Dog Training Method Cookbooks
We are a long way from completely understanding how the brain works and how to fully explain, interpret and modify behavior. Yet, we have developed some good tools and insights, and it is worthwhile to invest time into the study of the latest avenues of scientific inquiry and how we got here. In the meantime, […]
Dog Training Relationship Synchronicity
When evaluating dog behavior problems, I often notice problems in the relationship between the owner and the dog. I evaluate their mutual stress levels, emotional states, communication, tendency to work together, and emotional health. In other words, are they in tune with one another. Are they mutually entwined in a healthy relationship? I got to […]
Confinement And Restraint Of Dogs
Animals of all species are spontaneously active because of intrinsic brain operating systems which generate adaptive innate and learned behaviors. When human brain systems are not operating properly, we call them psychiatric disorders, and in animals we call them behavioral disturbances. Fortunately, these operating systems are equipped with varying degrees of plasticity. Some behavioral outcomes […]
Does Your Dog Play?
Play is governed by an essential emotional circuit in the mammalian brain. Play circuits may also exist in other animal classes, such as birds and reptiles, but that is still yet to be proven. The impulse to play is inborn and has many theoretical purposes for survival. What does that have to do with your […]
The Big Two Influences To Resolve Behavior Problems In Dogs
What are the two biggest factors I use to effect beneficial changes in dogs with behavioral problems? Typical dog training has become too mechanical over the past 25 years. Training has become Input => Output, and we are back to the old views of Descartes that animals are just complex machines. That viewpoint prevailed for […]
Should You Spay Or Neuter Your Dog?
The effects of spaying and neutering dogs are variable. But are the outcomes acceptable from a health, behavior and welfare standpoint? What does the current research say? Earlier studies were used to justify surgical interventions, but those studies had methodological shortcomings and inadequate sample sizes. Politics have also confounded the public’s understanding since there has […]
You’re Turning Your Dog Into A Robot
Years ago, I was working with a new student. A few days prior, we had completed a first lesson with her puppy. We were using treats and using luring to establish beginning word associations for Sit, Down, Come and Heel. Pretty standard stuff. She was at a quiet park, as I recommended, doing her homework. […]
Purely Positive Dog Training?
What is my main complaint about PP (Purely Positive dog) training theory? Of all the famous trainers I have followed, they don’t truly have trained dogs. They are just tolerating, managing, or blocking undesired behaviors. That means they can’t train your dogs to live in their Promised Land: your dog will not be under verbal […]
What’s The Truth About Using Aversive Methods In Dog Training?
No normal person wants to harm a dog. Let’s get that out of the way up front. This article is not about how to harm any dog. If you are someone who would take your anger out on a dog, or get pleasure from harming a dog, then you should stay about a million miles […]
What Is Owner Absent Misbehavior?
Some dogs soil the home when the owner is gone, destroy things when you are not around, bark or howl, dig, or cause trouble for other members or pets in the family. This is “Owner Absent Misbehavior”. What sets up this problem? Well, you’ve become the Fun Police. When you are around, if your dog […]