Brenin Behavior

08/20/2025

Nice brief article on my papers in CSU Source magazine.

Sarah King, research scientist with the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, recently published two co-authored papers on wild horses and donkeys.

08/18/2025

Look for what your dog is doing right and you will see more of it!

08/17/2025

There is so much potential in scent work for horses!

History was recently made as the Blackfeet Nation proudly became home to the first Native-led equine air scent detection Search and Rescue (SAR) team. Brianna Juneau reports - link and video in the comments:

08/13/2025

Come join me on the 23rd! It’s not too late to protect your dog and yourself this summer, and you will be armed with skills for next year.

It’s a good time to remember that we have Snake Avoidance workshops at the Canine Learning Center… AND it’s a great time to get this essential class on your schedule!

The next session of Un-Chase! Snakes is Saturday, August 23rd, taught by Dr. Sarah King of Brenin Behavior… This is the weekend BETWEEN the Greeley and Cheyenne Kennel Club events.

In this 3-hr workshop, you and your dog will learn:
• a Snake-Specific Recall
• and a Snake-Specific Alert
• all taught using positive-reinforcement methods which promotes learning and makes it fun for you and your dog!

You will also learn:
• about snakes present in Colorado,
• detailed information about rattlesnakes,
• how to avoid them, and
• what to do should the worst happen.

Once you have completed the Workshop, you will:
• firm up your new skills by following daily training videos in the Un-Chase! App (new for 2025!) provided FREE for workshop participants ($45 value!),
• then expand your dog’s new Recall/Alert skills to respond to snake movement and odor in subsequent private coaching sessions.

NOTE: No animals are harmed at any point in this program. Our training uses only kind methods with your dog and does not involve the use of live snakes. This produces a more reliable behavior with no negative fallout.

Learn more at CanineLearningCenter.com > Classes > Life Skills

Sign up at CanineLearningCenter.com > Register

08/08/2025

And another paper published on feral horse behavior! This one is important because we show that horse society is bound together by friendly interactions, rather than aggression.

We also found:
🐴 Mares choose who to be with, and mostly choose stallions who hold a harem by themselves.
🐴 A few males are responsible for most of the foals (10 stallions were fathers of 45% of the foals at 2 sites!).
🐴 Harem stallions who stay close to their mares and have more friendly interactions with them (touches and grooming) have more foals and stay as harem stallions for longer.
🐴 Being aggressive to their mares (particularly herding them) doesn't help stallions keep them, or have more foals.

You can access the pdf at the link below until September 25, 2025. After this date you can DM me for a copy.
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1lZTbmjMA41e

08/07/2025

I'm proud to add the THRIVE! badge to my website. THRIVE! is a group coaching program for professional dog trainers who employ science-based force-free positive reinforcement training. Through this group I have been learning a lot!

Find out more about what this means here: https://dogbizsuccess.com/thrive-badges/

07/29/2025

07/18/2025

Hot off the press! Our scientific paper highlighting the differences between horse and donkey behavior and social systems just got published!

Key takeaways:
🫏 Donkeys naturally live in different types of social groups than horses - individuals don't stay together all the time but come together and move apart.
🐴 Horses stand more, but spend less time feeding, moving, and especially lying down than donkeys.
🫏 Donkeys have lots of social interactions with each other, and more than horses!
🐴 So horses and donkeys are indeed very different species, with different behavior and different social needs.

You can access the paper as view only at the link below. If you cannot access it or would like the pdf just DM or email me and I'll send it to you!
[Edited to update the link] https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Frdcu.be%2FewTwU&data=05%7C02%7Csarah.king%40colostate.edu%7Cb47524ad9ac045e3676a08ddc66af304%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C638884884827041665%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=LfiUYFlHP8rX8YNhjRaj3tdEWDzwI0Bpl4LQT1rDZqs%3D&reserved=0

07/13/2025

I’m really looking forward to this talk by Rick Hester from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo about enrichment and training.

🔔 FREE Online Talk – Registration Open!

More details and register here: https://www.equitationscience.com/clever-hans-news

Join us Thursday 24th July at 7:00 PM MDT (UTC−6) for:

"Engineering Environments with Reasons to Behave"
🎙️ Rick Hester, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
📍 Hosted online by the International Society for Equitation Science (ISES)

How do we create environments that don’t just occupy animals—but give them a reason to act?

Rick Hester explores how shifting from activity-based enrichment to outcome-focused behavioural design can improve welfare, increase engagement, and reduce boredom in zoo animals and beyond.

📅 Date: Thursday 24th July
🕖 Time: 7 PM MDT (UTC−6)
💻 Where: Online via Zoom

Hosted as part of the ISES 2025 Conference. Free and open to all

05/03/2025

This week I gave a workshop at Colorado State University called "Dog Training for People". Putting the presentation together made me realize that my training philosophy boils down to these three key points:

1. Think about what you want, not what you don't want.
It is so easy in life and with our animals to think about what we don't want them to do. The more we focus on the negatives the more of that we will see. If instead you think about what you do want you can start manifesting that in your life, and actively teaching that to your dog! Then you start seeing more of the positives and life gets better!

2. Reward the behavior you want to see.
Once you know what you want, reinforce it so that you see it more! Grow that new skill you have been wanting to try and watch it blossom! With your dog the more you let them know when they have made good choices, the more they will make good choices!

3. It's just information.
I find this so useful in my life - when something happens don't think of it as good or bad, just view it as information so that you can then think about what you want instead, and how you can then reinforce that. It all comes full circle!

What are life lessons you have learned from dog training? Does any of this resonate with you? Let me know!

05/02/2025

Snakes are out! My next UnChase! Snakes workshop will be on May 31st at the Canine Learning Center. Come join me to develop your dog's skills in avoiding snakes and letting you know!

This beautiful Rattlesnake was photographed yesterday (May 1) in the Reservoir Ridge Natural Area (between the north end of Horsetooth and Fort Collins).

Which means it is a good time to remember we have Snake Avoidance workshops monthly at the Canine Learning Center… AND it’s a great time to get this on your schedule!

The next session of Un-Chase! Snakes is Saturday, May 31st taught by Sarah King of Brenin Behavior.

In this 3-hr workshop, you and your dog will learn:
• a Snake-Specific Recall
• and a Snake-Specific Alert
• all taught using positive-reinforcement methods which promotes learning and makes it fun for you and your dog!

You will also learn:
• about snakes present in Colorado,
• detailed information about rattlesnakes,
• how to avoid them, and
• what to do should the worst happen.

Once you have completed the Workshop, you will:
• firm up your new skills by following daily training videos in the Un-Chase! App (new for 2025!) provided FREE for workshop participants ($45 value!),
• then expand your dog’s new Recall/Alert skills to respond to snake movement and odor in subsequent private coaching sessions.

NOTE: No animals are harmed at any point in this program. Our training uses only kind methods with your dog and does not involve use of live snakes, producing a more reliable behavior with no negative fallout.

Reserve your space at CanineLearningCenter.com

Thank you to NoCO Trail Conditions for the heads up.

04/26/2025

Snakes are out! If you missed my UnChase! snakes workshop today plan to join me next time on May 31!

Find out more here: https://breninbehavior.com/unchase-snakes

For the second summer, hundreds of rattlesnakes in a Colorado "mega den" are being livestreamed as part of Project RattleCam.