Help your dog make good choices
There was an anti-drug ad on TV that portrayed a sleazy dealer talking to a group of teenagers while the narrator intoned, "If you don't talk to your kids about drugs, someone else will." I was reminded of this ad after hearing about training advice someone had received to help them with their dog who ...
Don’t keep em guessing
Recently I paid a visit to a couple hoping to rehome a dog who from their description sounded as if she behaved aggressively due to fear. After a failed attempt to euthanize the dog (they couldn't go through with it) they consulted with two other trainer/behaviorists. The couple lived nearby and I knew ...
Dog afraid of new object
I wanted to share the following video of Sunny's reaction to a novel object in his environment. Many dogs can be surprised by and wary of anything new in their world. How quickly they recover from the surprise and either ignore or investigate the object can give you a clue into how challenged a dog ...
Work with the dog you have
I am tempted to say 'work with the dog you have until you have the dog you want', but realized that not only might it be a bit trite, the outcome of working with the dog you have, may not lead to having the dog you want. On the other hand, it might end up ...
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
I had a lovely few days visiting with family in Florida. Our seaside accommodations were fabulous and the strip of white sand beach stretching for several miles was soothing to look at. From our balcony we could look down and see pods of dolphins fishing off shore. In the morning I joined the walkers along ...
Solve the problem, change the behavior
What is behavior all about anyway? Why do dogs or anyone, behave the way they do? Why do they make choices to behave one way over another? In some cases there's not much choice involved. If I am stepping off the curb and see a car speeding toward me out of the corner of my ...
I want to hold your paw
I'm not one of those people who easily interacts physically with people I don't know well (in case you were wondering). Despite years of living in California, I still resist hugging people I barely know and because of the germ theory, prefer not to shake hands. I can do both of those things without distress, ...
Funny dog pictures, unless you’re the dog
I have a sense of humor, really I do. I think those pictures of puppies in hotdog buns, chewing on shoe laces and snoozing belly up are cute, I do, really. But amidst the funny and cute are images which make me cringe. This is the latest one, sandwiched amidst the funny and cute- Cute? ...
Changing our brains to help change our dogs’
My contention has always been that if we can change the way that we think about fear based behaviors in dogs, the way we handle them will change as well. A trainer friend shared with me her experience with an owner who did not believe that dogs experienced emotions and was reluctant to use food ...
