New Content
Reinforcing Foraging
Sheila S. Blanchette sets out the steps she used to train Cricket, the lone quail, to step on the scale for weighing, and how she later applied the same protocol for training chickens and roosters
BARKS Podcast with Sara McLoudrey: February 19, 2021
Join Niki Tudge, Sara McLoudrey of Synergy Behavior Solutions as they chat about dog training and behavior consulting.
Listen to the Podcast here on your preferred platform. Or simply click ...
BARKS News – February 2021
Starting this month, we are trialing a podcast version of BARKS News. We would love to know if this is of value to our members, so please have a listen and then take a moment to let us know what ...
Latest Articles
The Nose Knows
A well-known test devised in 1970 by psychologist Gordon Gallup Jr. is used to determine whether an animal recognizes himself in a mirror. This “mirror test” is widely regarded as the “gold standard” for determining whether an animal is self-aware, that is, recognizes himself as a distinct ...
Why Self-Control is Better than “Discipline”
The Oxford Dictionary defines 'discipline' as: 'The practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.' The word 'discipline' not only carries with it the baggage of "force" and "dominance," but also a hint of worthiness. And yet, 'that ...
The Psychological Contract – A System of Beliefs That Needs to Be Articulated to Your Client
Written by Niki Tudge Copyright 2015
When you embark on a consulting or training relationship you should first ensure you have a professional consulting contract with your client. As a professional working with animals there are multiple liability risks open to you. Most of these liabilities ...
Tired Dogs, Good Dogs, Dogs Being Dogs
“How much exercise does my dog need?” This question sounds straightforward enough, but peel it apart and you’ll find it has several layers. Inquiring dog owners crave reassurance that they’re doing right by their dogs, meeting their needs. Also embedded in the query may be “I love my dog ...
Six Myths about Positive Reinforcement-Based Training
Positive reinforcement-based training is subject to a lot of misunderstanding and misrepresentation. Many people genuinely don’t understand how it works, and others seem to deliberately misrepresent it. Some of these misunderstandings and misrepresentations are very “sticky.” ...
Sheepherding, from the Lamb’s Perspective (Part Two)
Following my first interview with the lambs I was intrigued and felt even more determined to understand the experience of sheepherding from their perspective, so the next time Renee brought Chris and Rue to practice I went into covert “sheep mode” and joined the flock. Oh, I did not don a ...
Laying the Foundations
This article was written by Barb Levenson and first published in BARKS from the Guild, July 2014, pp. 24-26.
I was attending an agility trial recently and was sitting by the crating area massaging my dog. A couple sitting behind me had two Labradors, the older one their agility competition ...
BARKS Podcasts – Teach Me Force-Free
Teach Me Force-Free
If you're gonna teach me, teach me force-free
People can be good and kind and that's a great philosophy
I can flourish, I can learn if you'll just help me
Show me, guide me, be my friend and train me happy
I can be the best dog I can be if you believe in me
And if ...
Can you FIX my dog?
When clients contact me, they often ask, "Can you fix my dog?" It has become something I smile about now, but nonetheless a pet peeve. There's nothing wrong with the word itself, but let's take a look at it applied to a living, breathing animal.
Used as a verb to FIX something by ...