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My Animal Is Not Food Motivated – AT ALL! [Your 9-point motivational checklist]

By Ryan Cartlidge Have you ever wanted to train an animal that was ‘not food motivated’? This challenge is something I have often heard people tell me over the years! And I always think to myself, “does your animal eat?” If the answer is ‘yes’, I’m curious if we can say ...

BARKS Podcast with Dr. Dorothy Heffernan: March 19, 2021

By BARKS from the Guild

Join Niki Tudge and guest Dr. Dorothy Heffernan as they discuss all things equine. Listen to the Podcast here on your preferred platform. Or simply click ‘Play’ below. See also Straight from ...

Navigating the Storm

By BARKS from the Guild

By Mary Jean Alsina “I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship.” - Louisa May Alcott Many dogs who come into this world quickly learn that there are many storms of which ...

The Far Side Of Behavior Solutions

One of my favorite Gary Larson, Far Side cartoons, is a drawing of a girl reading a book about equine medicine with the caption, “Doreen breezes through her first semester of veterinary school.” The page shows a long list of possible horse ailments and only one antidote...shoot ...

Are We Meeting Our Pets’ Needs?

I think it's part of our American culture to love the idea of having a pet. Whether it's a dog or cat or a pocket pet, many of us enjoy our lives more when we share it with a companion animal. There is another side to the equation. And that is how is our companion is enjoying their life ...

Are We Dogs’ Best Friends?

My blog is called The Thinking Dog, so it doesn't take a canine Einstein to figure out that I take dogs’ thinking ability seriously. But what does it mean to talk about thinking dogs? How do dogs think? What do they think about? While human thinking tends to occur primarily in words, and ...

Carrot or Stick? Is Compromise Ever Acceptable?

What if a client is so entrenched in his (or her) old-fashioned so-called "dominance" views that banging on about force-free positive methods in the first consultation is likely to alienate him altogether? What if as an individual he just can't help being a controller and his own sense of ...

Korean Meat Farm Dogs Arrive without Much Baggage

In January the Humane Society International brokered a deal with a farmer in South Korea who had been raising dogs for food. In exchange for funds to convert his operation to blueberry cultivation, he surrendered his twenty three dogs into their custody. Next thing they knew, the dogs were ...

Are ‘Free-Shaped’ Dogs Better Problem Solvers?

A look at the criticisms of lure-reward training by Carmen LeBlanc MS ACAAB CPDT. First published in BARKS from the Guild, April 2014, pp. 12-18 Most professional dog trainers have heard about criticisms of lure-reward training in recent years. These criticisms have been made along with ...

When Choosing a Dog Trainer, Buyer Beware!

Written by Leah Roberts Originally posted in 8/27 2010 Before 1981 when Dr. Ian Dunbar developed the first Sirius Puppy Class, training wasn't recommended for puppies under 6 months old. The only training methods available at the time involved physical force using training tools such as ...

What Dog Training Really Taught Me

Image credit: Yvette Van Veen of Awesome Dogs. Please see full credit and sharing info at the bottom of the post. One of Many Examples This reinforcement/punishment combo is very common and easy to fall into, because of ignorance about how learning works, but also because of the unwillingness ...

Don’t Stop That Behavior, Quit It!

In my “previous life” when I was a fitness and wellness trainer, I would coach my clients to making healthy choices. I learned back then about motivation, about what it takes to set a goal, but more importantly, I learned which goals are the kinds that will stick for the long haul and which ...