When it comes
to training your dog, there’s a great new
treat to reinforce good behavior. Not only
that, it actually helps to support the
health of the brain, in hopes of making your
training even more effective.
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New research
indicates that cats can dramatically benefit
from better and more varied nutrition. Find
out the latest on the effects of
supplementing the diet with antioxidants,
essential fatty acids and probiotics.
See Page 2
Independence
Day celebrations are right around the
corner. In this article, we discuss the
necessity of protecting your cats and dogs
from potentially traumatic situations
associated with this holiday.
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Millions of
Americans struggle to control their weight.
In this article, you’ll get the latest on a
delicious, all-natural soy shake that can
help shed unwanted pounds while supporting
your overall health.
See Page 2
Early summer is an emotional time for me.
While I look at all my healthy and happy
pets and am pleased that I have been able to
give them safe, loving lives, I also see and
read about the millions of homeless cats and
dogs. Summer is the time when most have
litters, adding to the numbers whose daily
struggle is nothing less than the fight for
survival.
Each year between eight and twelve million
dogs and cats of all ages end up in animal
shelters. Many become lost or were
abandoned. Unfortunately, though, many must
be rescued from abusive situations.
Thankfully, there are many organizations to
intervene in these lives of hardship. If
each of us helped just one animal
organization, we could touch the lives of so
many animals. And remember, help can come in
many forms. We can foster animals, answer
phones for the organization, donate money or
supplies, help organize fundraisers, or
simply visit these animals and share a
little of your love.
At Trilogy, we’ve taken a very proactive
approach to helping these abused and
neglected animals. We’ve established the Dr.
Jane HealthyPetNet Foundation to help
support the important work of these noble
enterprises.
Everyone here at Trilogy feels that animals
are important in their lives; we’re all
excited that our mission of helping animals
will be advanced not only through this newly
formed foundation, but also through the sale
of every single Trilogy product.
During this season, I ask you to please open
your hearts. The small help you provide
today can mean a world of difference for
these precious creatures in the future.
Thank you!
Dr. Jane Bicks
European researchers have discovered
evidence of an advanced mental ability in
canines; one that was previously thought to
be specific only to humans!
A behavior known as “selective imitation” is
a method of learning that brings meaning and
cultural context to specific actions. In
selective imitation, observers (usually
infants) differentiate between two types of
behaviors. There are acts of necessity (I
can’t use my hands right now because they’re
otherwise occupied, so I’ll use my elbow to
open the door lever) and there are acts of
inefficient preference (even though I can
use my hands which are not presently
occupied, I like to open the door with my
elbow). When human infants observe the two
behaviors, they will adopt the latter skill
(i.e., the latter behavior is “selected”).
In a recent study, dogs learned in just the
same way. Dogs watched a demonstrator dog
pulling a rod with a paw, rather than with
the mouth. When the demonstrator dog carried
a ball in its mouth, the actions were not
adopted by the observer dogs. But, when the
demonstrator dog had no object in its mouth
and pulled the lever with a paw, the
observer dogs began to adopt the behavior.
Certainly, further research is warranted in
this area, but researchers are excited by
these results which seem to indicate that
our canine companions may have more complex
learning abilities that previously believed.
Source: Current Biology
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Every year, millions of Americans welcome a new
dog into their home, particularly in the late
spring and early summer. And every year,
hundreds of thousands of dogs are given up for
adoption, chiefly because they exhibit unruly
behavior. Why? Because many people think they
know everything necessary to train their
companion animals, when really they have nothing
other than a vague idea.
Experts agree, obedience training is absolutely
essential to the long-term success of the
relationship between you and your dog. Training
provides parameters for acceptable behavior and
helps to ensure the safety of your precious pup,
as well as the safety of others coming in
contact with your dog.
There are two primary cornerstones of obedience
training: consistency and positive
reinforcement. Consistency is simply this –
always reward the desired behavior and never
reward unwanted behavior. Another aspect of
consistency is an agreement that everyone
issuing commands uses the same words that you
do. And positive reinforcement can take many
forms, but at root it is providing incentives
for good behavior and a steadfast promise never
to physically abuse your canine as punishment.
If you can commit to providing consistency and
positive reinforcement, you’re well on your way
to teaching your dog basic obedience behavior.
Here’s a term you’ll hear in relation to canine
behavior – dominance hierarchy, which is a fancy
way of describing the social structure of dogs.
Basically, it means that dogs, as social beings,
crave structure. Often, when dogs are fearful of
new situations and unexpected noises, it’s
commonly due to a lack of an established social
structure in their adopted family. It’s up to
you to position yourself as the dominant leader,
establishing that your dog falls below you in
the family ranking.
No matter what type of training you choose,
timing is essential. It is absolutely imperative
that you reward your dog within seconds of the
correct behavior. Waiting longer than a couple
of seconds will be confusing to your dog, as she
will not be able to associate the positive
reinforcement with the appropriate behavior.
While there are many things you need to do,
there are a few that you need to make certain
that you do not do. Here are a couple of items
that fall in the latter category …
• Do not repeat the specified command multiple
times to get your dog to do the behavior once.
You’re defeating the purpose of training by
teaching him/her that there are times when it’s
okay not to do the behavior in association with
the command.
• Do not punish your dog for failure to execute
a specified command. If you do, you’ll
immediately teach them that training is
something to fear. Believe us, you don’t want to
do this. While there are many schools of thought
on the best way to train, all experts can agree
on this issue. While some fringe (and possibly
very mean) people will insist that negative
reinforcement is an effective tool for training,
it will always take longer, be less effective
and it will cause your dog to have difficulty
trusting you in the future.
While we’ve tried to stress that you should not
punish your dog during obedience training,
sometimes negative reinforcement is necessary to
deter unwanted behavior. As doling out
punishments can negatively impact your dog’s
trust, it’s best that the negative stimulus
appears to come from an object (other than you),
like shaking a small container full of coins
(trust us, it’s an unpleasant sound to your
dog). Again, it’s very important that the
negative stimulus occur during or immediately
after the undesired action.
A final warning on negative reinforcement – if
incorrectly used, you’ll risk making your dog
fearful, distrustful and possibly aggressive,
only to be more likely to exhibit negative
behaviors.
Commit to doing
the best that you can. Tens of thousands of
people successfully train their puppies and dogs
every year. Keep in mind that there are many
different approaches and methods of dog
training. That’s why it’s important to speak to
your vet or a trusted pet professional for
recommendations regarding local trainers who
will be a good match for you and your dog.
Remember, most canines are eager to please. They
want you to show them what to do. Training is
just as much about teaching your dog as it is
learning acceptable methods of training
yourself.
By harnessing your dog’s natural curiosity,
you’ll both be on your way to a long and
pleasant life together.
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If
you have a video camera, set it
up in your training area and
film your training session.
Watch it (when your dog is out
of the room, so as to avoid
confusion) with a critical eye
regarding your training
techniques. Some people are
oblivious to the fact that
they’ll say “Sit” five times in
a row. The goal here is to learn
about what you do right and what
you do wrong. You’ll learn how
to be a more proficient trainer
simply by watching your own
actions. |
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