Canine Nation

I used to think that people should use whatever their dog is wild about as a reinforcer in training. I’m not so sure about that now.  It’s easy to think that because it’s motivating, it’s the best reward ever. Sometimes, it can be TOO stimulating!  It can even be distracting.  And if that distraction takes […]

Cues or Commands are the signals we give to our dogs when we want them to perform a behaviour for us.  How we teach them and how we use them will have a great influence on whether our dog understands and does what we ask.  Teaching a cue seems like a simple thing, but it’s […]

How can dogs be stupid and smart at the same time? How can they have less intelligence than humans and still control our households? For all our intelligence, we humans certainly find our reasons to claim to be both inferior and superior to our canine companions when it suits us. A transcript of the main […]

Owning a dog is wonderful and rewarding but it is also a big responsibility. Training and management are not simple tasks as some would have us believe. But with the right teachers, it isn’t all that difficult to learn to do it well. Could we be doing a better job of teaching people about training […]

Ever stick your hand in your empty pocket as if you had a cookie in hopes your dog would run over to you? Have you ever taken a menacing step toward your dog in hopes they would sit more quickly? Both of these clever tricks really amount to lies you tell your dog. You don't have a cookie and you aren't going to hit them. But if they THINK those things are true, it could be to the owner's advantage. And taking advantage of our oh-so-honest dogs might not be the best idea. In the long run, it could lead to being ignored more, mistrust, or worse. Being honest with your dogs might be a better idea. Audio edition of the article Let Sleeping Dogs Lie But Tell Them The Truth from the Life As A Human online magazine website. You can visit Life as a Human to find this and other articles. Thanks for listening to Canine Nation podcasts. I hope you can spread the word and let your dog-friends know about what you're hearing here. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome!

Ever stick your hand in your empty pocket as if you had a cookie in hopes your dog would run over to you? Have you ever taken a menacing step toward your dog in hopes they would sit more quickly? Both of these clever tricks really amount to lies you tell your dog. You don’t have […]

There is a lot of talk about "balance" in dog training these days. But balance might not be as easy as just mixing equal parts of rewards and punishment. A lesson from high school science class shows that equal numbers do not mean equal value. Sometimes balance means finding the right proportions of what your dog values. Balance means a healthy, happy dog and a good relationship with their owner. Audio edition of the article Teaching A Dog Is A Question Of Balance from the Life As A Human online magazine website. You can visit Life as a Human to find this and other articles. Thanks for listening to Canine Nation podcasts. I hope you can spread the word and let your dog-friends know about what you're hearing here. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome!

There is a lot of talk about “balance” in dog training these days. But balance might not be as easy as just mixing equal parts of rewards and punishment. A lesson from high school science class shows that equal numbers do not mean equal value. Sometimes balance means finding the right proportions of what your […]

Audio edition of the article Getting The Dog You Deserve from the Life As A Human online magazine website. You can visit Life as a Human to find this and other articles. Dogs are, in many ways, a reflection of their owner. They live with us and they learn from us. Sometimes they learn a little more than we would like about us. They can use what they learn to get what they want from us. If our dogs are always learning, are we always teaching? If we're not teaching, what are they learning? We all do our best and in the end, we all get the dog we deserve. Thanks for listening to Canine Nation podcasts. I hope you can spread the word and let your dog-friends know about what you're hearing here. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome!

  Dogs are, in many ways, a reflection of their owner. They live with us and they learn from us. Sometimes they learn a little more than we would like about us. They can use what they learn to get what they want from us. If our dogs are always learning, are we always teaching? […]

Audio edition of the article World Class Dog Behaviours from the Life As A Human online magazine website. You can visit Life as a Human to find this and other articles. Getting results can be about "good", "good enough", or "GREAT!" It matters how we train. Ask Olympic athletes Usain Bolt and Oscar Pistorius. How you teach your dog can make all the difference in the world. Thanks for listening to Canine Nation podcasts. I hope you can spread the word and let your dog-friends know about what you're hearing here. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome!

Getting results can be about “good”, “good enough”, or “GREAT!” It matters how we train. Ask Olympic athletes Usain Bolt and Oscar Pistorius. How you teach your dog can make all the difference in the world. A transcript of the main text of World Class Dog Behaviours is available at the Life As A Human online […]

You know that horrible moment when you are at the park with your dog friends and you call your dog and they ignore you? Yeah, me too. It’s a mystery why dogs sometimes choose not to do what we ask. Sometimes there are very good reasons why they don’t respond. But other times, well, it’s […]

Audio edition of the article The Mysterious Case of the Randomly Disobedient Dog from the Life As A Human online magazine website. You can visit Life as a Human to find this and other articles. You know that horrible moment when you are at the park with your dog friends and you call your dog and they ignore you? Yeah, me too. It's a mystery why dogs sometimes choose not to do what we ask. Sometimes there are very good reasons why they don't respond. But other times, well, it's just a mystery. Thanks for listening to Canine Nation podcasts. I hope you can spread the word and let your dog-friends know about what you're hearing here. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome!

Many think that Behavioural Science treats organisms like machines, manipulating behaviour and bending others to their will. But it’s not simple. In fact, there is another side to Operant and Classical Conditioning. What you can learn about your dog while you are changing his behaviour might just surprise and delight you. You might just discover […]