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Latest Training Articles
The Fearful Rescue Dog Who Changed My Life
By Gloria Schmidt
*This post is the Pet Professional Guild runner up entry in our Geek Week 2020 Writers’ Competition*
Back in 2011, I had accepted a job at St. Jude Children’s Research hospital that required moving to a new state, 13 hours away from home, to a place where I initially knew ...
Rethinking Dominance in Horses
By Dorothy Heffernan
In 21st century horse keeping, we require a range of behaviors from our horses. Some of these involve the horse staying near us and not leaving, such as grooming, tacking up, leading, waiting to have a head collar, halter or bridle put on, not moving away when we climb ...
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Proper Education, Not Faulty Legislation For Pet Dog Trainers
The profession of companion, or “pet” dog training is one that requires little more than the willingness to do it and promote oneself. There is no licensing required.
Let me state right up front that given the appalling lack of education and ...
No More Henrys
A headline a few weeks ago caught my eye: PetSmart, groomer are sued in death of dog. Obviously, this should never happen. Reading the article just made me sad, and angry.
The dog, Henry, a year-old dachshund, went to the groomer to get his ...
Christmas Puppy – What a Great Idea?
Do not get me wrong, I am not talking about giving someone a puppy for Christmas or buying a puppy on impulse.
I am talking about a long awaited puppy who, for no other reason but the mother coming into season at a certain time, comes home for ...
It Was Coming Right At Me!
I am so interested in how dogs perceive things, and how they notice differences that we don’t, or that we take for granted. Those differences can matter to them a great deal. An example of that was the focus of my recent post, “Intruder in the ...
Spray Bottles Are for Houseplants, Not Cats
By Beth Adelman, MS
It’s piece of bad advice that just won’t die: When your cat is misbehaving, squirt her with some water. Even some veterinarians still say it.
What’s wrong with the spray bottle? Well, for starters, it doesn’t work. Yes, ...
“Good Sit!”
Here is a quiz. Let’s say someone says, “Sit,” to a dog, intending the word as a cue.
What part of speech is the word, “Sit”?
Then, what part of speech is the same word if we say, “Good sit!” afterwards?
That was a trick.
If we were ...
News Flash: Dogs Remember
Science has once again confirmed the obvious: Dogs can remember things.
OK, maybe I am being a bit hard on the researchers. They were specifically interested in whether dogs have episodic memory. Well, they call it “episodic-like” memory, ...
Practice? Liszt or Chopsticks
Years ago in another life I was a music teacher. In addition to class music lessons for many years, I also taught the piano and the flute. What’s this got do do with dogs, you might ask.
My pupils’ results showed I was quite a good ...