“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: Canine Communication
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.
New Literature Review Recommends Reward-Based Training by Zazie Todd, Ph.D.
New Literature Review Recommends Reward-Based Training
A review of 17 papers concludes that reward-based dog training has fewer risks and may even work better than aversive methods.
The review, by Dr. Gal Ziv (The Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences) looks at the scientific literature on dog training methods. Seventeen studies were identified that include surveys of dog owners, intervention studies, and reports from veterinarians.
The paper identifies some methodological issues with the literature, but the conclusion is that people should use reward-based methods to train their dogs.
Diversity and Breed Distinction of Canis familiaris
The domestic dog, Canis familiaris is said to be the most morphologically variable of the mammalian species. According to scientist, artificial selection contributed heavily to the rapid development and variation in color, shape and behavior we see in dogs today. The difference among dog species rivals that of any other species in the family Canidae.
Dog Aggression – Is it predictable? How do humans’ contribute to dog aggression? Are we responsible? Part Two
These forms of learned aggression may become more threatening, providing little warning in the “context of social code violations” e.g. disturbing a sleeping dog or taking a prized object away. The intensity of the dog’s response to these social code violations will directly depend on the negative stimulus. The dog described here has some control over their aggressive response and those responses are in direct correlation to the invoking stimulus.
Dominance – is it appropriate to explain social relationships between dogs and humans?
Science Daily reported, “Using dominance to explain dog behavior is old hat.” One of their references included an article from JVB (2009) “Dominance in domestic dogs –useful construct or bad habit?” The paper is much broader than implied by Science Daily; the following will make clear some of their conclusions. Associative Learning Theory The paper suggests stable relationships between …