Pages
- 6 Ways To Prepare Your Dog for Fireworks Starting NOW
- About Eileen
- About the Dogs
- Automatic vs. Socially Mediated Negative Reinforcement
- Awesome Dogs Shareables
- Blooper Video and Transcript
- Canine Cognitive Dysfunction
- Clara Relaxes: Video Progress
- Contact
- Desensitization/Counterconditioning Resources
- Dog Body Language Posts and Videos
- Eileen’s Oatmeal/Cranberry/Chocolate Breakfast Bars
- Fallout from the Use of Aversives
- Featured Video: World Dog Trainers’ Motivation Transparency Challenge
- Guidelines for Comments
- IAABC Writing Mentorship With Eileen Anderson
- Information about Shock Collars
- Life Lessons For My Puppy
- My Dog’s Safe Place: A Photo Gallery
- My Training Philosophy
- Natural Negative Reinforcement
- Positive vs Negative Reinforcement: More Info
- Prong Collars: Appendix
- R+ Misconceptions
- Shock Collar Training vs Force Free Video Examples
- Shock Training Session Video Analysis
- Solving a Training Problem with Antecedent Arrangement
- Statement From Eileen About the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Suggesting or Endorsing Aversive Training Methods
- Suggesting or Endorsing Aversive Training Methods in Beyond Cesar Milan
- The Claims about Leash Pressure and Shock
- The Opposition Reflex: It’s Not a Reflex!
- Threshold Movie Script
- Touchstone Physical Therapy in Little Rock: A Review
- Translations of Posts from Eileenanddogs
- Video Examples for Teachers
- Welcome!
- You Can’t Reinforce Fear
Posts
Behavior Science
- “The Negative Effects of Positive Reinforcement” by Michael Perone: Another Misrepresented Article
- No Stalking while Walking!
- “I Will Never Use the Shock Collar Again!”
- The Stages of Crossover
- All That’s Unpleasant Does Not Punish
- 1:1 Pairings: The Science Behind Clicking and Treating
- Positive Punishment: 3 Ways You Might Use It By Accident
- When Is Citing a Research Study Not Enough?
- What’s a Functional Assessment in Dog Training? (And Why You Should Care)
- So Tell Me What You Want, What You Really Really Want: 9 Ways Preference Testing Can Go Wrong
- Latent Learning: The Original Definition
- Local Enhancement and Socially Facilitated Behaviors in Dogs
- 6 Myths about Positive Reinforcement-Based Training
- How to Make Extinction Not Stink
- Don’t Get Mud on Your Face! Citing Research in Discussions
- Why Not to Respond to that Facebook Post While You’re All Fired Up
Canine cognitive dysfunction
- Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Print Book Released
- Join Me on DogRead!
- Webinar: Canine Cognitive Dysfunction
- Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Ebook Available!
Classical conditioning
- Overshadowing in Dog Training: Why You Need to Know About It
- I Got Trained Like Pavlov’s Dogs—Then Things Fell Apart
- The Best Thing I Ever Taught My Dog
- Replacing a Poisoned Cue
- Which Pavlov Is on Your Shoulder?
- Actually, I **Can** Get My Dogs’ Attention
- Higher-Order Conditioning: Did it Happen To My Dog?
- Are You SURE Your Dog Prefers That Food Toy?
- Are You Really Performing Classical Counterconditioning?
- Introducing a Puppy and a Sound Sensitive Dog: Preparation Pays Off
- Yelling at My Dogs
- Dogs Get Classical Conditioning to the Vacuum
- Coping with In-Home Construction with Dogs
- Socializing a Formerly Feral Dog
- You Can’t Cure MY Fear By Shoving Cookies at Me!
- Stinky Stuff on My Back! DS/CC for Flea Treatment
- When is it OK for Your Dog to Pull on Leash?
- CARE for Reactive Dogs
- What Happened to Summer’s Thunderstorm Fear?
- Thresholds: The Movie
- Goodie or Doodie? When a Classical Pairing Gets Stomped On
- Successful Desensitization and Counterconditioning
- Classical Conditioning: Creating a Positive Response to Barking
- The Barking Recall
Critical Thinking
Cues
- What If My Dog Responds Only When I Have Treats?
