One of our biggest challenges as dog trainers is keeping our clients from standing in their own way. There are a hundred variations of how this can manifest, and in this post, I will be discussing two recent situations that were brought to me by trainers that I coach. The cases are different, but bothContinue reading “How to Stop Dog Owners from Sabotaging Their Progress.”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Home Page Hack
There is one thing thousands of dog trainers have in common: They do not like sales and marketing. The good news is that all of us, even those who work alone, have at our fingertips a salesperson who has the potential to be highly effective. That salesperson is your website. The bad news is thatContinue reading “The Home Page Hack”
Natural/Unnatural
The essential task of the modern dog trainer
Teach the dog how to behave naturally
In an unnatural environment
Master this
The rest is easy
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 half. Like most toddlers, my son experiments with many different behaviors, often to see what he can get away with. He is experimenting with theContinue reading “Is Negative Punishment Really More Positive?”
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 the end of his life when Hades, the God of the Underworld came to claim him, bringing along a pair of handcuffs. Sisyphus, in allContinue reading “Negative Reinforcement and the Curse of Sisyphus”
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. If you have owned multiple dogs, there’s a decent chance that at least one of them has displayed over-protective behavior. The problem behaviors most oftenContinue reading “He Just Wants To Protect Me…”
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 marginal phenomenon, plays no role. The individual, however, as an irrational data, is the true and authentic carrier of reality.” – C.G. Jung The modernContinue reading “The Problem With Averages”
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 was flat out “No.” About 6 months later I saw the movie “The Karate Kid,” and suddenly I had a change of heart. I tookContinue reading “Self Discipline”
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.
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 with dogs with anxiety. The post was quite lengthy, but I will try to summarize it here: Teach the dog the basics of Place command.Continue reading “Art & Standards | My Response to an Anxiety Protocol”