John and I are spending some time cleaning the leaves from the outside plants that are now living in our living room for the winter. I take a cloth with some water and I wipe off some white residue that stubbornly returns to the leaves even after we have sprayed them with some benign mix…
Author: Almudena Ortiz Cue
Other Measures of Success
Previously I wrote about ways by which we could ascertain if a behavior modification plan is actually working in changing the targeted behavior. Today, I’d like to expand on another reliable way of knowing whether success has been reached or even if we are on the right track. I recently met with a couple that…
Sharing Popcorn
I am about to make some popcorn – one of my favorite snacks – as John is out walking with the dogs. I pause to think of what to put on the popcorn. Not so much because I am undecided about what I want, but because I normally share the bag of popcorn with Deuce…
Have We Reached Success in Training?
How can one measure whether the training done with a dog has been successful? What parameters should one have in order to evaluate if success has been reached? While the questions above are valid, we also must keep in mind that behavior and changes in behavior are quite complex which requires that we take a…
Success in Helping A Very Fearful Dog
Last week I received a testimonial from a client that came to meet with me because of her severely fearful dog named Che. I met with Haley and Che. Che was so concerned with my presence that most of the work I did was at a distance – for this reason, we met outside and…
Traveling With Pets – Some General Guidelines
Whenever vacations are in the horizon, the question about bringing our pets along or not come up. There are times, of course, where the vacation or the trip might not be conducive to bringing our pets in tow, but what about those vacations that we get to plan ourselves? The biggest mistake I think people…
Unless The Dog Is Dead
Unless the dog is dead, he/she will respond to its environment. Case in point; Deuce who is an avid Frisbee player suddenly stopped chasing after the Frisbee. I tried several things to encourage him to go after it, but he wouldn’t. He actually just stood in place looking at me as if he had never…
Using Drugs to Help Dogs Learn
I have been working with a small dog and his “parents” to help this little one be more comfortable with anyone approaching him or picking him up. He is also concerned about riding in the car. He will shake like a leaf on a regular basis especially when one walks in his direction, and will…
Inspiration
It is Friday afternoon and I am wrapping one more work-week. I turn my attention to my own two dogs. What can I teach them next? My inspiration in working with my own dogs might vary slightly to what I do day in and out with client’s dogs. It is true that on occasion I…
Asking for too much?
As part of my ongoing education, I attend monthly webinars that touch upon different topics surrounding behavior and training. This month’s topic related to the questions of: Are we asking too much of our pets? And, if so, what specific environments or concepts can put a pet’s well-being at stake? Funny that this particular topic…