Dog Training
The Problem With Shock Collars
It isn’t that shock collar training doesn’t work, because it does. The question is at what price? Some extremely skilled trainers may be able to offset some of the problems shock collars can cause. However, shock collars are for sale at almost every pet store making them readily accessible to the general public. A shock collar can potentially lead to [...]
Preparing Your Dog For Your New Baby
Preparing Your Dog For Your New Baby By Heather Gibbs, CPDT-KA, ABCDT, SBA Overview Preparing for a new baby's arrival can be an exciting and stressful time for all family [...]
Pitfalls of Punishment
Author’s Note: Positive punishment is when you add something unpleasant when an undesirable behavior is displayed to discourage that behavior. Negative punishment is when you take away something pleasant when [...]
Health & Safety
Why Prong Collars Hurt
Thank you Eileen Anderson for writing an informative blog on the physics of a prong collar. Please see additional note at the bottom of the post. Prong collars, also called pinch collars, are metal chain [...]
Dog Car Safety: Help – An Escapee!
by Louise Stapleton-Frappell Recently, my nephew and I saw a dog running down a busy main road. She was very lucky as between us we managed to redirect her down an alleyway away from [...]
Choke Collar Pathology
by Daniel Antolec Recently I persuaded a local pet supply store to sell me all his choke collars (at cost) and refrain from restocking them, in return for recommendations for safe body harnesses such [...]
Dog Agility Training
Tampa Dog Trainer: Brenna Fender – Unexpected Effects of Recording and Sharing Your Training Sessions on Social Media
The Unexpected Effects of Recording and Sharing Your Training Sessions on Social Media By Brenna Fender, Tampa Dog Trainer Do you whip out your cell phone at training practice or set up your video camera [...]
Tampa Dog Trainer: Brenna Fender – Is Humility at Odds with Success?
Is Humility at Odds with Success? By Brenna Fender, Tampa Dog Trainer When you walk off an agility course, out of an obedience or rally ring, or away from your dog training class, do you dwell [...]
Tampa Dog Trainer: What’s My Dog Motivation?
What’s My Dog's Motivation? You can’t choose what motivates your dog. By Brenna Fender When I first got my Beagle from Tampa Bay Beagle rescue, I had to carry him off of his comfy spot [...]
Courteous Canine Articles
6 Ways to Take Fetch to the Next Level
A fun article on playing fetch with your dog by John Gilpatrick Dogs go crazy for fetch. For some, not even an unwatched roasted chicken on the kitchen table can bring as much excitement as [...]
Cognitive Dog Training
Another forward thinking blog by Pam Hogle. I first started teaching about what I called cognitive dog training several years ago. I didn’t invent it; I simply named what a lot of positive, forward-thinking dog [...]
There are no short cuts
A wonderful blog on training short cuts written by one of the masters: Kay Laurence. When we are working with an animal our own needs can direct our choices and decisions. We focus on outcomes [...]
It is Unwise to Say, “Just Ignore the Problem Behavior!”
Niki Tudge shares some important information about the misguided advice of "ignoring unwanted behavior". Ignoring a problem behavior is just one part of the equation; at the same time, an incompatible or alternative behavior [...]
Why Prong Collars Hurt
Thank you Eileen Anderson for writing an informative blog on the physics of a prong collar. Please see additional note at the bottom of the post. Prong collars, also called pinch collars, are metal chain [...]
“Naughty” Dog Or Normal Dog?
by Anna Francesca Bradley In spite of the various labels commonly assigned to them, dogs do not deliberately set out to make their s’ lives difficult. Photo: Susan Nilson I’ve lost count as [...]
Dog Car Safety: Help – An Escapee!
by Louise Stapleton-Frappell Recently, my nephew and I saw a dog running down a busy main road. She was very lucky as between us we managed to redirect her down an alleyway away from [...]
Do Dogs Have a Negativity Bias?
This is a fascinating article by Linda Case on Negativity Bias and how it probably also applies to dogs. This article helps support the need for positive reinforcement based training! Negativity bias – We [...]
The Problem with Punishment
Punishment comes at a price. Learn more about this by reading this blog by Anna Francesca Bradley. Punishment generates negative emotions of frustration, anger, anxiety, fear and causes pain; a far better approach is [...]
Local Enhancement and Socially Facilitated Behaviors in Dogs
PPG has posted another outstanding blog by Eileen Anderson! If you are dog training geek, be sure to give this a read! This post started out as one thing and transformed into another as I [...]
Marshmallow Tests for Dogs
By Pam Hogle A guide dog partner, Deni Elliott, devised a dog version of the marshmallow test for her guide dog. She administered it to her guide Alberta a few years ago. Alberta did [...]
Body Language – Your Dog’s Native Tongue
By Susan Claire, CPDT-KA This very fearful dog is showing that he does not want to be approached via his hunched position, flat ears, whites of the eyes and very slight curling of the [...]
Service Dog Teams and Continuing Education
by Pam Hogle Photo by Nancy Garrett A few weeks ago, I was part of an amazing experience — the first-ever continuing education weekend seminar for guide dog teams that included trainers and [...]
Choke Collar Pathology
by Daniel Antolec Recently I persuaded a local pet supply store to sell me all his choke collars (at cost) and refrain from restocking them, in return for recommendations for safe body harnesses such [...]
Do Dogs Use Tools?
by Pam Hogle More than fifty years ago, Jane Goodall made a discovery that shook some scientists — particularly those that had long lists of all the things that made humans unique and superior to [...]