The Animal Behavior Nerd

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The Animal Behavior Nerd The adventures of Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Rachel Golub. Serving San Diego and Riverside Counties. Specializing in aggression, reactivity, and fear.

Dog training, behavior modification, and luxury boarding provided by Certified Behavior Consultants.

Adopt Klifford! This literally perfect tri-pod gentleman is available for adoption at our Brandywine Valley SPCA - DC lo...
06/13/2026

Adopt Klifford! This literally perfect tri-pod gentleman is available for adoption at our Brandywine Valley SPCA - DC location. He was an absolute delight to hang out with yesterday at our Ivy City Adoption Center location. He loves everyone he meets and is convinced he’s a lap dog. He’s only a year old, did great with my kiddos and others he met, and was completely unfazed by the barky dogs around him at the event. He may only have 3 legs but what he lacks in legs, he makes up for in love! Adopt Klifford today!

Just a reminder that the sole purpose of this tool is to use pain to stop a behavior. No way around it.Trainers will say...
10/29/2022

Just a reminder that the sole purpose of this tool is to use pain to stop a behavior. No way around it.

Trainers will say it’s a “communication tool” which is somewhat accurate but the goal is to communicate that if the dog doesn’t stop what they’re doing, you will hurt them. That’s intimidation and causes fear.

I also often hear that it’s just a tool that’s used to decrease pulling just like a no-pull harness. No-pull harnesses due inhibit pulling but they do not use the threat of pain to accomplish it.

I choose to not use pain and fear to achieve my training goals. I’m not ok with opting for damaging the relationship with the animal to achieve a contrived behavior that is not natural to dogs. I have the luxury of knowing how to train without intimidation and fear. That luxury isn’t exclusive to me and anyone who has the interest can learn those same skills.

Beardie had a blast showing off his biker dude costume at ‘s Bark on the Boards event today. Beardie is one of the many...
10/15/2022

Beardie had a blast showing off his biker dude costume at ‘s Bark on the Boards event today. Beardie is one of the many amazing Animal Assisted Therapy pets that provide emotional support for the residents at Baylor’s Women’s Correctional Institute! Fun fact, you can target train and teach other fun behaviors with reptiles too! Beardie’s preferred reinforcers are super worms and microgreens.

So stoked for us to have a bird again! This male red tail is already read to free fly after just under 3 weeks of traini...
10/09/2022

So stoked for us to have a bird again! This male red tail is already read to free fly after just under 3 weeks of training.

I think one of the most harmful dog training myths is “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Dogs of any age can lear...
04/07/2021

I think one of the most harmful dog training myths is “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.

Dogs of any age can learn new behaviors! I’ve taught 10+ year old dogs to love their crates, to go to their beds on cue, to open doors, and the list goes on and on.

Senior dogs constantly get looked over in shelters and it’s such a shame. I understand not wanting the heartbreak of bringing home a dog and shortly after potentially having to say goodbye. I really do. But think of all that you’re giving to that dog. You’re showing them the love, kindness, and dignity of being in a home for their final days, months, years.

Adopt a senior dog if you can. Please. Like this beautiful lady, Luna. She’s a 9+ year old female mixed breed (looks like a malinois mix to me but 🤷‍♀️). She loves to have her face rubbed, loves to go for walks, loves a good nap, and doesn’t care about other dogs on walks. Meet Luna at our New Castle location and give her the love she deserves!

10/11/2020

The moment when a touch sensitive dog not only play bows with you but also solicits petting is so exciting.

Dylan is a 14 year old Pom mix who’s owner is currently in a hospital and is terminal. Dylan had been alone in the home for quite some time before coming to us. He was understandably scared and confused on intake. He tried to bite several people (including me) due to his fear and confusion.

I’ve been building a relationship with the little cutie through the kennel for the past few weeks and yesterday he let me take him out. When I brought him in my office it took him a bit to acclimate but then he not only started play bowing and playing with toys but he also solicited petting from me. This is such a huge deal for him. After some time he even let me pet down his back and tail briefly. We will continue to work on two way consent to petting and rewarding him for tolerating little bits at a time.

