When children get together in groups they often play the same standard, well-known games with each other.  All children know how to play tag and hide-and-seek, for example, and it’s clear to the participants what the general rules are for each game.  When dogs are together in groups, they also have their own standard games that they play together, also with clear-cut rules.  And just like children, some prefer certain games over others.   Listed below are the most common games that dogs play with each other.

There are people in the industry who dog trainers look up to as heroes, mentors, and gurus.  One of our most notable leaders is Dr. Ian Dunbar, who was responsible for bringing dog training methods out of the too-harsh-for-puppies dark ages to the modern reward-based puppy classes of today due to his creation of the lure/reward method of training. 

Most of the time when positive reinforcement-based trainers talk about rewarding behavior we are referring to using food.  Since most dogs love to eat, and an edible tidbit is very easy to work with, food is the most commonly offered reinforcement. 

Before 1981 when Dr. Ian Dunbar developed the first Sirius Puppy Class, training wasn't recommended for puppies under 6 months old.  The only training methods available at the time involved physical force using training tools such as choke collars, and were considered to be too harsh for young puppies.  Dr.

I sometimes take Madigan, my 9 year old border collie, to classes with me.  The last time I did this she jumped on all the people, barked at me when I wasn't paying her attention, and refused to hold a stay once I took my eyes off her.  Mind you, I'm teaching this class.  This is the dog who represents me and my skills in training.  I was humiliated and wanted to hand her to the nearest stranger and say, "Is this your dog?  I don't know where she came from!"

I've been trying for days to write an upbeat piece for the blog, but my heart isn't in it. 

By now most people have heard about the shooting and killing of Bear-Bear, the young husky whose only crime was playing like a dog in an off-leash park in Severn, MD.  In brief, last Monday night off-duty cop Keith Shepherd and his wife, Wendy, brought their German shepherd into this park on a leash, Bear-Bear approached and engaged with the GSD, and Shepherd pulled out a 9mm gun and blasted a hollow point bullet into the husky's body.  He claims that he, his wife and his dog were being attacked.  There were no injuries sustained to any of them.  Bear-Bear died as a result of his extensive injuries after suffering for 6 hours.

When I first started training dogs, I'll admit that I was pretty ignorant about how to communicate with them.  Like many long-time dog owners and lovers, I *thought* I was pretty savvy about understanding their language.  I could read what they were telling me to some extent.  If a dog's tongue was hanging out of his mouth while his butt danced the jig, I knew I was looking at a friendly dog.  If he held himself crouched on the ground and his tail was tucked, that told me the dog was frightened.   That's pretty basic stuff.

Though I still had a lot to learn about reading dogs, it was being able to talk back to them in their own language that was my biggest weak spot.  After all, we all know that when one speaks to a stranger, it's impolite if you don't establish eye contact, right?  Well, right for humans.  Very, very wrong for dogs. 

Speaking Dog 101

I have a little plastic box that cost $1.50 (plus tax) that I am convinced operates by magic. 

Okay, it's not magic.  It's simple operant conditioning using a specific marker sound, if you want to get all scientific about it.  But I do believe that there is something very special about the use of a clicker when training dogs.

Lure/Reward Training