An important aspect of dog training is to always create an environment that sets your pet up for success. Oftentimes dog owners forget that animals cannot read our minds and then become frustrated when training does not happen as quickly – or as easily – as expected. Listed here are top tips to improve your dog’s training success.
By Deborah Jones, Ph.D. There are plenty of fun and useful applications for the Pet Tutor. One of my favorites to teach is targeting. A target is an object that your animal moves towards and touches with a body part.…
Shiny New Objects! Several weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to attend Clicker Expo in Arlington, Virginia. I love the opportunity to spend time connecting with colleagues and students, learning interesting new things, and of course, buying…
Cooperative Care and the Pet Tutor By Deborah Jones, Ph.D. One of my hobbies is working on cooperative care with my dogs. What is cooperative care? It is any sort of physical handling that is necessary in order to maintain…
Doggie Doo it’s a new year and people are making resolutions. For quite a few years I’ve been fairly anti-resolution. Why? Because they don’t work! And in the process, they can actually make things worse because you end up feeling…
What’s Your Dog Telling You? Understanding Dog Body Language by Lisa Lyle Waggoner Ignorance is bliss. That commonly used phrase certainly applied to me years ago as it relates to dog body language. What I didn’t know about, I didn’t…
Many people struggle with trimming their dog’s nails. I remember my mentor, Jean Donaldson, saying that having a leg restrained often elicits the flight response, because it’s like having a leg caught in a trap. That was some very strong…
The Separation Anxiety Top 10 List – by Malena DeMartini These are the key components to incorporate or understand when working with separation anxiety. Unlike with most listicles, you must approach this list as a whole; picking and choosing won’t…
From Auspicious Beginnings to a Hard-won Solution – Malena DeMartini My second client ever (circa 2001) was a separation anxiety case. The dog’s name was Guinness, like the beer, and his guardians had found him sickly and tattered, scavenging for…
Separation Anxiety: The Forgotten Stepchild We Can No Longer Ignore Each morning when I fire up my computer, the eager ding of incoming emails greets me and I know to expect at least one new inquiry — if not three…