Canine Nation on Pet Life Radio (PetLifeRadio.com)

Humans are reasoning creatures. We have a tremendous capacity to reason out how things work from the barest of facts. But when it comes to dogs, perhaps we need to take care in how we reason. Observation is often a useful companion for reason. Dogs are not what we think they are. They are what they are. And that is for us to discover and learn.

We’re back from our 2 week road trip with our dogs! It’s always fun but it takes a bit of extra planning to make sure the physical and mental needs of our dogs are met while we our on the road. Thinking ahead and bring the things you need is part of it, but taking time to involve our dogs in our daily activities makes it fun for them and more fun for us!

We enjoy traveling. Many times, we travel off to dog events like Dog Agility Trials. Leaving our dogs behind when we travel is just not an option for us. So even before we ever leave home, we are already teaching our dogs the skills they need to be happy and comfortable travelers. You might be surprised at just how much you can do to get your dog used to the various sights, sounds, surfaces, and situations that travel requires without ever leaving your home town!

I talk quite a bit about dogs and science in my articles. But other than reading about it in books, it can be difficult to find real research and science on canine cognition, biology, genetics, or behavior. I was fortunate to attend a conference recently with some of the leading scientists researching dogs. To say it was amazing would be a huge understatement. It’s incredible to see the things we are just now learning about dogs!

I talk quite a bit about dogs and science in my articles. But other than reading about it in books, it can be difficult to find real research and science on canine cognition, biology, genetics, or behavior. I was fortunate to attend a conference recently with some of the leading scientists researching dogs. To say it was amazing would be a huge understatement. It’s incredible to see the things we are just now learning about dogs!

We have all kinds of signals for our dogs. Most common are 'that’s wrong' or 'that’s right.' But do we have other signals for our dogs? There are some we might not even realize we are giving them. They know when it’s time for a walk or when we are preparing dinner. Maybe they even know when we’re not paying attention to them. If we teach our dogs the signals we would like them to know, think of the possibilities!

We have all kinds of signals for our dogs. Most common are 'that’s wrong' or 'that’s right.' But do we have other signals for our dogs? There are some we might not even realize we are giving them. They know when it’s time for a walk or when we are preparing dinner. Maybe they even know when we’re not paying attention to them. If we teach our dogs the signals we would like them to know, think of the possibilities!

Our dogs are going to make mistakes when we train. And we have a choice to make about how we respond to those errors. The fastest way to get the behavior we want might also discourage our dog from wanting to learn anything else with us. How we tell our dogs they didn’t get it right matters.

With a little help from marine mammal trainers, there is an interesting way to get our dogs back on track without interrupting the flow of learning. The Least Reinforcing Stimulus or LRS can be just the thing to make the occasional error a non-event and keep your dog eager to learn what you are trying to teach!

Giving your dog a reward will certainly encourage them to perform behaviors for you. But what do they find most rewarding? Do you reward them often enough? Do you know how the mechanics of rewards affect your dog’s behavior? You might be surprised at how it all works.

The science of behavior provides us with some pretty clear guidelines for when and how to reward behavior. It is our dogs who will provide the best feedback on how valuable they find those rewards. Rewarding often enough and for the right behaviors is only part of the process. Knowing what our dogs want to work for gives us a much greater chance of success!

The clash of cultures is growing within the dog training world. Traditional compulsion based training is being re-branded to appeal to 21st century dog owners. Newer methods for living with and teaching dogs based on science and rewards is gaining popularity. Differences between proponents of these approaches to training can be confrontational and not entirely factual.

Change can be difficult. And our knowledge of dogs and how to work with them is changing. It could be that dogs and their owners are getting caught in the crossfire of debates on dog training philosophies. Can we make the transition to newer and better ways to train with less conflict and more insight? I wonder.