Sarah Owen Dog Training and Behavior Consultations

24/06/2025

A few days ago, I started some cooperative care training with Rosie. Here's a new blog with a little update on how it's going!

https://sarahowendogtraining.com/blog/training-should-be-easy/

And, here's the short version ;-)

21/06/2025

One thing that I think makes training difficult – or what some people might consider a form of art – is knowing when to raise criteria, when to continue with the session, and when to stop doing whatever you're doing.

Often, we make these decisions subjectively, based on what "feels" right. But teaching others how to make these subjective decisions is tough! If *we* aren't even sure why we made the training decisions we made, how could we possibly teach someone else to make good training decisions?

This is one of the reasons I love training with thoughtfully designed reinforcement systems so much. A well-trained reinforcement system makes it much easier for the teacher to objectively determine whether or not the learner is ready for another repetition, or whether they need to take a break.

Take a look at this example of me working on some cooperative care with my border collie, Rosie. We started by teaching her a reinforcement system, and then I used that reinforcement system to make training decisions.

https://sarahowendogtraining.com/blog/using-a-reinforcement-system-for-cooperative-care/

12/06/2025

Negative reinforcement is a pretty hot topic, in dog training. Is it good, is it bad, should you use it, or shouldn't you?

Like most things, I think the answer is "it depends." There are some situations in which the kindest thing we can do for a dog is implement a negative-reinforcement-based training plan.

So, what does good, kind, effective training with R- look like?

Take a look at some videos in which I (negatively) reinforce Deelie's behavior around other dogs.

Negative reinforcement is the removal, escape from, or avoidance of something aversive. The kindest thing to do, when I recognize that the dog is working to avoid something, is not to push treats at the dog; it is to get the dog the heck out of there.

06/06/2025

If you're an animal trainer, you may have heard that the way to "transfer cues" – or to get the animal to perform a behavior when you present a new cue – is by giving the new cue for the behavior, followed immediately by the old cue. The idea is that the animal will learn to anticipate, or predict, the old cue and will, therefore, start to perform the behavior when you present the new cue.

But is this what actually happens? In my own experience, I've found that sometimes this procedure works and sometimes ... it doesn't.

Sometimes, it just teaches the animal to wait ... and wait ... and wait ... for the old cue. They never anticipate the old cue, and so they never start to perform the behavior when I give the new cue.

This is exactly what happened when I tried to use this new cue/old cue transfer procedure with my pup, Deelie. Not only did she learn to sit and stare at me while she waited for the old cue, I also seem to have confused and frustrated her – you'll hear her whining a bit in this video. I think this might be a good way to "bake in" some barking and whining to our training sessions!

I believe, surely, there must be a more reliable, less confusing way to help our animals learn to transfer cues.

My graduate research has focused on this problem. And, I am seeing some really promising results! I hope you'll stay tuned, and follow along here, as I continue to try to develop a more reliable way to transfer cues :)

*Note: No Deelies were harmed in the filming of this video. She seems to have suffered no permanent ill effects from this mildly frustrating training session ;-)

26/05/2025

Some thoughts on socialization.

Spoiler alert: All is not lost, if you missed your puppy's "socialization window." 🐶

If you missed your dog's "socialization window," don't despair. You still can construct a beautiful social repertoire for your dog!

20/05/2025

Deelie and I are getting lots of training opportunities, now that I'm on summer break! This week, we've been using Premack's Principle to work on increasing the likelihood that Deelie will check in with me when she sees a critter on the path ahead of us – and therefore *decreasing* the likelihood that Deelie will bolt after said critter.

How might Grandma's Rule (If you eat your vegetables, then you can have your dessert!) apply to dog training?

16/05/2025

I currently have the pleasure of sharing my life with a teenage dog. While I truly believe there is nothing more exciting or fun in the world than seeing the world through a teenager's eyes, there are also some challenges that come with teenage-hood!

Is reactivity in a teenage dog cause for concern? How should you handle it, if your dog has a big blow up?

06/01/2025

Deelie and Cheaters would like to show you the projects they are working on right now!

Deelie is starting to learn to wrap around jump wings and is practicing the cutest little wave you've ever seen in your life.

And Cheaters is making sure he still can spin in a circle on a verbal cue. We haven't practiced that one in months, but he says of course he never forgot it. We're also working on cleaning up his sit pretty.

Deelie's just working on stuff for fun and to be cute and to prepare for disc-agility crossover games, which she'll be old enough to play in the spring. Cheaters is helping me with research. The plan is to transfer his sit pretty from a hand signal to a verbal cue, the same way we did with his spin cue. Stay tuned to see how it goes 👀

02/01/2025

Little Deelie doesn't know it yet, but she is learning (errorlessly!) to wrap jumps and to follow my foot cues :)

We'll gradually add more/different equipment to our training sessions, and we'll move it to other locations, but the process will happen fast, as long as I'm thoughtful about how I introduce each change.

You can see how I used this same errorless approach to teach my other dogs to take jumps and tunnels, as well as how to retrieve dumbbells and to walk with me in very distracting environments, in a webinar I recorded last Spring: https://sarahowendogtraining.com/workshopsandwebinars/

CEUs are available for the webinar.

30/12/2024

How can we teach a dog to lie down and take a nap in the car, without having to rely on punishment, extinction, or environmental management, such as confining them with a seatbelt or in a crate? By using a constructional approach.

Rather than trying to punish or extinguish our animal's behavior, we can use a constructional approach to teach them how to do it "right."

17/12/2024

Another super busy semester in grad school has come to an end, which means I had time to write a new blog post!

Thoughts from a recent scent work trial. If you've got a dog who acts differently in the ring than they do when you're practicing at home, this one's for you ;-)

Will it hurt your dog's work ethic, if you give treats before you run at trials? How should you spend your time, before your run?

07/09/2024

When we use a constructional approach to shaping behavior, the focus isn't on reducing or eliminating behavior. Instead, it's on teaching our learner everything they need to know in order to access reinforcement.

It can be tempting to think that, if a puppy is behaving "impulsively," by jumping up on me or snatching things from my hand, that I need to address those behaviors.

But, if I instead teach a reinforcement system centered around the reinforcer the puppy is trying to access, the "impulsive" behavior disappears on its own.

When our learner knows all of the steps that lead to a reinforcer, they are calm and focused.