How What I’ve Learned in 33 Years Has Changed My Approach to Canine Behavior, Training, and Ethics.

A presentation for the Eastern Area Agency on Aging

By Don Hanson, PCBC-A, BFRAP

< Version – 2024-03-18 >

< Updated 2024-03-22 >

Links and Other References

Our Early Years with Gus

• Thank You, PPG, and Gus Too! – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2018/12/05/shared-article-thank-you-ppg-and-gus-too/

FACT: Dogs Are Emotional Sentient Beings

• Pets, Emotions, & Anthropomorphism – https://forcefreepets.com/pets-emotions-anthropomorphism/
• Books
  • The Expression of Emotion in Man & Animals, Charles Darwin
  • For the Love of A Dog, Patricia McConnel, Ph.D.
  • The Emotional Lives of Animals, Marc Bekoff, Ph.D.
  • Descartes’s Error, Antonio Damasio

MYTH: I must be dominant or Alpha

• Dog Behavior – Dominance: Reality or Myth – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/06/20/dog-behavior-dominance-reality-or-myth/
• PPG – Dominance Theory in Animal Training – Position Statement – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/resource/dominance-theory-in-animal-training-position-statement/
• AVSAB – Position Statement on the Use of Dominance Theory in Behavior Modification of Animals – https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Dominance_Position_Statement-download.pdf

 FACT: Aversive Tools must NEVER be used to train a dog

• AAHA 2015 Canine and Feline Behavior Management Guidelines – https://www.aaha.org/aaha-guidelines/behavior-management/behavior-management-home/

• PPG – The Use of Choke and Prong Collars – Position Statement – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/resource/the-use-of-choke-and-prong-collars-position-statement/
• PPG – The Use of Pet Correction Devices – Position Statement – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/resource/the-use-of-pet-correction-devices-position-statement/
• PPG – The Use of Shock – Position Statement – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/resource/the-use-of-shock-position-statement/

• AVSAB – Humane Dog Training Position Statement – https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/AVSAB-Humane-Dog-Training-Position-Statement-2021.pdf
• The Least Inhibitive, Functionally Effective (LIFE) Model: A New Framework for Ethical Animal Training Practices – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376288769_The_Least_Inhibitive_Functionally_Effective_LIFE_Model_A_New_Framework_for_Ethical_Animal_Training_Practices

FACT: A Behavior That is Rewarded Will Be Repeated

• Dog Training – What Is Clicker Training? – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2007/02/01/dog-training-what-is-clicker-training/
• Clicker Training: A Dog’s Point of View – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/1997/12/01/dog-training-clicker-training-a-dogs-point-of-view/
• The CIA’s Most Highly-Trained Spies Weren’t Even Human-Smithsonian – http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-cias-most-highly-trained-spies-werent-even-human-20149
• When Everything Clicks: The Power Of Judgment-Free Learning – https://www.npr.org/transcripts/616127481
• Clicker Training For Dogs Is Adapted To Help Surgeons Learn Quickly –  https://www.npr.org/2018/06/12/619109741/clicker-training-for-dogs-is-adapted-to-help-surgeons-learn-quickly
• Book Review – Dog Smart: Evidence-based Training with The Science Dog by Linda P. Case – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2018/12/01/book-review-dog-smart-evidence-based-training-with-the-science-dog-by-linda-p-case/
• Book Review–What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage: Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers by Amy Sutherland – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2019/12/29/book-review-what-shamu-taught-me-about-life-love-and-marriage-lessons-for-people-from-animals-and-their-trainers-by-amy-sutherland/

• Books
  • Don’t Shoot the Dog, Karen Pryor
  • What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage: Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers, Amy Sutherland
  • Best Friends for Life, Don Hanson, PCBC-A
  • Dog Smart: Evidence-based Training with The Science Dog, Linda P. Case.

