“Every moment offers the potential for constructive learning and adaptation or the reverse, especially in the case of an impressionable puppy,” Steven R. Lindsay. Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, Volume 1, 2001 Boudicca gone never forgotten BettyB my partner, my dog
Category: Animal Behavior
Dog Training Communication – Diverters and Disrupters
An important key to successful training is to identify what the dog is attempting to accomplish by its behavioral efforts. A dog working hard to get food may not find the opportunity to play ball to be an adequate substitute-ball play is irrelevant to the control-prediction expectancies at work. Similarly, giving the dog a biscuit …
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IAABC’s Position on Dominance
Written by The IAABC Editing Team (effective July 13, 2021) Dominance is a concept we frequently encounter in discussions of companion animal behavior. Many pet owners believe that the most important thing they can do to ensure their animal behaves appropriately is to establish themselves as “dominant,” “the alpha mare,” or “the flock leader.” When …
Position Statement on Regulation in Animal Training and Behavior
The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) strives to standardize and support the practice of animal training and behavior consulting and maximize the effective use of reinforcers to modify animal behavior.
Scientific research has clearly established that best practices in animal training and behavior require positive reinforcement-based strategies, competent evaluation of effectiveness, and the ability to communicate effectively with both human and animal clients. Further, these strategies must be founded on established principles of learning and assessment.
What is a Dog? by Deb Jones
What is a Dog?
This is an honest question! After 25 years of working with all sorts of dogs I am still mystified by them. They are so common and familiar, yet they are still so unexpected and amazing. I’ve been thinking about this quite a lot lately. My guess is that different people have vastly different answers to this question. Why does it matter? I think that’s what I’m even more interested in exploring! It matters because our vision of dogs shapes our treatment of them. And our treatment of them is vital to their mental and physical health.
Why can’t cats resist thinking inside the box?
The cats-in-boxes issue was put to the test by Dutch researchers who gave shelter cats boxes as retreats. According to the study, cats with boxes adapted to their new environment more quickly compared to a control group without boxes: The conclusion was that the cats with boxes were less stressed because they had a cardboard hidey-hole to hunker down in.
Let this be a lesson to all cat people – cats need boxes or other vessels for environmental enrichment purposes. Hidey-holes in elevated locations are even better: Being high up provides security and a birds’s-eye view of the world, so to speak.