The magazine for force-free pet professionals

No results found.

Visit our pet owner publication!

Filter by Categories
Training
No results found.

Latest Training Articles

Stumbling through Puppy Socialization

In 1983 my wife and I moved into our first home on a ¾ acre lot in a small city and could finally have a puppy.  She was a black Labrador Retriever whose AKC registration name was Monona Midnight Melody, but we called her Samantha. We knew nothing about raising a puppy and there were not ...

Behavior Modification — A Case Study of a “Difficult” Dog

By Maren Jensen Ph.D. and Angelica Steinker M.Ed. CDBC PDBC PCBC-A The Joy and Journey of Rehabilitating a Dog with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Pica, Separation Anxiety, Noise Sensitivity and Aggression Rumble was a normal puppy. He investigated, pounced and loved all. ...

More Articles

You’re Too Close! Dogs and Body Pressure

So you are standing at a party, or in your office, or on your front lawn. Someone you know only vaguely walks up to you. He walks up very close, face to face, close enough that you can see up his nose and smell his breath. He starts a ...

No Trainer Is an Island

When I opened my new dog training and behavior consulting business four months ago, I reached out to local veterinarians, groomers and boarding facilities. I also took a little time to research other trainers in my area to see who was out ...

Advocacy is Where You Look for It

In April 2016 I attended the 11th annual Applied Animal Behavior Conference hosted by the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Each year veterinary professionals and students gather to learn about animal behavior, a ...

Things You Don’t Know

There are many myths and misconceptions about dog training, some of which are broadcast on TV or written in popular books. Do you know the truth? You don’t need to worry about being alpha. Dogs don’t need to be rolled over on their backs, ...

Teaching Your Dog Eye Contact

How many times have you thought to yourself, "I sure wish my dog would focus on me and not x." Well, this is something you can certainly start to tackle by teaching your dog a reliable "Watch" behavior. Imagine, how nice it would be if a ...

Human Attitudes

I’m sure others might feel the same way as I have recently so I have decided to share this as I have found a positive way forward if one is feeling somewhat burned out… The last few months I’ve been feeling slightly overwhelmed with what I ...

The Game Of Know, Not No!

Many years ago when I was first learning this “new” method called positive reinforcement training, even though my dog was learning in huge leaps to do all the behaviors I asked him to do, I had this nagging question: But how can I tell him when ...

Yelling at My Dogs

The “yelling” question comes up regularly for positive reinforcement-based trainers. “Am I a bad person if I yell at my dogs?” “Is it positive punishment to yell at my dogs?” And the accusatory version, “Do you NEVER yell at your dogs? Of ...