I started my professional dog career as a shelter volunteer, then as a shelter staff member. For many years, my mantra has always been to rescue dogs. All of the dogs I’ve had as an adult have been rescued from one source or another as adults (or in one case, at five months). For many… Continue reading To Breed or Not to Breed?
One of the things I love about living where we do is that there are so many interesting places to visit within a few hours’ drive. Back in early August, we decided to make a day trip to Burlington, VT via a ferry ride across Lake Champlain. It was definitely worth the trip and we… Continue reading A family day trip to Lake Champlain
My dog, Darwin, is one of the most laid back dogs I’ve ever known. With the exception of tracking (he is mostly beagle), he doesn’t generally get excited about anything. That includes food, toys and people or other dogs. He appears to like all of these things and will eat, play and greet others when… Continue reading A Changed Dog: Musings on the importance of enrichment in dogs
Have you ever considered using an electronic collar (aka e-collar or shock collar) to train your dog? Perhaps you advocate against their use or feel they can be helpful in certain situations. The use of e-collars (one form of positive punishment) in dog training has been hotly debated for the last several decades. One school of trainers… Continue reading Do e-collars speed learning in dogs?
Would you like to improve your understanding of your dogs’ behavior? What about the behavior of your family, friends and co-workers? If you really want to understand behavior (and training) then it is absolutely critical that you understand the basics of learning. You have probably heard the terms “punishment” and “reinforcement” many times, both in… Continue reading A Brief Primer on Punishment and Reinforcement
If you’re like me, you drink up as much quality programming on dog behavior as you can find. I recently learned of a new show in the UK called “Dogs: Their Secret Lives”. The show is hosted by Mark Evans who used to be the chief veterinary advisor for the RSPCA. The show also features… Continue reading Review: Dogs: Their Secret Lives (TV series)
What does it take to make your dog happy? For one thing, lots of free treats, right? Maybe not. A recent study by Swedish researchers looked at how dogs react to getting “free”, unpredictable rewards versus working to earn predictable rewards. The Study The researchers trained beagles in the experimental group to use three distinct… Continue reading How do we make our dogs happy?
Starting in September, Smart Dog Training and Behavior is welcoming a new training and behavior intern, Melanie Dean. Melanie is a Psychology student at the University at Albany. I had the pleasure of having her in my Learning class this past spring, where she was one of the top students in the class. Melanie is… Continue reading Smart Dog Welcomes Our New Intern
Looking for dog-friendly activities in the Adirondacks? If you have friends or family members on the more adventurous side, Adirondack Extreme (caution: website has audio effects) is a great dog-friendly option. It is a high ropes adventure course with several different courses at varying levels of difficulty and height, located in Bolton Landing. Last month, my daughter… Continue reading Adirondack Adventures with Dogs – Adirondack Extreme
How many times have you looked at your dog and wondered what’s going on in her head? My husband frequently asks me if I think our dog is happy. This can sometimes be a difficult question to answer, but training yourself to read subtle signs in your dog can go a long way toward understanding… Continue reading Reading Your Dog – Episode 1
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