You may have heard that dogs “lip lick” or “tongue flick” when they are stressed. A recent study by Albuquerque et al. (2018) used lip licking in dogs to assess their ability to respond to emotional cues in humans and dogs. Previous research suggests that dogs can differentiate between happy and angry facial expressions in… Continue reading How do your emotions affect your dog?
Hello everyone! Just a quick update that the blog is still active! After the holidays, we were hit with a variety of health issues that took over for several weeks. However, things are getting back to normal and I am now playing catch up, so there should have a new post up soon! Hang in… Continue reading Where did the blog go?
As a field, we’ve done a pretty good job of teaching dog owners that they need to give their dogs physical exercise. However, we haven’t been as good about teaching people how important mental exercise – often called brain work – is for your dog. I have worked with many dogs that get a decent… Continue reading Improve Your Dog’s Life with a Few Simple Tricks!
Usually, I try to focus my blog posts on applied research. But a study came out recently that has gotten enough press that some of my clients have asked me about it, so I decided to focus on that study for this post. I hope it will help some of you with that ever elusive… Continue reading Not just testosterone? Hormones and aggression
Finn is finally back! The blog had an unexpected hiatus because my mother was in the hospital for several days at the beginning of September. The good news is she is back home now and doing well. General updates Finn turned 16 weeks on Friday. Adolescence starts around 5 – 6 months, so he… Continue reading The Journey of Finn – Settling In
The blog is on summer vacation this week. We will be back next week with an update on Finn. In the meantime, you may be interested in checking out one of our older posts on some possible destinations and activities for traveling with your dog. Looking for something fun to do with the family (including… Continue reading Places to Go with Your Dog
“He pees in the house every time we leave. I know why he’s doing it. He’s angry with us and wants to punish us for leaving him alone. I know he knows it’s wrong too, because he looks guilty when we come home.” (Looking for Finn? Don’t worry, he’ll be back, we’re just taking a… Continue reading Read My Mind – What is Theory of Mind and Why Should You Care?
This week, Finn found his teeth. That means we’ve been doing some work on settle and impulse control. I am also continuing to work on socialization, loose leash walking and handling. In my posts I focus on the training we are doing as well as the issues he’s having and how I’ve been addressing them.… Continue reading Journey of Finn – Are You a Puppy or a Piranha?
Hello again! We have spent the last week getting to know Finn and working on teaching him essential life skills. My primary focus is on preventing problem behaviors later on. Every week I see dogs that have serious behavior problems. I am currently working with dogs that guard the food bowl, show aggression toward strangers,… Continue reading The Journey of Finn – Learning the Basics
Finn McCool We have a new puppy! His name is Finn McCool (named after the Irish folk hero). He’s a red bi Australian Shepherd and was 9 weeks old when we brought him home on Friday. This means we have our work cut out for us in preparing our new pup for his future life.… Continue reading Finn’s Puppy Diary – Day 3
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