Training

My friend has super fast dogs, and they compete in agility. I always imagined that the magnets on the back of her vehicle indicated just how fast they could run: MACH speeds! And C-ATCH: Catch me if you can! Obviously my Border Collie, Duncan, and I didn't get far enough in our brief agility career to earn any titles (he preferred to make up his own courses). But when my curiosity got the better of me and I looked into what, exactly, those letters on my friend's car actually meant, I quickly learned that there are countless titles and certifications that can be bestowed upon our canine companions.

a 3-year-old Labrador-mix

Okay, I'll confess: I'm a lousy housekeeper. So when I first saw the YouTube videos starring Jessie the Jack Russell Terrier, who has been trained to do countless household chores, I found the idea of training my dogs to help me with the housework quite appealing.

Clever Hans was a German horse in the early 1900s who was supposedly able to solve math problems and perform other amazing tasks. His owner, math teacher, amateur horse trainer, and mystic Wilhelm von Osten, said Hans could add, subtract, multiply, divide, work with fractions, tell time, keep track of the calendar, differentiate musical tones, and read, spell, and understand German. When given a math problem either orally or in writing, Hans would answer by tapping his hoof.

I remember, years ago, confidently and assertively telling my training academy students "Dogs don't learn through imitation." But, degree by degree, I've been proven to be wrong.

There’s a good chance you’ve heard the phrase, “Any time you are with your dog you are training.” It’s commonly spoken by dog trainers as a way of reminding clients that their dogs are constantly being reinforced for behaviors – by the owner, by others, and by the environment. Behaviors that are reinforced increase in frequency, durability and strength. It behooves you to pay attention to what’s happening in your dog’s world so you can make sure he doesn’t have the opportunity to be reinforced for behaviors you don’t want, and even more importantly, so you can make sure you reinforce behaviors that you like.

It's fairly common for dogs to be placed for adoption with a caveat that there should be no cats

so getting him to touch the bells took just a matter of moments. However

How to exercise yourself at the same time you exercise your dog was the subject of Fitness Together" in the April 2013 issue of WDJ. But there are many reasons the human half of the equation may not be up for much physical exercise

Service dogs for people with diabetes are the “tattletales” of the dog world, according to Rita Martinez, co-author of a new book, Training Your Diabetic Alert Dog. The job for these special dogs is to notice a change in a person’s blood glucose level, and then tell that person about it. If that person doesn’t “listen” to the dog or isn’t able to respond, then a diabetic alert dog may tell someone else!

Dr. Hare opened the Duke Canine Cognition Center (DCCC) in the fall of 2009. With his wife and co-author Vanessa Woods (a research scientist at DCCC, as well as an award-winning journalist and author of Bonobo Handshake), Hare wrote the book to provide a comprehensive review of what they’ve been studying at the DCCC – everything about dog cognition or, as they call it, “dognition.” Their goal was to bring historical and current information about canine cognition to the general public. In the not-too-distant past, if you heard the word “dog” and “mind” in the same sentence, someone was probably talking about obedience, as in: “My dog minds pretty well.” Or, “You’d better mind me, or else!” Today, if you hear those two words in relation to each other, you are at least as likely to be listening to someone talking about canine cognition – the fascinating possibility that dogs are far more able to process thoughts and grasp concepts than previously given credit for.

Shelter volunteer Katherine Kekel stood at the end of a long hallway and struggled to keep a grip on Tia, a pit bull-mix, as the dog strained at her harness. Unable to contain the dog any longer, Katherine let go. The well-muscled dog sprinted down the hallway, put on the brakes, and made a sharp right turn into a small room. The hunt was on! Tia was playing K9 Nose Work® at the Cherokee County Animal Shelter (CCAS) in Canton, Georgia. Her prey? A cotton swab scented with birch essential oil.