On Sharing Human Treats With Your Dog
The days of being able to just give your dog the same treats (frozen or otherwise) you are eating unfortunately are now gone. This article, “Vet-Approved Frozen Summer Treats for Dogs“, helps you steer clear of those treats that contain chemicals such as xylitol that are fine for you, but are toxic (perhaps even lethal) to your dog.
On Your New Puppy
“Rethinking Puppy Socialization“. Puppy Kindergarten is a great educational tool for you as a trainer and as part of a socialization program for your puppy. But it is only one of the things you should be doing with your new puppy.
“When Animals Train Us“. A short introduction to some important concepts of Operant Conditioning, one powerful technique which you may have heard referred to as ‘Clicker Training’. After you read the article, explore that site for other good articles.
“Suddenly Spooked“. It is easy to forget that dogs that are anywhere from 9 months to 18 months of age are in fact still puppies/adolescents. This article discusses the ‘secondary fear phase’ that is seen in dogs of this age and how best to deal with it.
And speaking of socialization: looking for some good places to socialize outside of class? Here are some suggestions:
On Maintaining Your Canine Athlete
Keeping your dog’s nails well maintained not only can prevent serious injuries, but is vital to ensuring your dog’s success at dog sports. Not sure how to do that? This article provides a good explanation.
Vaccinations are a critical tool in maintaining the health of your canine athlete and companion. There is of course of a lot of uninformed, conflicting advice to find online when you go searching for information on this. Dr. Coger of the Healthy Dog Workshop blog can help you navigate through some of it, particularly with regards to the question of titers.
On the Decision to Spay or Neuter
New dog owners in the United States are often routinely advised to spay or neuter their dog. But this is actually quite a complicated decision that should be evaluated for your own individual situation.
Spay/Neuter is usually the first opinion you’ll hear from many sources for a dog showing early or sudden signs of aggression or dominance. However, the actual science on this topic does not support this bit of ‘common knowledge’. And if the onset of this behavior was sudden, you are best advised to have him/her evaluated for any medical conditions or injuries that could be a cause of the change in behavior.
There are many risk/benefit factors to consider in each dog’s case. If you’re training at Oriole, chances are you’re interested in participating in dog sports. If you do decide that spay/neuter is the best choice for your household (as it often is), you may want to consider the effect it will have on your dog’s athletic potential and be mindful in your choice of the dog’s age at which the procedure should be done. This article, “Gonadectomy – Rethinking Long-Held Beliefs“, by respected canine sports veterinarian and researcher, Dr. Chris Zink, shows the current state of the research into this issue.
The same author shares their peer-reviewed study, published in the Jan 19, 2023 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) and which yielded the following results: “Owners provided valid surveys for 6,018 dogs, including 1,056 sexually intact, 1,672 castrated, and 58 vasectomized male dogs and 792 sexually intact, 2,281 spayed, and 159 female dogs that had undergone ovary-sparing spay. Longer exposure to gonadal hormones, regardless of reproductive status, was associated with reduced odds of general health problems and both problematic and nuisance behaviors”.
On Creating Trust and Attitude When Training
“Little Yellow Rowboats“. Many of the sports we participate in require attitude and confidence on the dog’s part in order to produce the drive to please and excel. This article demonstrates the importance of creating a training relationship in which the dog trusts that he knows exactly how to delight you.
Worried about keeping the trust when you realize you’re the one that made the mistake? Screw-up cookies may be your answer.
On Learning Theory
“What Dogs Do After Training Affects How Much They Remember“. A study at the University in Lincoln in the UK shows that the simple addition of a session of playful activity after a period of training can significantly add to the effectiveness and performance of a dog who is learning a new set of skills.
The science is in on the subject of NRMs, i.e. “No Reward Markers”. In the article, “Should Trainers Tell Dogs When Their Behavior Is Wrong?“, the author explains the results from a 2015 study that shows that, when you are first teaching (shaping) a behavior or trick, dogs learn faster when you ignore incorrect behaviors and reward only for correct behaviors.
On Food and Food Safety
“Sugar Substitute in Some Nut Butter Products Toxic to Dogs“. The use of xylitol as a sweetener is on the rise in food manufacturing and this substance is EXTREMELY toxic to dogs. Make sure you understand what to look for on a label not only for nut butter products, but other household products as well. This is important as the word xylitol may not actually appear on the label. The FDA has issued warnings about this substance and note that commonly used synonyms for xylitol in ingredient lists include Birch Sugar and Wood Sugar.
Not sure what to feed your dog? Let the DogFoodAdvisor site show you what to look for on the label so you can make an informed choice.
