Treats or Bingos?
Traditionally, tidbits given to dogs outside their regular meals are labeled 'treats'. Pet shops sell 'treats' and we traditionally refer to any food the dog gets by hand for doing nothing as a 'treat'.
I feel this 'treat' word can sometimes get in the way of converting people who have 'had ...
Cats in a Dog’s World
Cats communicate in a variety of ways. Those of us who are most familiar with canines can often have difficulty differentiating the signals that cats send in attempts to communicate their intent. While many of us prefer to work with dogs, it is often the case that the canines with whom we ...
Positive Is a Perception: Empathy to Understand the Perception of the Other
Two things happened to me recently that set me off thinking about positive reinforcement from the recipient’s perspective. Firstly I read a very negative review of positive reinforcement training through a Facebook blog. The writer was suggesting that positive reinforcement is a misnomer ...
All I Want for Christmas…
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is an e-collar…that I can use without violating my professional ethics.
Thanks to modern technology and micro circuitry dog owners and trainers alike enjoy a variety of devices for use in training. Unfortunately, not every one of those devices is ...
Five Ways to Survive the Holidays with your Dog
'Tis the season of family, laughter, fun and joy. Gift giving, good eating, and relaxing are just a few of the things we look forward to during the holidays. But, along with the holiday spirit, also comes a little stress and chaos. This stress and chaos not only affects us humans but our ...
Just an Ordinary Dog!
My dog Jambo is a Trick Dog Champion. In fact, he was the first Staffordshire Bull Terrier to be awarded the Title. Jambo is an adorable, loving pet dog. Jambo is not an exceptional dog. He isn’t particularly athletic. He isn’t unusually intelligent. He is a dog who has been set up for ...
Rio Goes to Tampa
I was so excited to attend the PPG Summit in Tampa, Florida last month. Tampa is just a bit more than a 2 hour drive for me. And for years I’ve wanted to take one of my dogs to a professional training conference. All the locations have been too far to drive and my dogs are too big to fit ...
Do No Harm!
That maxim is one of the fundamental principles that health care providers are taught in school which roughly means that given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something or do nothing than risk causing more harm than good.
I believe as positive reinforcement trainers and other ...