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 its place, and then working up a plan. Yet, when I ended up looking at some posts from 2016 this week, I realized how much this skeleton plan lacks. Going through the posts I wrote on doing good intakes, I realized how much depth there might be in being your own client, whether you have one family dog or are a Certified Applied Animal Behavior consultant. I've decided to repost these writings, while adding my thoughts about how it might apply to ourselves, when we Read More
Excellent New Book on Companion Animals and Mental Health
Recently I had the honor of writing the forward for an important and timely book: The Role of Companion Animals in the Treatment of Mental Disorders. Published by the American Psychiatric Association, this book is a testament to the hard work of mental health researchers and practitioners who are doing their best to find when, and how, companion animals can provide significant help to those struggling with mental challenges, including developmental disorders like ASD, and trauma-related ones like PTSD. I hope I summed up my feelings about the importance of this work described in the book, with its excellent range of knowledge and perspectives, collected by editors Gee, Townsend, and Findling. I've included the Foreward below, emphasizing how important it is to know what works, know what Read More
What’s the Key to Polite Dog Play?
Watching dogs play well together is one life's greatest joys. One of my essential criteria when looking for a dog to replace Willie was whether he played well with Maggie. We tried two dogs out before we found Skip, neither of whom had any interest in playing with Maggie. Maggie ignored one, and hated the other. Skip and Maggie fell in love at first sight, but it took many months to teach Skip to play politely. He didn't get why body slamming into Maggie at full speed tended to stop the play. Ahem. Between me and Maggie (and tug toys), Skip learned to play well with all dogs, but it took awhile. I talk about this in depth in a 2021 post, The Evolution of Play: A Case Study. The key for them, and the key for all dogs, is to honor any dog who signals a pause. "Cut off signals" they are Read More
Punishing Yourself with Positive Reinforcement
Cookies! Praise! Belly Rubs! Using positive reinforcement feels so easy, and is such a great way to have a healthy and happy relationship with your dog. The research is overwhelming that training with R+ builds trust, reduces stress, and is effective at teaching new and desired behaviors. And. Yet. There are plenty of pitfalls to using R+ successfully, which was my topic at a speech I recently gave to the Madison Rotary Club. I’ll link to the speech at the end, but here’s a summary of the talk’s primary points: NOPE! NOT REINFORCEMENT! Yesterday I saw someone lean down and praise a dog for a good performance, stroking the dog’s head while speaking enthusiastically. The dog responded by yawning, turning away and sniffing the ground. Whoops. In spite of a loving owner, the dog’s Read More
There Will Be Flowers
Rough week, and now my computer is freezing up. My long-planned next post is delayed yet again, because I need to "put the oxygen mask on first." (ie, take care of myself.) The snowdrop flowers below have lived through down pouring rains, sleet, hail, numerous snows, and 16 degree nights. Tiny white jewels of inspiration. Take care of yourselves, see you next time. Read More
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