DogRelations

10/30/2026

The days are getting shorter and many of us spend more time indoors. That makes this a good time to teach your dog something new.

It doesn't have to be anything big. A chin rest to make nail care easier, touching a target with a paw, going to a mat when the doorbell rings, or a simple trick that makes you both laugh. What matters is that you learn it together.

Learning something new gives your dog something real to think about. And every short session where you both succeed strengthens your relationship. Over time, that shared learning is what makes your dog feel secure, calm and content.

What would you like to teach your dog this fall? Tell me in the comments.

https://dogrelationsnewyorkcity.com/

10/26/2026

Halloween is on Saturday, and with it come the costume photos.

Some dogs don't mind wearing a costume. Many others find it uncomfortable, even if they hold still for the picture. Watch for a lowered head, ears pulled back, lip licking, freezing, or turning away. A dog who stands still is not necessarily a dog who is comfortable.

If you would like your dog to wear something, teach it the same way you would teach anything else: show the item, reinforce, let your dog choose to come closer, and build up slowly over several short sessions. If your dog still says no, a bandana or no costume at all is perfectly fine.

Your dog doesn't know it's Halloween. He only knows how the evening felt.

https://dogrelationsnewyorkcity.com/

10/06/2026

Allowing your dog to think things through allows them to be a thinking is a dog who is comfortable enough to choose with confidence. Relying on their reward history.

https://dogrelationsnewyorkcity.com/

10/02/2026

Dogs love to observe!
They learn so much about us while they are just watching! Our patterns make them feel safe and predictable to them.
Can you imagine how much we can accomplish if we observed them with the same kind of attention to detail?
The essence is in the detail. The familiarity. The feeling of predictability and safety.
The closeness of that relationship is priceless.

https://dogrelationsnewyorkcity.com/

09/30/2026

Rule out pain before you train

September is Animal Pain Awareness Month and I think it is important to remind everyone how important it is that certain changes in behavior require a vet check before we delve into behavior modification.

If your dog either suddenly or over time shows thw following signs:

A sit that's performed with hesitation and wobbly or crooked or not at all!
Growling or snapping when touched in one specific place.
Lying on the floor instead of jumping onto the favorite place on the couch

When behavior changes like these are reported, I always make sure there are no underlying health issues before entering into a behavior modification program because we need to know .

https://dogrelationsnewyorkcity.com/

09/27/2026

09/26/2026

"We needed help with our beloved rescue terrier mix, and Elisabeth was recommended to us through a friend of a friend.

Our dog is sweet, spunky, and very smart, but he is also sensitive and reactive, which sometimes leads to biting. Elisabeth taught us how to interact with him to reinforce calm behavior. Since our first session, we noticed that he had quickly developed a lot more confidence. He went from refusing to walk more than one block to enjoying long walks around the neighborhood, and we were thrilled to see that he started voluntarily offering many polite behaviors on his own (which Elisabeth taught us to reinforce through clicker training), such as quietly sitting on his mat while we eat dinner, sitting when we open doors, etc.

Elisabeth has an incredible way with dogs and seeing how she uses body language and subtle gestures to gently guide and communicate with our dog was amazing. We were thrilled to see how quickly he responded to the training and how eager he was to incorporate his new learned behaviors into his routine (he now runs to his bed and lays down calmly to earn treats).

Even better, we feel like we've learned a lot of helpful tips and techniques to continue working with our dog on our own. We have since booked a second session for help with "drop it" and leash aggression and will certainly contact Elisabeth for help with training/behavior issues in the future!"
Adam & Alana

https://dogrelationsnewyorkcity.com/

09/25/2026

Reinforcement history is the scaffolding for newly acquire behavior.

Let us be clear about what reinforcement is: It is a stimulus that is added to make a behavior more memorable and changes the consequence of said behavior.
All reinforced behaviors increase in frequency in the future.
The quality of the added stimulus determines the consequence.

Assuming that you can add something pleasant or desirable you are adding an inspiring and motivating reinforcement history.
The more repetitions with pleasant or rewarding consequences you can build the more solid your own and your dog's reinforcement history is.
More fun together.

https://dogrelationsnewyorkcity.com/services/

09/16/2026

Interrupting or correcting a behavior is not as effective as preventing it from happening altogether.

No matter how you correct an unwanted behavior : The dog still got to practice the behavior. You let the behavior be rehearsed one more time and you gave the dog some reinforcement for it by giving it your intense attention. Practice makes perfect.

Then we wonder why "it is not working"!
What has to change is what happens just before the behavior derails into something unwanted. And usually you can see the tell tale signs!

Watch those small movements. The eyes get bigger, the tail speeds up, an ear turns, a paw lifts, the weight shifts back. Those tiny movements advertise what's coming, and they're your moment to insert a different behavior into the chain, a fork in the road that leads somewhere else.

Rearrange the room. Put a chair where your dog usually launches onto the couch, and a chew on the bed right beside it. If the path to that bed is well practiced and well paid, choosing it costs your dog almost nothing. With repetition the furniture becomes a signal your dog follows.

The chair does the work for you. That's the goal.

I wrote about this at more length here: https://dogrelations.substack.com/p/applied-behavior-analysis

09/02/2026

"He's stubborn" tells me nothing I can work with. "He lifts his lip when I walk by when he is eating" tells me a lot more. "He ignores me when I call him" - let's find out why that is the case. How can I help him understand what I mean, and how can I motivate him to find it interesting?

https://dogrelationsnewyorkcity.com