The Concept Dog Trainers Need to Know
In May in Vermont I am presenting two seminars. Understanding fear-based behavior in dogs, is one I am most often invited to present at different venues. It hasn't changed much over the years and that should be attributed to the fact that nothing new about behavior, since I first created the presentation, has changed. The ...
Forget About Stress & Anxiety
First off, sorry. The title was designed to get your attention. We cannot forget about stress and anxiety but rather than focus on those conditions we assume a dog is experiencing, let's get down to the business of behavior. It has been important that people have been encouraged to learn about behaviors that dogs perform ...
The Changing Role & Responsibility of Rescues & Shelters
There may have been a time when schools only needed to be charged with teaching students reading, writing and arithmetic. But as society changes schools become responsible for instruction that either used to be provided at home, or represents a new field of study. When I was in high school we had a choice of ...
Don’t Become A Victim
For many years I routinely had to take first aid and first responder courses because of the work I was doing. One of the instructions we were given in every course, and had to practice, if only to repeat out loud what we were to do was to 'assess the situation'. One of the goals ...
Stillness-The Choreography of Training Fearful Dogs
When a professional athlete is about to perform a challenging move, an ice skater preparing for a triple jump, a tennis player about to return a volley, a swimmer turning off the wall, a race car driver taking a curve at high speed, each move has been rehearsed and practiced over and over again. Extra ...
Don’t Use Shock Collars For Sound Phobias
Years ago, before the rise in podcasts I was asked to be part of a radio show featuring 3 dogs trainers. The show was being recorded for broadcasting at a later date. As soon as it was over I told the host I did not want to be part of the program. Luckily for me ...
The Sound Of Startling
Sound is often the first indication that there might be something in the environment we need to pay attention to. A rustling in the grass or the snapping of branches may indicate a predator sneaking up on us, or maybe it's something we can pursue as lunch. Either way, sound zips into brains and gets ...
Yes Your Dog Probably Does Need Obedience Training
There is a backlash among some in the dog training community to what is commonly called obedience training. There's a good reason for the backlash. Obedience training in many minds brings up images of dogs being physically manipulated, verbal corrections & leash pops abound. There is a do it or else mentality to the process. ...
Do You Need To Be A Pack Leader?
This is a video from 2014. I was testing the waters for producing podcasts. The audio gets cut off a bit in the beginning, but I think you'll get the gist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=_ayBeeFjoZw&feature=emb_logo
