So Tell Me What You Want, What You Really Really Want: Nine Ways Preference Testing Can Go Wrong
What’s your favorite color?
Do you prefer pie or ice cream?
Which shirt do you like better: the striped one or the solid green one?
Most of us have been asked our preferences since we were children. Sometimes we are being asked to make a choice: if we choose the striped shirt we ...
Does Breed Specific Legislation Work?
Recently a dog incident occurred in the tiny northern village of Plain, Wisconsin. As reported by TV news in the southern part of the state, a lady was walking her dog when three Pit Bulls escaped their home and rushed up to her. The lady ended up on the ground and was “scratched”.
The news ...
Labels and Limitations…..
By Kamal Fernandez
Do you have a nickname for your dog? I mean, an endearing title or word that describes or captures who they are? This can often be a positive thing… all of my dogs, have a ‘second name’, that I often use to reference them… Sugar is ‘shu-shu’….. Punch is ‘P dog’… ‘Super’ ...
A Good Start in Life
By Francine Miller
Thankfully, more people are now aware that puppies need early socialization to have the best shot at being behaviorally healthy, but there are still many that are sketchy on the details of the process.
Very few people are aware that kittens also undergo a sensitive ...
Dog Car Safety: Help – An Escapee!
Recently, my nephew and I saw a dog running down a busy main road. She was very lucky as between us we managed to redirect her down an alleyway away from all the traffic and eventually I got her to come near enough to me so that I could take hold of her collar. She was obviously very ...
Cognitive Dog Training
I first started teaching about what I called cognitive dog training several years ago. I didn't invent it; I simply named what a lot of positive, forward-thinking dog trainers were already doing. Cognitive dog training enlists the dog as ...
The Problem with Punishment
Fortunately today, thanks to force free advocating organizations like Pet Professional Guild, there is much more awareness of the detrimental effects of punishment. Sadly though, in some quarters it still prevails and is even advocated by some and perpetuated by the media. So what ...
Change Is Difficult – We Are Humans After All
As trainers we sometimes talk about owner compliance, or maybe more accurately - in some cases at least - the apparent lack of it. Part of our job as dog trainers is to find ways to motivate our clients to make changes to the lives of their dogs and often this means they also need to change ...