Recently I received an email with the following information from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). As you will read below, the time has come for organizations such as CCPDT to recognize the urgent need to pass legislation in order to regulate the now unregulated profession of pet dog training. It is mind-blowing…
Category: Aggression
Part 2, Strategies for Living in Harmony in a Multi-Dog Household
As I stated in the previous blog post, the dominance model does very little in really helping us understand dog social stratification. More importantly, it does not help us in keeping harmony in the home within our dog population or resolve problems when they arise. Instead, consider the following suggestions to keep the peace at…
Canine Social Structure- what we know
By now most everyone that lives with a pet has heard about the “dominance” theory also known in the popular literature as being the “alpha of the ‘pack’”- which frankly is very unfortunate. Unfortunate because this watered-down premise does very little to advance our day- to-day relations with our pets and does much harm in…
Trouble in Paradise part 2
This is a continuation of last week’s post on same household dog fights. As I mentioned on that post, having to manage and live with dogs that are injuring one another is not a picnic. It can be very stressful for the dogs as well as the people. Also, depending on the severity and frequency…
Trouble in paradise
We are at the vet’s office having Rio’s bandage changed when an acquaintance walks through the doors with her dog. Her dog appears somewhat shaken-up and has a bloody injury close to his eye. “What happened?” I inquired. They tell me that this is the fifth time their dog has been attacked by their other…
Should your dog wear a head-halter?
Head halters are quite useful tools. It helps with dogs that are large and strong that pull on leash. But most importantly head-halters are a must for those dogs that for whatever reason lunge and pull towards other dogs or people. I am amazed to see how, when used correctly, head-halters can become the difference…
Is a dog bite just a bite
When it comes to any behavior including dog bites, looking at the context surrounding the episode will give us some very much needed information. What I am saying is that not all bites are the same. Even sometimes people cannot even agree on what they call a bite. This is the typical example of a…
When is resource guarding between dogs not a good thing
Resource guarding of anything that a dog considers valuable is normal dog behavior. It goes back to- you guess it, evolution. Dogs are opportunistic feeders and scavengers. In other words, in the wild, dogs do not know when their next meal will appear so they eat when food becomes available. In addition, they are scavengers…
Dog centric training
I am working with a soft-spoken gentleman and his spunky over-the-top Border collie mix. I am called because his dog is chasing the chickens when they are let out of their fancy coop to meander and peck here and there. When I ask him, he in informs me that he wants the dog to stop…
Do’s and don’ts of dog & dog interactions.
Ah, the world-wide web and even books are a lovely thing. However, like all things in life there are also some sore spots about both of these venues. Ask any professional on pretty much any field how they feel about the advice promulgated on the web or in “how to books” and you will get…