Ouch! Acquired Bite Inhibition and Puppies
Dogs have extremely strong jaws and powerful bites. Even the smallest of dogs can deliver an injurious bite as an adult, and big dogs can inflict even greater damage. Despite this physical ability, most dog bites do not result in terrible injury. In fact, many leave only a small scratch or a few bruises. Like […]
The Importance of Enrichment
As dog trainers, clients call us in to solve problems both big and small. Often, we need to triage, managing some behavior problems until we work through others of greater importance. We often suggest adding enrichment to a dog’s routine right off the bat, for good reason. While enrichment can definitely help manage behavior problems, that’s […]
Dog training and decision fatigue
We train dogs for a variety of reasons: to reduce unwanted behaviour, increase desired behaviour, for their welfare, to improve public safety and of course for pure, unadulterated fun. Owners who are training for fun without clear goals might be slow to reach them (or even -gasp- never reach them!), but this is no big […]
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 […]
The Seductiveness of Why
My training as an archaeologist prepared me well for my work with dogs. Archaeologists tend to be consummate generalists. We learn some biology (How do bones grow?), some physics (How do percussion waves through volcanic glass make razor-sharp flakes?), and some chemistry (How does radioactive decay tell us how old stuff is?). Of course, we […]
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 […]