FACT: Dogs Communicate Silently with Their Body

• Book Review – On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2018/01/10/book-review-on-talking-terms-with-dogs-calming-signals-by-turid-rugaas/

• Book Review – A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog! by Niki Tudge – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2018/01/10/book-review-a-kids-comprehensive-guide-to-speaking-dog-by-niki-tudge/
• Book Review – The Other End of the Leash, by Patricia McConnell, PhD – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2002/12/29/book-review-the-other-end-of-the-leash-by-patricia-mcconnell-phd/

• Books

• On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals, by Turid Rugaas
• A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog! by Niki Tudge
• The Other End of the Leash, Patricia McConnell, PhD

FACT: Your Dog Can Detect Your Mood Based On Your Facial Expressions

• Smile! Your dog’s brain will light up in response, Virginia Morell, Science, 27MAR18 – https://www.science.org/content/article/smile-your-dog-s-brain-will-light-response

FACT: Your Dog Can Detect Your Emotions Based On The Way You Smell

• Dogs really can smell your fear, and then they get scared too, Jake Buehler. NewScientist, 19OCT17 – https://www.newscientist.com/article/2150956-dogs-really-can-smell-your-fear-and-then-they-get-scared-too/

FACT: As Humans, We Need to Pay More Attention to How We Interact with Dogs

• How Would YOU Like It?, San Diego Humane Society, YouTube, April 13, 2023 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G775ppK3VEM

MYTH: Without Daily Physical Exercise, My Dog Will Get Fat

• Pet Obesity Is A Major Health Issue for Our Pets – Please, Do What You Can to Help! – https://forcefreepets.com/pet-obesity-is-a-major-health-issue-for-our-pets-please-do-what-you-can-to-help/

FACT: Some Pet Care Professionals Are Trying to Improve Things

• The Pet Professional Guild for Pet Owners – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/pet-owners/
• The Pet Professional Guild Guiding Principles – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/join-ppg/principles-conduct/guiding-principles/
• The Pet Professional Accreditation Board – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/about-ppab/
• Pets and Their People – https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/pet-owners/pets-and-their-people/
• Green Acres Kennel Shop and Force Free Pets Ethics Policies – https://forcefreepets.com/ethics-policies/

FACT: What You Feed Your Pet Matters

• Green Acres Kennel Shops Philosophy on Pet Nutrition– http://bit.ly/GAKS_Nut_Phil
• Pet Foods We Offer At Green Acres Kennel Shop– http://bit.ly/GAKS_PetFood_Brands
• Which Companies Are Behind Your Pet’s Food? – http://bit.ly/PetFoodComp
• What I Feed My Dog and Why I Feed What I Do – https://bit.ly/WhatIFeedAndWhy
• Which Are the Best Treats for Dogs?– https://bit.ly/WhichTreats
• Podcast – What We Feed Our Pets and Why, with – Don Hanson, Kate Dutra, and Linda Case– https://bit.ly/WfMw-WhatWeFeed-11JUL20
• Rethinking the Role of Carbs in Your Dog’s Diet – https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/2024-01-08-dogs-carb-heavy-diets/
• Book Review–The Forever Dog by Rodney Habib and Karen Shaw Becker – https://forcefreepets.com/book-review-the-forever-dog-by-rodney-habib-and-karen-shaw-becker/
• Book Review–Feeding Dogs. Dry or Raw? The Science Behind The Debate by Conor Brady, PhD – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2021/11/28/book-reviews-knowledge-to-enrich-the-life-of-you-and-your-dog-the-best-dog-books-of-2021/
• Book Review – Ruined by Excess, Perfected by Lack – The paradox of pet nutrition by Richard Patton, PhD – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/03/16/book-review-ruined-by-excess-perfected-by-lack-the-paradox-of-pet-nutrition-by-richard-patton/

• BOOKS
  • The Forever Dog by Rodney Habib and Karen Shaw Becker
  • Feeding Dogs. Dry or Raw? The Science Behind The Debate, Conor Brady, PhD
  • Ruined by Excess, Perfected by Lack – The paradox of pet nutrition, Richard Patton, PhD

FACT: ALWAYS Be Patient with, and Kind to Your Dog

Green Acres Kennel Shop

• Home Page – https://www.greenacreskennel.com/
• Ethics Policies – https://www.greenacreskennel.com/position-statements/position-statements.html
• About Don – https://forcefreepets.com/about-don-hanson/
• Don’s Publications – https://forcefreepets.com/about-don-hanson/publications/
• Blog – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/
• Nutrition Resources – https://blog.greenacreskennel.com/pet-nutrition-resources-page/
• Green Acres Kennel Shop on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/GreenAcresKennelShop

Force Free Pets

• Home Page – https://forcefreepets.com/
• Ethics Policies – https://forcefreepets.com/ethics-policies/
• About Don – https://forcefreepets.com/about-don-hanson/
• Don’s Publications – https://forcefreepets.com/about-don-hanson/publications/
• Blog – https://forcefreepets.com/blog/

ForceFreePets on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ForceFreePets/