By Deborah Taylor-French …

Originally posted on Mutt About Town.

Imagine going to your doctor complaining of chest pains. The doctor determines you have a heart condition that requires surgery, and refers you to a surgeon. The surgeon, after a superficial examination, weaves you a story of what he thinks is going on. He doesn’t have a plan for your operation, but intends to muck about once you’re on the operating table and will figure out…

Originally posted on Mutt About Town.

Our world is full of safety measures. Seat belts, bicycle helmets, life vests, airbags, to name a few. Many of these pieces of equipment are cumbersome and annoying at times, but we wear them all the same because of the benefits they provide: peace of mind, safety, and protection.

The reason I bring up these examples is because in the world of dog behavior, one of the…

Originally posted on Mutt About Town.

Communication is full of nuances. Take the sentence, “Oh, I’m glad you arrived.” Then, take a slightly tweaked version of the sentence, “Oh, I’m glad you finally arrived.” Although there’s only a word’s difference between the two, said with the right tone of voice, the first sentence conveys enthusiasm whereas the second conveys annoyance. Despite being an evolved…

No, not your frustration, your dogs! Does your dog ever seem frustrated when you are trying to train him? A new study by Adriana Jakovcevic and colleagues looks at frustration behaviours in pet dogs during training sessions ...More here:

http://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2013/03/frustration-in-pet-dog-training.html

When you cat is displaying a behavior problem it’s a very stressful situation for the entire family. The human family members are impacted by whatever issue the family cat is going through. I’ve seen cases where the cat’s behavior problem has caused serious tension between spouses. Cat parents can be brought to tears over the frustration of not knowing where to turn for help when kitty veers from the norm...…

You’ve heard the saying that “a mind is a terrible thing to waste” and that applies to your Feline Einstein as well. Your cat has a remarkable brain and it needs to be challenged, stimulated and exercised to help maintain good mental fitness. Here are 10 tips to help get you started... more

What's the real story on dog driving?  You could not have missed the news about dogs driving cars this week. No, this isn’t a hoax from the Onion. Dog trainers in New Zealand have been working with shelter dogs, teaching them the motor skills of driving a car. While the …

Actually there are no magic in successful dog training. There are factors that make a dog training works like magic! For the dog owners, we all love our dogs. Therefore, we will treat them nicely like our own son. This is the major reason why your dogs have some bad behavior such as aggression, barking, biting and dominance behavior.

What you should know

1. You are a Pack Leader!

You must remember that your…

The correct answer here is, No Reward. Punishment is not payback; punishment is something like - re-conditioning.

Positive punishment can best be defined as something that you add to your present environment that is distasteful and is triggered of every time you do something you should not be doing.

For…

"Trainers often advise owners to use treats to train their dogs, but some owners want to phase them out as fast as they can. Shouldn’t a dog be prepared to work for just verbal praise and affection? That’s the question asked in a recent study by Erica Feuerbacher and Clive Wynne – and they didn’t just test dogs, but wolves too!"

More at…

"This is the final part of the series on the scientific research on dog training methods used by ordinary dog owners in ordinary situations. Over the last few weeks, we have looked at five separate studies. The conclusion of all of them is that rewards-based training is best...."

More at…

"In this week’s edition of the series, we take another look at the use of punishment. However, while previous posts have looked at ordinary dog owners, this week the focus is on people who are having problems with their dogs..." More at www.companionanimalpsychology.blogspot.com

I posted a new blog entry.

"This is the third part in a series about positive reinforcement and dog training.  This week I’m looking at another questionnaire study of ordinary dog owners and the way they train their dogs. The study was conducted by Emily Blackwell and colleagues, an..." more here: http://companionanimalpsychology.blogspot.ca

I posted a new entry to my blog about positive reinforcement and dog training.

"This week, we’re looking at study by EF Hiby et al that asked dog owners about their training methods and how effective they were. The researchers approached people walking their dogs at seven popular dog-walking locations...and asked them to complete a questionnaire about how they had trained their dog..."

More here:…

There are a few things I've worked on with Elka on our walks.



First all, the Holy Grail of walking a dog, especially a big one: loose leash walking. I'm happy to say that, combined with the clicker, repetition and improved consistency (I've never said I was perfect; I just play it on the Internet), Elka walks loose leash very well. I still Heel her on my…

Despite what most people believe, cats can be quite trainable.  My cat is clicker-trained and has picked up on almost all the same behaviors that I…

Here is the 2nd part of the series on environmental enrichment for indoor cats in honor of adopt-a-cat month:…

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