Latest Articles
Resource Guarding vs. Rule Setting: Training and Management
How do we know if we’re dealing with resource guarding or rule setting? For me, the answer lies in a constellation of observable behaviors which, taken together, tell the tale. I think of this as The Zones.
Ownership Zone: This is the actual physical space in which ...
A Positive Strategy
As I set up my dog on the start line of an agility course, I want her to feel excited and exhilarated. At the same time, I also want her to feel relaxed within the environment and completely engaged with me, focused on my communication and maintaining our connection throughout this ...
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E-Fence Fallout
Labradoodle Charlee...started to respond fearfully when the telephone answering machine beeped. She became afraid to enter the room where it was located, even when there was no beeping sound. She traversed a roundabout route through the ...
Sign Up for the Virtual Summit!
PPG and PPGBI are to join forces and host an international online ...
Building a Shock-Free World for Pets
The Shock-Free Coalition will be launching a ...
Lessons from Exotics
As my experience working with this lemur pair shows, training the multiple varieties of species the exotic world encompasses helps us fine-tune our application and understanding of the Laws of Behavior: What does that behavior mean? When ...
From Shelter Dog to Service Dog
Much of the debate surrounding service animals in public spaces has to do with how well-behaved the animal is and whether the animal is experiencing an undue level of stress. While many behaviors can be trained, some natural ability and ...
Tell Us What You Really Think
"...humans are very noun-centric. We name everything. Dogs, however, may have very little use of nouns. Instead, they may be verb- or action-centric. So, when they hear “ball” they may actually think, “get ball.” Because dogs do not have the ...
Message Received!
The “high squeaky voice” rule is meant to provide the dog with more motivating, stimulating auditory input that – in theory – will excite the dog in a positive way. This may or may not be true for that dog, and even if it is, the handler has ...
Sam, I Can
People would ask me, “How do you prevent him from flying?” and my response was always, “A blind bird isn’t going to want to take off in flight if he doesn’t know where he’s going. Just don’t scare him.” A few times I also heard, “Why ...