Can Dogs Really Play Pretend with Life-sized Dolls?
It’s been asserted that using a realistic stuffed dog (a “fugazi”) provides developmental benefits to young puppies as well as social and mental benefits to adult dogs, thanks to dogs’ presumed ability to pretend these toys are real. I worry these unsubstantiated claims might do more harm than good.
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 […]
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 […]
A Letter of Resignation
I am disappointed to announce my resignation from this field. After years of education, hard work and dedication, I have to finally admit that I am just not up to snuff. This profession is truly a gift, and I was approaching it all wrong. I am constantly gratified by the innate savagery of a dog, […]
Conversations About Functional Analysis
The Academy’s director Jean Donaldson speaks with staffer Kristi Benson about functional analyses in pet dog training and why standard operating procedures are often more important. Kristi: A perennially fascinating topic for dog training professionals is the use and usefulness of functional assessments or functional analyses. Functional analyses are a tool in the applied behaviour […]
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 […]
Puppy Priorities: What Really Matters in the First Few Weeks
Puppies are a regular part of my job as a dog trainer, and whenever I talk with a new puppy parent, I ask what their specific goals are. More often than not, they reply, “Oh you know, the basics: sit, down, stay, come.” While I do love an enthusiastic client wanting to address manners and […]
A Good Trade: Online Coaching for Food and Object Guarding
The look of astonishment on my client’s face wasn’t unusual. Her dog had a history of growling, snarling and biting if anyone came near when he was chewing his favorite bone. And she had in fact just walked up to him while he was chewing on this coveted bone. But guess what? When she approached, […]
Conversations About Dire Wolves
The Academy’s director Jean Donaldson speaks with staffer Kristi Benson about human evolution and the real risks, to both humans and dogs, that result from our fear of dogs. Kristi: When people think about evolution, my sense is that they conjure up moths on trees in Industrial Revolution England or lungfish with delicate little flipper […]
