When the dog is experiencing competing motivations, the behavior displayed will depend upon which motivation is stronger at that time. Learning and motivation go hand in hand. Without motivation, learning the correct response may not occur. They key to remember is that behaviors can be taught, but are under the control of the dog’s emotional state at all times. There are two stages of learning. The first is the acquisition stage. The second is the maintenance stage. Pia will go over the key poin...
Aug 19, 2009•34 min
When we work with dogs, it is critical to understand what is motivating the dog to perform and what might be motivating the dog to do something else. Karen Pryor, a behavioral biologist with an international reputation in two fields, marine mammal biology and behavioral psychology, will talk to us about modern, force-free animal training. These methods are being used around the world in zoos to help animals deal with being handled to avoid putting them under anesthesia for simple treatments such...
Aug 07, 2009•35 min
In Session #10, you taught your dog to walk nicely on leash. However, there may be times when you want your dog to walk next to your side and not six feet in front or behind you. Times when I use heel might be in a highly trafficked area, when walking in the street and a car is passing by or walking down a path where there might be another dog approaching. More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - TRAINING SESSION #14 -- "HEEL" -- Teaching Your Dog to Walk By Your Side - with Pia Silvani on Pet...
Jul 08, 2009•33 min
The pet service industry is growing in leaps and bounds each day, especially with the economic changes and people out of work. Americans shell out over $40 billion each year to care for their pets. While the benefits of dog care and off leash dog play can be wonderful, it might not be the right business for you or the right place for your dog. Caring for people’s beloved pets at your facility requires business skills, animal skills, people skills and money. There are joys and risks to owning a d...
Jun 24, 2009•32 min
Teaching your dog to stand still is an advanced behavior for most dogs since it takes a lot of self-control, especially when there are distractions present. However, it can be an extremely handy behavior when you need to wipe your dog’s muddy paws, give him a bath or clip his nails. Once your dog has learned to hold a reliable sit and down stay, a stand stay should not be very difficult. More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - TRAINING SESSION #13 -- "Stand Still!" -- Teaching Your Dog to Sta...
Jun 13, 2009•29 min
More and more pet owners are seeking holistic care for many reasons. The world of holistic care for dogs can be quite mysterious and confusing at the same time. The term holistic has become quite a buzzword and can easily be confused as to exactly what people mean when they call something holistic. "Dr. Doug" will talk to us about the most common holistic treatment methods, such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage therapy, herbal medicine, and homeopathy. In addition, we will learn how co...
May 28, 2009•31 min
Being able to send your dog to a mat, dog bed or crate from a distance will come in handy more than you know. It can be used to get your dog away from the front door, relax during mealtime, avoid being stepped on and much more. There are several methods to teaching this behavior so we will go over a few in this session. More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Clicker Basics for Dogs and Puppies - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com...
Apr 02, 2009•30 min
What is clicker training and why is it so popular? A clicker is simply a tool, just like your dog’s leash and collar that helps you train your dog. It’s a small plastic box with a mechanism that, when pressed, makes a clicking sound. Clicker training is a special form of positive reinforcement training that emphasizes the use of two types of reward: a primary reward and a secondary reward. Once your dog becomes "clicker savvy", meaning that he really understands the meaning of the click, he may ...
Mar 28, 2009•32 min
Teaching your dog to move away from doorways, hot ovens, the refrigerator and more can come in very handy when you are carrying something or want your dog to avoid getting hurt. This is especially necessary for small dogs since they can easily be stepped on. Once your dog has learned to move back, we will work on getting him to sit or lie down away from you. This can come in handy if your dog is at a distance and you need him to be still or when he is riding in a car and blocking your view. More...
Mar 16, 2009•31 min
Do you come home to find complaints from your neighbors taped to your door about your barking dog? Do you have to put your dog outside when guests come to the door because he barks uncontrollably? Does your dog seem to be constantly "on patrol", barking at every person, animal or sound that he sees or hears? If so, you have a barking dog problem. In this interview, we talk to certified animal behaviorist Dr. Daniel Estep about why dogs bark excessively and what can be done to reduce or stop prob...
