The Kindle edition of "Only Have Eyes for You: Exploring Canine Research with The Science Dog" is now available! Click on the image below for more information and to order. Book description: In her second Science Dog book, Linda Case tackles commonly held beliefs about canine nutrition, pet foods, behavior, social cognition and training. Each of the book’s 32 … Continue reading “Only Have Eyes for You: Exploring Canine Research with The Science Dog” – Kindle Edition Now Available!
Behavior and Training
Pretty in Pink
Our youngest dog, Ally, has a 'bestie". Her name is Colbie and she belongs to our friend Amanda, a trainer who also works as an instructor at AutumnGold. Ally is a Golden Retriever. Colbie is a Pit Bull Terrier, adopted from our local shelter while Amanda was on staff there. Being young girls, both Ally and … Continue reading Pretty in Pink
Just Show Me A Sign
Like many dog trainers, I use both verbal and gestural (hand) signals as cues with my dogs. With our students, we introduce both verbal and physical cues at the same time, but generally emphasize verbal signals because this is what most pet owners prefer to use with their dogs. All of our classes include instructions for … Continue reading Just Show Me A Sign
I Bow for Your Play
At AutumnGold we have an informal group of trainers and dog friends who get together regularly to do a bit of dog training, go for group walks, and give our dogs free time to play. During play time, we take care that the dogs who are loose together know one another well, are comfortable together and demonstrate … Continue reading I Bow for Your Play
The Meaning of Click
Hi. My name is Linda and I am a clicker trainer. In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit that I have been using a clicker for many years. My use began with the common gateway secondary reinforcer, the verbal cue ("Yes!"). While that worked well for a while, I eventually found that I needed more. I wanted a marker that … Continue reading The Meaning of Click
Excitable You
There is a common cognitive bias, the Fundamental Attribution Error, that is central to the way in which we view others and make judgements about their behavior. It is supported by a large body of research and is one of the most common errors that our brains make on a regular basis. The Fundamental Attribution Error refers to our tendency to explain … Continue reading Excitable You
The Inhibited Dog (Its not what you think)
We recently started a new Beginner class at my training school, a course designed for dogs who have had little or no previous training. Generally this class is composed of young dogs less than one year of age and a few older dogs who have been recently adopted from a shelter or rescue group. We … Continue reading The Inhibited Dog (Its not what you think)
The Perfect Dog
Well, not perfect actually, the word that is being thrown around is ideal. In three separate studies, people in the UK, Australia and Italy were polled and asked to describe what they believe to be their ideal dog; the dog with whom they would like to share their love and their life. Kinda like being asked about … Continue reading The Perfect Dog
Manners Minder and Me
In the previous essay, "Doggie See, Doggie Do?" I discussed research showing that dogs may be capable of learning new tasks simply by observing another dog being trained. I mentioned that when I work with my own dogs, I rotate among them by training each dog to perform a down/stay on the pause tables located on the side of our training … Continue reading Manners Minder and Me
Doggie See, Doggie Do?
At my training center, AutumnGold, it is not unusual to enroll students who live with and train more than one dog. A common question that these clients have is how to arrange their training sessions to allow them to train one dog while the other dog "waits his or her turn". In most of these cases, the student laments … Continue reading Doggie See, Doggie Do?
Do You Know What I Can See?
Chippy, our Toller, is a terrible food thief. (Of course, the use of the word terrible is one of perspective. Given his impressive success rate, Chippy would argue that he is actually a very good food thief). Chip has become so proficient at his food thievery that our dog friends all know to "keep eyes … Continue reading Do You Know What I Can See?
With a Little Help from My Friends
There is a large body of research showing that dogs are quite capable of noticing and responding to human communication cues such as body language, tone of voice, and various forms of pointing. Dogs also will initiate eye contact with people and respond to human gaze. We are well matched in this respect because humans, of course, use eye contact to communicate … Continue reading With a Little Help from My Friends
Only Have Eyes for You
Eye contact is one of the first things that I teach to my own dogs and is a basic behavior that we teach to all of our students at my training school, AutumnGold. In our training classes, we introduce eye contact very early because it is easy to teach and provides rapid and positive results to owners who are … Continue reading Only Have Eyes for You
How Many Barks does a Nuisance Dog Make?
According to a paper that I read recently, nuisance barking is identified as a major, worldwide behavior problem that affects 1 in 3 dogs, is a frequent cause of neighbor disputes, and is a common cause of relinquishment of dogs by their owners to shelters and rescue groups (1). Hmmm.... Nuisance barking. So, once again, … Continue reading How Many Barks does a Nuisance Dog Make?
Go Ask Alice
We have a new puppy in the house. Alice is her name. She's cute. Really cute. Of course, it is possible that I am a bit biased.......(nah.....she really is adorable, even now at 4 months....). During the first few weeks that Ally was with our family, we could not go walking at our local park without … Continue reading Go Ask Alice
The Science Dog 