By Emily Larlham Every time a puppy is reinforced for putting teeth on human skin, a bite-reinforcement history is being created. Take mouthing seriously and make sure you do not reinforce it! Ignoring biting is a bad idea because it is self-reinforcing! There are many ways to stop biting from being reinforced. Use your judgment […]
By Emily Larlham The world can be a scary place for a young puppy. This is especially the case if the breeder or previous caregiver did not take the litter of puppies out-and-about in the company of their own mother and littermates in order to socialize them to everything they will see and hear in […]
by Emily Larlham Sitting in a room full of pregnant women and their husbands in a local hospital in San Diego, California, just moments before hearing Madeline Gabriel’s lecture, “Dogs and Babies: Play It Safe,” I thought to myself, “I am sure I know all of this stuff! “ Boy, was I wrong. I wish […]
by Emily Larlham For me, adding a verbal cue and changing a cue follow the exact same training method as fading a food lure or a target using the “What did you do last?” game as explained in the previous training tip. You can also add a verbal cue or change a cue by fading […]
by Emily Larlham Fading a lure, or teaching your dog to offer a behavior without having a treat waved in front of his face can seem like a daunting task if you have never done it before. However, once you have gotten over the first hurdle of your dog’s dependency on the treat lure for […]
by Emily Larlham You should never ignore behaviors your dog or puppy does that you find “undesirable” if the behaviors are self-reinforcing. This is because by practicing the behaviors the dog will find them reinforcing and be more likely to continue doing them in the future. By repetition the “undesired” behavior attains a reinforcement history, […]
By Emily Larlham Perhaps you adopted a puppy from another home where he was kept only outside, or perhaps you yourself have decided to keep your dog inside the house from now on. A very normal response for a puppy or even an adult dog who has never or rarely been in a house […]