Mar 06, 2009•36 min
Many of you are probably experiencing the problem of your puppy or pulling on leash. As with most behavior problems, this does not simply go away with age. In fact, the older and larger your puppy gets, the worse it can become. To allow your puppy or dog to pull actually tells your him that pulling is acceptable because the more you reward a behavior, even ones you do not like, the stronger the behavior becomes. Many owners inadvertently teach their dogs the fine art of mushing by yanking and pu...
Mar 06, 2009•30 min
There are many contributing factors that cause behavioral problems in pets. Some of these factors include poor training techniques, lack of understanding on how pets communicate, environmental factors, and medical issues. In addition an animal’s genetic predisposition and underlying neurochemistry are also factors that can lead to behavioral problems such as aggression, anxiety, panic, house-soiling, feather picking etc…..If the behavioral problems stems in part or solely due to underlying neuro...
Jan 29, 2009•36 min
A very common behavior problem that people deal with is jumping up on people to greet. Most puppies and dogs jump on people out of excitement, friendliness, and as a means to seek attention. Inadvertently, people pay attention to a jumping puppy by pushing her off, by making eye contact, and/or by petting her. Most of your houseguests are being polite by telling you they do not mind, when, in fact, they really do. You must teach your dog that jumping is not a way to greet humans or get attention...
Jan 22, 2009•31 min
Throughout the past several thousand years, we have tried to understand and organize personality types using the stars, skull shapes, tea leaves, and the human mind. Finally, there is a more reliable - if often higher-shedding - system for understanding yourself and the other two-legged creatures around you: dogology. Yes dogs. Dogs can talk. Vicki Croke and Sarah Wilson, the world's first practicing dogologists, have been jotting it all down, forming this fool-proof personality-analyzing system...
Jan 15, 2009•29 min
Two weeks ago, we started to establish a good foundation for getting our dogs to come to us by finding our feet and sitting until released. This week, you will expand upon that by breaking the "recall chain" down into three different links. Think of a recall as a chain of behaviors, consisting of three links. If one link is broken, your dog will not come to you. You will work on the three links separately, and eventually you will put them all together. More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - ...
Dec 29, 2008•1 min
Too much emphasis has been placed on comparing the similarities of domestic dogs and wolves and not enough on recognizing the significant differences between these 2 species. This unilateral and misguided focus has perpetuated myths about dominance and the "need" for owners to be "alpha", which has had a significant negative impact on dog training and handling philosophies. The result has been a communication breakdown between owners and their dogs resulting in conflict for both parties. We will...
Dec 19, 2008•32 min
Too much emphasis has been placed on comparing the similarities of domestic dogs and wolves and not enough on recognizing the significant differences between these 2 species. This unilateral and misguided focus has perpetuated myths about dominance and the "need" for owners to be "alpha", which has had a significant negative impact on dog training and handling philosophies. The result has been a communication breakdown between owners and their dogs resulting in conflict for both parties. We will...
Dec 12, 2008•32 min
I like to use the word ‘HERE’ as my emergency recall word as opposed to the word ‘COME.’ Most people use the word ‘come’ in everyday life and tend to overuse it. For example, we might say ‘come on’ to our dogs when we want them to move along with us. Some say ‘come on, you know this’ when they are becoming frustrated with the dog. Others may have used the word ‘come’ to mean move to me but the dog only has a 50/50 success rate. If you want a really reliable recall, you need to ensure that the do...
Nov 20, 2008•32 min
One of the most common complaints that dog owners have is that their dogs cause problems when they are left alone. They bark, destroy things, house soil or escape from the property and cause headaches for the owners and their neighbors. These problems can be caused by a variety of different causes, from boredom to separation anxiety. The causes are often very different from what owners think they are, because they are NOT due to spite, revenge or just "acting out." In addition, Many dogs are lab...
Nov 10, 2008•35 min
Now that your dog is becoming proficient at waiting for permission to go through doorways by making eye contact, it is time for you to add distance between the two of you as well as distractions. If you have not taught your dog to "Wait", please refer back to Training Session #5 for the teaching steps. In this session, we will work on getting your dog to look away from distractions that he might want to run to and look for permission before he moves forward. It is nice to have a polite dog that ...
