Dog Play and Prediction Error
Dog play is comprised of “ritualized aggression”, and aggression is rooted in fear. In ritualized aggression, there are varying degrees of fear/stress/aversions, along the spectrum from slight stress to possibly full blown fear, that results in a fight or bite or an attempt to flee.
The ...
Four Steps to a Thriving Group Class Program
By Veronica Boutelle of PPG corporate partner, dogbiz
Do any of these group training class challenges sound familiar?
Students who tell you their dogs “only behave during class” or “when the trainer is around”
Starting class with 6 students and ending with 3
Students who check ...
Case Study: Stress and Fights in a New Home Living with Another Dog
An elderly family member is no longer able to look after her dog, so her Cairn terrier Ben has gone to live with a couple and their dog Bonnie, a Labrador cocker spaniel mix. She’s small in size, no bigger than a cocker.
Fights
Each dog is great individually but being together is a ...
From 1 to 2…Smoothing the Transition
So you've decided after much decision and debate that another four-legged member will join your household. It's definitely something that needs lots of careful consideration:
A quick checklist to think about:
Should you choose a dog or a bitch? How does your existing dog get on with ...
Hide My Deaf/Blind Dog Away?
By Debbie Bauer
Here is my handsome, clever, fun-loving boy Vinny on our recent trip to Purina Farms. This picture was taken at their Visitor Center and he is smiling, which is his normal state of mind. You see, on this day, it was Saturday morning and the Visitor Center was full of ...
Book Review: Puppy Training
Recently I read a Kindle book on the subject of house training a dog, written by Alexandra Santos. I recognized her from a Pet Professional Guild webinar I attended on August 6, 2019 titled Fear Learning and How to Work With Fearful Dogs.
Santos is a professional canine behavior consultant ...
Does a Wagging Tail Mean a Happy Dog?
Zani’s tail is up, and you’ll see in the video below that it is wagging. Does she look friendly and happy?
Why do dogs wag their tails? The prevailing view is that they do so when they feel happy and friendly. Many do, but dogs also wag their tails in other situations. So the answer to the ...
Case Study: Puppy Joyfulness Lost, Tail Between Legs, Acts Cautious
Hettie is an adorable Cockerpoo puppy who is now 16 weeks old. For the first four weeks that Hettie was with them (8 to 12 weeks old), she was a typical confident, happy and energetic puppy. She would fly around in puppy joyfulness, grab things and cause the usual puppy chaos. Why, then, has ...