An ongoing debate among dog trainers is the use of and need for punishment. Some trainers use primarily punishment to train dogs. Some use primarily positive reinforcement and try to avoid using any punishment. Most fit somewhere along the spectrum. Some say you can have a highly trained reliable dog without the use of punishment. [...]
In my last post (October 2010), I discussed my evaluation of a dog who had bitten someone. In my evaluation, I determined that most likely this dog had been placed in a high stress situation with many factors contributing to the bite. In normal circumstances - ones without several stressful factors added one on top [...]
Sometimes I wonder why certain people bring a puppy home. They clearly have unrealistic expectations and little patience. Not a good combination for someone living with a puppy. I met this particular puppy last summer. She was a very friendly, happy puppy who got along well with all the other puppies and the people. She [...]
