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Appropriate Social Structure

Dogs are at once surprisingly complex and simple; they live in a rich world, but if we satisfy some basic needs they tend to do quite...

He’s Just Doing His Job!

I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard an owner attempt to excuse bad behavior with that line. Who wrote this job description? Are you...

Retractable Leashes

While retractable leashes are sometimes used for specific purposes by highly skilled handlers, the use of a retractable leash is highly...

Canine Discipline and Training

Discipline” is a scary word for some people. Given the experience some of us had with public education, and in the workplace, this is not...

Overweight Dogs

Obesity is a leading factor among many of the pet dogs that are brought to me with behavioral problems. And with almost equal regularity...

Rescue Dogs

I get a lot of calls about “rescue” dogs with problem behaviors. I listen to stories about the dog’s history and why it acts this way,...

Bringing Your Shelter Dog Home

It's never good to anthropomorhize with a dog, but where I see the most serious and long-lasting damage is when the new human owners...

Anthropomorphism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism From the ancient Chinese classic Chuang-tzu: And have you not heard this?‐‐ Formerly a...

What Breed Is Your Dog?

Dogs have been bred over time for specific purposes, so we have hundreds of breeds. All of these breeds are the result of emphasiziing or...

Canine Emotion Part One

Dogs are are capable of all of the same basic emotions as humans except for guilt and shame, which they are physiologically prevented...

Contingency and Rewards

Dogs like to be paid for working, just like people. What each dog finds rewarding will vary; some dogs work for food, some for play, some...

Context, Trust, Rules, and Safety

Dogs learn in context. Until a dog learns to generalize, a change in context can be challenging for them. Just because a dog can perform...

We Grew Up Together

Dogs and humans have evolved together for at least 28,000 years. While dogs don't understand human language, they can instinctively...

Bribing Your Dog

With a certain amount of levity I have elsewhere suggested that we don’t bribe dogs for the same reason we don’t bribe people – because...

Santa Fe, NM, USA

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