Whole Dog Camp

12/30/2025

12/29/2025

It was so fun and I felt so supported by the crew from WMTW who stopped by to check out the fun here at Whole Dog Camp. Message me if you'd like to join us! Learn how to skijor, every Sunday through January.

Whole Dog Camp does group dog training as well as private lessons throughout the year.WMTW is your home for Maine breaking news and weather. For your latest ...

12/29/2025

12/28/2025

When teaching your dog(s), you need to decide whether you want obedience, or you want cooperation. You need to decide whether you want your dog to be your partner, and to share with you what they think and know, or whether you just want them to do what they are told.

If you choose to create an obedient dog who just does as told to do, you've thrown away the most valuable part of your dog.

12/26/2025

12/21/2025

12/21/2025

Stairs are a great place to help your dog learn to be conscious about where you are, and practice not pulling you down. Stair practice generalizes and dogs learn not to pull you down hills, either!

Practice the same way every single time you go downstairs with your dog on leash. Dogs should stay beside or behind you going downhill, although I may let my dogs go ahead of me going uphill!

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12/21/2025

A flat collar and leash might be amongst the most dangerous training tools we use. Stop using the leash and collar to communicate with your dog.

A collar and a leash should mostly function as a safety device, a backup plan, not a restraint. A leash reassures passers-by (including other dogs) who can see where your dog is going to be as they pass. The leash should be for leading your dog when you need to guide your dog’s naughty nose away from trouble without yanking, pronging, pinching, zapping, choking or scaring.

There is a lot of benefit in guiding a dog by the nose. That’s the part of the dog’s body most likely to get into trouble, not the neck, the chest or back. Walking near by a cat, dog or baby in a stroller, leading the nose away is much gentler than pulling on the neck while the nose resists.

I don’t use the leash to communicate with my dogs, but if I did, a head halter is clearer and safer communication.

Pressure on the soft tissues of the throat is dangerous. Beyond tracheal collapse and cervical spine injuries, chronic pressure on the neck, throat, back puts pressure on the canine optic nerve, and can lead to early blindness. We shouldn’t have to explain that yanking on your dog’s neck is unhealthy.

And while body harnesses for smaller dogs can be a far safer solution, harnesses also give dog more leverage. Veterinarians tell me that flat collars hurt the dog, body harnesses hurt the people.

E-collars or prong collars don’t offer the security people imagine either. Shock/prong/startle/choke stimulis can result in more anxious, aggressive, reactive, irritable and unpredictable behaviors. Dogs on “invisible leashes” still make mistakes, but they make them at a distance. Dogs can learn to literally run away from and hide from e-collar signals. Equipment can malfunction. And it’s more common for dogs to bite the hand that hurts them, than the hand that feeds them.

This is where head halters come in. They give us 100% control of our dog in a way that doesn’t hurt you, doesn’t hurt your dog, and doesn’t need to squeeze anything. While a dog might throw his entire bodyweight into a collar, and it might feel like you are restraining a freight train, leading a dog on a head halter doesn’t require physical pressure. It’s gentle and safe.

If you know someone who could get hurt walking their dog, here is a gift to help them stay safer.

Signal Training: Leading to Freedom: Head halters, calming caps, muzzles and tricks for safer loose leash walking

12/20/2025

Reposted because it vanished!
Reward Schedules in Dog Training

Article Two: Why Dogs Need Predictable Rewards First

If variable rewards were magic, every dog would be trained after three repetitions and a handful of sausages.

They’re not.

Yet one of the most common mistakes made by dog owners and, unfortunately, some trainers, is trying to skip predictable rewards and jump straight into “mixing it up”.

This usually sounds like:

“You don’t want the dog to become treat-dependent.”

Or:

“You should make the reward unpredictable so the dog works harder.”

The intention might be good.
The timing almost never is.

Before a dog can cope with uncertainty, it needs clarity. And clarity comes from predictable reinforcement.

Dogs Learn Through Patterns, Not Guesswork

Dogs are exceptional pattern-spotters.

They learn by:
• Repetition
• Consistency
• Cause and effect

What they don’t learn well from is:
• Guessing games
• Mixed messages
• Moving goalposts

When a behaviour is new, the dog is asking one simple question:

“Was that right?”

Predictable rewards answer that question clearly and quickly.

Variable rewards, introduced too early, replace that answer with:

“Sometimes. Maybe. Depends. Good luck.”

That’s not motivation, that’s confusion.

Predictability Builds Understanding

In the early stages of training, predictable rewards serve several critical functions:
• They tell the dog exactly which behaviour is correct
• They build confidence
• They reduce stress and frustration
• They speed up learning
• They create trust in the handler

A dog that understands what earns reinforcement is relaxed, engaged, and willing to try.

A dog that doesn’t understand is:
• Hesitant
• Frustrated
• Over-aroused
• Or switched off completely

None of those states are ideal for learning.

Confidence Comes Before Challenge

This is where many people get it backwards.

Handlers often think:

“If I make it harder, the dog will try harder.”

In reality:
• Confidence precedes effort
• Understanding precedes reliability

Predictable rewards allow the dog to build a history of success.

Success releases dopamine.
Dopamine builds motivation.
Motivation fuels learning.

Remove clarity too early, and you remove the very thing you’re trying to build.

The Cost of Going Variable Too Soon

Introducing variable rewards before a behaviour is fluent can lead to:
• Slower learning
• Frustration behaviours (vocalising, bouncing, mouthing)
• Reduced engagement
• A dog that appears “stubborn” or “unmotivated”
• Handlers escalating pressure unnecessarily

At this point, owners often say:

“He knows it, he’s just choosing not to do it.”

No.
He’s choosing not to play a game he doesn’t understand.

Predictable Does Not Mean Permanent

This is important.

Predictable rewards are not forever.
They are foundational.

Think of them as scaffolding:
• Essential at the start
• Removed gradually
• Only once the structure underneath is solid

You don’t remove scaffolding halfway through building a house and hope for the best.

Training works the same way.

The Role of Marker Words

Predictable rewards work best when paired with clear marker signals.

A consistent marker:
• Pinpoints the behaviour
• Bridges the gap between behaviour and reward
• Removes ambiguity

Without a marker, even predictable rewards can become muddy.

With one, learning accelerates.

Who Needs Longer in Predictable Rewards?

Some dogs require more time in this phase, including:
• Puppies
• Rescue dogs
• Anxious or insecure dogs
• High-drive dogs learning impulse control
• Dogs with a history of inconsistent handling

There is no prize for rushing this stage.

Progress is measured by understanding, not speed.

The Big Takeaway

Predictable rewards are not boring.
They are not lazy.
They are not outdated.

They are how dogs learn.

Before a reward can become variable, the behaviour must be:
• Clear
• Repeated
• Understood
• Reliable in low distraction environments

Only then does variability strengthen performance instead of undermining it.

In Article Three, we’ll look at Fixed Reward Schedules, what they are, how to use them properly, and why they remain one of the most powerful (and misused) tools in dog training.

And yes, you still get to use the chicken.
Just not randomly.