I have strong opinions on certain issues; okay on many issues, particularly when it comes to dogs and dog training. You may feel free to hold your own strong opinions and disagree with me. I’ve devoted many years of my life to learning about dogs, about learning and behavior, and about how to help dogs live the best lives possible. Based on my experiences and my perspective I have come to hold certain strong views on these issues.
Category: Guest Bloggers
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.
Dear Breeders: Stop. Just stop.
WOW, just wow. I rarely "press this" to my business blog, but this deserves that kind of attention! Maybe you’re a great breeder, or even a great dog trainer. Maybe your dogs are the image of perfection mentally and physically. None of that matters, however, if you’re breeding puppies and sending them to people …
The Cruel Cost of Extreme Dog Breeding
The Cruel Cost of Extreme Dog Breeding Posted By Michele C. Hollow On April 7, 2014 [1] Take a look at an old photo of the iconic German Shepherd, Rin Tin Tin, who died in 1932. Now look at a photo of another of the breed, a German shepherd show dog of today. Notice the difference? The …
Bad Science: Quadrants of Operant Conditioning
Brilliant! "In the physical universe, the addition of one stimulus is always met with the removal of another stimulus. Regardless of what type of matter (energy) this stimulus is, energy cannot be created or destroyed, and so within any given system you have to remove something to add something and you have to add something …
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Stress and learning
Stress and learning by Prescott h Breeden The Yerkes-Dodson Law In 1908, Yerkes and Dodson published findings of a remarkable phenomenon they discovered regarding the relationship between arousal and performance. The law asserts: The speed of learning and performance increases with arousal however it quickly reaches an optimal intensity …