To truly understand dogs and how to train them, it is important to think outside the Skinner Box. Of course, a clear understanding and proper applications of Learning Theory is fundamental to sound dog training. However, psychology is NOT the only scientific field that applies to dog training. Far from it. Continue reading
As a scientist, I find myself in the curious culture that revolves around pet dogs. I hear “science-based dog training” and am mystified by the context it’s used. The term “science”, which is a very broad, all-encompassing term, has been misappropriated to represent a very narrow training approach. In the pet dog training culture, “science-based dog training” is synonymous with “positive reinforcement training”. This is not accurate in so many ways and creates confusion and frustration for everyone, especially for our sweet little dogs. Continue reading
A very popular term inserted in many dog training claims is “science-based dog training”. The best dog training approach to help dogs become the dog of your dreams should be science-based. But, an important question to ask is “Which sciences are included in science-based dog training?” Does it really matter? Most definitely. Best training practices are supported by solid scientific research. Continue reading
This Friday, 20 October 2017, Dr. K will discuss science-based dog training approaches. Being a science-based approach is a claim of many dog training philosophies. However, exactly which science ? Is the training approach based solely on psychology and learning behavior? What about biology? What about physics? Continue reading
We are on INSTAGRAM. If you use Instagram, please follow us @TrainingLuckyDogs. Along with posting cute pictures and videos of dogs, we are creating a video training series called “Dog Training In A Nutshell“.
At this time, the maximum video length allowed on Instagram is 1-minute. There isn’t a whole lot one can do in 1 minute…..or is there? Our Dog Training in a Nutshell series provides quality dog training content in 1-minute episodes. We just got started this week. Below is the first two videos of the series. Continue reading
Will you be getting a puppy for Christmas? Did you get a puppy last Christmas? Do your puppies need training but you have no clue how to train a dog? Do you need help right now? Or yesterday?
You are probably a busy person who does not have time to read all the books and websites on dog training to figure out how to go about this very important part of your dog’s life – training. Would you appreciate if someone or something would explain or summarize your options for getting basic dog training? Do you want want training to be fun so that it is a daily pleasure, not a dreaded chore? Do you want to make an educated decision about how to train your own doggies? Continue reading
Introducing the first volume of the Kindle eBook* series, The Dog’s Perspective: How to Train a Dog by Thinking like a Dog. The objective of this book series is to explain how to train dogs by thinking like a dog. The Dog’s Perspective is a simple and straight forward approach to dog training that enables anyone to find solutions to many of their dog-related issues. The objective of this first volume, A Philosophy Primer, is to explain the philosophical foundation of the Dog’s Perspective.
This volume describes, compares and contrasts three different training philosophies and their ultimate effect on dog training success. Current training methods are easily categorized into two basic philosophies: Wolf’s Perspective and the Human’s Perspective. This book presents a third training philosophy, the Dog’s Perspective, which is an evolutionary approach that shares both similarities and differences with the other training philosophies.
There are numerous reasons this book needed to be written. First, so much misinformation about dog training is running rampant, especially where it comes to unsubstantiated claims of scientific evidence supporting an opinion or viewpoint. Second, some training methods are too complex and/or ineffective. These problems frustrate most humans to the point of quitting – just giving up on training their dogs.
The individuals harmed the most from this are innocent dogs. Some untrained dogs are just left home alone or confined to their yards. Others are less fortunate and find themselves surrendered to a shelter or worse. The goal of this book is to help stop the abandonment trend by explaining just how easy and straightforward dog training is from the Dog’s Perspective. Trained dogs are lucky dogs and their humans are very happy companions.
When you search for information on how to train your dog, do you consistently find references to B.F. Skinner and the learning theory he proposed known as operant conditioning? Understanding operant conditioning and properly applying the concepts to dog training can be a daunting task, but is necessary for achieving success in dog training. This is where our new book series, The Dog’s Perspective: How to Train a Dog by Thinking Like a Dog, will be very handy. Not only is operant conditioning fully explained and applied to dog training in Volume 1: Philosophy Primer, but it also explores how operant conditioning from the Human’s Perspective, does not coincide with the dog’s point of view (The Dog’s Perspective). These differences in approaches is explained in how to “Think Outside the Skinner Box”. Continue reading
Do you have a dog who needs training? Have you searched the internet for help, but ended up more confused than when you first started? Not surprising! There is so much information – good and bad – out there pertaining to how to train a dog and it is very difficult to figure out which way to turn. Well, we are here to help you better understand this problem and address your training needs.
In the next few weeks, the first volume of our dog training series – The Dog’s Perspective: How to Train a Dog by Thinking Like a Dog will be available. Volume 1 is the Philosophy Primer. We are so excited to share this information with you so that you can better understand how to train your dog. Dog training can be complex and confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. Actually, it shouldn’t be confusing at all, if you truly understand dogs. We sifted through the multitude of dog training information available on Continue reading