Why Labels for Dogs AND Trainers Are Misleading
Over the years we’ve written many articles about the importance of describing what dogs DO rather than – or at least BEFORE – assigning interpretive labels to their behavior. For example, describing a dog as “stubborn” is an anthropomorphic interpretation of his behavior and doesn’t really give us any information about what the dog is…
Is “How Can I Get Him to Stop” The Right Training Goal?
The most common question we hear from pet owners is how they can get their dogs or cats to stop doing some behavior they don’t like. Perhaps they want their dog to stop barking, their cat to stop spraying or urinating outside the litterbox, their cats or dogs to stop fighting or being destructive, or…
Habits, Routines, and What’s Important to Dogs
We’ve been at our new “snowbird” townhome in Sun City AZ for a little over a week now. It’s a bit of a change for Coral, our 8 year old field-bred Irish setter. She’s accustomed to a decent sized backyard where she loves to spend time watching her birds and squirrels and burying an assortment…
Did You Do Your Dog Training Homework?
Statistics indicate that most pets will engage in at least one behavior in their lives that becomes a problem for owners. It’s not known how many pet owners consult some sort of behavior or training professional for help for their pets’ behavior versus trying to solve the problem on their own. We’ve become more…
The Basis for Better Behaved Dogs
It’s hard to believe that our dear Irish setter Coral, is now 8 years old. To us she is still our little baby puppy. Coral is without a doubt one of the easiest dogs to live with we’ve ever had. Just the polar opposite of our most recent Dalmatian, Ashley, that we wrote about frequently…
Breed Identification – Unintended Consequences
How do you know what breed – or mix of breeds your dog is? We know our dog Coral is an Irish setter because we purchased her from someone who we know has been breeding Irish setters for over 20 years. Not only does Coral look like an Irish setter (one who is bred for…
What’s Wrong With Dog Shaming
By now you’ve probably seen the “shaming” pictures of dogs on the internet with hand-written signs about the “bad” things the dogs have done. These include peeing on the owner’s leg at obedience class, slamming against the bedroom door to wake the owner up, eating feces or TV remote controls, and more. We’ve included…
Cats Working With Rats To Find Landmines?
No doubt you have heard about dogs that have been trained to find landmines. There are millions of live mines all over the world, placed in the last 70 years during wars, insurrections and even by criminals such as drug dealers. Dogs have proven to be very successful at helping to locate landmines that can…
Guidelines and Ideas for Responsible Pet Ownership
Everyone talks about responsible pet ownership but just exactly what that consists of isn’t very clear. It means different things to different people. Now, two very influential organizations, The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Kennel Club (AKC), have created guidelines for responsible pet ownership that make this idea more concrete. These guidelines…
How Professional Are You?
Dog trainers typically don’t receive the professional recognition most of them deserve. There are many reasons for this, ranging from the lack of a generally accepted educational pathway for becoming a trainer, to disagreements about methods, “philosophy”, and what body of knowledge and skills any professional trainer should possess.