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The Importance of Cooperative Care

    Last week I took my dogs in for their annual wellness exam. We had the usual shuffle and reminder — “No, it’s Penny’s turn on the exam table now, you wait on your station for your turn” — but overall, things went very well. Both dogs stationed to wait their turn politely (and were paid with treats for their quiet downs), and both dogs participated willingly in their voluntary blood draws, shots, and physical exams.

    The vet tech said the process was “very refreshing,” not having to struggle with a scared animal. I was happy because my pets were happy–we don’t have pets to scare them!–and because we didn’t have to wrestle two large dogs.

    Meanwhile, I watched a dozen dogs dragged or carried to exam rooms, scrabbling on the floor to get away or crying in distress. And that’s sad, because it’s so unnecessary.

    Training crazy dogs from over-the-top to under-control book cover, dogs in action.

    Please welcome the revised edition(s)!

      I am very pleased to announce that Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out has a new revised version!

      It has somehow been ten years since the first publication of Fired Up, and the book has gone further than I had ever dreamed. A lot can change in ten years, however–not the basic theory of reinforcing good behavior, and not the concepts for teaching coping skills before they’re needed under duress, no, but other things. Many links to resources were outdated, as organizations reorganized their websites or took materials offline, for example.

      A black Doberman chilling in a red chair.

      Practice Those Recalls

        It’s no secret that coming when called is important. It keeps me from chasing a fast creature with twice as many legs as I have, and it can save a dog’s life, if she gets… 

        Canine rescue training with service dogs at Canines In Action.

        Optimizing Zoom for Remote Training

          Whether you’ve signed up for remote training sessions due to the pandemic or whether you’ve been taking advantage of long distance opportunities, virtual sessions can be a valuable and effective part of your training program. I’ve found virtual training to be surprisingly good in general and especially helpful with these benefits:

          • Anxious or fearful dogs may be better able to learn without a stranger in the home.
          • Travel time is eliminated, freeing up both trainer and client schedules and allowing for specialist sessions despite distance (and reducing mileage costs).
          • Clients can replay recorded sessions to review coaching if needed.
          • Clients need only declutter a small area without worrying about a visiting trainer seeing the rest of the house! (Don’t worry, though. Seriously, we’re not judging.)

          Zoom is great for virtual and remote sessions, however, Zoom was designed for meetings with humans speaking with human voices, and by design it attempts to suppress other sounds. This is great for muffling background noise during a complex financial meeting, but it’s not as helpful when we’re trying to hear a properly-timed click or subtle animal vocalizations! Here’s how you can optimize your Zoom settings to make your sessions as clear and helpful as possible. These instructions are for the Zoom app on a computer (not a mobile app or in a browser).

          Doberman Undómiel chews on pumpkin

          Enrichment (Productivity, Sanity) in a Time of Social Distancing

            woman seated in chair head wrapped in silicone and plaster, with black Labrador puppy leaning into her lap and soliciting petting
            No worries! This was during a bodycasting session and she’s fine. Penny was unfazed by the weird faceless human. #socialization

            As many of you know, Clicker Expo was cancelled at the last minute last weekend. While we were all, attendees and faculty, disappointed (to put it mildly), I absolutely support the decision. I’m not going to talk about the math and what should have been done here before now, because that’s readily available. Today I want to talk about best behavioral practices in a time of increased isolation and even quarantine.

            Let’s talk about behavior and enrichment in both people and pets.

            A New Clicker Training Book, For Kids

              “When are you going to do a kids’ book?” I kept hearing. “About clicker training, but written for kids?”

              Dragons, Unicorns, Chimeras, & Clickers

              I thought a clicker training book for kids was a great idea. Clicker training is not only good training, it’s available to people who are not big, strong, or dexterous enough to use traditional coercive techniques, and I am in full support of teaching young minds to use positive reinforcement and thoughtful planning instead of force or punishment to get what they want. However, I couldn’t figure out how I should do it.

              Podcasts about Books & Training!

                Active woman training service dog outdoors, promoting canine training and assistance.

                I had the opportunity to chat with Melinda Schiller on her fantastic Elite Pets Podcast, in two episodes themed around my training books. We had some great questions about training and problem-solving and problem-prevention.

                (Also there’s a bit of news hidden in the Fired Up talk!)

                You can catch each of the episodes online:

                Dog lying on bed, canine comfort, Canines In Action.

                What did you do?!

                  naughty playful puppy dog after biting a pillow tired of hard work

                  Guys, I cannot tell you how important it is to teach puppies that “What do you have?” and “What did you do?” are the best phrases on earth.

                  From the first times my puppy is “naughty” — and let’s be honest, it’s a puppy, it’s going to get into things you thought you had safeguarded — I try very hard to teach them that bringing me stuff is the very best of all options. You found a sock? Fantastic! You stole a chicken breast a guest left on a low table? I’m so glad you showed me! Are you parading my underwear through the living room in front of my in-laws? Excellent!

                  Still An Easy Pill To Swallow

                    I’ve written before about training my dogs to take undisguised pills on cue. There’s a host of benefits to this:

                    • I don’t have to worry about hiding the pills
                    • I don’t have to worry about coming up with ever better tricks as my dogs get better at finding hidden pills
                    • There’s no loss of trust when I hand my dog something she thinks is a treat and it turns out to be a pill (cue extreme side-eye)
                    • I don’t have to guess whether the pills been actually swallowed or saved to spit later