For Christmas I hereby give everyone Sitka eating popcorn. #nomnom
Cutest dog sound in the world
Is this not the cutest thing ever in the history of things? I used "capturing" (a training technique) to get Sitka to trill on cue, with the cue being me trilling at her. I just used this video in a webinar presented by my awesome colleague Jane from Good Wolff, who teaches the grooming course on my site. She did a whole webinar on training dogs to lie on their sides for nail trims and other cooperative care, and it was fantastic! The webinar was just for my newsletter audience and the audience of my Pawsitive Post in Conversation co-host, Zazie Todd of Companion Animal Psychology, but if you'd like to see it, we'll upload it to Jane's grooming course soon and you can register for her course at any time!
Check out Jane's course: http://www.kristibenson.com/freshandfearless
And to avoid missing any fantastic webinars in the future, sign up for my newsletter: https://kristibenson.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=dfaf40f333f0adc103c772362&id=c765eba57f
And course, sign up for Zazie's as well: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/
Winter Wonderful in Manitoba
My dogs, my daily hike, hoar frost, and the setting sun.
Timber and the research study
Research about dogs is getting a lot of attention these days, and it's so great to see! I've enrolled myself into a study with Dr. Feuerbacher, an Assistant Professor of Companion Animal Welfare and Behavior at Virginia Tech, about motivation and reinforcement: how much work will dogs actually do for a standard paycheque? Timber says "I'll do six nose-touches for a treat, human, and no more". Can't wait to see what Sitka (my "won't get out of bed for less than ten thousand dollars" dog) will do.
Leave cheese all alone? OK.
What's this? Well it's just the cutest little thing doing the cutest little leave it in the history of leave-its, that's what.
When you do a swimming recall away from a momma duck and her ducklings, you need some downtime thinking about how great you are and eating grass.
Munchkin vs. the motorbikes (with soundtrack)
Well I'm lucky enough to know a real meal deal entomologist (HOW COOL IS THAT) who asked for help with his dog. This adorable doggo used to bark and lunge like a "maniac" at bicycles and motorbikes.
A single motorbike was too much, two motorbikes was *way* too much, and three bikes? (With music!?) No way could she handle that! But with some excellent counter-conditioning technique, along with a bunch of well-planned repetitions, just look at this sweet munchkin now. #thisstuffworks
Loverly beautiful play
Our pup #Soleil makes herself small and non-threatening to play with a much smaller dog. Skills! #metasignals #selfhandicapping
Don't fret if your puppy under the age of 16 weeks growls at you over a toy. A simple protocol can change their mind. We don't punish puppies for this behaviour, as it's perfectly natural! Instead, we use food treats to change their mind. That's right, we change their underlying emotional state, from "this worries me!" to "oh man, I LOVE it when my human takes away my food toy!". Once your pup loves it when you approach and pick up their toy, the growling goes away, all on its own. Check out the video for instructions, do as many repetitions as you can over a few weeks, or call in a certified, force-free dog trainer to help (and do it sooner rather than later...puppies learn to love stuff much faster than juvenile or adult dogs).
n.b.: If your adult dog growls at you over a food toy, or your puppy bites you over a food toy, call a trainer. There's help.
Soleil vs. the snuffle mat
Soleil loves her snuffle mat. I was feeling a bit crafty a while ago and made this one, but you can buy them too! Snuffle mats are just fabric forests that your dog must snuffle around in to find their kibble. It means her meals take minutes instead of seconds. Extra bonus: it gives her nose and her brain a work-out that plain ol' boring food in a bowl will not.
If your dog is uncomfortable at the vet, training can help. We can help our dogs to be happy at the vet's office and with the vet herself, and we can train our dogs to be comfortable being held for various procedures. Get in touch with a qualified, credentialled reinforcement-based trainer to learn more!
