“Aw, he’s still a puppy! Let him jump up…” “He doesn’t know any better – that’s why he is biting my hand. What a cute puppy…” Wait, slow down. When is he supposed to learn? In other words: would you allow your kid to misbehave, pull other kids’ hair, yell at them and bite strangers? Nope! (Well, I hope not.) …
Working out together
Long walks through the forest, a morning jog or a bike ride? Going for a swim in the lake? Okay, we’ve done that countless times… what next? Many of us workout – whether at a gym or at home – regularly while our dogs hang out at home waiting for us to go do one of the things listed above …
Avoidance of rehearsal
Everything developes through rehearsal. Without rehearsal, nothing can be learned or improved. Now applying that to our animal training, many unwanted behaviors can simply be avoided. The best example that I can think of right now, is crate training with puppies. It is brilliant in preventing the learning of any bad behavior from your dog in the house. I worded that very carefully, …
The Motivation Continuum
Punishing — Neutral —Reinforcing Any motivation can vary in effectiveness depending on factors such as time, place, association and physiology. If a stimulus (motivation) has no meaning to an animal, it is labeled as neutral. It will not change a behavior. That leaves us with either a reinforcing or punishing stimulus on opposite ends of this spectrum. Often we take a …
Thoughts on dominance
Many people see being dominant as negative state and something that should be avoided at all costs. Avoiding dominance with animals and children and anything in life is next to impossible. Why? For this very reason: putting your dog on a leash, whether he pulls or not, is dominance because you are controlling where he can walk. Telling your kid what to …
Where does discipline come from?
Well-behaved, polite dogs aren’t born that way. For every disciplined dog, there is a disciplined (consistant!) handler. Some concepts you need to understand: No excuses (oh there are so many people watching me or oh well, he already misbehaved) No exceptions – for example letting him go to other dogs while on the leash. You either let him or you …
When they’re in pain
The woods are still black and covered in frost when I take my dogs out in the mornings… winter is not a trainer’s best friend! After a long walk in the woods, I let them romp and play in the field before heading home. Out of the darkness I hear my young dog, Monty, scream for a good ten seconds. …
Hey dog, slow down!
We’ve all either seen or own a dog who swallows the whole meal in one gulp. That can’t be healthy, dog! A habit like that is hard and usually impossible to untrain. That being said, there are some tips I can give you to help slow your dog down. Read them through and let me know what you think and …
Jackpot!
How can you tell your animal they did an extra good job? My rewards are very intentionally rationed. When a dog is learning how to lay down and they do it (perhaps slowly or a bit delayed) then they get a treat. If they lay down immediately – fast, alert, and confidently -, then they get a small handful (maybe 5 …