Dog Training

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Classical Conditioning: What it doesn’t mean

One of the headlines from our animal behavior consult is that I’ve done far too much operant conditioning and not enough classical conditioning. Generally I assume that experienced “dog people” know what this means. A recent conversation proved otherwise. At least one person thought I meant punishment-based training when I said classic. So, just to be clear, classical conditioning is a way of learning, not the out-of-date punishment/dominance obsessed style of dog training.
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Dogs on Drugs | Info-Share

TMI – How Much This is Costing Me

Someday, I’ll add up everything I’ve spent (which is A LOT) trying to help Lilly’s canine generalized anxiety and somewhat severe social phobia of people and dogs. For now, however, here’s a recap of very recent spending: …

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Dogs on Drugs | Info-Share

Lilly’s New Meds (clomipramine) Arrive

After last week’s drama, I’m happy to report that Lilly’s new medicine (clomipramine), the one the animal behaviorist recommended, arrived Friday (7/18) from 1-800-PetMeds, just 2 days after the order was shipped. It took a full week and something like 20 phone calls to make it happen, though. Seriously, it took less time to get the meds here from a warehouse in Florida, than it did for someone to OK the order by phone. All manner of things fouled us up — a lack of responsiveness from my regular veterinary practice, an …

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Dog Training Update | Dogs on Drugs

Weekly Training Update (July 18)

I worked hard this week to track Lilly’s behavior patterns so that we’ll have something concrete for comparison down the road when the new drugs and behavior work kick in. Here are a few things I found interesting: …

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Dog Gripe | Dogs on Drugs

Oh, I’m ranting

It’s not like clomipramine comes from Mars or is some new-fangled drug. It isn’t. It’s a pretty common medication for dogs with anxiety. Why, then, is it so @#$@# hard to get it where I live? And, why is the dog version SO MUCH MORE expensive than the human version? Talk about screwing the pooch, or at least the girl who loves her!!! …

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Dog Training Update | Dogs on Drugs | Hot News

The New Training Plan, The Basics

Lilly’s new behavior modification plan is 26 pages long. On Saturday, I read through the entire thing, and I went back through the initial stages in detail. Then, I emailed a bunch of additional information to our behaviorist, along with a slew of questions. Here is the basic outline of the plan.
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Dog Training Update | Dogs on Drugs

Weekly Training Update (July 11) – A New Era

Lilly and I braved painful rush-hour traffic in ridiculous heat to drive 2+ hours (each way) to a consultation last night with a behaviorist at the Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Fort Collins, CO. The full written diagnosis, new drug and dosage selection, and detailed behavior modification plan is pending. And, I’m still obsessively processing (while madly cleaning my entire house) everything we talked about during our nearly 2 hour consult. BUT, here are a couple things I’m sorting through and trying to understand based on what I managed to …

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Dog Photo | Dog Training Update | Dogs on Drugs

Some Hiking News and Photos

Behind the scenes at Champion of My Heart, I get private advice from some readers. They simply feel more comfortable emailing me directly with ideas, input, support. And, that’s totally fine. One such idea from a friend was to take Lilly on different hikes this summer to keep her out and working, even though we’re taking a break from classes until we figure out the anxiety medicine stuff. So, here are a few updates on recent outings: …

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Canine Noise Fears: A Cautionary Tale

Yesterday through our neighborhood email list, I received a note about a lost dog. For some reason, I didn’t receive the plea for help from the dog’s owners, but another neighbor realized the oversight and forwarded it to me. She knows I adore dogs. (That’s putting it mildly.) She knows I frequent the roads and trails nearby. Today, I found the lost dog while on my morning walk with Lilly. I was excited to be the hero, until I realized he was dead. …

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Dog Brag | Dog Video Gallery | Info-Share

The Full Relax-y

In the grand history of the Relaxation Protocol,there are tales of dogs melting into the ground. Heads down, faces relaxed, they settle in no matter what. Well, with Lilly, that never happened. I had to reward the tip of the hip and ask for it. I had to specifically shape putting her head down. We call this training tool slash trick CHIN! Here’s a video of the finished product. …

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