Our Specious Enemy: Friendly Fire in the Trenches of Dog Training
Caveat: I usually work to avoid military metaphors in my writing, but in writing this piece I found them simply too useful, especially considering my somewhat depleted state. Please click away if these will be distressing for you. Recently, my boss/colleague/dear friend Jean Donaldson said, with the wisdom of decades in the dog training biz […]
Puppies, Prestige, and the Power of Pessimism
Dogs don’t seem to invest much of their behaviour in creating and maintaining hierarchies, but we humans sure do. In fact, our very human desire for status can affect our dogs in a few ways…and usually, not for the better. Prestige in Human Society: Popularity Actually Does Matter One of the ways that humans form […]
The Danger of Dangling Reinforcement Schedules: A Dog Training Manifesto
Over your career as a pet dog professional, how many times have you fielded the question: “When can I stop with the treats?” If you’re like most trainers, the truth is probably somewhere between “way too many” and “is there something higher than infinity?” It’s a question that comes up so frequently you probably have […]
By The Clicking Of Our Thumbs, Something Wicked This Way Comes
Although you won’t find this anywhere in our official literature, one of the unspoken, informal mandates of the Academy is that we should be having some fun with our lives and our careers. Dog training is a hard business to be in: the lack of regulation brings with it really trying interpersonal and professional strife […]
Dog Pros and Dog Cons: Competence, Celebrity, and the Value of Kindness
Dogs. They’re magic, aren’t they? They’re magic to us two-legged beasts, at least. They’re sisters and brothers to the big bad wolf, but they’re content to sleep snuggled up on the couch with us as we watch a movie. They’re sleek and fast, or tiny and endearing, or lumbering and snuffling, or…any number of things, […]
Dig In: Summer Reading for Dog Lovers
This summer has been…well, if not the summer of our discontent, certainly arduous and fraught. But being at home this much has given some of us the time and space to crack open a book, sit back in the patio chair and read, read, read. Just as we give our dogs the enrichment they need […]
Taking a Seat at the Table: Co-operative Veterinary Care, Professional Practices, and Dog Training
Recently, I started using the term care team with those clients who have dogs fearful enough to be referred to a veterinarian or veterinary behaviourist. These dogs often need an integrated approach: the veterinarian takes medical history from the client and tackles the discussion of behavioural medication or supplements, and, if appropriate, other medical rule-outs. […]
Skeletons (Quite Literally) in my Closet: Dog Training, Anthropology, and the Zeitgeist of “I’m Sorry”
Ah, those were the days! I remember the first few years of my university degree in anthropology (and my chosen sub-discipline, archaeology) back in the early holocene—I was purple-haired and fresh-faced, and felt like I was on the cutting edge of all things “ist”: we were feminist, we were anti-racist, and heck, our theory class […]
The Many Paths That Lead to Professional Dog Training
Recently, a client of mine was bitten…by the training bug. Her mastiff had been aggressive when he was eating or had a chew toy and was snarling, lunging, and even biting anyone who dared to approach. No small deal, considering his size and rather ferocious appearance! We were able to change the dog’s behaviour (and […]
Math, Nursing, and Academic Standards: Why the Academy for Dog Trainers Requires an 80% to Pass
Recently, I was having lunch with two friends. One—Robyn Rittmaster—is an Academy for Dog Trainers graduate who, in addition to training dogs at Carolark in Ottawa, teaches animal behaviour to students in the veterinary assistant program at a local college. The other—Benjamin Carroll—is a high school friend of mine. Ben is a nurse and MNSc […]
