An heroic cartoon cat has kept Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi from trademarking her nickname for a book. But there's an ironic twist that may produce a happy ending, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has found.
An heroic cartoon cat has kept Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi from trademarking her nickname for a book. But there's an ironic twist that may produce a happy ending, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has found.
A positive dog trainer is a trainer who uses positive reinforcement, the reward of good things for good behavior, and negative punishment, the removal of good things for bad behavior. A truly positive trainer would strictly use only positive reinforcement and negative punishment in training. So, though I am primarily a positive trainer, I must admit that I am not strictly so. I do believe in the use of positive punishment, the application of bad things for bad behavior. However, I feel that it is important that the dog (or whatever organism the learner is, humans included) needs to know the right answer before being punished for choosing the wrong one.

I recently met a beautiful German shepherd, my favorite breed, but this one especially stood out when she barked fearfully at the man I was with.

As a trainer, I’ve noticed some fascinating intricacies of dog behavior. It's what I do – I have no magic third eye – so I'm frequently looking for them. You might say to yourself, “Well, of course! Anyone could see that!” And just about every one of us has. But how many of us have really put much thought into them? You might be surprised to discover that, if you do, patterns will emerge.
With the holidays behind us, even our canine family members have packed on a few extra pounds. Fortunately, some of our everyday tricks make for a great workout. And given the cold and inclement weather, you might be happy to hear that there’s plenty you can do inside!