescue dog that supposedly was not good around other dogs. This dog was being housed by a foster family.

More and more, I see articles and advertisements regarding “reactive dogs”. These are dogs that tend to bark and lunge at strangers or strange dogs.

Working with dogs typically involves changes in three areas: Behavior Modification, Changes in Owner Management, and Skill Development. Each part interacts with the other, but

One of the questions I ask new students is what they want out of the training. Since each dog and owner are unique, the amount

There is a certain “look” that I work to obtain from every dog. I call it “The Face”. It is that happy, affectionate, stress free,

I have used behavior modification techniques in combination with veterinarian prescribed medicines since the year 2000. When I started this combination treatment, the use of

I work with a lot of pet dogs which are afraid of humans and animals. In addition, I work with their owners to attempt to

Many dog owners, too many, rely on luck instead of wisdom. In addition, they fool themselves by lying to themselves, and surrounding themselves with enablers

I am very careful introducing corrections to dog owners, not because the dogs at that point don’t need it, but because some people can’t be

Do you have a picture trained dog? How can you tell if your dog being trained appropriately? It is important to understand the answer. How

Every few years a new celebrity dog trainer guru pops up, makes a boatload of money, while at the same time doing things to dogs

I’m volunteering my time to work with rescued dogs. Some dogs need special attention to help make them adoptable. I worked with such a dog

I meet a lot of fearful dogs. These range from dogs that are mildly afraid of some situations to dogs that are too dangerous to

One of my students has a young adult, male, Airedale mix. From a distance, he looks more like a Dalmatian, but up close you can

Why do students hire a good dog trainer, not do the required homework, and then opt for a solution that is worse for the dog

I have worked with many dogs that never recognize certain people, regardless of how many times they have met. They will sniff and react to

There is a theory that claims humans evolved from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens because of the consumption of psilocybin mushrooms. There are also several

I like a good mystery movie. I would classify the Harry Potter series as from a mystery genre. At the beginning, you know something is

Imagine how it feels to your dog if it doesn’t have anything to offer to social situations or tasks, to not be accepted by people

Training a dog doesn’t just mean teaching your dog to do this or that in a vacuum. I want my students to select what Manners