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Latest Behavior Articles
Puppy House Training 101
By Sally Bradbury
House training is all about creating good habits. Young pups have very small bladders and very little bladder control, so they need to be in the right place when nature calls. To house train successfully in as short a time as possible you must take your puppy outside as ...
The Giveaway: On the Loss of a Beloved Pet
For the first time, I missed the writing deadline for my monthly PPG blog this month. Sadly, it was unavoidable, as I could muster neither the energy or the words to do so.
We each lose our beloved pets, and in the past couple of years I have read far too many posts from PPG colleagues ...
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Putting More Tools in the Tool Kit
Recently I worked with an adolescent dog that I trained as a puppy. Like many adolescents he suddenly forgot several of his training skills and got stuck offering two behaviors in specific circumstances.
When greeting people he climbed upon ...
A Lesson in Tolerance
By Susan Nilson
An estimated 40 - 75 percent of all cats that present with behavioral symptoms have some kind of elimination disorder, making it the most commonly reported feline behavior problem of all (Overall, 1997) and the most common ...
Body Language – Your Dog’s Native Tongue
By Susan Claire, CPDT-KA
If you own a dog, then you teach English as a second language. A dog's native tongue is body language. Yet, dogs adapt and learn our English words with remarkable ability. There are many emotions that we share with ...
Dog Park Etiquette
If I had $1 for every time an owner told me how irate they were about something that had happened in the park when they were walking their dog - well, you know the rest! So what are the unspoken rules about how us dog owners should conduct ...
What Is the Purpose of a Real Dog?
Labeling normal dog behaviors like barking, digging, jumping up, chasing, growling and others as problems is something my colleagues and I have started seeing more often in our classes and consultations. However, typical puppy behaviors can ...
Leave It: Not Just for Dead Men Anymore
The other day I was pondering the trend of talking about teaching “self-control” and “impulse control” in our dogs. I got to thinking about “leave it,” both the term and the behavior. I realized a couple things. First, the term “leave it” ...
Choke Collar Pathology
Recently I persuaded a local pet supply store owner to sell me all his choke collars (at cost) and refrain from restocking them, in return for recommendations for safe body harnesses such as Perfect Fit and Balance. He was persuaded by data I ...
A Change of Lifestyle
By Marilyn Krieger
According to a study by the Humane Society of the United States, based on data collected from 600 veterinarians, two out of three veterinarians recommend keeping cats indoors, citing vehicles and transmittable diseases as ...