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Beautiful tortie kitten under a red gingham cloth
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What Is Positive Punishment in Dog Training?

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Everything you need to know about the use of positive punishment in dog training.


By Zazie Todd, PhD

 If you are a new dog owner, or even if you’ve been around dogs for a while, this article is for you. It covers the technical definition of positive punishment, examples of what it is, what we know about the risks of using it and what professional organizations advise.

Let’s get the technical definition out of the way first.


What is positive punishment in dog training?
You’ll have noticed I said positive punishment instead of just punishment. In everyday language, we often say punishment when what we technically mean is positive punishment. We can also have negative punishment, but that will be the topic of another post.

Punishment means something that reduces the likelihood of a behaviour happening again i.e. the behaviour goes down in frequency. And positive means that something is added.

So positive punishment means adding something after the dog did a behaviour that makes the frequenc…
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The Five Pillars of a Healthy Environment for Cats

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How to set your house up for your cat. Do you provide these five things that your cat needs?


By Zazie Todd, PhD

Every morning at about the same time, my tortoiseshell cat Melina jumps on the bed with a chirrup and comes up to sniff my nose and ask to be petted. She purrs while I pet her on the head in the places where cats like to be petted, and a very short time later my alarm goes off and it’s time to get up. This sweet morning interaction is part of her daily routine.

Cats are wonderful pets, but people don’t always understand them well. If we provide a cat with the things they need in their environment, it helps them to be happier and healthier. This applies not just to the physical environment, but also to social interactions with us and any other animals in their space. If these things are not provided, the cat may become stressed and show signs of behaviour problems.

The five pillars of a healthy feline environment are described by the International Society of Feline Medicine an…
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Training Classes and Dogs’ Fear of Loud Noises

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Attendance at dog training classes is associated with reduced levels of canine anxiety in response to storms and fireworks, study shows.


By Zazie Todd, PhD

This page contains affiliate links.

Sensitivity to loud noises such as thunder, fireworks, and gunshots is a problem that affects up to 49% of pet dogs (Blackwell et al 2013). The signs of fear in response to a loud noise can include trembling and shaking, barking, hiding, and seeking out people. A new study from Japan finds that having attended dog training school is associated with fewer anxious behaviours in adult dogs in response to storms and fireworks.

The research by Takuma Kurachi (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology) and Mami Irimajiri (Hill’s Pet Nutrition Japan) is published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour. 307 dog owners attending parks or dog parks in Tokyo and Kanagawa completed a questionnaire about their dog’s anxious behaviours and their earlier attendance at puppy class and/or dog training class.

T…
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