my heterosis dream! Females, AKC site breed standards.Labrador retriever: avg 63 pounds, 71 pounds top end.ACD: avg 43 pounds, 50 pounds top end.Combination Mean average: 53 pounds Wanda weight at 16 weeks: 30 pounds I am enthusiastic about discussing my puppy, so I don't mind the daily comments and questions about her size. I am … Continue reading Hybrid vigor, or just chance?

See the bump? This is my dog Rudy's incisive papilla. Your dog has one, also (humans do, too)! It is a bump (papilla) on the roof of the mouth, behind the top front (incisor) teeth. Its purpose is to transfer odor particulate from the mouth up into vomeronasal organ (often called the Jacobson organ), which passes … Continue reading The good kind of bump!

When dogs perform behavior after we cue it verbally and/or through gestures, we are providing an antecedent to that behavior. When dogs bark because of an external trigger (like a dog or person walking by, or a sound), then the antecedent is the trigger itself. In neither case can the dog associate an antecedent given … Continue reading Antecedents & Consequences, Nouns & Verbs

This blog entry from guest writer, Jessica Lough. Thank, you, Jessica! https://youtu.be/ameJPDHWT7w My partner Andre sent me this video from The Dodo on the anniversary of my last heart dog's (Faolan's) death, and I immediately knew he was destined to be my baby. Initially, this sweet pup reminded me of Faolan because of the German … Continue reading A dog abandoned, a dog recovered.

Frequency, quantity, quality, chronology. State of being, state of mind, status of needs... The variables influencing our dog's behavior are innumerable. When we can be aware and thoughtful of the variables, however, our training will improve dramatically. In a given situation, where & when multiple behaviors are possible, The Matching Law is the equation which … Continue reading The illusion of choice: Frequency, Quantity, Quality, Chronology…

Consider any skill you have ever learned to do well. Is there a sport you have learned how to play? How about a musical instrument? Is there a task at your job you were trained to perform? How did you learn these skills? What is the common element of playing clarinet, having a solid tennis … Continue reading The importance of practice

Names hold great importance to most humans. Names don't mean the same things to dogs. Theory of mind regarding dogs is changing quickly as people develop tests more appropriate for dogs, but... have you seen a dog pass gas and look back at their own butt, as if they don't know what happened? Or seen … Continue reading On changing a dog’s name

The Greek philosopher, Zeno of Elea, gave us modern dog trainers the key to errorless training over 2000 years ago. Zeno is famous for several philosophical and mathematical paradoxes, but the most important to us is the Dichotomy Paradox, in which he argued that motion is an illusion. It goes something like this: imagine you … Continue reading Zeno’s Paradox and the errorless stay

Humans and dogs are both very special animals. We enjoy a symbiotic relationship of mutualism which has allowed each of our species to propagate and thrive in ways our nearest relatives cannot approach. Because humans and dogs enjoy such a uniquely inter-personal relationship, and because we have bred dogs, or allowed certain individual dogs to … Continue reading The Mythical Dog: prideful, spiteful, and stubborn

My goals for jumps, hoops, frames, braces, tires, and all other fitness or agility equipment is that they are re-usuable, re-purposeable, and safe as possible. I don't like to use glue, because it makes re-purposing the PVC very difficult. Most PVC is available at big box stores, but it is harder to find furniture grade … Continue reading PVC frames and braces for dog obstacles