My grandma has a dog named Barrel; called that because he barrels people over in his excitement. hes a pitbull mix, big wall of muscle. he has a past of abuse in fighting rings: he was the dog theyd tie to a pole for the fighting dogs to practice on. he has scars all over, and evidence suggests someone once poured oil all over him and lit him on fire. Hes insecure around dogs and starved for attention: a jealous little shit. Still, hes sweet and gentle, if a bit overbearing in his excitement. hes also a huge wall of muscle.

my Grandma was watching scooby (our husky/malamute) at the time. Scooby was another abuse case who was tied to a tree his whole life. Big dog: Very lacking in muscle mass. It took him a long time to build up enough to run. To be fair, he looks as big as a pony (its all fluff!); while barrel was probably the runt of the litter.

my brother figured hed take the dogs on a walk. he took scooby out first. they got back, and barrel and scooby fought. it lasted for 13 seconds. but barrel got off with only a nick to the muzzle; but scooby had to get stitches on his cheek, and was bleeding in a few places. 

I dont think barrel quite understood what hed just done until it was already over. but he smelled the blood, and you can just see on his face: guilt and sadness. He went to his cage and stayed in there for days. coming out to eat and walk. He genuinely felt bad. 

And he learned his lesson. he didnt growl at dogs on the street anymore. he doesnt growl at dogs in general as much anymore. Hes never acted agressive to another dog. he still fights shadow (our labrador/greyhound) over petting rights but hes always careful not to hurt him. hes more careful with his mouth (picking up/holding things like ur hand) and barrels people over a lot less often and a lot less roughly.

He learned from his mistakes, and He tries. Thats more than I can say for most people. 

Not even an ice-cream cone can erase the traumatic memory of a late dinner. After more than 20 years of dog parenting, it finally happened. I did the unthinkable. Dinner was late. Very late. Sometimes dinner is a little bit late if I am out; often, dinner is extremely early because I am going to be out. Dinner is supposed to be served between 5 and 5:30. Cali thinks it should be served earlier…

Weeks of sheltering in place have taken their toll. Even our dogs have gotten bored with the stale smells in the same circuit of empty sidewalks that they’ve walked morning, noon, and night, day after day. We’re all looking for ways to amuse our canine companions, including people, like me, who are visually impaired and partner with guide dogs.

Guide dogs are used to as much socialization and…

Doggy generalists and doggy specialists (part one)

I’ve recently heard not one but two experienced trainers, trainers I admire greatly, say that dogs don’t generalize.

What?!

The most recent incident was in a training class. The trainer was talking about practicing at home and said that dogs don’t generalize as a way to explain why the dog’s reaction to a cue or a piece of training equipment might be different at home than at the training center.

No Time to Train? You do have time to train --- whenever you interact with your dog!

It’s a paradox: Training a dog takes a lifetime; but everyone has time to do it. How’s that?

Dogs, like humans, continue to learn throughout their lives. It is, in fact, possible to teach old dogs new tricks, and doing so enriches their lives (and yours).

At the same time, each training “session” can be only minutes long.

People often think training a dog takes hours a day…

Reading about this study will make you want to go back to college.  A team of undergrad researchers had the best job ever: Watching hundreds of hours of puppy videos. They were looking at the differences in how moms at The Seeing Eye, a guide dog school in New Jersey, treated their pups. Some were very attentive, constantly licking and cuddling their newborn pups. Others spent as much time as…

In Alberta’s Marshmallow Test, I described Alberta’s admirable ability to resist temptation in the form of a bowl of dog biscuits sitting alongside a water bowl outside a Michigan store. While I know personally of the hard work Alberta (and Deni) have invested in honing Alberta’s ability to resist food temptations, I also know that all dogs (with the possible exception of Cali) really are capable…

What Is Cognitive Education for Dogs?

  Welcome to an all-new, improved Thinking Dog blog! It is re-launching with a new focus — cognitive approaches to educating dogs.

What does that mean? Think of it as a contrast to the more traditional approaches, many of which use force, to train dogs.

Cognitive-based dog education means teaching dogs to think their way to becoming their best selves.

Their best what, you ask? Well, that answer…