Through interactions with the world, animals learn that certain actions lead to pleasant or unpleasant consequences. Most of our training theory revolves around our ability to manipulate the animals’ environment to reinforce certain behaviors rather than others. However, not all…
If there is one subject that has been beat to death in the dog world, it’s certainly the notion of pack hierarchy in dogs! For the longest time everything was about leadership. Most dog behavior problems were interpreted as a…
When we compare the lives of wild animals to that of our pets, there is a striking difference in their activity levels. Dogs, cats, birds, hamsters and gerbils of all sorts, spend a large part of their days just lying…
When we’re unsure about a novel situation, our first response is to look around and check how others are reacting. This behavior is easy to spot when watching hidden camera TV shows where a person faced with an ambiguous situation…
From Rin tin tin to Lassie, Benjie and Beethoven, medium to large dogs have dominated the Hollywood scenes, the TV shows as well as our homes. Often statements of prosperity, leadership and strength, dogs convey a certain image we have…
What a year! Year 2013 has been a journey for all of us at Smart Animal Training Systems, on many levels. It was a year of many beginnings, of exhilarating moments as well as growing pains. In March we launched…
As I have mentioned in a few other posts, the vast majority of behaviors that we deem problematic in our dogs, such as, barking, biting, lunging, destruction, separation anxiety or resource guarding, stem from the dog’s fear, anxiety or panic.…
The bond between man and dog goes far back in the history of mankind and countless studies point to the benefits of owning a dog. Yet, there are times where the relationship between the two species takes a turn for…
My dog sits perfectly during the training sessions, but looks at me with a blank stare when I ask her to sit when we’re in the park. Why is it that dogs can’t figure out that ‘sit’ in my house…
An estimated 3-4 million cats and dogs are put to death in the US alone (according to the APPA statistics). That’s a fantastic decrease from to 12-20 million that were euthanized in the 70s, especially since the overall number of…