- Putting a Dog’s Harness on without Getting Bloody Arms: Adjusting Antecedents
- Oops! I Trained the Better Than Perfect Recall!
- Stimulus Control, Or Why Are There Seven Shoes on the Table?
- Resistance to Extinction Can Be Incredibly Annoying
- My Dogs Do Know Sit! A Hint for Training the Sit Stay
- How Long Does It Take To Change a Habit?
- Do You Dogs REALLY Want To Come In?
- Will the Mystery Antecedent Please Stand Up?
- My Dogs Don’t Know Sit!
- “Good Sit!”
- Boing! Capturing a Trick and Putting it on Cue
- Summer Punches It
- Stimulus Control, Or Lack Thereof
- Summer Learns An Alternative to Being the Fun Police
- A Secret for Training Two Dogs
- Training Levels: Making it My Own
- Safety Behaviors: Down at a Distance and Recalls
- Call the Doctor. I Think I’ve Been Poisoned!
Desensitization and Counterconditioning
- Using Sound Apps for Desensitization & Counterconditioning for Dogs
- The Last Trip To the Vet: What If Your Pet’s Last Breath Is on the Operating Table?
- How I Helped My Dog Love the Sound of Velcro
Discrimination
- Errorless Learning II
- “Errorless” Learning
- A New Resource, and our Rally Weekend
- A Little Heavy on the Body English
Dog behavior
Dog body language
- Dogs Who Love Each Other (Or Don’t)
- Dog Facial Expressions: Can You See the Stress?
- Just a Whisper: The Early Signs of Fear in Dog Body Language
- Space Invaders: How Humans Pressure Dogs & Other Animals
- 3 Reasons a Little Dog Might Not Lie Down on Cue
- Shelter Pup “Smiles” from FEAR after She’s Adopted
- My Dog’s Emotional State: Crucial to Training
- Does a Wagging Tail Mean a Happy Dog?
- Scared Dog vs. Happy and Engaged Dog
- Dogs and Body Pressure: A Photo Study
- Finding the Joy in Agility
- Clara’s Progress at the Vet’s Office
- Preventing Dog Reactivity with a Barrier
- With Her Tail Between Her Legs
- Fear, Predation, and Resource Guarding
- Body Language Study: Fear and What Else?
- Clara Says, “I Love New Stuff!”
- Dog Body Language Study: Intruder in the Yard!
- Before You Share That “Cute” Dog and Baby Picture…
- Please Go Away: Dog Body Language Study
- What is Summer Saying? Observing a Bark
- Ground Scratching: Why Does My Dog Do It?
- How My Dogs Play
- See My Successes; See My Failures
- You’re Too Close! Dogs and Body Pressure
- Is That “Smiling” Dog Happy?
- 7 Common Dog Training Errors: More Cautionary Tales
- Who Was Resource Guarding? And Why We Need to Take it Seriously
- Which Dog is Resource Guarding?
- Is My Dog a Drama Queen?
- The Right Words, Revealed
- A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words…But Are They the Right Ones?
- Shut Down Dogs (Part 2)
- Another Look at a Fearful Dog
- 8 Common Dog Training Errors: Cautionary Tales
- Shut Down Dogs, Part 1
- Dogs Who Are Eating Can Still Be Stressed
- The Look of Fear
- Est-ce que votre chien veut VRAIMENT être caressé ?
- High Speed Nosework
- Halfway Through Madeline’s 1,000 Treat Challenge: Clara is Relaxing!
- Dog Facial Expressions: Stress
- Madeline’s 1,000 Treat Challenge: Starting Week 2
- Madeline’s 1,000 Treat Challenge
- Contest Results and the Curse of Knowledge
- Contest! The Faces of Summer
- The Perils of Premature Premack
- Get Out of My Face! Teaching an Incompatible Behavior
- Shaping and Stress
- Lip Licks!
- Dogs Who Like to be Petted or Touched
- Does Your Dog REALLY Want to be Petted?
- Just Try to Get It!
