Picture the possibilities Imagine teaching your dog to put his hind feet—just his hind feet—on a mat. Or, imagine teaching your cat to give a high-five. What if

What is the natural relationship? “They fight like cats and dogs.”  This saying reflects the commonly held belief that dogs and cats just can’t get along because they

This training game is derived from a dolphin research project in which I and others participated, “The creative porpoise: training for novel behavior,” published in the Journal of

I am asked regularly, “What are the first behaviors that we should train our animals? Does the order matter? How do we determine what should be trained first?”

Luring is legal Let me start by saying that if you decide to use a food lure, you are NOT committing a “training felony,” and the “’lure police” will

Free shape—or not? Free shaping is a type of animal training where you teach the behaviors in gradual steps using a marker, like a clicker, and rewards. Shaping can be a great

Be my Valentine? February means Valentine’s Day, a happy time for me as a child. I lived with the principal of our school, Mrs. Sturley, who set up

When we first start out clicker training, we tend to get very excited about the fact that we can teach the dog a new behavior in just a few clicks. Suddenly,

Clicker training is a terrific, science-based way to communicate with your pet. You can clicker train any kind of animal, of any age. Puppies love it. Old dogs