Erica Lake Dog Training

07/19/2021

This is fantastic. Sometimes we need to get creative in how we need to enrich our dog’ life and I had to share this.

04/21/2021

A great video explaining the alpha myth...

The toughest, most dominant canine gets the resources and respect - or at least that's the idea that caught on culturally. Turns out, that's not necessarily ...

03/21/2021

This is important to remember when teaching an animal or teaching a human.

Every living organism is programmed to avoid aversive contingencies. Antecedents (cues, people, animals, sounds, objects, environments, contexts, etc.) that predict aversive consequences will engender avoidance behaviors.

Although we come up with countless reasons for why punishment is appropriate—dogs need to know it’s “wrong”, dogs need to be held “accountable”, dogs need to experience “consequences”—these are nothing but human constructs.

In truth, when we punish a dog for barking at another dog or for jumping up on the counter, they’re not learning that these behaviors are “wrong.” They’re learning that icky things happen when other dogs are around or when they’re in the vicinity of counters.

Avoidance can and does expand beyond the intended scope in which punishment was originally used. It can extend to us, training environments, our cues, other people, dogs, places, and spaces. If punishment is consistent and repeated then avoidance becomes a lifestyle.

We should be striving to build sustainable behaviors through motivation and competency. Our goal should be to create learners who know what to do and have the skills to do it. Behavior (or lack thereof) by means of avoidance is not that, no matter how many cookies we follow it up with.

[ID: On a pale pink background large words in dark gray read “Punishment doesn’t teach skills. Punishment teaches avoidance.]

12/07/2020

Dogs and toddlers are SO similar. Sometimes they have meltdowns, which look like "bad behavior."

Here is a translation guide that I made last year with my friend Miranda from The Mindful Canine

12/05/2020

This is so important and really is related to consent. Does your dog want to be petted?

“Oh, Pumpkin just loves petting, don’t you, Pumpkin?” Martha said, patting her Cocker Spaniel on top of his head as he tried to investigate the office. Pumpkin’s guardian had come to me for some…

11/29/2020

So, so important that a dog gets to sniff...

http://www.silentconversations.com/importance-of-allowing-your-dog-to-sniff/?fbclid=IwAR2gC85axMfA670vuDZLX9cr5qpvOzC1AfSUz9wbVK2SGmMP-2anaHwRfAs

Sniffing is vital to the way dogs gather information and interact with their environment. Scent is the predominant way in which dogs make sense of their world.At times, depending on the context, a dog is not just sniffing a scent; he is communicating. What he is communicating can vary according to t...