Category: Pet Owner

Regular Leash vs. Hands-free Waist Leash: Which is Safer When Your Dog Pulls?

    If however, the leash is around your waist and the dog pulls, because your waist is close to your center of gravity, you’re more likely to stay on your feet, especially if you bend your legs and lower your body a little (not shown here).    Real Leash vs Hands Free    In addition, with this particular Buddy System leash (http://www.buddysys.com), you can detach the leash if you want so that the dog is released.     Real Leash vs Hands Free      

Dante Meows Too Much: How I Stopped the Incessant Meowing

Anyone who owns a Bengal cat knows they can be Herculean meowers, and Sophia’s Bengal cat, Dante, was no exception. He could easily hold a meow for at least five minutes. When first adopted, Sophia ignored his meowing and pretended that he didn’t exist, only rewarding him with petting or treats when he was quiet (hint, this works way better if you’ve first spent a day or so rewarding them at least fifty times for sitting quietly first). Dante quickly learned to be quiet but since meowing incessantly is in his genes, a sudden change in environment would occasionally bring

Which Types of Collars and Harnesses are Safe for Your Dog?

Dogs come in to the veterinary hospital and to our various handling labs wearing a variety of collars and harnesses.  While all of these collars and harnesses are sold online or in stores, some are not necessarily healthy or safe for all dogs. In this article, I provide a summary of the pros and cons of some of the various collars and harnesses for dogs. Rolled or flat collars Martingales Choke chains Pinch collars Front-attaching harnesses: Easy Walk Harness, Walk-in-Sync Harness, Freedom Harness. Head halters: Gentle Leader, Snootloop     Flat and Rolled Collars Flat Collar Flat collars provide an easy

The Learn to Earn Program: Implementing the Program

In the last blog, I presented an overview and the reasons behind my version of the Learn to Earn Program. In this blog I will cover the basic steps. #1 First Teach Your Dog to Automatically Say Please By Sitting for Treats (Read Perfect Puppy in 7 Days, section 5.2 and watch Say Please By Sitting). Just hold a treat when you have a hungry dog (on leash) and quietly wait for her to sit. Once she sits, immediately give her a treat (kibble or treats) followed by a few more sequentially for remaining seated. Then take a few steps backwards, far

The Learn to Earn Program: Developing Leadership in Humans and Impulse Control in Dogs

Humans can develop the needed communication skills while training dogs to have self-control and emotional control in one fun, reward-based program called the Learn to Earn Program. In this program, humans gain leadership by controlling all the resources that motivate the pet and requiring the pet willingly work for these items instead of getting them for free. The focus is on using all valued resources to reward desirable behaviors while simultaneously removing the rewards for undesirable behavior.

New Puppy Owners Apply Training Principles to Teach New Behaviors

You’ve all heard the saying, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, Teach a man to fish and feed him for a liftetime.” This saying holds true for training animals and understanding pets. Instead of just memorizing techniques, people have shown it’s essential to understand learning principles which you can apply to many situations. That way you can come up with solutions to situations that are new to you and your dog and can also better determine which techniques may be more appropriate. One new puppy owner, a reader of the Art and Science of Animal Behavior

Low Stress Handling® Silver-Level Certification

Individual Certification at this level demonstrates to clients and employers the individual’s dedicated interest in Low Stress Handling®. Hospital Certification at this level demonstrates to clients and staff the hospital’s commitment to appropriately training staff in Low Stress Handling® methods.

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