The Problems with Punishment
This blog is part of a series on training methods and training advice. Other blogs in this series can be found in the links at the bottom. In the last blog we discussed how, in the training world, the definitions of punishment and reinforcement are more strict than our everyday use of those words. If you're not familiar with these, please check out that blog here: What are Punishment and Reinforcement? In the above post, we talked about the "four quadrants" of reinforcement l

What are Punishment and Reinforcement?
This blog is part of a series on training methods and training advice. The other blogs in this series can be found in the links at the bottom. Most conscientious dog owners have heard a lot about the positive reinforcement revolution. With this blog, I hope to help inform readers about some of the more pernicious but popular misconceptions about training, training advice and professional trainers. Before I can talk about punishment and reinforcement, I need a definition first
Training Techniques Used and Promoted by Pooch Perfect
A lot of people ask about the training methods Pooch Perfect uses. That's a good question, but most people are confused about what a "training method" is and how professional trainers use them. Pooch Perfect doesn't use canned advice. Many trainers have sets of exercises ready before they even meet you and your dog -- but that's because so many of them subscribe to popular training ideologies that instruct their followers to use a certain "method" and no other. Those trainer