The Mop Up Squad
There is a trope—long disproven and actually dangerous for dogs—among those trainers who continue to use aversive stimuli in dog training: they say that they are the only ones who can train aggressive dogs. They regularly accuse us positive reinforcement trainers of allowing dogs to needlessly die when their antagonistic and outdated training techniques could […]
Reality Testing
Years ago I was chatting with a friend about the lay of the land in dog training and mentioned that in the US it was still legal to use electric shock on dogs, by anyone and at any time. She, who is not in dogs, said something to the effect of, “isn’t that extreme?” This […]
Holidays with Stranger Danger Dogs
With COVID restrictions dwindling and the holidays approaching, families with dogs who are uncomfortable around strangers may be feeling trepidation. Fear not: you can all survive this and even, in some cases, slightly improve your dog’s comfort level with strangers. The first thing to think about is whether you’ve got the bandwidth and your impending […]
If They Could March
If dogs could march on Washington, what would they march about? Adequate food, shelter, veterinary care? Big ticket stuff, but I doubt it. When people march, it’s never for something everybody already agrees on and for which there are laws on the books. Everybody gets it that it’s Wrong and Bad and Illegal to starve dogs. It’d […]
Staying The Course With A Nervous Nellie
“She’s afraid of the hall again,” my young client said, her voice tense. “And she’s also flinching when she hears the elevator. She’s regressing more and more!” “She” was Nellie, a 5-month-old Rottweiler mix who had been rescued from an abandoned house in rural Puerto Rico and transported to a tenth-floor apartment in Washington, D.C. […]
Why We Need to Modify the Humane Hierarchy
Why we need to modify the Humane Hierarchy Our guest blogger is Tim Steele, a newly minted Academy graduate and owner of Behavior Matters Academy in Santa Clara CA. His post is part of Companion Animal Psychology’s Train For Rewards Blog Party 2018. I love the idea of the Humane Hierarchy. We’ve needed a simple-to-understand graphic which gives […]
Intensity Isn’t Bad
I am one of a small army of applied dog behavior people that fights against stuff every day. Mainstays like the use of aversive stimuli (positive punishment and negative reinforcement) in dog training. The absence of competence standards in dog training. Breed-specific legislation. Leadership leadership leadership. And transient alarming trends such as don’t socialize puppies […]
Talk Softly and Carry a Carrot, Not a Stick
This piece was originally published in a local newspaper in 2006. I updated it and think it’s relevant to re-run given that the state of New York is currently considering licensing dog trainers. They’d be the first state to do so. Dog training is a divided profession. We are not like plumbers, orthodontists or termite exterminators […]
Lettre ouverte aux propriétaires qui pensent que des gâteries corrompront leur chien
Je comprends. Vous préférez ne pas utiliser de gâteries pour entraîner votre chien, parce qu’il devrait apprendre les bonnes manières sans recevoir quelque chose en retour. Vous pensez que si vous lui donnez des friandises, vous atténuerez la valeur des récompenses bien plus importantes, comme votre approbation. Vous vous dites qu’il ne saura jamais discerner […]
An Open Letter to Owners Who Think Treats are Bribery
I understand. You don’t want to use treats to train your dog because he should learn appropriate behavior without having to be bribed. If you reward him with treats, it degrades more important rewards such as your approval. He’ll never learn right and wrong. You want him to respect you. He’ll also become dependent on […]
