What Every Pro Should Know: Upcoming Events
Dealing with Difficult Dogs
with Sarah Wilson and Brian Kilcommons
When: September 19-20th, 2009
Additional Handling Intensive on the 21st
Where: Radisson Hotel and Conference Center,
Boulder-Longmont, Colorado
Assessment and Safety
with Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson
When: October 3-4, 2009
with Additional Handling Intensive Available on Monday
Where: SPCA Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay, Florida
What's New?
Sarah appears on PBS NATURE Why We Love Cats and Dogs is airing, answers questions for viewers at Engage and is featured in their article: Dog Owner Behavior Patterns - What's Yours?
Sarah's Blogs: For Amazon.com Read here! or On Her Work and Life Read here!
Listen to Brian Kilcommons on Great Pets 1270 AM in NH, every Sunday 11-12 AM
Training Help
Sarah and Brian are delighted to help. Sarah Wilson specializes in sensitive, shy, and reactive puppies and dogs. Master trainer, Brian Kilcommons works with canine aggression in all forms. We are located in Auburn, NH.
Out of the area? Video clip, phone consultation, and live Skype coaching are all available for reasonable fees. Contact Sarah: MySmartPuppy@aol.com to set up your session.
Recently Quoted In
Oprah Magazine: Pet Project: Why We Love Cats and Dogs
Forbes: America's Most Popular Dogs
LA Times: Why We Love Cats and Dogs
Vancouver Sun: Wake up Bowser and Puff: PBS Documentary...
Ottawa Citizen: The Nature Behind Man's Best Friend
New Jersey Life: Why Do We Love Animals?
Most Recent Blog
What Made the Good Thing Happen?
Here's a question to ask yourself anytime you are working on changing a behavior in your dog: What made the good thing happen?
I remember one handler who, every time her dog would bark, would reach into her pocket - getting all ready to reward quiet. Good thought but, for a smart dog, reaching into your pocket is a little like opening your wallet around a complaining teenager. The message is clear: What you are doing right now is going to lead to a nice reward.
Uh-oh.
How do you know if you've stumbled down this particular path? When your dog does something you do not want and immediate spins around, looking at you eagerly.
This means you have to be careful with luring your dog into sits and downs with treats. Luring should be a brief stage after which you teach things like "The Simple Sit" or the "Guided Down" so you can calmly cause the behavior if the dog stalls for whatever reason.
If, instead, you stay with the lure then you are stuck in this sort of scenario: You tell your dog to "sit," dog doesn't sit, you put a treat to his nose to lure him... uh-oh... what made the treat appear? Not sitting - NOT responding.
Guess what you get more of?
So it is not just the delivery of the treat that teaches, it is the appearance of the treat and even, for smart dogs, the preparation of presenting the treat.
I remember watching a lovely young spaniel with "on lead aggression" issues. He would lunge at the end of the lead barking and then spin, sit front with eager eyes dancing: This is what you want, right? Did I do well? Where's my cookie?...
Comcast On Demand
We're delighted to be working with Comcast to develop FREE training, behavior and care video. Watch samples on Pets On Demand TV.