Dog training

"The way forward A scientifically informed psychology of learning is our biggest ally. Whether you are interested in saving dogs’ lives or simply improving your connection with the family pet, training a dog does not need to be painful for the dog or difficult for the human. This is truly good news except that there is nothing new about it. Our deep connection and history with dogs has led us to think of them not as dogs, but as caricatures with psychological processes they do not posses. Dogs do not operate based on long term goals and they carry no hidden agendas. They behave the way they do because it has had some payoff in the past. If we can understand what their “payoffs” are and what they value, we will put ourselves in the strongest position to influence their behavior. There appears to be a significant knowledge gap in the world of dog training. People with the best intentions and desires to train their dogs do not have easy access to information that makes sense and is presented in a format that is designed to optimize human learning. The world of dog training has also been polluted by misguided information that takes us away from what works best. The techniques, principles, and strategies you will find on this website and in my videos are based on a scientific understanding of dogs and essential truths about learning that apply to all living beings. The purpose of these efforts is to fill this void with good information and equip more people with better tools. If you share your life with a dog, then you are already invested in living harmoniously with the single greatest companion to humans on earth. It’s about time we figure out how to do it best."