Confession of a Professional Dog Trainer
My name is Daniel H. Antolec. I am a professional certified force-free trainer…and I own a shock collar.
Not only do I own a shock collar, but it is among my most prized possessions and is proudly displayed in my library of 45 books and 25 DVDs on training and behavior.
You see, once upon a ...
The Impact of Using Shock to Train Recall
This series of blog posts recounts topics drawn from a recent guest segment by Linda Michaels on the Pet Professional Guild Radio Show.
Question: Can you tell us if you think training an emergency recall with P+ (positive punishment such as a shock collar) could, in any way, be preferable to ...
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT REGARDING THE USE OF SHOCK IN DOG TRAINING
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT REGARDING THE USE OF SHOCK IN DOG TRAINING
To download this as a PDF Click here
The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) believes unequivocally that the pet-owning general public needs - and deserves - to have increased access to better ...
Shaping without a Clicker
Most trainers agree that if there is one thing that the tool called a clicker is useful for in particular, it is for shaping behavior. Shaping consists of marking and reinforcing successive approximations towards a goal behavior. When shaping, the trainer can find herself needing to mark very ...
Learning by Observation
This is a really exciting time to be a canine professional. Dogs have come to the forefront in research, giving us new information about how they learn as well as their cognitive abilities. This new data allows trainers and behaviorists to influence canine learning and explain behavior using ...
Hello, May I Have Your Attention?
We’ve all been there, sitting in the audience waiting for the guest speaker to come on stage. Or it could be at a wedding or even a classroom. The crowd is talking, laughing in a collective rumble, when suddenly someone notices that the speaker is on stage, waiting patiently for everyone to ...
Six Ways to Prepare Your Dog for Fireworks
Oh no. Noisy holiday rolling around again, and your dog is scared of fireworks?
Even though it’s just a few days before the holiday, you can make a plan and take action to help your dog be a bit less afraid of the unpredictable scary sounds of fireworks, firecrackers, whistles, and even ...
Misconceptions of Counterconditioning Leash Reactive Dogs
Misconception #1 – Feeding a dog when they are barking or fearful reinforces the fear.
Absolutely not true. You can only cause more fear by implementing more fear or pain. Fear trumps food, so if the dog is taking the food, they are not that fearful.
The food is not the focus of the on leash ...