Are You SURE Your Dog Prefers That Food Toy?
It just occurred to me that it is super easy to make assumptions about how much our dogs prefer a particular food toy, or even whether they really enjoy them that much.
Don’t yell at me. To be clear: I use food toys for my dogs every single day. I think they can be enriching and that they are ...
Santa Claus May Scare Dogs
People around the world enjoy the winter season and many nations celebrate a version of Saint Nicholas. In the United States I witnessed an increase in commercialization and marketing hype since I was a child and Christmas decorations now appear after Halloween in my locale. There is a lot of ...
An Open Letter to Pet Industry Representatives Regarding the Use of Shock in Animal Training, Management and Care: We now know enough to stop shocking our pets
Shocking pet dogs remains a common, if controversial, training practice worldwide. In this open letter, Pet Professional Guild (PPG) combines decades of research, the opinions of certified animal behaviorists, and the question of ethics to explain why using electric shock in the name of ...
Making Peace with Muzzles
I’ll give you the moral of this story first: Make peace with muzzles. Be OK with dogs who wear them, applaud owners who use them, and put one on your own dog if the situation warrants it.
Now I’ll tell you the story. It’s about mistakes I made that led me to this moral. I hope it’ll bring you ...
How to Teach Your Deaf (and Blind) Dog to Wake Up Gently
By Debbie Bauer
There is a myth that deaf dogs can be "dangerous" because they will bite when they are startled or woken up.
Could this ever happen? Yes, it could. But it could also happen with a dog that can hear just fine.
Does it happen a lot? No. Most deaf dogs are no threat when ...
Clicker Training for Cats (1/6)
By Paula Garber and Francine Miller
Why train a cat? Why indeed. Myths about the trainability of cats abound: “Cats can’t be trained because they’re too independent.” “Cats are difficult to train because they are not food motivated.” “Cats don’t need training like dogs do.” These are all ...
Why do food rewards win, but not for separation anxiety?
By Julie Naismith
Rewards-based training is the best. Dogs love it because it’s fun and it doesn’t involve fear or pain. And best of all, it works. In fact, research shows that it works better than any other method. Hands down, the best tool for training is food. But, despite the ...
Rehomed Dogs – Expectations and Reality
Everyone knows that worldwide there are millions of dogs in the most awful predicament. The lucky ones are rescued, rehabilitated and await homes in shelters - so, why not be
their saviour? Rehoming a dog is a richly rewarding experience for both parties, but there is a caveat - know what ...