The Animal Academic

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The Animal Academic

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06/23/2024

• Last walk of the week with my handsome buddy, Barker. 🌺

06/20/2024

Reinforcement is a stimulus that follows a behavior, making the behavior more likely to continue.

It can be done intentionally, such as rewarding your dog with treats, toys or praise for a job well done.

But it can also be unintentional! When a dog puts his paws on the counter and finds tasty crumbs or snacks, the counter-surfing behavior is rewarded & will probably happen again. If a strong dog is able to pull their handler on leash, the pulling behavior is rewarded when the dog gets to go the direction they want to go. An excited dog who jumps on guests is rewarded by human interaction & physical contact (whether the guests like it or not)!

When trying to change a problem behavior, stopping the unintentional reinforcement of inappropriate behavior can be just as important as adding intentional reinforcement for good behavior. You have to show your dog that the rewards you offer are more enjoyable than whatever they’re getting with the behavior you want to stop.
Using both of these methods together will help you get better training results than just using one or the other.

Have you been accidentally reinforcing any behaviors you’d like to stop?

06/20/2024

I’ve been working toward my goal of volunteering 100 hours over the summer, and today I got to spend time with my favorite horses at Ride to Fly! 🐎🫶

06/18/2024

My lil buddy Dude loves to strike a pose. 😬

06/16/2024

This week I got to attend a release of sea lions (pictured) and harbor seals at Cabrillo Beach! They were rehabilitated by and ready to make their way back to the ocean. 🦭 If you ever see a marine mammal who might be sick or injured, call their help line at 1-800-39-WHALE. 🐋

06/15/2024

My kitten clients Audrey & Gracie are getting so big! It’s been fun to see them grow up together, and learn their different personalities. 💗

06/14/2024

I had a great first week of walks with my new pals, Seven and The Dude!

Seven (left) is available for adoption through , and is currently being fostered by a client of mine in San Pedro. She will be at in Santa Monica for an adoption event if you want to stop by and say hi!

06/09/2024

TFW you know something’s put away in a “safe spot” but you forgot where the safe spot is. 🤔 (I couldn’t find Soybean, she put herself on the shelf!)

06/07/2024

To the little girls who said “wowwwww” as they walked past Barker striking a pose.. he appreciates the compliment. 🙌

06/05/2024

Happy Global Running Day! I just registered for my second annual Conquer the Bridge race in support of International Bird Rescue. This is my favorite race course I’ve done so far, because it takes us from downtown San Pedro across the Vincent Thomas Bridge and back! I’m also excited to show support for our hometown heroes at and the important work that they do!

If you would like to donate, please visit my fundraising page at grouprev.com/lisa2024. Thank you for your support, and happy running! 🏃‍♀️

06/05/2024

Summer school doesn’t have to be a drag! 😎 I took a short break from dog training (to go back to school myself), but I’m now available to take new clients. Click the link in my bio to learn more, and please reach out if you have any questions!

Btw - I am currently taking two semesters of physics over summer, to make sure I’m able to complete my vet school prerequisites and graduate by next spring. Imagine what kind of progress you and your pup could make by the end of summer? I’m here to help! 🐾

05/31/2024

I thought I could put a *flower crown* on Scout, but he had other ideas.. 🌸🍝

(disclaimer: no flower noodles were consumed in the making of this photo)

05/30/2024

Looking forward to seeing my friends Jerry & Monty again this summer! Have you booked your summer pet sitting dates yet? I am not currently taking new clients for pet sitting, but I do still have availability for existing clients. Book soon to reserve your spot!

05/28/2024

That look when I use the treat to get him to look at the camera, instead of sending it directly to his mouth. 😦

05/28/2024

The mighty predator, Soybean, hunts for her next snack.
🕳️👀

05/28/2024

His face when I showed him a random boat and told him it was . ⚓️

05/08/2024

Thought it would be cute to have Barker pose with this seagull, but the look on his face says “don’t quit your day job.” 😑

03/26/2024

Hi Everyone!

Last weekend, I ran the LA Big 5k with Angel City Pit Bulls, for the second year in a row. I had a great time at the race and expo, and was able to meet my first pace goal for runDisney in September.

Even though my pace was faster than last year, I have a little catching up to do with fundraising! Check out my fundraising page for stats on ACPB and my recap of this year’s race, and consider making a donation if you are able. If you’d be interested in running or walking a future race with us, please reach out and I’ll put you in touch with our team!

https://donate.angelcitypits.org/lisa

Thank you so much for your support, and have a great week!

