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

For the last two decades, I’ve been telling myself that when I retire from veterinary practice, I’m going to open a fat farm for dogs. Here’s why: It all started nearly twenty years ago, during my first week in practice. I picked up my first patient’s file. “Sandy, five-year-old, female, spayed beagle,” read the medical record. “Here for a routine check-up.” I scanned her file. “Vaccines current. On heartworm prevention. Weight, 65 pounds.” Wait a sec — 65 pounds? Surely that was a mistake. No beagle could get that big. She must be a beagle cross. I entered the room.

       Play Dead/Bang2     Step 1: Start with a tasty semi-moist treat shaped such that you can let her gnaw little bits off. Or use a series of small tasty hard treats that you can give sequentially. Hold the treat right up to her nose in a position that causes here to turn her head slightly. Once she’s finished with the treat, remove your hand and start again.     Play Dead/Bang3       Step 2: Once she will consistently turn her head to get the treat while remaining lying down, place the treat a little further back such

Recently I posed a question about research to fans of my Facebook page. The question goes like this: Say you’re comparing dog-training method A for training a down-stay (using a clicker and food rewards) with method B (using a shock collar at low levels when the dog starts to get up). You want to know if one method causes more signs of fear and anxiety during the training than the other. For consistency you decide to use the same trainer for both groups.  The trainer is skilled at both training methods. You are recording the training sessions and having a

Have you ever thought you were pretty brilliant, or at least above average at some common skill only to find out, after taking a test, that you were practically incompetent at that task? Well, that’s what I just found out about my three year old Jack Russell Terrier, Jonesy and his foster dog side-kick, Homer, a couple of years ago when I tested them on a two-choice task to see if they could understand pointing. According to a research study by Gabriella Lakatos and her colleagues at Eötvös L. University (Budapest, Hungary), dogs are able to recognize the significance of

A study found dogs have bigger brains relative to their body compared to cats. But does that mean that dogs are actually smarter? Or that cats are dumb? The study published by researchers at Oxford University charted the evolution of mammalian brains over the last 60 million years. The scientists found that mammals such as whales, dolphins, dogs and humans, tend to have larger brains relative to their body size when compared to more solitary species such as tigers and rhinos. The co-authors, Dr. Susanne Shultz and Dr. Robin Dunbar, state that these findings suggest that the cooperation and coordination