- Dog/Dog Resource Guarding in Slow Motion
Dog illness
- Create a Custom Quality of Life Scale for Your Dog
- Regression to the Mean: Why Our Dogs’ Supplements Often Aren’t Working as Well as We Think
- Placebos for Pets? A Book Review
- A Dog With Spinal Cord Concussion: Zani’s Recovery on Video
- A Dog With Spinal Cord Concussion: Zani’s Story Part 1
- Canine Hemangiosarcoma: Summer’s Story
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever? But We Live in NJ!
- The Dangers of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever for Dogs
Dog Training
- Are You Angry When You Train Your Dog?
- Happy Gotcha Day to Lewis!
- Calling My Dog off Rabbit Scent at Night
- How I Taught My Dog to Sleep Later in the Morning
- Teaching a Dog to Station While Another Dog Works
- You Have to Stop! Interrupting Unwelcome Puppy Play Toward an Older Dog
- Training a Teenage Puppy
- Out and In: Door Training with My Puppy
- Questions to Ask About That Bizarre Prong Collar Diagram
- Wipe Your Chin! How My Dog Cleans Up Her Own Drool
- Teaching Your Dog to Self-Interrupt
- Allergy Shots for Dogs: How I Made Them the Best Thing Ever
- Tossing Cookies: Delivering Treats and Toys in Dog Training
- Peanut Butter Dog Treats With No Sticking! Another Silicone Pan Recipe
- Now Switch! Prompting the Dog to Change Feet When Scratching a Nail Board
- No More Cutting! Make 500 Non-Crumbly Dog Treats From a Pyramid Mold
- My Dog Refuses Food Away from Home!
- Does Ignoring Bad Behavior Really Work?
- My Dog Isn’t Food Motivated…Or Is She?
- 6 Common Dog Training Errors
- Introducing a Puppy and an Adult Dog: Take it Slow
- Trick Training Bloopers
- How I Work With Deaf Dogs (Guest Post by Blanche Axton)
- You Don’t Have to Go Through the Door Before Your Dog!
- How To Train Your Dog to Stand Using Capturing
- Go Sniff! Then Please Come Back!
- Bootleg Reinforcement
- Release Me!
- Shaping Without a Clicker
- Flavors: Ideas for Ultra High Value Treats
- “Testing Through” the Levels
- The Secret to Quick Non-Crumbly Homemade Dog Treats
- “Respect” Is SO Last Year
- How I Count Out Training Treats for Three Dogs
- Threshold Webinar
- Teaching A Dog to Back Up
- How to Give Your Dog a Pill: Several Methods
- Don’t Look Now! The Benefits of Window Film for the Household with Reactive Dogs
- Places! Mat Training for Multiple Dogs
- Dogs Leave it at a Higher Level: Zen on the Move
- What You Reinforce is What You Get
- Dog Faming Lives!
Dogs and sound
- How to Tone Down That Plastic Dog Collar Click (and Why)
- Impulse Sounds and the Startle Response: Why Some Dogs Fear the Clicker Sound
- How to Soundproof a Dog Crate
- Sound Decisions: A Webinar on Dogs and Sound
Dogs' hearing
- How to Check a Dog’s Environment for Ultrasound
- Desensitizing a Dog to High-Pitched Beeps: Part 2 of 2
- Desensitizing a Dog to High-Pitched Beeps—Part 1 of 2
- Why Do Dogs Tolerate Some Awful Sounds (and Smells)?
- Listen Up: I’m Giving a Webinar on Sound Products for Dogs!
- Does My Ultrasonic Humidifier Hurt My Dog’s Ears?
- Are Dogs Ever Irritated by Sights, Sounds, or Smells?
- How Does Dogs’ Hearing Compare To Humans’?
- Using Sound Masking To Protect Your Dog From Loud, Scary Sounds
Dogs' perceptions
Enrichment
Extinction
Fear
- 6 Ways to Prepare Your Sound Sensitive Dog for New Year’s Fireworks
- 6 Ways to Prepare for the Bangs and Booms Starting NOW
- If Your Dog Is Afraid of Fireworks, Contact Your Vet Now
- 6 Ways To Prepare Your Dog for Fireworks Starting NOW
- If Your Dog Is Afraid of Fireworks, Contact Your Vet Now
- If Your Dog Is Afraid of Fireworks, Contact Your Vet Now
- 6 Ways To Prepare Your Dog for Fireworks Starting TODAY
- If Your Dog Is Afraid of Fireworks, See Your Vet Now
- 6 Ways to Prepare for the Bangs and Booms Starting NOW
- Desensitization of Disgust
- 6 Ways to Prepare for the Bangs and Booms
- Spray With Caution!