Lisa

03/02/2024

Last walk of the week with Barker, and he can barely keep his eyes open! I think some couch potato time is in his weekend forecast. 🛋️🥔😴

02/29/2024

Meet Corazon (A710406) - a 9 month old guinea pig who was found as a stray outside of a petsmart. This gal was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition and spent some time at an animal hospital. Corazon will need meds, but they’re easy to administer - just put it in her food and she’s good to go. She’s also a big fan of apples! 🍎 ❤️

Corazon is available for adoption at LBACS:
📍 7700 E Spring St, Long Beach, CA 90815
Open 10 am - 4:30 pm (Wed - Fri)
10 am - 3 pm (Sat and Sun)

02/27/2024

Did you catch the latest issue of my newsletter? I talk about taking a little break from dog training, starting Spring semester at CSUDH, volunteering with horses, and my upcoming 5k with !

I also shared a list of books I’m working on from .books, and I’m really excited about the idea of starting a dog training & behavior book club. Check out the list I posted, and if any of the titles seem especially interesting or relevant to you, let me know what you’d like to read first!

• barkacademia.substack.com •

02/27/2024

TFW you thought the rain was over, but it comes back for another round. ☔️🫣

02/24/2024

I asked Scout what he likes better, me or treats? I don’t think he wants to tell me. 🤐

02/22/2024

I have never taken Duke on a car ride, but that doesn’t stop him from asking. 🚙🐕

02/21/2024

Apologizing to Barker for the weather with a fresh towel and a cookie. 🌧️🧖‍♀️

12/29/2023

Barker’s a little sleepy after reindeer duty. 🦌🥱 (me: “if you wear these for 20 seconds, I’ll give you whatever treat you want.”) 🤳

12/27/2023

I had a nice time taking care of Haru over the holiday! I hope she forgives me for posting the photo with food hanging out of her mouth. 🤤

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas from Barker! 🎄 We stopped for an impromptu photoshoot on our walk this week, he’s a natural model. 💁‍♂️ This Christmas tree is located in front of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in San Pedro, and it makes a great backdrop for a quick holiday photo! 🐕

12/23/2023

His name is Party Boy. 🥹🥳 Bring him home for the holidays - available at Harbor Shelter in San Pedro.

PARTY BOY HAS BEEN ADOPTED!!! :)
Looking for a wonderful dog? Meet Party Boy. He’s an easy going, well-behaved, social butterfly who loves everyone. He is outgoing, friendly and will lay his head right in your lap and wait for pets. This sweet boy is gentle but has a silly side too. He loves to roll on his back and wiggle, do the army crawl, then stretch into downward dog and repeat. Party Boy is entertaining! He knows his sit command, takes treats gently and is kenneled with a female dog. Party Boy is the whole package and he’s ready for his new life to begin!

Please message us with questions

Party Boy ID
3 Years Old
54 lbs Male
Intake date: Nov 28, 2023

Please message us with questions.

https://www.laanimalservices.com/pet/a2083158

Harbor Animal Shelter
957 N Gaffey Street
San Pedro, CA 90731
(310) 548-2632
Closed Monday
Tues - Fri 8am-5pm
Sat & Sun 11am-5pm

12/13/2023

Waiting for Santa paws with Scout & Koda 🎄

Address

Los Angeles, CA
90731

Website

http://www.theanimalacademic.com/

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Videos

I’ve been slowly working on “touch” with Luna and she’s doing great! At first, I think she was a little uncomfortable touching her nose to my hand - she was reliably gesturing *toward* my hand, without actually making contact. 🖐 I let her work at her own pace, and she started giving me the full behavior when she was ready. Although it can be tempting to just touch the dog’s nose yourself, dogs learn better when we give them the opportunity to problem solve - and giving them the choice to offer a behavior on their own is a great confidence builder, especially for dogs who might have quirks or fears about handling. Yesterday, once she was making nose-to-palm contact consistently, I started adding the word “touch” so this will be something she can do on cue. Nice job, Luna!

Over the weekend, I started teaching “touch” to my new buddy, Winslow! I think touch is kind of an underrated behavior, and it can be really fun to use! When a dog masters touch, I’ve found it can be a more powerful recall cue than “come/here”.. partly because the latter often gets overused in frustration when a dog is doing something naughty, so they learn to tune it out. 😬 Touch, along with a lot of positive reinforcement (treats), can also be a stronger cue because it gives your dog something very specific to do. I know dogs who will stop what they’re doing and speed across the yard to hit that hand target ASAP! You can even use touch to play a dog version of tag, or hide & seek. With Winslow, it seemed like she was a little bored by my regular teaching process 😂 so I ran around the yard a bit before extending my hand. In this way, the behavior was reinforced with treats as well as play - and she was more responsive when I tried it the boring way, once she got it down. Does your dog know touch? Do you use it in any fun ways?