Oct 31, 2008•32 min
There is a type of dog called a bully. They consist of several breeds having a predisposition to be bullies (Pitbulls, Bull Terriers, Boxers), but the behaviors are not confined to one type of dog. They require "different" raising skills than many other dogs, including more work on impulse control and on appropriate body language. Having owned many different breeds, as well as a bully breed, Trish will give us some insight into what we need to do if we own a "bully" breed. More details on this e...
Oct 21, 2008•32 min
It is extremely important to teach your dog to "WAIT" - both for your convenience and for his safety. "WAIT" puts your dog on hold - it tells him to proceed no further. Whereas your release words grant permission to do something, "WAIT" denies permission. The most important use of "WAIT" is at doors - the doors of your home or other buildings and the doors of cars. When you use your release word ("OK!") and open a door, the dog is permitted to go through. When you say "WAIT," he is not permitted...
Oct 10, 2008•34 min
What’s the same, and what’s different? Recent advances in biology have underscored how much of our emotional lives are shared by our four-legged best friends, although it’s also important to be aware of the differences. However, we all experience emotions, but don’t always understand them. What are emotions? Do people and dogs share facial expressions when communicating their emotions and if so, how? Fear, anger, happiness, love, grief, jealousy and sympathy are all human emotions. Do dogs have ...
Sep 26, 2008•36 min
The purpose of adding distractions when you say "Stay" is to teach your dog that it is worth responding to your cues, despite the fact that the environment around your dog might be more interesting. Your dog should obey you anywhere, anytime, and under any circumstance. This is called reliability. You want to be able to rely on your dog to obey, no matter what. To get a high level of reliability, you must practice with your dog in new and different environments where distractions occur naturally...
Sep 10, 2008•36 min
Do dogs grieve the loss of a canine companion? Many owners wonder what the signs of grief in dogs are, and what they can do to help their beloved friend during difficult times. We will review the signs of grieving and what can be mistaken as grieving may have another cause. A list of things to do and not to do will also be discussed. More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Is My Dog Grieving? - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/p...
Sep 02, 2008•31 min
It’s important that you effectively communicate what you want from your dog. Remember, dogs do not understand English. They do not understand when you talk to them in sentences, paragraphs, or lectures. They are not born knowing what sit, down, stay or come mean. Dogs can learn quite a large vocabulary of words and short phrases. However, for each word or phrase you want him to respond to, you must carefully teach him what it means by communicating with him in a way he will understand. We commun...
Aug 18, 2008•38 min
Our interview will focus on adopting a dog from a shelter or rescue organization. I will be detailing specifically what behaviors to look for when meeting a dog or puppy, as well as what adopters can expect from the shelter system. More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Selecting the Right Dog from a Shelter - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teacher-s-pet-podcast-training-pets-pet-obedience-pet-life-radio-original--667...
Aug 10, 2008•32 min
To teach anything, you must first have your dog’s eye contact and attention. Everything you will do with your dog builds on this exercise. This is your foundation for getting reliable behaviors. When you say your dog’s name, your dog should look into your eyes. He should not continue doing what he was doing nor should you have to repeat his name over and over. You should get a good solid look into your eyes, not a glance, not a look at your treat pouch, your hand or elsewhere. Pia will go over t...
Aug 01, 2008•34 min
Summer can be a difficult time for noise phobic dogs as fireworks and thunderstorms occur throughout the summer. In severe cases, a dog’s fearful reactions can literally be life threatening as some dogs will engage in extreme measures attempting to get away from what to them are terrifying sounds. We’ll discuss the challenges in working with noise phobias, what’s helpful and what’s not, myths about "rewarding fear", management options, and why winter is the best time to work with these problems....
Jul 25, 2008•29 min
Training should be fun for both you and your dog. Positive reinforcement training to shape your dog's behavior encourages upbeat, enthusiastic responses and ensures that your dog will enjoy learning. First of all, we will talk about rewards. Getting the right reward will motivate your dog to perform that behavior again in hopes of getting another reward. You will find your dog’s motivational triggers, learn how to rate your rewards and when and how to use them. Now you need a signal to tell your...
Jul 19, 2008•30 min
