Search Results: The Other End of the Leash

The Other End of the Leash Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs “Vivid anecdotes and keen insights… a wonderful book… [that] exudes wisdom and passion throughout.” – Bark Magazine “Warm and informative, The Other End of the Leash teaches us to bridge some differences and to honor others.” – Dog Fancy “This is…

Resilience is the ability to adapt well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy and other significant sources of stress. We know that there are ways to increase a person’s resilience, but what about the dogs we work with who are stressed or traumatized, who have lost their families or homes or been victims of abuse…

August 17, 2026 Size Matters (When Using Treats as Reinforcement) What helps an animal learn a new behavior fastest? Standard practice has assumed that learners need a large number of trials to learn a new behavior, and given the numbers of repetitions required, each reward, usually food, is small. In other words, lots of tiny…

I thought it would be good to start with just plain gorgeousness from our trip last week to Washington DC for the 80th birthday of a dear friend. These next two photos are from the other-wordly gardens at Hillwood Estate and Gardens. Walking through the gardens felt like falling into some Alice-in-Wonderland-like exuberance of color…

From Chapter One: If I had not made eye contact with the Mastiff, if my eyes had moved some fraction of an inch over to the left or right, he wouldn’t have lunged. All that ballistic power would’ve sat, quietly watching, if I had changed the path of my gaze a quarter of an inch.…

Lately I’ve had a lot of occasions in which I needed Willie and Maggie to walk beside me, whether on or off leash. It has reminded me what a joy/time saver/relief it is to be able to walk with your dog and know he or she will stay right beside you. That’s not something that…

Maggie, all 35 exuberant pounds of her, has lousy leash manners. That is because 1) she is a dog and walking beside me, shoulder to shoulder, makes no sense to her. And 2) because I couldn’t resist working her on sheep when we have training time together. Not to mention teaching her to come when…

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Patricia is known worldwide as an expert on canine training and behavior and for her engaging and knowledgeable books, speeches, and seminars. She is the author of the much-acclaimed books The Other End of the Leash (published in 14 languages), For the Love of a Dog, and her memoir, The Education of Will. Her debut…

Author, Speaker, Animal Behaviorist MORE ABOUT PATRICIA Your dog is begging you to read this! A classic, now in thirteen languages. READ MORE The all-new, fully-updated version of this beloved classic is now available! READ MORE A powerful memoir about dogs, love, trauma, and redemption. READ MORE Stories, science, and advice about the emotional lives…

As summer progresses, we see more and more dogs out for walks, visiting dog parks, and lounging on the patios of restaurants and coffee shops. It’s not surprising that dog bites increase significantly in the summer months, with one report from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene stating that more than half of…

Last month we sold out of 150 autographed copies of The Education of Will in just days. Now that Patricia is back from touring, we can again offer signed copies of her memoir for $19.95 (instead of the retail price of $26). We have a limited number, so don’t miss out. (If you’d like the book personalized, let us know, but expect to wait a…

It’s never too late to go back to basics! Family Friendly Dog Training is the perfect resource to help your clients, customers, or adopters deal with the most common behavior issues. We all know how serious tiny behavior problems can become—help the animals at both ends of the leash by providing steps for healthy, effective…

It’s never too late to go back to basics! Family Friendly Dog Training is the perfect resource to help your clients, customers, or adopters deal with the most common behavior issues. We all know how serious tiny behavior problems can become—help the animals at both ends of the leash by providing steps for healthy, effective…

Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is a Zoologist and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist who has consulted with pet owners for over twenty-five years about serious behavioral problems, specializing in canine aggression. She taught “The Biology and Philosophy of Human/Animal Relationships” at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for twenty five-years. Dr. McConnell has spoken around the…

Meet Theo & Kimberly Found by the dog catcher, running on the highway in New Jersey, Theo was an eight month old whippersnapper when I first met him at the shelter in Old Bridge, New Jersey where he’d languished, un-adopted for over three months.  Though he was hampered by lack of training and the security…

Articles featuring Away to Me Wisconsin dog whisperer Patricia McConnell turns to murder mystery – The Capital Times Patricia McConnell’s new book is a who-doggone-done-it – Isthmus Press Kit PRESS RELEASE Download PDF here   OFFICIAL BIO Patricia McConnell, PhD, CAAB is an internationally renowned animal behaviorist and author whose acclaimed books, including The Other…

