Subscriber Archive
Housetraining can feel like such a challenge that many people just give up and mop up. You can get so completely flummoxed and frustrated that you lose their patience. You can teach your spiffy new puppy – in just one day – where to find the dog bathroom. He’ll learn that all good things come from you. Get ready to be the benevolent and loving head honcho who controls the resources that you will be delighted to help your puppy learn to earn. I hope you find this information useful. You’re welcome to share this video with any of your dog-loving friends. If they’re considering a new puppy or if they’re already struggling with house soiling they’ll be glad for the advice. Each week I share a short video, a podcast, or a blog to help bring out the best in pets. You can sign up at no charge on…
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Download a .pdf version of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) position statement on The Use of Punishment. Giving dogs and other creatures a clear reason not to engage in bad behavior would seem like a quick and simple way of solving a problem. But when a dog or cat gets a painful consequence for doing the wrong thing their unmet behavioral needs can be manifest in other, even more unhealthy ways. Punishment is rarely used as part of evidence-based behavior modification in part because it can easily lead to unintended consequences. This position statement, on The Use of Punishment, from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) is written for pet parents while it shares current research on healthy learning. I hope you find it valuable. All the best, Jeff Nichol, DVM
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Housetraining can feel like such a challenge that many people just give up and mop up. You can turn this around. While your shiny new puppy learns where to find the dog bathroom you can also be teaching him that all good things come from you. This method is a canine-specific structure for helping a young dog learn the house rules. Get ready to be the benevolent and loving head honcho who controls the resources that you will be delighted to help your dog learn to earn. To make this workable I’ve broken it down into three steps. Get ready for straight-forward success. I hope you find this information useful. You’re welcome to share this podcast with any of your dog-loving friends. If they’re considering a new puppy or if they’re already struggling with house soiling they’ll be glad for the advice. Each week I share a short video, a…
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Puppies are great fun. They run and play and live in the moment, completely uninhibited – including when they get the urge to eliminate. Housetraining can feel like such a challenge that many people just give up and mop up. Others, so completely flummoxed and frustrated that they lose their patience, have resorted to yelling or punishment. We have research-based methods to get this chore accomplished that will do more than keep the stool and urine outside where it belongs. While your shiny new puppy learns where to find the dog bathroom you can also be teaching him that all good things come from you. He can earn anything he wants from his reliable leader just by following the canine-specific structure that you consistently support. Can the arduous chore of housetraining really be that rewarding? Everything between you and your best friend will be excellent if he gets it. It…
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Can you choose the great feline friend who will be the excellent companion you have always wanted? I think you can if you follow an objective method. Allowing fate to make the call for you may work OK but you’ll want to avoid the cat who could make your life a living hell (or a living heck, if the cat is only moderately evil). Our cats’ wellbeing matters too. They need forever homes. Temperament testing the candidates is a matter of patience. Watch the litter politics being played out in front of you. Quietly let each baby sit in your hands. Understanding the antics, postures, and interactions will help you make the best choice. Each week I share a short video, a podcast, or a blog to help bring out the best in pets. You can sign up at no charge on my website, drjeffnichol.com. And when you do, I’ll…
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Is this possible? Can you choose the great feline friend who will be the faithful excellent companion you have always wanted? I think you can but there are many “ifs” involved. This is an issue that is both simple and rather complicated all at once. I’d like to start by asking whether you are a cat person, a dog person, or a pet person. People with a strong preference for one species know why they feel that way. For these folks it’s pretty straightforward. You relate to that species largely because of who you are. You have clear expectations because you’ve had a connection with the dogs or cats in your life and it’s been felt on both sides of those relationships. I understand this because I know so many dogs and dog people and so many cats and cat people. But I’m not one of them. Instead I am…
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So what can you do if the dog who’s stolen your heart damages your house while you’re away-often? If you have a dog like this you can feel desperate. Dogs with separation anxiety can actually look forward to their alone time because that will be their chance to engage their innate survival instincts. I hope you find this information useful. You’re welcome to share this video with any of your pet-loving friends. If their dog is miserable when home alone or if they arrive to find their house damaged they’ll be glad for the advice. Each week I share a short video, a podcast, or a blog to help bring out the best in pets. You can sign up at no charge on my website, drjeffnichol.com. And when you do, I’ll send you my free at-home pet first aid and CPR guide. Thanks for watching. I’m Dr. Jeff Nichol
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What can you do if the dog who has stolen your heart damages your house while you’re away-often? More than frustrating, separation anxiety can damage the bond that makes these special pets our best friends. This disorder is nobody’s fault. And it’s common. Many affected dogs, beside themselves with angst house soil, dig, scratch, chew, and howl. After returning home to daily disasters many frustrated dog parents protect their homes by confining their demolition dogs to a crate or a run. This almost always goes badly. Science has discovered a genetic predisposition for many dogs with separation anxiety, a severe problem that has to be taken seriously because it represents a significant neurochemical imbalance in the brain. We can and do adjust the neurotransmitters at the root of this dysfunction with no side effects. Behavior modification, of the scientific variety, is another essential component of treatment. There is much more.…
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Why it Happens; What to Do Dogs are our best friends for some really strong reasons. They’re always delighted to see us, they’ll follow us anywhere, and they’ll never run off with somebody else. Those traits are hard to find in another human. Most everybody I know does their best but, in some ways, dogs are the most special friends. They’ll never leak a secret. So what can you do if the dog who has stolen your heart damages your house while you’re away-often? How is this possible? This dog loves you beyond words. More than frustrating, separation anxiety can damage the bond that makes these special pets our best friends. I’ve dealt with hundreds of these cases. These pet parents are desperate. They struggle with the daily angst of coming home to face…, well, sometimes hundreds of dollars of damage. Your mind can go wild with why a dog…
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