I was fortunate enough to meet Dr Jaak Panksepp at the Art and Science of Animal Training Conference in March 2014. His basic view of behavior before considering the primitive emotional states is that all behavior is built upon a very simple thought. Most animals generate behavior on a single axis (valence) that avoids fear/stress/pain […]

I was watching a TSA instructor working with a student and his canine. The dog was searching passengers waiting in a moving queue through those retractable stanchions. The handler had to approach each passenger as a potential target and continue to search in this scenario for up to 20 minutes. The student was a little […]

Scott loves to say, “don’t confuse process with progress.” But what does that mean?? Today I read an interesting study that illustrates this point perfectly. Here’s their conclusion: “For dogs learning a given skill, weekly training results in better learning performance than training five times a week, when performance is measured in the number of […]

[caption id="attachment_113469" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Skinner in the lab[/caption] This blog is designed to be used as a resource. We have categorized the posts so that you can review what is important to you. Here are some past posts that I hope everyone considers every time they work with their dog. The most important blog posts […]

We had a long conversation with one of our participants last week. She told us “I’m overthinking it!” It got me to thinking about simplicity and complexity. If there were four blog posts I would ask everyone to refer to regularly, it would be these: https://www.akc.org/akc-detection-dog-task-force/akc-pilot-detection-puppy-rearing-program/blogs/training-science/resilience-core-affect-space/ https://www.akc.org/akc-detection-dog-task-force/akc-pilot-detection-puppy-rearing-program/blogs/training-science/behavioral-circuits-motor-patterns/ https://www.akc.org/akc-detection-dog-task-force/akc-pilot-detection-puppy-rearing-program/blogs/puppy-development/possession-possession-possession/ https://www.akc.org/akc-detection-dog-task-force/akc-pilot-detection-puppy-rearing-program/blogs/puppy-development/training-plans-development-overview/ 1. Your dog is only trying […]

[accordion] [accordion_panel title="2020"] May Trying to simplify Impacts of Anthropomorphism April What is a working dog? Theory and practicality (a short review) How training frequency impacts learning March Clickers, Verbal Markers, and Treats January Citizen Science Understanding operant conditioning without physical control [/accordion_panel] [/accordion] [accordion] [accordion_panel title="2019"] December Understanding reinforcement in detection dogs October Resilience […]

For as long as I have been training animals, I have always found people want it to be simple and formulaic. IT ISN’T! Animal training is a dynamic process. With a developing puppy, it is even more dynamic. To build communication and trust, you must adapt to the individual needs of the dogs in front […]

I was watching a TSA instructor working with a student and his canine. The dog was searching passengers waiting in a moving queue through those retractable stanchions. The handler had to approach each passenger as a potential target and continue to search in this scenario for up to 20 minutes. The student was a little […]

[accordion] [accordion_panel title="2020"] May Impacts of Anthropomorphism January Understanding operant conditioning without physical control [/accordion_panel] [/accordion] [accordion] [accordion_panel title="2019"] December Understanding reinforcement in detection dogs November Empty your cup! October Terminology June 2 important concepts to remember The learning curve Who I am and how I want to help May Here to learn or here […]

[accordion] [accordion_panel title="2020"] June The two dog trainer paradox [/accordion_panel] [/accordion] [accordion] [accordion_panel title="2018"] December The developmental attributes of a detection dog [/accordion_panel] [/accordion]