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DBPM–What Say You, Fido?
Dog Bite Prevention Month Learning to read canine body language is a big factor in preventing dog bites. We'll talk about canine body language quite a bit in future posts. But, perhaps MORE important, besides just knowing how to read canine body language, is doing...
read moreWordless Wednesday–Video, Tugs, and Mud
Ineffective Punishment–pt 4
I'm gonna go back and finish up our discussion of ineffective punishment from last week. There are lots to be said, but it's taxing writing about such 'sad' topics. Do not punish out of anger I wish I could say that this wasn't the case but the vast majority of people...
read moreDBPM–Keep Kids Safe
Dog Bite Prevention Month--pt 3 You invite some friends over for a movie night and your dog is resting nicely on the floor when one of your friends jumps up and down right next to your dog. She then drops to her knees and lays over your dog and rolls around a bit. She...
read moreDog Bite Prevention Month–Be your dog's voice.
For my first post in my DBPM series, I want to talk about something that seems so obvious but is somehow often overlooked. It must feel like I harp about this but it has again reared its head--BE YOUR DOG'S ADVOCATE. Yep, it's that phrase again. If more people made...
read moreA break in the seriousness–a silly trick
Let's take a break from all the talk of punishment and of dog bite prevention to smile at my ridiculous dogs doing ridiculous things. I did a shaping lesson with Shayne about a week ago and she offered this really cute foot stamping behavior because she was frustrated...
read moreIneffective Punishment pt3
Let's keep looking at the mistakes people make when they try to utilize punishment. Punishment does not teach behavior Punishment alone does not build behaviors or teach dogs what TO do. The ONLY thing punishment does is teach a dog what is wrong. So what's the...
read moreMay is Dog Bite Prevention Month!
It's that time of year again... National Dog Bite Prevention Month! Two of my most popular blog posts to date were from last year's Dog Bite Prevention Series. They've gotten a little funky with their format for some reason but can find To Pet or Not To Pet and How...
read moreIneffective Punishment pt 2
Let's continue our look into the mistakes people make when choosing to use punishment. Last week I wrote about two common mistakes people make: Correcting Unknown Behaviors and The Punisher Not being Unpleasant but those are only two of the issues I frequently see...
read moreIneffective Punishment pt 1
Ineffective Punishment pt 1 Honestly, it's a rarity when I use any punishment for Shayne or Rio's mistakes in basic obedience/tricks--no click is, in most instance, enough information for them to know that wasn't what I was looking for. If they make a mistake, they...
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