- Sink or Swim: 9 Ways You Might Be Flooding Your Dog
- Helping a Fearful Dog Feel Safe
Gardening
Generalization
- When “Treat Training” Doesn’t Work: Operator Error
- “No” Is Not a Behavior . . . But That’s Not the Problem with Saying It
- It Was Coming Right At Me!
- Ringing the Bell to Go Out: Avoid These 4 Common Errors!
- When Management Succeeds
- Level 1 Breakfast
- The Right Word: Reducing Errors in Verbal Cue Discrimination
- Retomar o significado: Generalização
- Zen Generalization: Hole in the Fence
- Lumping It: A Public Service Announcement
- The Missed Cue: Attack of the Zen Field
- Peek-a-Boo! A Hint for Training Eye Contact
- Fixing What I Broke
- Dogs Notice Everything
Handling and Husbandry
Human and dog misunderstandings
- In Zani’s Honor: Help Your Dog Get Close
- Does Walking Your Dog Up to Something Scary “Cure” Their Fear?
- Guess What! That Dog Video Is Probably Fake!
- Bark Busters: Promoting Facts or Myths?
Humor
Hundeverhalten
Negative Reinforcement
- Positive Punishment—With the Touch of a Cotton Ball
- That One Leftover Negatively Reinforced Behavior
- I Just Show Him the Water Bottle and He Behaves—I Don’t Have to Squirt Him!
- Positive and Negative Reinforcement by Jack Michael: A Misconstrued Article
- If My Criticism of Someone’s Comment on Facebook Is Punishment, Why Won’t She Shut Up?
- If You’re Loving It, Why Leave?
- Using Annoying or Scary Sounds for Dog Training
- But It Worked for My Dog!!
- Natural vs. Contrived Negative Reinforcement
- What Does Shower Mold Have to Do With Dog Training?
- Let’s Talk about Using Aversives in Training. I’ll Go First!
- How Did The Aversive Get There? A Call for Honesty
- Thresholds in Dog Training…HOW Many?
- Is Hide and Seek All Fun and Games?
- Sharing the Blog
News
- IAABC Writing Mentorships With Eileen Anderson: 2020
- Edit Yourself: A New Writing Course for Dog Professionals
- Eileenanddogs 2019 9th Annual Pet Blogger Challenge
- IAABC Writing Mentorships With Eileen Anderson: 2019
- Eileenanddogs’ Sixth Anniversary!
- Eileenanddogs: 2018 Pet Blogger Challenge
- Five Years of Eileenanddogs
- Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Book Wins Maxwell Award
- Eileenanddogs: 2017 Pet Blogger Challenge
- My iBook is Out!
- Pet Blogger Challenge 2016
- I’d Like to Thank the Academy
- Eileenanddogs’ First Birthday!
- 2013 Pet Blogger Challenge
Old dogs
- Senior Dog Clara Is Barking at (Apparently) Nothing
- When a Dog Suffers a Trauma
- My Book Is Coming!
- It Would Have Been 11 Years
- 10 Years with Cricket
Operant conditioning
- Dog Food Toys, Rates of Reinforcement, and the Matching Law
- The “Invention” of Cues in Training
- Corrections Are Punishment (If They Work)
- A Quadrant by Any Other Name is Still a Cornerstone of Operant Learning
- Herrnstein’s Matching Law and Dog Training
- Speeding Tickets: Negative or Positive Punishment?
- It’s Not Painful. It’s Not Scary. It Just Gets the Dog’s Attention!
- Don’t Be Callous: How Punishment Can Go Wrong
- Not All “Choices” Are Equal (Choice: Part 1)
- But I’ve Seen Stressed-Out Dogs During Positive Reinforcement Training Too!
