Living with and training a reactive dog is not easy. As I work through my puppy Niffler’s stranger danger, I have found myself wondering if I’m masking his reactions to …
Seeing The Forest for the Trees
I went to a conference for wildlife conservation last weekend. And I had a good reminder of seeing the forest for the trees. Barley was our demonstration/ambassador dog for the …
Do Shock Collars Hurt Dogs? The Answer: Yes, or They Wouldn’t Work.
One of the main questions, when people are considering using a shock collar, is whether or not these training collars will hurt their dogs. Modern shock collars often have up …
Are Shock Collars Safe for Puppies?
Let’s face it: puppies and teenage dogs can be a huge pain in the butt. It can be tempting to want to just reach for a remote that could stop …
Training a Conservation Detection Dog: Week 1
I recently accepted a position at Working Dogs for Conservation. I’m going to be the Communications and Outreach Coordinator there. WD4C trains some of the world’s best conservation detection dogs. …
Yes, It’s OK To Leave A Dog In A Car
For those of you who don’t know, I’ve spent the last year of my life (April 2018-March 2019) driving from Denver to Memphis to Wisconsin to Vancouver to Los Angeles …
Shaping a Behavior: Dog Training Using Successive Approximations
Dog training using successive approximations, commonly called shaping, is my favorite way to teach dogs a new behavior. This training method was pioneered by B.F. Skinner, and it’s one of …
Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive Training
I try my very best to follow the Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive training framework when working with my dog, the shelter dogs I worked with, and my foster dogs. I …
A Dog Walks Into a Shelter and Growls at the Staff – Why?
Jack was a big, black Shepherd/Husky mix (or at least that was our best guess). He growled when the intake staff at the shelter moved him from the overnight kennels …
Are Dog Treats Bribery? Do Treats Make My Dog Beg or Only Listen When I’ve Got Food?
There is a common misconception that if you use treats to train your dog, that you are just using bribery. Or, that your dog will ONLY do what is asked …
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