Training

Take a moment to ponder a miracle: We can reach across the great species divide and convince a dog to do something utterly unnatural...

One of the more frustrating experiences for positive dog trainers is watching their clients being dragged by their dogs across the parking lot toward their cars, just moments after training class is dismissed. “Dang,” we sometimes think, “Will they ever teach their dogs to walk politely on-leash? What part of ‘Don’t reinforce your dog for pulling!’ didn’t they hear?” Of course, it’s equally frustrating for dog owners when their dogs drag them. And the training solution – stopping every time the dog pulls – gets tiresome.

There is a lot of food for thought in this book. There is much that I find intriguing and would like to pursue, and also much that I disagree with. Arnold criticizes modern trainers for their focus on operant conditioning without acknowledging the great interest force-free trainers have already demonstrated in regard to the concepts of empowerment, choice, and cognition in their training programs. She insists that dogs really are eager to please" their humans – an idea I have long argued against. She hasn't convinced me on that topic

Berkeley

If your dog will exhibit calm relaxed behavior when needed, it can help reduce stress and make everyone’s day smoother. When our dogs act calm, they will actually become calmer. Gradually, this state of relaxation will develop to match the outward behavior.

Contrary to the advice I offer to clients and WDJ readers, I admit that I'm sometimes careless about taking my dogs in the car with me. I don't always use crates and seatbelts on short trips to town, although I always do on longer travels. Just recently, however, my husband and I loaded up all five of our dogs for their annual well-pet visit to a veterinarian, and I did take the precaution of crating everyone rather than risk canine chaos on the highway. Other than Bonnie's panting, it was an experience in car-ride serenity, and I vowed to crate everyone, always, on future rides. Granted, my dogs aren't the worst in the car. They don't sit in my lap, leap over seats, get into fights, hang out the windows, do laps around the back of the van, or bark at everything outside the car. Other than Bonnie, who pants a lot and sometimes Even so, they're safer in crates. Loose, they are a distraction, which decreases my driving safety. Not as bad as texting, but still!

however

and calls him to us for a pet or a treat. He's learned that coming straight to us is consistently rewarding

A holistic pet behavior counselor often has to be like a detective. You have to find all of the missing pieces of the puzzle and put them together to form a complete picture. Sometimes this is not easy because people are not accustomed to thinking about the whole picture in order to determine the cause of their problems. Most of the time, people focus on one detail and cannot see the forest through the trees.

Deaf dogs are just as capable of learning as hearing dogs, and training any dog takes consistency, time, and patience. The hardest part is remembering to change your behavior and not rely on your voice!

What images do you see in your mind when you hear the word “monastery”? Most people envision rustic wooden buildings, with gentle, somber, bearded men in flowing brown robes and leather sandals quietly treading gravel pathways that wind through peaceful forests. This could be an accurate description of the New Skete Monastery in Cambridge, New York, with just one glaring omission. At New Skete, the monks are accompanied by dogs. For more than 30 years, the monks of New Skete have bred, trained and sold German Shepherds as part of their monastic life.