- Dog Training Basics: Getting the Behavior
- The Girl with the Paper Hat
- It’s Not Painful. It’s Not Scary. It Just Gets the Dog’s Attention!
- 17 Behavioral Cues that I Didn’t Train (But are Still For Real)
- Discussing Negative Reinforcement Responsibly
- Leaving the Scene: Clarifying the Science of Negative Reinforcement
- But Isn’t it Punishment to Withhold the Treat?
- Only if the Behavior Decreases!
- Only if the Behavior Increases!
- Why Scratching an Itch is Not the Same as Performing a Force Fetch
- Can We Determine Whether Training with Food Is Positive or Negative Reinforcement?
- But “Purely Positive” is a LIE!
- We Don’t Need to Stop Discussing “The Quadrants”
- But We Don’t Give Our Kids a Cookie Every Time they Tie Their Shoes!
- The Humane Hierarchy, Part 2 of 2: Examples
- The Humane Hierarchy, Part 1 of 2: Overview
- But Every Dog is Different!
- Operant Learning (Quadrants) Illustrated by Examples
- But How Do I Tell My Dog She’s Wrong?
- Superstitious Behaviors in Dog Training
- Ant-Sized Treats
Play
- How I Taught My Dog to Get Into a Swimming Pool
- How Do I Get My Dog Into the Pool?
- Lower the Pressure! Adapting Play for a Sensitive Dog
- Rescue Me! (Part 1)
Punishment
Punishment culture
Puppies
Puppy Training
- Articles on Puppy Socialization
- Puppy Socialization Book Is Now Available
- Lessons for My Puppy: Free iBook (and PDF)
- I Will Teach You What I Want You To Know: Puppy Lesson Six
- Meeting the World (Puppy Lesson Five)
- Puppies Need an Off Switch! (Puppy Lesson Four)
- Impulse Control. Impulse Control. Impulse Control. (Puppy Lesson Three)
- The Second Thing To Teach Your Puppy
- The First Thing To Teach Your Puppy
Reactivity
- What To Do When People Approach Your Reactive Dog
- Dog Interrupted: The Value of Reorientation
- Miracles Can Happen: Summer’s Good Behavior Generalizes
- It’s OK to Comfort Your Dog!
Reinforcement
- The Day I Got Paid for Crying
- Doesn’t Intermittent Reinforcement Create a Stronger Behavior?
- The “Choice” Challenge
- But if You Use Negative Reinforcement Aren’t You Also Using Positive Punishment?
- But I Want to Use All the Tools in the Tool Box!
- 7 Great Benefits of Flirt Pole Play for You and Your Dog
Research
Review
- Review of Pawnix Sound Cancelling Headphones for Dogs: Unlikely to Work as Described
- Books in Review: Eileen’s Essentials
- Fooled by the Foobler? A Review
- Why Am I Changing My Dogs’ Food?
Safety
Socialization
Stress Signals
- Response Latency in Dog Training: What’s Your Dog Telling You?
- My Dog Is Afraid of the Clicker. What Should I Do?
- Yes, You May Comfort Your Dog!
Terminology
- I Failed to Falsify—Twice! (Falsifiability Part 2)
- Falsifiability or Falsehood in Dog Training? (Part 1)
Toys and Play
- Tearribles Review: Neither a Chew Toy nor a Tug Toy
- The Gravity Game
- I’m So Glad I Had the Camera!
- Wordless Wednesday: Clara got Mail!
- Play with Your Dog: For Research
Training philosophy
- Helping a Reactive Dog Compete in Rally—And Why We Retired
- Ist dieser Hund außer Kontrolle vor Freude oder aus Stress – falsche Frage
- Is That Zooming Agility Dog Stressed or Happy? Wrong Question!
- The Opposite of Force
- The Joy of Training With Food
- Being Open-Minded About Training
- Opposition Reflex: What Is It Really?
- The Dog Decides What Is Reinforcing
- The Dog’s Choice (Choice: Part 2)
- What Dog Training Really Taught Me
- World Dog Trainers’ Motivation Transparency Challenge
- 9 Effects of Punishment
- Just a Trick?
- What’s an Antecedent Arrangement?
