Download these illustrations in our “How to Greet a Dog” poster here. The consensus among animal behavior professionals is that the major cause of dog bites to humans is related to the failure of owners and dog bite victims to recognize when dogs are fearful and know how to approach and greet dogs appropriately. But what exactly is the correct approach and why do so many people fail to do it? One issue is that we humans have an instant gut reaction to the cuteness of some dogs. It’s the same reaction we had as a child when we saw a

May 15–21st is National Dog Bite Prevention Week so it’s a perfect week for a reminder. Over 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year and about 800,000 of those bites are severe enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. Based on my experience as a veterinarian focused on behavior, I feel safe in saying that the majority of people who are bitten think that the bite comes out of the blue or that the dog is just mean or unpredictable. The truth is that the majority of bites are actually due to fear and they occur because

The take home message here is that if you neuter your dog, don’t worry, he can still have sex – if he wants. Most likely he won’t want to. With the lower testosterone levels he won’t have a red hot libido.

Question: I have a three year old male, neutered Shih Tzu named Pocky.  My problem is that  while other dogs drag their owners on walks, I have to constantly pull on Pocky’s leash so that he will walk with me. When he does, he is at least 2–4 feet behind me even though I walk at a leisurely pace. I have tried treats while walking but he is not interested. When we are ready to turn back and walk home, Pocky perks up and walks closer to me but still behind. I’ve seen him run happily when chasing cats and

I’ve been a fan of the TV show Monk for many years. In fact, I identify with the main character in an odd sort of way. No I don’t have a compulsive disorder. But I do find that solving animal behavior issues often requires some serious Monk-like detective work. For instance a number of years back, a reader sent me a question that went like so: I have a 7-year old Cocker Spaniel mix who has this annoying habit. I’m wondering if there’s really a way of training her out of it. As if on command to perform, in her excitement around people, she

Back in 2004 when I first developed the Treat & Train for the Sharper Image (now the MannersMinder sold by Premier Pet), my official  designated use for the product was to solve unruly behavior that dogs exhibit when guests come to the house. But at the time, I had so many thoughts on how I wanted to use this device. Just imagine what you could do if you could finally reward your dog away from you, right as they were performing the desired behavior, and you could set the exact treat rate? And you could basically follow portions of the