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Happy Holidays…for Dogs too!
It can be so easy in all the madness and mayhem to overlook our dogs’ needs over the holiday period. Certainly, I always have an influx of inquiries at the beginning of a new year because a dog's behavior has regressed in some way.
Of course, we can't expect ourselves to be 'on it' 100% of ...
Eat, PURR, Love
By Andrea Carne
Read the next sentence very carefully (and with a large pinch of salt): Feeding your cat one meal a day might be best. I can almost hear the gasps from cat guardians across ...
How to Become a Better Animal Trainer
By Karolina Westlund Ph.D. of PPG corporate partner Illis Animal Behaviour Consulting
It took me years to realize this, but there are some approaches that really propelled my learning about ...
Latest Articles
Eight Common Dog Training Errors: Cautionary Tales
As the great trainer Bob Bailey says, training is simple but not easy. The principles are very simple and straightforward, but actually applying them in practice can be very difficult.
I’ve mentioned many times that I am not a professional trainer. But I hang out with some phenomenal ones. ...
Letting Go of Restraint for a Force-Free Blood Draw
A number of years ago I saw Dr. Karen Overall, the Veterinary Behaviorist, speak for a two-day workshop. If you have a chance to see her, GO! She has an amazing way of making the complicated seem simple. One quote that she said during the weekend was, "We must let go of the idea of ...
Spending Time with Dogs Brings Joy to Our Lives
When I add a dog to my life, I consider our relationship the beginning of a voyage. I look forward to creating a bond based on understanding and trust. There isn't a timetable for these events to occur. The bond takes time to happen. My idea is to enjoy the journey.
In these days of cell ...
Pet Professional Guild Announces Second Virtual Force-Free Training Competition
The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has rolled out the guidelines for its second international virtual community event, The International Day of Celebration for Force-Free Training and Pet Care (ICFF).
Taking place on 17 February each year to honor one of PPG’s founding members, the late Leah ...
When is Dog Training Like a Video Game?
My kids and I have been playing a game called Botanicula on my iPad. It's one of those intuitive, trial and error games with no instructions. In each scene of this weird world, you just tap and swipe till something happens. Then you have to deduce what actions made it happen, so you ...
Yes!
I am just back from ClickerExpo here in the UK and found the whole thing incredibly reinforcing. I gained a deeper understanding of things I thought I already knew.
Having been immersed in so much positivity for three days, back home I am seeing things around me through different eyes. At ...
Growl versus Scowl
Growling is often punished. If we understand that growling is communication and that there are many different types of growls, then we would respond as if a human was scowling at us.
or
Scowling says a lot without sound. Imagine adding a growl to the above looks.
The definition of a scowl ...
Sudden Death
The original title of this post was "I'm Broke, But My Dogs Are Fixed!" Sadly, that is no longer the case. I still am broke, only like all good short stories we read in school, this one took a surprising turn that I would not have predicted.
September was a busy month! Busy at work and then ...
Socialization — Rolling with the Punches
By Bob McMillan
Oona, my Irish wolfhound puppy, is about to turn 15 weeks old. Depending on which studies you follow, her developmental window for socialization is now closed or is closing fast. Adolescence is upon us — the wild child phase. We’ll see if I got it right this time.
I had a ...