Well, I've edited and compressed 31 separate videos for my 2 talks at APDT. Whew. They aren't perfect, but some of them are truly instructive and a few are just plain fun. It's been like being in a tunnel for the last 4 days working on these things, and still... I continue to be fascinated by all the issues related to play between people and other animals. One of the the things I'll be talking about at APDT is how often dogs intersperse PAUSING with active motor patterns. As I watched videos of dogs playing I was impressed by how many times dog would use some typically exaggerated motor activity, whether it was a bite or a hip slam, and then stop and either stand still, or stay still in a play bow position. If you think about it, play bows not only provide information to the receiver that Read More
Scientific American Mind and Your Dog
I just arrived in Atlanta, and am about to settle in, go over my seminar for tomorrow and then watch some foolish movie that does nothing but entertain me and put me to sleep. But I wanted to write about a magazine that I just can't get enough of--Scientific American Mind. If you are interested in behavior, both your own and your dog's, this is a fascinating magazine. It's true it helps to be fascinated by behavior and the brain (I guess that's obvious), and that to some it will be far afield from canine behavior.. but that's what I love about behavior... it is such an eclectic field. Here are just some of the pages I have marked for further review (and future blogs, articles or book sections....) in the Oct/Nov issue: p 10: Researchers at the Zhejiang University in China found that Read More
Visual Signals before Acoustic?
"Puppy nerd" asked a great question in his or her comment: Given how visual dogs are, should one start an exercise with visual signals to help the dog get it right, and then switch to acoustic ones, or avoid visual signals altogether if you want your dog to pay attention to your voice? Well, this could keep us all busy for the next few months. I know this is a loaded issue, with people strongly advocating one or the other (mostly the latter in my experience.) There's no 'right' answer, at least not in my opinion. But then, I'm not a big advocate for there being one way to train. There are many roads, as they say, to the top of the mountain. I think what's most important is to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of starting with visual signals. The first obvious advantage is Read More
Visual Signals Don’t Have to be Big if they are Relevant
I got back recently from doing a seminar in Ann Arbor, Michigan for the Ann Arbor Dog Training Club. What a wonderful audience; we had a fantastic time together. At least, I did, so thanks to Tammy and everyone at the club for having me. One of my favorite parts of this seminar (Both Ends of the Leash) is its focus on signals, or cues. The question we looked at in depth was: what sound or movement is actually the one that is salient to your dog? You may say "Sit," and think your dog is responding to it, but so often it's the tightening of the leash or the nod of the head to which your dog is responding. (okay, "to which" is grammatically correct, but good grief it sounds awkward!) We had a great example of that in Ann Arbor. A lovely Golden (perhaps the most perfect example of "Life Read More
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