I first saw this quite a while ago but I still find it hilarious and I hope you do too!

Talk about impulse control!!!

Ha Ha

Happy New Year’s Eve!

Petzi puppy prodigy

Inevitably towards the end of the year I become more pensive, possibly even sentimental. I review the feelings and experiences of the year that has passed and wonder about the twists and turns life has presented.

I think about my passion for dogs and how much my own dogs mean to me.

I find myself making vows of being a better human to my dogs.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wittgy the traveler

Daphne

beautiful Salome

Schubi

Isa Leshko photographs are featured in the New York Times today

http://www.nytimes.com/subscriptions/Multiproduct/lp3004.html?campaignId=384LY

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/what-we-can-learn-from-old-animals/

Elderly Animals: Photographs by Isa Leshko from Mark & Angela Walley on Vimeo.

I really like Kay Laurence’s sensibilities. This example of teaching “settle down” is a prime example of her thinking. Have you ever been able to relax in a position that is not natural to you? Probably not! So why do we prescribe exact positons and locations to dogs and expect them to relax and possibly fall asleep in a position that might be “artificial” to their own pattern of relaxation?

http://kaylaurence.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/settle-down-now/#comment-60

wolfhound relaxing

A good trainer rarely allows a mistake to happen because the teaching is done in almost fool proof, tiny increments. Every increment learned earns the dog a reward and so the learning process itself turns into a chain that is endorphine producing for both dog and human. The human is happy because the dog is successful, which makes the human successful, which makes the dog proud and happy which makes the human proud and happy. Voila! You are creating a snowball effect of good will, joy and success.

A good trainer teaches the dog in small increments and is very consistent about rewarding only the behaviors he/she is looking for at the moment, or approximations thereof. Never is there a reprimand that the dog is wrong. If the dog does not understand then the onus is on the trainer . The trainer rethinks the way he is presenting the problem to the dog.

Once the desired behavior is taught a good trainer actually generalizes and proofs it. That means: taking the dog into many different situations to teach the behavior even if there are distractions around. This process is also built in small increments of increasing difficulty. A good trainer does not just work with naturally occurring distractions, but works by throwing food, toys or jumping around, purposely using cues that are not a release cue while at the same time as asking the dog to perform the desired behavior. Not just one toy…but anything that comes to mind. Not just treat bits but entire chicken carcasses.

The only way you can truly train a dog to be reliable in 99.999% of circumstances is by teaching the dog that thoroughly.

All this is actually fun and demands great creativity and  foresight on the trainer’s part. Trainer/handler and dog also bond very closely and interacting is a pleasure.

If you don’t try it you are missing out!

Who ever said that “training” was boring?

Stand/Stay

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/jul/17/dog-training-john-bradshaw-animal-behaviour?fbLink=true&fb=optOut