Teaching Polite Play

Teaching Polite Play

Summary: Most people who add a dog to their family are excited to see their dog play with canine friends. Not every dog is a paragon of social skills, however, so it is important for trainers to be able to show their clients how to recognize signs of impolite play....
What Does Maslow’s Pinnacle Mean for Horses?

What Does Maslow’s Pinnacle Mean for Horses?

How best to meet the behavioural and emotional needs of horses is the crux of a typical behavioural consultation. The job of the behaviour consultant is to tread the path of assessing and meeting the needs of the horse, whilst simultaneously managing the desires and...
Behavior Theory and Stallion Management

Behavior Theory and Stallion Management

Introduction Stallions can be used in different disciplines and they may stand at stud either as retirement or alongside their “career” (Burger et al., 2012). Traditionally they are managed with little regard to their natural behaviour (McDonnell, 2016b); they may be...
Is “Dominance” a Four-Letter Word?

Is “Dominance” a Four-Letter Word?

I had occasion today to think about how we working livestock guardian dog (LGD) owners view dominance in our dogs. Before we get into any further conversations about training, I think we should take a closer look at what dominance is and, perhaps more importantly,...