Suppose you’re trying to use food as the reward in your training program and don’t know how to keep the dog from taking it too roughly from your hand. Emily Larlham discusses how to teach a dog to take food gently in a free sample from one of her video tutorial series.
On Safety at Home and Traveling With Dogs
“Traveling Responsibly with Your Pet“: Useful safety tips whether traveling around town or to your next trial. This article also contains a link to a good “emergency info card” to keep in your vehicle.
“Home Safety Guide for Pet Owners“: Prevention is key. Check out this overview to verify that your home environment is safe for your dogs and your other pets.
Here’s something you can do in case of a car accident while traveling with your dog(s) from turning into a even larger tragedy. Consider creating a “In Case of Accident” card that you can affix to your dog’s crate. The format of the card below – supplied for free by barnhunt.com – does several things. It first assures any emergency personnel and veterinarians will know that you have made provisions for your dogs’ care. Then it details information about each dog for emergency crews in case you are incapacitated and can’t help them figure out who is who. To use this card, click on the image below, open it in Acrobat and fill out the form. Then right click in the arrow and choose “Add Image” to add a picture of your dog. Print, laminate, and attach to your crates!
Is your dog sick and you’re not sure what is or is not safe to give them? Here’s a handy chart identifying some appropriate medications:
On Adopting
“5 Common Mistakes Adopters Make When Bringing Home a New Dog“. What to expect when you’re acquiring a new dog from a shelter or rescue group.
On Behavioral Problems
“Needs Training“: When it is important to realize that behavioral modification is what is required, not just an obedience class.
On Dog Show Etiquette
“Dog Show Etiquette“: Some practical advice for newcomers to dog sports on the importance of being mindful of your dog and other dogs while at a competition.
“Hotel Etiquette“: If you will be traveling to a show and need to stay in a hotel with your dog(s), please take a moment to read some of the unofficial rules of being a great guest with your dogs.
“Canine Conduct Code“: This information was put together for handlers regarding management of their dogs at agility trials by the Bay Team, an agility club based in northern California’s Bay area known for its large, well-run trials. However this information applies to all dog sporting competitions.
On Off-Leash Sports Skills
“Thoughts on Orbital Balance“: This article helps you to identify some cross-training techniques to develop a good off-leash agility (and disc dog) working style.
“Drop It Training“: So many of the off leash sports we do are made greatly easier if your dog considers both food and toys as a reward. For toys to be an effective reward however, you need to be able to get it from the dog 🙂 This article discusses how to do that. Even if you don’t plan to do off-leash sports, many a dog’s life has been saved because the owner was able to tell them to drop something that was bad for them.
“5 Common Stopped Contact Training Mistakes“: Blogger Katherine Ostiguy talks about the five most common mistakes that people new to agility make when they are training their dog’s contact performance.
On The Mental Game
“Competing With Dogs“. Some observations on finding a balance that provides for continuous improvement of your teamwork and skills, recovery from failures and errors, and most of all, keeping it fun for you and the dog.
On Aggression
Problems with dog aggression are best solved with the aid of a professional certified trainer experienced in evaluating and correcting this problem who will work one-on-one with you and your dog. Please use the information in any articles in this section only to educate yourself and not as a guide to fixing the problem yourself.
Start with these good tips from the American Veterinary Medical Association for dog bite avoidance.
“Aggression Between Dogs in the Same Household“: This article from Psychology Today has some insights into why you may have conflicts between multiple dogs and what you can do about it.
“Dog-Dog Aggression Between Housemates Part Two: Bites“: Part 2 of a blog entry that discusses household interaction between dogs and as well as the concept of how bites are ‘graded’ in order to determine just how serious the level of aggressiveness may be.
“Biting The Hand That Feeds“: This article on owner-directed aggression by veterinarian/dog trainer Dr. Jen Summerfield discusses ways to address this issue through a combination of training and behavior management.
“The Perfect Bite“: This article shows that sometimes all is not as it seems when it comes to perceived dog aggression.
Tips for Agility Rookies
Carolina-Piedmont Agility has put together some good introductions to three of the unique USDAA games that go into earning a versatility title such as the Agility Dog title.
Here’s another excellent article with many visual examples of the game of Gamblers : http://www.usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=3219
Here some great tips not only for the new, but also the not so new agility competitor: What Every Beginning Agility Competitor Should Know
On Grieving For Your Dog
Blogger Lisa Plummer Savas shares some of the advice given to her by a pet loss expert.
Dr. Andy Roark muses on how the choice you make to have a dog eventually leads to suffering and how to accept that that’s ok.
Oriole Dog Training Club 