DogRelations

08/08/2026

We had some very good practice settling down at a checkout counter and then purposely dropping stuff right next to Byron! He has such a good reinforcement history for settling and staying!!🥰♥️🐾🐾

08/06/2026

Little Rue is going to bring her person her medication. Since there is another dog in the household we have to keep the medicine bottle safely inside the cabinet. Today we were figuring out the best texture for the pull mechanism.. and learned how to open the cabinet!

08/01/2026

07/31/2026

A treat is not naturally a reward.

Is it really rewarding? Poorly chosen gifts put you into a very awkward position. For example, if I give you vanilla custard because I think it's delicious but you dislike the texture, how happy will you be if offered vanilla custard as a special treat? Or your foot hurts and someone takes you dancing? Is it rewarding just because "it should be"?

Rewards or opportunities for reinforcement need to be calculated carefully. Regardless of whether we use food or functional rewards in life or in dog training, it's so important to be sensitive to the learner: what the circumstances are at the time, and whether we're giving as much information and satisfaction as possible in our reward and reinforcement delivery.

Only after we consider the conditions under which learning is happening, and recognize what the learner finds rewarding and what the learner already knows, can we make it fun for both. Understanding, fairness, and consistency in the way we interact is key.

I wrote about all of this in my latest article:
https://dogrelations.substack.com/p/treat-delivery

07/24/2026

Before I ever trained a dog, I was a violinist.

On the "Dog Save The People" podcast I talked with John Bartlett about how those two lives came together: my first client was Lou Reed's dog, I've taught dogs to play music, and somewhere along the way dogs moved to the center of my life.

Music and training have more in common than you might think. Both depend on listening, timing, and clear communication and on the joy of learning something together.

Listen to the full conversation:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/classical-companions-w-elisabeth-weiss/id1448576464?i=1000447330571

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Rqplm9lTrgGVvnJu4Nl1E

07/23/2026

😇🤩🥰🐾

07/05/2026

Clearly marking first, then rewarding 🐾🌸

06/28/2026

Inspired by the

06/21/2026

Life of a service dog in crowded elevator to blocking/ protecting for unknown spaces/riding on floor of car/ restaurant manners/ walking on loose leash going to play ball🤩🐾

06/19/2026