(I am taking a break this month from talking about getting a new dog. Instead, I’m going to use this time to talk about my personal journey with my dog, Darwin, in the hopes that it will be beneficial to others as well.) I’ve been working hard on embracing failure lately for a number of… Continue reading The Evolution of Darwin
It’s been awhile since I posted Episode 1 in this series. I thought this time I’d focus on interactions between dogs and kids. Test Yourself Rate the scenarios below as red light (need to intervene right away), yellow light (might be okay, should be ready to quickly intervene if needed) and green light (totally fine… Continue reading Reading Your Dog – Episode 2
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?
Does your dog get upset when you pay attention to someone else? Have you ever talked about your dog being jealous or wondered what’s going on in his head? A recent study on jealousy in dogs may offer some answers. The study was conducted by scientists at the University of California, San Diego, and published… Continue reading Do Dogs Experience Jealousy?
“Quiero hacer lo que tú quieres, pero no entiendo lo que estás diciendo.” Do you understand what you just read? Perhaps you’re able to recognize it as Spanish and pick up a few basic words, but not enough to really get the gist of the message. Maybe you know Spanish well enough to have a general… Continue reading English is a Foreign Language
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