Portland Blog Competition: Lessons from Bogie
By Shannon Finch
I want to warn you at the outset, Bogie's story doesn't have a happy ending. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for this dog, with mistakes compounded by more mistakes. It's been over 15 years since I worked with Bogie, but I clearly remember every detail about ...
Halloween and Pet Welfare
I confess that Halloween is my favorite holiday. I enjoy the creative costumes, haunted house attractions and horror films. For me, the creepy nature of the holiday is fun.
Behaviorally healthy dogs may accept Halloween activities like trick-or-treat visitors in costume as just another ...
A Lure By Any Name is Still a Lure
By Yvette Van Veen
Luring a dog towards something he fears is a problematic practice most recognize. Regardless of whether you use aversives in training or not, it’s an issue because it can create a slew of problems.
From the dog’s perspective, luring into scary is a 'gotcha.' The first ...
Five Rules for Humans Living in Catlandia
By Daniel “DQ” Quagliozzi
Humans and cats have been trying to peacefully coexist for centuries, and for the most part, we are doing okay…with a little room for improvement. Our relationship with cats has definitely changed over time, with technology allowing us to connect with the masses ...
Pet Tutor…My Hero
By Smart Animal Training
(A letter from Malena DeMartini-Price CTC CDBC)
Dear Wes & Amanda at Smart Animal Training,
I wanted to tell you about a client that I have been working with for a little while now that has been absolutely wonderful and of course, the Pet Tutor was my hero in ...
BARKS Podcast with Jane Bowers: October 2, 2018
Guest: Jane Bowers of Dogs of Distinction Canine Training in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Topic: Bowers' article in BARKS, Reducing Conflict, and Assessing and Interpreting Dog Behaviour, a training course hosted by the Canadian Police Knowledge Network for law enforcement personnel and ...
Five Days from Fear to Fun – Classical Counterconditioning
By Yvette Van Veen
I decided to spend some recent holiday time working on a whistle recall. This is when a dog learns to come to the sound of a whistle. Pamela Dennison has a number of resources on how to teach this skill for anyone who might be interested.
Unlike other whims, I ...
Dogs CAN Learn That … and That, and That!
Do you know anyone who has more than one service dog because "one dog couldn't be taught to do all the tasks" that person needs? Have you ever heard a dog owner (or worse, trainer) claim that dogs "can't learn" to distinguish similar commands or tasks or learn multiple related tasks --- for ...