Doggy Blog

December 1, 2009

Animal Rescue Groups Great Options for Gifts and Recognition

Whether it be a holiday celebration that unites the entire planet, or one in which we celebrate an individual person gifts are something we think about year long. What’s another option for giving when you’ve run out of ideas,…

November 23, 2009

This Dog Trainer Can Trust Her Own Dog, and the Dog Training

We had a little incident at our home this evening. Yep, I admit, this dog trainer isn’t perfect and neither are the rest of the humans in the household. However, Poncho, my inquisitive canine and trusty dog behavior advice…

November 10, 2009

The Use of Physical Punishment in Dog Training: The Dark Half of Operant Conditioning

Had a call from a wonderful dog guardian today looking for a dog training class here in Ventura that not only uses “positive reinforcement” but that avoids the use of items such as prong collars and choke chains. Whoo…

November 4, 2009

Dangerous Outcome Could Come to Tomato Loving Labrador

My trusty sidekick Poncho and I received a dog behavior question for Dear Inquisitive Canine column about a fun-loving lab mix that enjoys eating all of the homegrown tomatoes in his yard. The dog guardian who wrote in was…

October 30, 2009

Getting All Choked Up Over the Use of Coercion in Dog Training

Maybe it’s the latest applied behavior analysis class I’ve just taken, maybe it’s the decongestant and antihistamine stupor I’m in, but it occurred to me, just now, that maybe I need to try a new approach when speaking to…

October 24, 2009

Are Dog Breed Biases Really History Repeating Itself?

As a society, isn’t it time people use their critical thinking skills and take the time to get educated? The dog picture is of a Pit Bull Terrier – before all of the body altering. Remember: nature, nurture, and…

October 23, 2009

Are We Breeding Shelter Dogs?

I’ve been up in Oakland at the APDT annual conference for the past few days. Yesterdays Fear and Anxiety in Dogs symposium had some good information, but one topic I’m quite passionate about is the issues with dogs ending…

October 18, 2009

Holiday Gift Boutique a Benefiting Ventura Humane Society Sunday November 15th

The Inquisitive Canine is happy to report that we will be hosting our second annual Holiday Gift Boutique benefiting our local Ventura County Humane Society. It was such a success last year, we’ve decided to have it again! A…

October 1, 2009

Inquisitive Canine: My Dog Is a Party Pooper Around the Pool

Dear Joan: We have a 4-year-old German Shepherd. He’s very intelligent and generally a good dog, but we’re concerned and frustrated with his behavior whenever anyone is swimming in our pool. He doesn’t seem to understand that there’s no…

September 30, 2009

Many Dogs Prefer Sunbathing Versus Swimming

Throughout the summer, and even heading into our warm-weathered Fall, Poncho and I have received a few questions from dog guardians regarding their dogs “freaking out” when it came to swimming pools. The dogs either didn’t want to go…