Author Archives: Marika S. Bell

The First Step is Communication

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

Animals learn by association. They will learn to anticipate a positive outcome by remembering positive experiences. This is the basis for clicker training and the primary reason why I use it for dog training. We first teach the dog to … Continue reading →

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What is Aggression

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

I have worked with a Tiger who was a man killer, a Lion with no personal hygiene, and a leopard who liked to cuddle. I worked with Grizzly Bears that I had to yell at to earn respect and Big … Continue reading →

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Suzanne Clothier’s CARAT Seminar 1.1 Introduction

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

Clothier’s three-day seminar was an introduction to her new assessment tool, the Clothier Animal Response Assessment Tool. The introduction covered the pre-requisites to learning how to use CARAT. Particularly the need for the assessor to know how to observe, and … Continue reading →

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The Aversive Argument

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

The use of aversive equipment is a hot argument. Some believe that the ends always justify the means and when used at an appropriate level, even a very strong aversive is justifiable. Others believe that the use of aversive equipment … Continue reading →

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Excessive Barking: Alert Barking

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

Alert barking is the one type of barking dog owners actually appreciate.  Alert barking is when the dog notices something out of the ordinary, or hears a noise (such as a burglar) in the night and kicks up a loud … Continue reading →

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Director’s Book Club- September: “Dogs” – by Raymond and Lorna Coppinger

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

Part 1:     “Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution” by Raymond Coppinger and Lorna Coppinger The first topic in this book I would like to bring up is commensalism. Commensalism is when one species benefits from another … Continue reading →

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Bark Control Collars Linked to Aggression

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

I had a call this week from the owner of a small dog who had recently bitten him while he was trying to remove the dog’s collar. After some discussion I discovered the collar was a citronella bark control collar. … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Misunderstood Behaviours: # 5 Winning Tug of War

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

Tug of War has gotten a bad name in the dog world and is just starting to recover. So lets first cover why ‘people’ decided  Tug was a bad game to play with your dog. In the mid 90’s a … Continue reading →

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Welcome to America!

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

Wow, OK. This will be my first blog since my move.  The other blogs that have been posting I pre-scheduled to pop up once a week while I was settling in. I hope you all found them thought provoking and … Continue reading →

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There’s More Than One Way to Train a Dog.

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

Even using only ‘dog friendly’ methods there is more than one way to train a dog. With my recent book list blog, I am getting some questions about books that recommend different techniques for the same problem. And I want … Continue reading →

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