Do Dogs REALLY Prefer Praise Over Food?
Remember all the news reports a few months back about how MRI studies of dogs’ brains have now proven that dogs prefer their owners over food? Here’s a screen shot of just a few of the articles headlining this claim. The original research paper was: Cook, P.F., Prichard, A., Spivak, M. & Berns, G.S. 2016.…
What To Do NOW To Jump Start Your Business in January
One of the Behavior Education Network Biscuit Themes we did was “Five Actions to do NOW To Jump Start Your Business in January”. The first topic in that series was “Contact Your Current Clients”, and we’ve given you that article below. With the holiday season in full swing, it’s easy to kick back and let…
Predicting Outcomes in Dog Aggression Cases
Aggression is one of the most emotionally difficult and draining types of behavior problems we are asked to work with. Owners are afraid that their dog is going to hurt someone, or maybe already has. They are also afraid they may not be able to keep their dog. Or they may be afraid of the…
Let’s Talk About “Behaviorists”
As we all know, the field of dog training and pet behavior consulting is completely unregulated. A plethora of certifications are available, with no single certification being generally accepted and no widely accepted single educational path to professional status. Most professional titles can be used by anyone regardless of certification, experience or educational status. With…
Observation Explanation and Science
Recently, our friend, colleague and fellow CAAB Dr. Karen London was lamenting the fact that ethological methods seem to be less and less used by those interested in explaining dog behavior. We think she was referring to the systematic, objective observation of dogs in their natural habitat, which was the method of choice in classical…
Creating Good Relationships Among Family Dogs
The Importance of Carefully Managed Introductions If you follow Suzanne on Facebook, you likely saw this picture we posted this week of our Coral coming to live with us 12 years ago this month. We acquired Coral as a tiny, 7 week old puppy. Coral was the smallest of her litter, and weighed about 5…
Is Your Pet Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
We’ve all seen bumper stickers proclaiming the driver’s pet is smarter than the average honor student, 5th grader or some other group of children. We all recognize these for the jokes they are. But recently, we’ve seen all sorts of claims of extraordinary abilities in dogs and other animals.Some of these claims have objective data…
Behavior Analysis: Is That All There Is?
We’ve read articles on several blogs recently that state applied behavior analysis is the basis for animal training. Here’s just one example: “Animal training, when performed by professionals who have a background in behavior and learning is based on the science of Applied Behavior Analysis” (D. Jacobs, www.fearfuldogs.wordpress.com) Fact is, animal training is based on…
Three Mistakes That Will Get You Bitten
Likely the most common behavior problem trainers, behaviorists and behavior consultants face is dog aggression. Going into an owner’s home, or meeting a dog at your office or training facility that has a history of biting or snapping at people – or even just ONE person – can be a scary proposition. We’ve gone into…
Three Mistakes Dog Trainers Want To Avoid When Working with Dog Aggression
If you work with dogs that have bitten or threatened family members you know how complex and emotional these problems are. There is real danger in living with a dog that is likely to bite. The first principle for anyone working with these types of problems is to help dog owners figure out how…