Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT One of the most common calls we get from prospective clients starts with something like, “My dog is aggressive with other dogs, can it be fixed?” I’ve learned over the years that dog/dog aggression is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. The situation is further complicated because there are different… [Read More]
The Art of Dog Training
Greta Kaplan, CPDT, CDBC Most animal training is a mechanical skill. We can take some basic scientific knowledge about learning, about operant and classical conditioning, as well as about the relevant instinctive behaviors and motor patterns of the species we are working with, and we can accomplish most of our training goals with good timing,… [Read More]
Genetics, Learning, and the Whole Dog
Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT I went to a place called Fido’s Farm with my Aussie named Conner: https://fidosfarm.com. We went for an “instinct test”. I had no idea what to expect since I know absolutely nothing about herding. The instructor did a wonderful job of explaining what she was going to do with Conner and… [Read More]
Control Unleashed: Rule Structures for Dogs
Greta Kaplan, CPDT, CDBC I have been engaged in an effort to find an acceptable way to explain to my clients how to provide structure and predictability to their dogs in a way that would make their dogs comfortably willing to abide by human rules. I explained that I’m uncomfortable when such programs invoke the… [Read More]
How Often Should You Train Your Dog?
James Ha, PhD, CAAB Here’s a question for all of you dog trainers (and that should be just about everyone who has a dog)… how often should you train a dog? Many of us in this business would, of course, say, “as often as possible… please!” But that is not quite what I mean: from… [Read More]