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Is Negative Punishment Really More Positive?
I am the proud father of two. A daughter whose age at the time of this writing is measured in weeks, and a son who is roughly two and a… Read more
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Counter Conditioning, Causal Relevance, and the Implications for Humane Dog Training
In 1972, Michael Domjam and Nancy Wilson tested an interesting hypothesis: When creating a conditioned association between two events, do the types of events matter? To help illustrate this question… Read more
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Cognitive Dissonance
I wish I could be a reward-only trainer. I don’t enjoy correcting dogs or putting any “pressure” on them. I love dogs. That’s why I chose this career. Unfortunately, because… Read more
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Negative Reinforcement and the Curse of Sisyphus
Sisyphus was the King of Ephyra, and he had a reputation for defying the Gods and being a bit of a trickster. One of his best known exploits came at… Read more
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How to Defeat Self Doubt
We all know it, that voice in our head that plays on repeat phrases like: “Am I good enough?” “Is this unique enough?” “I don’t deserve this.” “I’m not ready.”… Read more
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He Just Wants To Protect Me…
“I know he’s just trying to protect me, but I don’t know why” This is a common sentiment among dog owners bringing their dogs into our training center for help.… Read more
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The Problem With Averages
“Scientific education is based in the main of statistical truths and abstract knowledge and therefore imparts an unrealistic, rational picture of the world, in which the individual, as a nearly… Read more
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Self Discipline
This is a re-post from several years ago: When I was roughly 5 years old my mother asked me if I would like to take karate classes. My answer… Read more
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The Hounds And The Huntsman
Dog-man-ship – This is as real as it gets: Taken from my friend the Terrierman, View the original post Hounds & The Huntsman from Michael Slowe on Vimeo. Read more
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Art & Standards | My Response to an Anxiety Protocol
I recently read a post on a dog trainer group I belong to on Facebook. The post contained a written explanation and a video outlining a ”Protocol” for dealing… Read more