Hopefully we can get this little guy into a foster or rescue where he can continue to become more comfortable with handling and new people.

I’m growing increasingly more aware of the reality that our beloved Prancer may not be with us much longer. There’s a se...
08/23/2020

I’m growing increasingly more aware of the reality that our beloved Prancer may not be with us much longer. There’s a sense of relief and an immense sadness that comes with that realization.

Prancer has been the reason we haven’t been able to go on a vacation in 11 years, why we can’t have guests come over without a strict management routine, why trips to the veterinarian are highly coordinated and stressful events. Living and loving a dog who’s aggressive to strangers is so incredibly challenging and even as a professional behavior consultant, it’s emotionally draining.

Prancer has given our family so much love and a constant sense of protection. I wouldn’t change a moment of our time with him but I’m also incredibly aware of how much more freedom our family will have once he’s passed. That’s such a hard thing to write but it is the truth.

Much like many of my adopters and clients who’ve loved a reactive, fearful, or aggressive dog, I’m not sure I will ever have another dog with severe behavior issues after Prancer. These dogs give and teach you so much but it is not without sacrifice and pain.

Again, Prancer has been and always will be one of my soul dogs. When he passes we will all be devastated but we are so thankful for all he’s taught us. The tireless protector of my babies will always be our special boy.

If you haven’t heard the latest episode from ’s podcast check it out now! In it I briefly mention training hornbills to ...
08/15/2020

If you haven’t heard the latest episode from ’s podcast check it out now! In it I briefly mention training hornbills to station and it got me reminiscing about working with birds. I’ve worked with so many species of animals but dogs and birds will always be my favorites. Not only have I had the pleasure of training them to do cool things like free fly and come back but I’ve also had the pleasure of hand raising quite a few. This handsome dude is a Southern Ground Hornbill and I had the pleasure of caring for his parents along with siblings from different hatch dates. If you’re a dog trainer who’s never trained another species, I highly recommend it. It’ll humble you in ways you’d never expect.

08/14/2020

As we previously shared, Milo is a dog who displays behaviors associated with a heightened state of arousal. If you look at arousal on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest state of arousal, even without any environmental factors, Milo is generally at a 6.

Milo’s level goes up to about an 8 or 9, sometimes 10 when you add people into the equation. Milo adores his people and revels in the joy of being petted but when that petting stops, Milo doesn’t know what to do with himself and will grab onto his person in an attempt to continue the petting.

In this video you’ll see the result of several weeks of training Milo to 1) go to his station, the bed 2) lay on the station with duration 3) the combination of these behaviors equals the human engaging him in a variety of different ways including toys, petting, or treat delivery. The goal of this was to give Milo some control over when he can request interaction from the human rather than attempting to get it on his own by jumping up and grabbing onto the person wherever they may be.

Most normal adopters will engage in petting and sitting with their newly adopted dog so in this video we’re trying to teach Milo the skills needed to exist in these types of situations. Dogs like Milo need almost a constant stream of feedback on the new behaviors they’ve learned to keep them on track. You’ll notice the repeated words and tones I use. I’ve used these tones and words incredibly consistently with Milo so that he can somewhat understand their meeting and associate them with my behaviors and expectations.

I also break up our interactions by tossing the toy away from the station and encouraging him to retrieve it. I do this so that 1) he learns to take breaks on his own 2) it gives him an outlet for that arousal before it boils over and 3) it teaches him an alternate behavior for his mouthing.

When you and the new stray that came in’s hair are the samesies. The humidity doesn’t agree with either of our coiffures...
08/12/2020

When you and the new stray that came in’s hair are the samesies. The humidity doesn’t agree with either of our coiffures. Live in Philly? Recognize this adorable troll dog? Send them out way!

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