Getting Involved in Animal Assisted Interventions Pet Partners held their 2017 conference on “Professionalizing the Passion” earlier this month, and I was honored to give the keynote address. Pet Partners provides certification, training, and support for volunteer animal and handler teams in Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI), including Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), Animal Assisted Activities (AAA),…

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month! My rescued dog, Tootsie, and I have been celebrating all month on my Facebook page, but there’s still plenty of time to help homeless dogs. This issue is currently more important than ever, given all the tragedies that have disrupted dogs and their families around the country. Here is…

Come, Sit, Stay: A Conversation about Coping in Hard Times. March 28, 2020 Click Here to view the discussion on YouTube Interview with Colleen Pelar, CPDT-KA, CDBC. February 20, 2018 Episode of the show “Helping Families Love Living With Dogs” Patricia and Colleen discuss “Fear and Trauma-How Dogs Experience It and How Owners can help their…

“Brilliant… a perfect balance of science and soul.” Marty Becker, DVM, reviewing For the Love of a Dog Resident Veterinarian on Good Morning America   “Choosing good information to help clients with their pet’s behavior is as easy as reaching for one of Patricia McConnell’s excellent books.” Wayne Hunthausen, DVM, co-author of Behavior Problems of…

  Will your dog stop on cue when trotting, loping or full-out running away from you? I consider it an essential tool for any dog that is ever off leash. (When I say “running away,” I mean “running with their faces turned away from their humans, not “running away” as in packing up their dog…

Did you note the plural, “winners”? So many great stories came in that we struggled to choose a winner. (Such a difficult chore, poor us!) We ended up awarding the prize to two stories, both very different ones, but equally deserving. These stories are perfect examples of ‘the laugh is on me,” provided lots of…

Grisha Stewart’s new book is an impressive piece of work, and I highly recommend it to trainers, behaviorists and dog owners who are ready to dive into the deep end to help their dog. Behavior Adjustment Training 2.0 (BAT 2.0) is a comprehensive and detailed approach to working with “fear, frustration, and aggression in dogs”. …

Every field of knowledge has books that have stood the test of time. They call it “legs” in publishing, as in “that book has legs,” because it’s going to keep walking itself into the future on the strength of its content and its impact on those who read it. Dog training is no different. Because…

I was recently reminded that my first national book, The Other End of the Leash, was published in June of 2002, ten years ago (thank you Lisa). Wow. Ten years. It feels like a long time, and it feels like the years have flown by. Time is like that. There’s something about big blocks of…

I wish the world could have seen Ken’s seminar on Sunday in Worcester MA, it was fantastic. For those of you who don’t know his name, he is the Training Director and Senior Trainer at the Shedd Acquarim, has trained exotic animals for over 30 years, and could train just about anyone to do anything.…

I don’t know about you, but anytime I hear a dog training product described as “revolutionary,” I get worried. And for good reason. Have you heard about the new “revolutionary way” to walk your dog? It’s called SimpleLeash, and it is guaranteed to work on “dogs of all sizes and temperaments.” What’s the revolutionary idea?…

The impetus for this topic came from an article I sent out on Facebook on how to behave around a service dog. The article made many good points about respecting the space around a working service dog and his/her human, but I didn’t notice that it came with a photograph of a dog wearing a…

Maggie, Skip, Jim and I are just back from a lovely hour-long walk this morning. All four of us were serenaded by the songs of a newly-arrived migrating birds, including Yellow and Palm Warblers.                                              Bird photos from Wikipedia, such a great resource. Jim and I gloried in the sights of these gorgeous birds, the…

A long time ago, I made a commitment to avoid holiday overwhelm. In one sense, I can thank my parents for that—wonderful people who welcomed the Christmas season with angry fights over the placement of the Christmas tree and tears generated by present-wrapping-exhaustion in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve. Oh no, not me,…

This weekend I visited a wonderful woman doing rescue for small breeds, mostly bichons from puppy mills. I had somewhat randomly discovered that she lived close to me, and went to visit in hopes I could help out a bit. I also had a selfish motivation: as many of you know, Karen London and I…

Last week a dear friend brought her teenage Bernedoodle, Leo, over to meet Skip and Maggie. Leo was like Sheldon at a Comic Con Convention (can you tell I’ve been watching Big Bang Theory?)–all enthusiasm and no social finesse. This is Maggie after he tried to mount her head. (Please supply caption.) In spite of…