- Haters
- My Dogs Are Not in Charge
- Using a Training Plan to Retrain Summer’s “Target”
- 6 Ways I Messed Up My Dog’s Targeting
- Calm Submissive
- Force-Free Training and the Continuum Fallacy: Defining Ourselves
- Crossing Over
- But It’s Unhealthy to Protect Your Dog from All Stress!
- Introduction to the Exercise Ball
- But What if Your Dog Runs Out Into Traffic?
- There is Hope: One Trainer’s Journey from Liverwurst to Kibble
- Welcome to the Funhouse
- Three Behaviors I’m Tempted to Punish, and Why I Don’t
- Being Tough
- Pack Leader
- Dog Faming 2: Their Gifts to Us
- Is It Really Just a Tap? Shock Collar Training Explained
- Dog Faming
- Thank You Susan Friedman and Associates: A Personal Review of the BehaviorWorks Living and Learning with Animals Professional Course
- Letting the Treat Fit the Feat: Real World Application
- Let the Treat Fit the Feat
- Welcome!
Treats
- A Great Substitute for Canned Spray Cheese for Dog Treats
- Tricks for Frozen Dog Treats
- The Secret to Filling a Food Tube
Tribute
- Eileenanddogs Is 10 Years Old
- Goodbye to Zani
- Unsung Summer
- Rest in Peace, Dr. Sophia Yin
- She’s Gone
- Remembering Pride
Tricks
- Clara’s Advanced Trick Title: We’re Baaaack!
- Clara’s Intermediate Trick Dog Title: Three-Minute & Three-Month Behaviors
- Clara’s Novice Masters Trick Dog Title: More Tricks, More Lessons Learned
- Clara’s Stand Disaster and Why She Still Hops
- Clara’s Tricks: Treat on Nose, Carpet Roll, & Paws in Box
- Planning the Tricks for Our Novice Master’s Title
- Clara’s Novice Trick Title: 15 Tricks, 4 Informative Fails
U.S. Politics
Zen/Leave it
Categories
- Aggression (6)
- Arousal (10)
- Dementia (4)
- Play (12)
- Predation (2)
- Reactivity (13)
- Resource guarding (7)
- Stress Signals (29)
- Dogs and music (1)
- Dogs' hearing (10)
- Dogs' sense of smell (3)
- Sound sensitivity (19)
- Differential Reinforcement (2)
- Food reinforcers (12)
- Negative Reinforcement (31)
- Positive Reinforcement (31)
- Premack Principle (3)
- Rate of reinforcement (1)
- Reinforcement history (3)
- Toys and Play (15)
- Treats (13)
- Racism (1)
Please respond,1st sorry for your loss,i’ve lost my dear friends aged 15yrs.,great lives and I knew when to let go. Like Cricket,mine,Blessing,has cognitive issues.So when.Right now issues,difficult walking,falls often,startles,sleeps close to comatose,no control of bowel nor bladder.She paves,gobbles food as if last meal,says anything she thinks is food,just began to lick her own urine.Please help,she must be over 14yrs.,she was a stray,I rescuded her.I just don’t know at what point to let her go.We are elderly & disabled,have to wash everyday,clean after her more than a dozen times a day.Don’t want her to break her back when she goes outside to potty,falls up or down stairs about once a day.Watching her disappear before my eyes is painful.At times she’s like a puppy,anxiou to go to pet store.Thanks
Dear TT Black,
I’m so sorry this is happening to Blessing. I know what you mean about watching the dog disappear. I don’t know if you found my other site, but there are some resources on this page about making the hard decision: http://dogdementia.com/euthanasia/. I especially recommend the Villalobos Quality of Life scale. It can help you consider many different things. I’m sorry I can’t be more help, but please know my heart goes out to you and I wish for peace in your heart and for Blessing.
What a thoughtful and well laid out blog. I am always able to find things quickly and refer back them when I need to. I’ve had your page marked since our new boy became part of our family and even have been refereed to your page by others since then. Thank you for making is so easy to navigate your page and give so much to all of us.
Kimberlie, how kind of you to say so! No one ever comments on the site map! I’m glad to have made it and I try to work on it to keep improving it. So glad you find the blog useful. Thanks for your kind words.