As you’ve read, string cheese is the high-value training treat of choice around here, used to help Leo overcome his fear of bicycles and other fast-moving objects. With a reward-based counter-conditioning program, you’re supposed to use a treat that is special to that training, and it’s supposed to be extremely high value. At first, IContinue reading “T is for Treats”
Author Archives: Kari Neumeyer
S is for Selfies with my Sidekicks
Sometimes I look at these guys and wonder, How did I wind up with two huge dogs?? Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
R is for Reward-Based
My relationship with my dogs is based on what’s often called “positive reinforcement.” This is a form of operant conditioning with the goal of increasing the likelihood a behavior will be repeated by reinforcing it with a positive stimulus. Dog gets cookie when he sits on cue –> Dog likely to sit again when heContinue reading “R is for Reward-Based”
Q is for Quagmire
While many associate “quagmire” with Vietnam, I write of a literal quagmire: an area of soft, wet ground; soft miry land that yields under the foot. Continuing Saturday’s discussion of the Good, the Best, and the Other dog parks in our town… One of the features Leo enjoys most at the Other Dog Park isContinue reading “Q is for Quagmire”
P is for Park
I’ve written before about the two dog parks in town, but due to my self-inflicted rules for this All-Positive A to Z Challenge, I can repeat the name of only one of them: The Good Dog Park. (You can probably guess the name of the other.) Now there’s a third, henceforth to be called TheContinue reading “P is for Park”
O is for Old
I confess that when I first saw Mia’s gray face, I thought, “Oh, she’s too old.” (Who knows what I thought she was too old for.) I’ll also admit to asking other dog owners how old their dogs are, because I want to know how long I can expect to have these guys around. SoContinue reading “O is for Old”
N is for Normal
“I just wish I had a normal dog!” I’m told that dog trainers hear that a lot when they take on new clients. Funny thing – people’s complaints, which also wind up being the reasons they give when surrendering dogs to a shelter, are examples of dogs behaving normally: Digging Chewing Barking Marking Nipping JumpingContinue reading “N is for Normal”
M is for My Favorite Miser
Leo always wants to bury his bone in the backyard. It cracks me up every time. Such a cliché. He’s smarter than he looks, this one. Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
L is for Lucky
Do you hear me, I’m talking to you Across the water across the deep blue ocean Under the open sky, oh my, baby I’m trying Boy, I hear you in my dreams I feel your whisper across the sea I keep you with me in my heart You make it easier when life gets hardContinue reading “L is for Lucky”
K is for Knock! Knock!
Who’s there? (The K is silent.) One of my favorite successes in treating Isis’s reactivity was getting her to lie on a mat when someone came to the door. Before I implemented the following reward-based training technique, a knock at the door was greeted with an intimidating German shepherd bark that made me want toContinue reading “K is for Knock! Knock!”
Kari Neumeyer 