Reflections Archive

Medical Problems Behind Unusual Aggression

I was reading the Association of Pet Dog Trainer’s magazine when I came across a case study of aggression by Michael Shikashio, CDBC. Long story short, this Great Dane/Lab mix bit two people pretty severely and was reactive on leash. The dog wore a prong collar while out on

MY Graduation!

After a long 4 years, I am really proud to announce that I’ve just graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biology. It’s been a lot of work and many days of studying instead of playing with my dogs or going out with friends, but I know it’s all

Reactive Dogs Will Take Themselves Over Threshold

Unfortunately, reactive dogs will take themselves over threshold if you aren’t careful. This usually occurs because it is what the brain has been trained to do if the dog is allowed to continue to practice this behavior for a long period of time. It is also because the brain

Trying New Behaviors in Hopes of Being Right

Dogs that are trained with positive reinforcement have a different way of thinking than dogs trained using correction based methods. This became very apparent to me when we trained Loker to “wave” his paw at us when we waved at him. Mainly, it was that dogs trained with positive

Now, Instant, Immediate, Prompt, Instantaneous or Eventually

Why are prong collars and e-collars so popular despite the obvious physical and psychological harm they do to dogs? It’s because they give instant results. Unfortunately, positive reinforcement based training takes repetition for the dog to learn and change. Despite it’s proven long term effects on behavior, it doesn’t

The Ethics of Training Methods

A friend recently asked me to read this article and give some thoughts on it: The Relativity of Pressure. Well, I had a “thought” for about every other sentence I read so I figured I’d turn it into a blog post! Here are my thoughts on the ethics of

Guest Post: Service Dog Training Transition

About a month ago I received an email from one of my readers that said I just wanted to thank you for this site. I am crossing over. I am blind and am on my third guide dog. I received my first two from a program. They were lovely

Arousal Levels in Dogs

After a recent seminar by Suzanne Clothier, I’ve really been reflecting on how arousal plays a role in behavior. I had not really thought about it before. I have seen lots of people use play as a reward for correct behavior. Suzanne has really made me question my choice