I’m not seeing clients anymore, beyond helping out an occasional friend, but a conversation with some colleagues got me thinking about the value of thinking through an issue with your dog as if you were your own client. I’ve used this technique before myself–writing out the “problem behavior,” deciding what behavior I do want in…

It’s just a wonderful feeling, knowing that what you’ve written has been published in a variety of languages. Imagining people reading The Other End of the Leash in Polish or Spanish makes me smile. It’s not just the intellectual knowledge that one’s books have circled the globe; it as much a feeling of connection. A…

When Willie starting working sheep as a youngster, he didn’t want to quit. This is a high quality problem with a young sheepdog, but it’s still a problem. At some point you just have to end the session. It’s a common problem too–I’ve seen scores of adolescent Border Collies zoom around and around the flock…

In hopes it will be helpful to others in the same situation, I thought I’d outline how I handled the introduction of lovely little Maggie into the family. Here’s some background on the actors: 1) Willie: Eight-year old BC neutered male, at one point extremely aggressive to unfamiliar dogs, relatively comfortable outside now with new…

Ah, the irony. I had planned to repost a piece about helping to prevent or treat thunder phobia, and then ended up in the cellar last Tuesday night after the TV weather dude said, not quite in these words, “There’s a tornado moving toward your house, it just hasn’t touched down yet.” We are not…

Last week I received a topic suggestion from a blog reader who has a reactive dog. What in heaven’s name does one do about dogs who are off leash, while you are responsibly walking your dog on leash in “on leash only” areas, and yet some goofball dog runs up to your own and ruins…

Tootsie’s taken a back seat lately, given all the sheepdog work I’ve been doing with Maggie and Willie lately, so I decided it was high time that she and I did something extra fun together. I was inspired in part by a book and a DVD related to scent games. After all, Toots is a…

Recently I watched someone walking his dog close to my office in Black Earth. Every ten feet or so the dog tried to stop to sniff the ground, and every time she did, the man at the other end of the leash pulled her forward so that he could continue walking. Ah, the canine-primate disconnect,…

It is Dog Bite Prevention week, and I am inspired to repeat a post I wrote last year about that topic. I don’t usually repeat blogs, but I’ve seen so much pain and suffering (and I don’t mean physical) over this issue that I am inspired to put it out into the universe once again.…

A million years ago, my first Border Collie Drift lept up and nipped a man’s nose at the Wisconsin State Fair. Even though the man was clearly not injured, with virtually not even a red spot on his nose, I was shook up and appalled. He was furious. “Your dog attacked me!” Well, he did.…

Here’s TOOTSIE! Also known as: Little Bit, Mini Me and my favorite, Mop of the Woods. There’s a new kid on the block, or at the farm I should say. Meet Tootsie, a 7 year old King Charles Cavalier who was rescued by Lucky Star Cavalier Rescue from an Amish Puppy Mill, after the owners…

Feeling a tad raw today. A combination of the untold suffering in the world, worries about the future (mine, yours, our country’s, humanity), and recovering from facial surgery on an eyelid–just a small carcinoma, but eyelid surgery is not to be recommended. Nor is anesthesia during reconstructive surgery when you have CFS and POTS symptoms.…

Is it possible to apologize to a dog? I’m not sure there is an answer to that question. But I wish there was, and I’d love to have a discussion about it. Here’s what got me thinking about apologies to friends who don’t understand all the intricacies of human language: Last week I was working…

  The following is an update from posts I’ve written in the past, introducing Dog Bite Prevention Week. Here’s what I’d love you to do this week–comment about “Dog bites I have known,” (sigh), or “How I prevented a bite about to happen.” So, so, SO many bites could be prevented if dog owners, dog…

No, not at a bar, you’re on your own there. I’m talking about people, ones with leash-straining, eye-bugging dogs, walking up into your and your dog’s face. I thought it would be interesting for us to have a discussion about how to handle it when others begin a face-to-face interaction that you or your dog…

  My first experience in a dog training class was in 1968 in Southern California. We were to teach our dogs to sit, stay, heel and come from ten feet away. From a Sit/Stay. That was it. A lot of energy was put into perfect heels (using leash jerks of course) and long Sit/Stays for…

I’ve thought about intake interviews every day since someone wrote, “Yes, please tell us what you asked clients during an intake interview.” I don’t know why this question speaks to me so much, but perhaps it is because of my interest in human psychology. I’ve always said that my two favorite species are people and…