What Does Positive Reinforcement Have To Do With Love?
“What is love except for another name for positive reinforcement? Or vice versa.” ~ a quote by B.F.Skinner. Even long before I began dog training with positive reinforcement (and parrot training), and studying Applied Behavior Analysis as it relates to pets, I have LOVED this quote from B.F. Skinner. It speaks to me on different levels. What does positive reinforcement have to do with love? I’ll explain.
Reframing Thoughts About A Social Dog
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard from dog owners that they would like to have a more social dog with other dogs. They are frustrated and even embarrassed taking their dog for a walk because their dog barks at certain neighborhood dogs. Usually, the topic comes up when they tell me […]
Listen To Your Dog To Learn About His Reinforcers
Dog Training Tip: If your dog tells you he LOVES an activity, he is telling you YOU just found a reinforcer for him! Listen to your dog to learn about his reinforcers.
If We Can’t Manage It, We Can’t Change It
Why is management so important to behavior change in our pets? I explain in my post.
Dog Separation Anxiety: One Family’s Story
Talk about a reason to smile! Dog separation anxiety is a real panic attack. Just ask dear MayDay. His worst episode was tearing through window screening and getting onto the roof. As you can imagine, this was not only terrifying for him, it was stressful for his people too as they love him so very […]
Why You Should Use Antecedent Arrangement?
I’m working with several families now who have called because of differing reactive behavior in their dog, barking and lunging on leash or barking at guests in their home. Anytime I am helping families with a behavior issue in their dog, one of the early steps is coming up with a management plan to prevent […]
Do You Need To Be Firmer With Your Dog?
Do you have trouble getting your dog to listen? I got a call the other day from a woman who, when she was talking about training problems with her dog told me she knows she needs to do a better job of being firmer with him. If you are someone with this same concern, I […]
Winter Safety Tips For Your Dog
If you live in my Greater Cincinnati region, I don’t need to tell you we are just about on the verge of one of worst winter storms. Very quickly over the next few hours, outside wind chill temperatures will be dropping to minus 20 to 30 degrees or lower with snow and ice. We will […]
Understanding Flooding And Learned Helplessness In Training
In behavior terms, flooding is an important concept to understand as it can cause a lot of stress in our pets, and ourselves.
Thanksgiving Tips For a Well-Mannered Dog
Our Thanksgiving feast is definitely among my favorite meals of the year! Not only is it typically the one week that our entire family is together, that Thursday we gather for delicious appetizers, turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, vegetable casserole, pumpkin bread, and desert. My mouth waters just thinking about it. All those reasons are why […]