Sundog Pet Services

11/03/2022

💯💯

09/17/2022

We could not agree more with Academy grad Katherine Davidson of Dog Inspired: the sooner we teach puppies that the world is safe and that they can use their behavior to produce consequences that work for them (and us!), the better!

05/25/2022

I understand. You don’t want to use treats to train your dog because he should learn appropriate behavior without having to be bribed. If you reward him with treats, it degrades more important rewards such as your approval. He’ll never learn right and wrong. You want him to respect you. He’ll ...

08/11/2021

AVSAB has come out with yet even more current, up to date statements regarding training etc for animals based on research, not popular media. Be wary of what advice you see.

https://avsab.org/resources/position-statements/?fbclid=IwAR34lQp1_POX9BWdpCJGnqCAv5CrYP8E64y2XtVuaVr1bNf98N8OfeXoYrc

These position statements were developed through the cooperation of the members of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) and reflect the opinion of this association on a variety of topics related to the field of animal behavior. If you would like to order color copies, click on....

12/30/2020

Consequences are important!

Just a little reminder: Consequences drive behavior. How often would you bake if it no longer yielded cakes and cookies? Dog behavior works the same way: When we remove the motivating consequence, the behavior goes away too.

11/20/2020

𝗧 𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿.

At The Academy, all training plans start with what the dog can do right now and end with the terminal behavior. This is usually decided during the initial consultation with the client, i.e. what do they want the dog to do at the conclusion of training?

The terminal should read like a clear and precise contract (e.g. when the client returns from the grocery with bags, the dog will go to mat on a verbal cue, lie down, and stay for 5 minutes while the client unpacks groceries) rather than an idea with fuzzy criteria (e.g. the dog won't jump when the client puts away groceries).

The clearer the trainer is on what exactly the dog will do at the end of the plan, the clearer it will be to the dog.

10/22/2020

Forcing your puppy into a situation that makes them nervous or scared isn’t going to let them “get over it”. It’s much to make them more nervous/scared.

𝗦 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

It's a dog trainer's nightmare. With more exposure to the problem stimulus, the dog isn't getting any better. In fact, he's getting worse. He's become more fearful, more aggressive.

This is the reason that Academy students are taught to manage the environment so that clients' dogs are only exposed to "a version of the problem that isn't a problem." This means that the intensity of the stimulus is presented at a level that elicits no fear at all.

As practitioners, we bear the responsibility of not making our clients' dogs worse.