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

Training troubles We all have “off” days when a training session isn’t going as well as we had hoped. Perhaps the dog is distracted, unfocused, or simply wanders off. Maybe

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

The quest for greatness One characteristic of a good shaper is flexibility—a willingness to change course based on new information coming in. Good science shares that characteristic. As

Is the end-of-session signal beneficial or harmful? Should trainers use it or not? At a conference, I got into a debate with a group of search-and-rescue trainers about

Run toward the sun In busy families, the front door seems to be in perpetual motion, constantly revolving and providing myriad opportunities for escape. Friends and clients who

A Mysterious Change in Behavior A few years ago, a search-and-rescue trainer named Sharon asked me to help problem-solve a perplexing case. Her dog, an energetic five-year-old Lab

Scents, in many scenarios Scent-detection training has been receiving more attention in recent years. The use of dogs to alert on explosives has become increasingly critical in our

I’ve always been fascinated by the cognitive abilities of animals. I used to teach a graduate course on animal intelligence. The popularity of the course was indicative of

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

If a dog is taught through positive reinforcement to love the crate, the crate becomes his own private and safe place, much like a bedroom for a child. The crate

Sound familiar? The 4 Fs of fear Many dogs struggle to stay relaxed when they see another dog, a person, or a specific environmental stimulus, and end up reacting