No Bad Dogs

I am a poet and behaviorist living in Missoula, Montana. I graduated with an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Montana in 2012. I’m also a canine behaviorist who likes to dally in other species, including humans.

Dog training wise, I have a certificate from the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), which certifies me as a canine behavior consultant. I’ve worked with animal trainers from across the country and offer my skills in the form of coaching and advice to people for donations, in the hopes of shifting the tide in terms of treatment towards animals and pets. You can work with me from anywhere in the US via google hangouts! Visit www.nobaddogs.org for more info.

I’ve trained dogs professionally using clicker training for over 10 years now, but I grew up using more severe punishment oriented methods. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to meet some animals, both human and otherwise, who brought me around to a better way of being in this world.

You might ask yourself why I do clicker training. Well, I started out using outdated dominance and punishment oriented methods like the kind you might see on a popular TV show by a guy whose name rhymes Fries your Python. I was taught as kid to roll dogs on their backs and hold them down when they growled over food, to choke them when they pulled, and throw rocks at horses when they didn’t come to me. And even worse things than that. But as I progressed in my interest in training, I chose to make the switch to all positive reinforcement training, and for good reasons. The best reason is that our pets didn't choose to be brought into our homes; we made that decision for them. We owe them the best, most ethical care we are capable of providing. When it comes to learning behaviors, positive reinforcement offers that care.

I have done many things to my dog friends that I now regret, and my hope is to help people learn to not them so that one day no dogs have to go through that. Ultimately, I made the move to clicker training because it is based on the best science available. It evolved from the work of this BF Skinner, who you probably read about in your high school introduction to psych, but it now draws on advances in neuroscience and learning theory.

B.F. Skinner developed the field of Behavioral Science by studying how stimuli like food and electric shock influenced future behavior. As a trainer, I like to think of positive reinforcement training as the art of behavioral science, as opposed to the straight study or application of it. Clickers are what good ol’ BF called secondary reinforcers, and they make for incredible behaviors and behavior chains that are better remembered and enjoyable for animals

If you’re interested in my non training pursuits, please check out www.deadfallsandsnares.com. If you want to know more about my work with a rescue horse named Canner, you can read about us at http://members.daysatdunrovin.com/june-2017-canners-story-canner/. There’s four parts to that, so be sure to check out the other three as well!