Conversations about Management in Dog Training Why it’s useful and when it isn’t enough The Academy’s director Jean Donaldson speaks with staffer Kristi Benson about management in pet dog training and why standard operating procedures are often more important.  Kristi: For us dog trainers working in the real world with pet dogs, management is absolutely vital. It’s often the first thing we bring up with our clients, once we’ve taken a good history and done any urgent myth-busting. Management provides immediate relief for both the dogs and humans in the room, and it can keep everyon ..read more

The Ethics of Aversives Use Academy director Jean Donaldson and staffer Kristi Benson unpack the argument that all training is “science-based” in this thoughtful conversation.  Kristi: Science has given us, as dog trainers (heck, as humans) such an incredible bounty of goods. Scientists have turned their hypothesis-generating magnifying glasses on questions both broad and specific: what is reinforcement? How does reinforcement work to change behaviour? How much reinforcement is needed? What happens to an animal’s neurons when the animal is learning through classical conditioning? Wha ..read more

Our Heroes Academy director Jean Donaldson and staffer Kristi Benson in conversation about their heroes: those people who have opened their eyes with the most glorious of epiphanies and motivated them to be better dog trainers and teachers. Kristi: I’m curious about your own heroes: those from within our professional domain and those who are adjacent or outside of it. I know I couldn’t ask you to pick your top, numero uno, person, but how about we start with a trifecta? Outside of dog training, who would top your list of people who have provided you with the most ah-ha moments? Jean ..read more

The Magic of Management in Dog Training by Zazie Todd, PhD     You’ll get a new perspective on using management to help dogs (and their guardians) with these inspiring posts from the Academy’s March is Management Month. Management in dog training is one of those things that is amazing but so often underestimated. That’s why the Academy decided that March is Management Month and invited students and alumni to write blog posts about management. The resulting posts are full of wit, wisdom, and warmth. Management is positive and proactive Management is used to help solve a dog’s b ..read more

The Mop Up Squad: Helping dogs harmed by aversive trainers There is a trope—long disproven and actually dangerous for dogs—among those trainers who continue to use aversive stimuli in dog training: they say that they are the only ones who can train aggressive dogs. They regularly accuse us positive reinforcement trainers of allowing dogs to needlessly die when their antagonistic and outdated training techniques could help. In fact, force training is itself associated with negative outcomes: a higher rate of aggression in dogs and an increase in behavioral euthanasia, the exact opposite of wha ..read more

Reality Testing by Jean Donaldson     Years ago I was chatting with a friend about the lay of the land in dog training and mentioned that in the US it was still legal to use electric shock on dogs, by anyone and at any time.  She, who is not in dogs, said something to the effect of, “isn’t that extreme?”  This exchange popped back into my head recently because she had used the word extreme—a word which had just been leveled, ironically, at trainers who refuse to use shock on dogs.  It was done by an ostensibly force-free trainer.  In the aftermath of this, a fe ..read more

Buyer Beware! (And “HUSH”?) by Kristin Lucey, CTC     It’s one of my most common refrains. I say it again and again. I warn; I apologize; I explain; I complain. “Dog training is an unregulated industry.” Did you know it may also be an industry that, in some corners, is taking steps to squelch honest but negative reviews of itself? Could that possibly be legal? Unregulated? What do I mean by “unregulated”? I mean there is no governmental oversight entity to license dog trainers. Do you want to open a business to be a hairstylist in California? You need a license from the Califor ..read more

Our Specious Enemy: Friendly Fire in the Trenches of Dog Training by Kristi Benson   Caveat: I usually work to avoid military metaphors in my writing, but in writing this piece I found them simply too useful, especially considering my somewhat depleted state. Please click away if these will be distressing for you.   Recently, my boss/colleague/dear friend Jean Donaldson said, with the wisdom of decades in the dog training biz and the resultant fatigue as well, “it’s the friendly fire that’s really awful these days.” Friendly fire—in this context meaning the barbs from other pos ..read more

Surviving the Holidays with Stranger Danger Dogs by Jean Donaldson   With COVID restrictions dwindling and the holidays approaching, families with dogs who are uncomfortable around strangers may be feeling trepidation.  Fear not: you can all survive this and even, in some cases, slightly improve your dog’s comfort level with strangers. The first thing to think about is whether you’ve got the bandwidth and your impending guests have the willingness to work on your dog during visits and parties.  It might be some of both: some guests or some events in your home will be possible ..read more

Everything Important About Dog Training I Learned From Learning Music Academy director Jean Donaldson and staffer Kristi Benson in conversation about the interesting overlaps between learning music and learning to train dogs. Jean: In my mind, two of mankind’s greatest inventions are music and dogs and there are interesting parallels between these two things.  The low-hanging fruit for me is repetition, so let’s start with that.  Some tolerance for grinding out reps in dog training reminds me of woodshedding passages in music.  Some aspiring musicians have a fantasy that Pu ..read more