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Clicker Training

Charlie The Bichon Frise (13 years old)

Bichon Frise Mauled By Another Dog Now Tentative Around Owner

Sometimes he will flinch when I go to pet him. He never did that before, and while I am undoubtedly reading into his behavior, it feels like he doesn’t fully trust me. He has always been wary that I have ulterior motives when I am sitting on my couch and call to him, I think because he associates that with my giving him the medicine of some kind (he is prone to ear infections with all the hair in his ears.)

But the flinching is new. It doesn’t happen all the time, even much of the time, but does happen occasionally. There is also, it seems, a certain shyness around me.

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Amateur Dog Trainers

Beware The Amateur Companion Puppy and Dog Trainer​

It is a sad reality that with companion dog ownership at its highest, very few companion dog owners (or veterinarians, vet techs, breeders, rescues etc.) have been exposed to companion puppy and dog training associated with legitimately applicable behavior-science. What is being marketed to companion puppy and dog owners (veterinarians, vet techs, breeders, rescues etc.) as ‘science’-based training is almost always at best, loosely based and more often than not, cherry-picked aspects of scientific research that were never intended to be applied in the teaching of companion dog home and outing life-skills. In the controlled settings of an agility ring or obedience ring – yes (to a certain extent). For home and outing life-skills, a hard emphatic NO!

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Bad Dog

Is The Problem Companion Dog Owners or Companion Dog Trainers?

I won’t here as it’s a seminar level presentation rather than a casual blog post but I can make a reasonable, strong and scientifically supported argument that very little that currently passes for ‘learning theory’ in companion dog training is based on canine or human behavior in the context of how any higher order social

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Come When Called (Golden Retriever/Rottweiler Cross)

Hi there, I have a 1.5-year-old Golden Retriever/Rottweiler cross, and he is generally very good but he does have a problem which I don’t seem to be able to fix. While outside he doesn’t always come when called. He knows his name! but he just tunes me out whenever he feels like it. I’ve tried

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