First, the Trainers It’s a sunny morning in Folsom and something odd is happening at the Folsom Zoo. Zookeepers and staff are waving their arms, flailing their legs, and balancing in weird positions. No, they’re not there to entertain the animals. They’re playing the training game. The game where two people collude to train a third person to perform behavior unknown to her. The only clues they can give are to click and treat whenever she performs a behavior close to what they want. It’s a game where they get to experience the confusion that animals feel when humans are

Free-shaping, meaning capturing a behavior you like by clicking to mark the correct behavior and following with a reward and then systematically rewarding behaviors closer and closer to your goal behavior, is always a good exercise whether you’re a beginner or have been doing it for many years.

Question: I love watching your videos. What treats do you use in your veterinary practice? They seem pretty irresistible. They also look like they are something that allows them to nibble off small pieces at a time. We have trouble finding something the fearful or anxious dogs will eat. Thanks! Lily from Grand Rapids, Michigan Answer: I use a variety of semi-moist treats such as Pup-Peroni and Natural Balance Food Roll which can be cut into variable-sized pieces and nibbled off in little bits at a time. The ability for dogs to nibble small pieces comes in handy for keeping

Question: Do you have suggestions for training in a multiple dog household? Of my three dogs, two are “sitting to say please” to go out. The other dog refuses. I started letting the two go on out and making the refuser stay until she sits. But she still refuses to sit at the same time as the others. How do I reinforce behaviors properly with three dogs who don’t always respond the same way or at the same time? (All three dogs are eleven years old.) Rhonda Answer: Here’s the trick. For the one who just doesn’t “get it,” he

Clients frequently tell me that they think their cat or dogs like each other but they aren’t sure. They sometimes point out that their pets sleep together, but does that mean they’re best friends? It could but it doesn’t necessarily. They could just be sharing beds because it’s comfortable or convenient. True “friends,” actively seek each other and hang out, play together, and perform affiliative gestures such as mutual grooming. Here’s a photo of Jonesy and his bratty younger, but bigger sister, Lucy. Jonesy pretty much just tolerates her. Sometimes he puts up with her pestering, and other times he

Question: We have a 2 year old female cat (Kachina) who is fully declawed and spayed. She will jump on the bed or sofa with my wife (Liz) and want to be scratched behind her ears/head. She purrs while this is happening then all of a sudden she will turn and bite Liz in the arm. This used to happen 1-2 times every month or so and now it is a few times a week. Kachina usually comes back to lay with Liz in about 30 minutes as if nothing happened and curl up with Liz. Liz was in bed