Creating a Home with Harmony Between Cat and Dog

This year I adopted a cat named, Minnie Mouse. I have been building her confidence over the past few months. I reckon that she was a stray or grew up in a home where no one paid any attention to her. She was very shy and has learned to trust me. She now loves to…

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The Power of Ignoring

Some behaviors are cute and some behaviors can be quite annoying. Some of the most common issues trainers see are nuisance behaviors such as jumping, barking, scratching, and nipping. Because of this, I thought I’d address a way to change that behavior to a more polite behavior. One piece of advice I’d love to give all…

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The Conflict

There is a big controversy going on right now in the dog training community about a certain article that came out saying that “Purely Positive” trainers don’t know what they are doing and that they are killing dogs because of it. Thankfully, an intelligent positive dog trainer created an article with scientific proof that positive…

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What is a Threshold?

The word threshold is very often used in dog training. When working with stimuli that excites a dog for any reason, trainers often look at the threshold of the dog. However, very few people truly understand what it means to be under threshold, at threshold, or over threshold. Even many dog trainers don’t quite understand…

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Don’t be a Victim, Take Charge

Today I am choosing to share a story about a couple who abused their dogs for almost two years because a “dog trainer” told them that was how dog training was done. This is one of the most extreme cases I have ever heard of and I thought I needed to share. I know most traditional trainers…

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Biology Backs Clicker Training

Dogs are emotional beings. This is a new concept to me as when I was a Dog Whisperer fan I believed dogs did not have personalities, but rather that they were either dominant or submissive. Now that I have completely dropped this kind of thinking, as a biologist I am looking at how a species…

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Growling is Good!

Dogs communicate with us in many different ways. One of the least attractive ways is growling. Before “crossing over” I discouraged all growling, I saw it as a challenge to authority. Now though, I see it as a warning that my dog is uncomfortable. If you remove the warning signal, then a dog has not…

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Unexpected Mistakes in Dog Training

During our last training session, I was having Loker work for his evening meal He kept getting commands wrong and was being more of a “spaz” than usual. It was so frustrating that I had to remove myself from the situation and return after a small break. I could not understand why he was being…

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