Cog-Dog Radio

Sarah has a teenager! Join her as she walks through some recent challenges and triumphs with her 18 month old border collie, Carson. If you have a teen, work with folks who do, or plan to have one in the future, this one will be vital. Knowing how to respond, what to avoid, and what is normal, will all help! https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: htt...

In the “Hands off the Cookies!” episode from 10/29 Sarah talked about transactional and conversational communication styles. Here, she dives deeper into those as well as managerial communication, and where each is best utilized with our dogs. https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: https://cogdogclassroom.mykajabi.com/ Join us on Patreon: https://www....

We talked last week about good coaching and teaching, but what does it look like to be easily coached? What does the client need to bring to the table in order for a behavior modification plan to work? It takes sacrifice, honesty, and commitment for this stuff to work, but what does that actually look like? https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: http...

Principles of good coaching skills are the same as principles of good dog training skills. How long to train, when to give feedback, and how to bring your best self to a session are all matters of utmost importance. Whether you coach people professionally or receive coaching from others (or both!) this one is for you. https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership...

We, the trainers of R+landia, use a lot of food. But there are so many times when we are unwise to do so, and in fact when food can be a damaging part of the equation. If you think slinging treats is always a good idea, or if you find yourself throwing food whenever you are in doubt, this one is for you. https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: https:/...

When the internal system is unstable the external systems must step up to support that system. Meaning, when chronic health concerns or even just a highly specialized mind are part of the dog you are trying to care for, you have to show up with strong external systems of support to help them thrive. https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: https://cogd...

Pain is frequently a component of behavior cases and not often discussed from a behavior consultant’s viewpoint. But pain is not strictly a medical concern and the behavior field at large needs to know how to approach it from our skillset. Scratch the surface on this meaty topic with Sarah as she dives into pain as an individual experience and explores it through the biopsychosocial model. https:/...

When Sarah says to her students “everything bleeds” she means that the dog’s way of solving problems will be universal for the dog; it will bleed into everything the dog does. There are three general types of problem solving that dogs can bring to the table, and some of them are more beneficial to us than others. Walk with Sarah through a discussion on dogs that bring too much behavior to problem...

If you are a behavior consultant, or a person who has sought behavior consulting for their dog, you know that the emotions of the guardian attached to the dog can either help or hinder the process. Join Sarah in conversation with Marissa Martino CDBC of Paws and Reward in a dynamic discussion about the feelings on the human end of the leash. Practical strategies, real life stories, and of course a...

In the third and final installment of the Understanding Reinforcement series, Sarah tackles natural and contrived contingencies. The natural contingency driving your dog’s behavior is important for you to know about and leverage. Many natural contingencies are about avoidance, while our contrived contingencies tend to be about acquisition. Superimposing acquisition contingencies on top of avoidanc...

Behavior consulting skills are vast and way too varied to cover all in one episode. But Sarah and friend of the podcast Lisa Mullinax CDBC of Serenity Canine in Seattle Washington are an ambitious bunch, and they went for it in this episode. From coaching to planning, assessing risk to troubleshooting and so much more, join them in this journey down the behavior modification consultant’s toolkit....

A rich understanding of how reinforcement works to strengthen behavior is vital for behavior change, and yet there are so many areas of this concept that are misunderstood by dog trainers (hobbyists and professionals alike!). Join Sarah as she explores these misunderstandings and offers tips and insights you can use right away. https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the...

In the second installment of three part series exploring the nuances of reinforcement Sarah dives into negative reinforcement. Can negative reinforcement be part of a humane training plan? If so, when is it best utilized? All this, practical application, and more. https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: https://cogdogclassroom.mykajabi.com/ Join us on...

In the first of a three part series exploring nuances of reinforcement, Sarah talks about what she calls the 1:1 ratio of behavior : reinforcement. When we are training or maintaining behavior we need to always maintain a 1: 1 ratio and what that looks like varies based on the learner, the task, and the payout. A seemingly simple unit of behavior might require a big payout and that payout is not a...

Is there a time and a place to intentionally utilize one type of learning over another in dog training? Can you ever be operating in only one learning form? https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: https://cogdogclassroom.mykajabi.com/ Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

We talk a lot about “management” in dog training but what is it, actually? When is management just training? When is training NOT management? Is this all just semantics? All this and more with Julianna DeWillems. www.instagram.com/jwdogtraining www.dogwise.com www.jwdogtraining.com https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: https://cogdogclassroom.mykaja...

Do dogs need to tolerate frustration to live successfully in the human world? Do they need to tolerate frustration in order to be successful in sports? What even IS frustration tolerance? https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: https://cogdogclassroom.mykajabi.com/ Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Should dog trainers be training dogs, or is it ok for us to focus our efforts elsewhere? Are sports the best inroad to hands-on work? What standards should we hold our mentors to, and should we have mentors? All this and more with industry leader Kelly Gorman Dunbar. Find Kelly https://www.kellydunbardogtraining.com/ FB private training group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kddtcommunity IG @kell...

As a field (and as dog owners), we are often talking about different things when we refer to “separation anxiety.” But is isolation phobia the same as hyperattachment? Are some dogs just upset about confinement, and not about isolation? And what about FOMO? Buckle up for a nuanced and in-depth conversation about the entire suite of behaviors we call “separation anxiety” with Karishma Warr, the co-...

McCarthyism in US history names a time when unfounded persecution availed. Being afraid to show our training or speak about what we are doing is the current era of dog training because of similar unfounded persecution. When dog trainers accuse each other of not being positive enough, as is rampant in dog social media circles, we only serve to harm each other and the industry. Find Laurie: https://...

In this crossover episode with The K9 Conservationists Podcast, Sarah sits down with Kayla Fratt CDBC to discuss a recent problem Kayla faced in the field with her detection dog Barley. What started as a conversation via text between friends became an educational and geeky conversation about what to do when things go wrong, how we can adjust behavioral outcomes with reinforcement, how much it matt...

As behavior professionals we need to be proficient in the areas of environmental management, enrichment, and also dog training. But we are not a master of all three we might lean too heavily on one or two of them while forgoing the third, sometimes to the detriment of the case. Join Sarah in an exploration of each of these areas through the lens of practical examples. https://sarahstremming.com/pr...

In this episode Sarah outlines what she did to change her personal dog’s behavior regarding horseback riders. Once a shrieking, lunging, inconsolable mess, now a model trail citizen, Rayya the Icelandic Sheepdog is the star of this episode. https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: https://cogdogclassroom.mykajabi.com/ Join us on Patreon: https://www.pa...

In the third and final (maybe?) installment of the least intrusive principle series Sarah explores what choice and agency have to do with intrusiveness. Degrees of freedom: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379412099_The_Benefits_of_Considering_Degrees_of_Freedom_in_the_Zoo_Animal_Community https://equineclickertraining.wordpress.com/2020/02/26/asat-conference-2020-dr-joe-layng-coercion-wit...

In this second installment exploring the principle of least intrusiveness Sarah explores her own checklist for being sure her behavior change plans are low on the intrusion scale and still high in effectiveness. This is the practical application episode that relies on the listener having already worked through the part one episode. https://sarahstremming.com/products/ Sign up for courses and join...