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Puppy
Puppy Training – A Matter Of Life & Death
- Article by Lisbeth for all puppy owners. (PDF)
AVSAB Position Statement On Puppy Socialization
– Link to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s (AVSAB) on www.AVSABonline.com position statement on the importance of puppy socialization. (PDF)
Puppy Socialization Checklist
- A checklist to help you make the most of your puppy’s socialization programme. (PDF)
The Puppy and the Young Dog – About Growing Up
- by Turid Rugaas, published on the Norwegian Canis website. When dogs raise their puppies in the wild, everything seems to go perfectly and the puppies grow up to be perfect wild dogs. When humans raise puppies into dogs, they run into trouble. Why?
10 Easy Steps To Housetrain Your Dog
- by Valarie V Tynes DVM DACVB, and published on the website veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com. You can easily teach your dog to eliminate in an acceptable location by keeping a close eye, recognizing his signals, understanding his instincts, and rewarding his appropriate behavior. (PDF)
Children & Dogs
Teresa’s Bad Rules
- Link to the doggonesafe website’s list of dos and don’ts to promote child safety around dogs and prevent dog bites.
Dog Training
What Is Clicker Training?
- Link to clickertraining.com’s introduction page.
Getting Started With the Clicker
– 15 short pieces of advice from Karen Pryor. (PDF)
Behavior Blueprints by Dr Ian Dunbar
- link to Dr Ian Dunbar’s website, with free training advice articles for download, on issues such as housetraining, destructive chewing, excessive barking, digging, pulling on leash, and also cat manners.
Understanding Training Methods
- by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers at www.apdt.com.
Teaching Three Dogs to Sit Quietly Before Going Out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJrPN83PTQM
Learning Science & Ethology
AskDrYin.com
- link to Dr Sophia Yin’s website. Dr Yin is a graduate of the UD Davis Schoool of Veterinary Medicine, with an undergarduate degree in biochemistry. She earned her Master’s in Animal Science in 2001 from U Davis where she studied vocal communication in dogs and worked on behavior modification in horses, giraffes, ostriches, and chickens. She is a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist and on the executive board fo the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.
Calming Signals – The Art of Survival
- link to an article by Turid Rugaas on the Norwegian Canis website, about how dogs use their unspoken language to signal emotions and intentions. We humans need to learn to understand this Dog Language so that we can have a good life together.
Calming Signals – A Gallery
- link to a collection of photos showing various use of calming signals, published on the Norwegian Canis website.
Dog Body Language by PerfectPawsStudios
- link to a series of seminar videos presented by behaviorist Jean Donaldson. Jean is a sought-after seminar speaker and has written a number of famous books, like “The Culture Clash” and “Oh Behave! Dogs from Pavlov to Premack to Pinker”. Make sure to turn up the sound and listen carefully!
Operant Conditioning Quadrant
- Principles of Positive and Negative Reinforcement, and Positive and Negative Punishment. (PDF)
Myths & Facts about
Dominance, Punishment, and Aggression
Leadership Versus Dominance
- A short article by Nicole Wilde CPDT, from the website www.willworkfortreats.com. (PDF)
The Use of Punishment for Behavior Modification in Animals
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) Position Statement on the use of punishment in training and the reasons why it should not be used as a first-line or early-use treatment for behavior problems because of its potential adverse effects. Source: www.avsabonline.org. (PDF)
10 Life-Treatening Behavior Myths
- by Valarie V Tynes DVM DACVB on the Advanstar’s dvm360.com website. Dr Tynes discusses ten common myths about animals, particularly canine, behavior-misconceptions that may increase the likelihood that a pet will develop a behavior problem and, thus, can lead to the pet’s abandonment or euthanasia.
Why Punishment Fails; What Works Better
- by Valarie V Tynes DVM DACVB on the Advanstar’s dvm360.com website. Punishment often fails to solve behaviour problems, can cause behaviour problems and should not be the first training method of choice. Positive reinforcement training, in which animals are rewarded for appropriate behaviors, is safer and more effective.
Dominance Theory in Behavior Modification of Animals
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) Position Statement on the definition of dominance and why its application to human-animal interactions can pose problems. Source: www.avsabonline.org. (PDF)
If You’re Aggressive, Your Dog Will Be, Too
- This report, on the University of Pennsylvania website www.upenn.edu, is a summary of a veterinary study into aggressiveness generated by confrontational or aversive methods.
Have You Heard? Aggression Begets Aggression
- Source: Herron ME, Shofer FS, Reisner IR. Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesirable behaviors. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2009;117:47-54. (Audiofile at Advanstar’s dvs360.com website)
Can I Train My Dog Just Like They Do On TV?
- from the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) at www.apdt.com. (PDF)
Whatever Happened to the Term ALPHA Wolf?
- by Dr L David Mech, an internationally recognized wolf expert and senior research scientist for the US Geological Survey, adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota and vice chair of the International Wolf Center. Dr Mech has studied wolves for 50 years and published several books and many articles about them. Dr Mech was the wildlife research biologist who originally coined the term “Alpha Wolf”, a term which he is now clarifying and correcting in this article. The article was published by www.wolf.org Winter 2008. (PDF)
How to Find a Dog Trainer
Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partners
- a search engine for trainers that have been certified through the Karen Pryor Academy programme. KPA-certified trainers have completed an extensive educational program, and scored the highest marks on detailed assessments of their technical knowledge and hands-on skill teaching pet owners and training dogs. They have pledged to teach and train using force-free principles and techniques.
APDT Trainer Search
- a search engine on trainers that are members of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
Behavior Professionals Statement / How to Choose a Trainer
- A position statement published by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) on their website, www.avsabonline.org, which reviews the different types of individuals who can work with behavior issues and what the various qualifications mean, as well as a statement reviewing some methods a pet owner can use to help locate a quality trainer for their dog. (PDF)
Finding Help for a Pet with a Behavioral Problem
- A position statement published by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) on their website, www.avsabonline.org, which briefly explains how a pet owner should go about finding help when faced with a behavior problem in a pet. (PDF)