Season's Greetings

Season's Greetings from Companion Animal Psychology.

Season's Greetings! A cat at a window with snow outside and holiday lights inside


Thank you for your likes, shares and support throughout the year, and a very warm welcome to all the new readers.

Happy Holidays!

Zazie


Photo: Jack Frog / Shutterstock.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Negative Reinforcement in Dog Training?

Image
A user-friendly guide to understanding negative reinforcement in dog training – and the three alternatives you should know about. Photo: Angyalosi Beata /Shutterstock If you are new to dog training, or want to understand some of the language of dog training, this article is for you. It covers the technical definition of negative reinforcement in dog training, examples of how it is used, what research tells us about negative reinforcement, and alternatives that you can use instead (along with some common mistakes people make, so you know how to get it right). This article is part of a series of guides that also covers positive reinforcement and positive punishment in dog training. Let’s start with the technical definition. What is negative reinforcement? Negative reinforcement is one way to train dogs (and other animals). Negative reinforcement means taking something away that increases or maintains the frequency of a behaviour. The ‘negative’ part refers to something being removed, ...
Read more

Finding Hidden Food in Nosework Increases Dogs' Optimism

Image
Opportunities to use the nose and make choices in nosework are good for dogs’ welfare. Photo: KM-Photography/Shutterstock We all know that dogs like to sniff. Is it possible that providing opportunities to find food in nosework can improve dogs’ wellbeing? New scientific research by Dr. Charlotte Duranton  (Ethodog) and Dr. Alexandra Horowitz  (Barnard College) finds that dogs who participate in nose work have increased optimism compared to dogs that took part in heelwork instead. Importantly, both activities involved perambulation, as well as food rewards as positive reinforcement . The difference is that in nosework the dog has the opportunity to use their nose and to exercise choice in what they are doing. The study used a test of optimism – also known as cognitive bias – in which dogs were first trained that a bowl in one location would always contain food, whereas a bowl in another location never did. Then the test involved an empty bowl placed in an ambiguous location, ...
Read more

Companion Animal Psychology News November 2017

Image
Make sure you haven't missed a thing with the latest newsletter from Companion Animal Psychology. Some of my favourites from around the web this month “Nobody wants to say goodbye to these adorable dogs for ever, but the truth is that it’s wrong to create animals that are destined to suffer.” Veterinarian Pete Wedderburn on how to improve the health of brachycephalic breeds such as Pugs and Bulldogs. Dogs can promote friendliness just by hanging out by John Bradshaw PhD Important take-aways from a separation anxiety journey by Tracy Krulik CTC . Emma’s Separation Anxiety Story: Epilogue . “When people don’t notice fear in dogs, it can cause trouble.” The scariest thing, according to dogs by Julie Hecht . Do dogs really manipulate us? Beware misleading headlines . Marc Bekoff PhD engages with his readers about reporting on two recent studies. “Say you and I both live in houses made of banana peels….” Self-help for humans is good for dogs by Kristi Benson CTC .  “The ginger cre...
Read more