School For The Dogs Podcast

The term "misfit" originally referred to people who were considered to be not great fit for their surroundings -- an ill fit. I miss fit. At School For The Dogs, we see it as our goal to help dogs -- whenever possible -- exist comfortably in an environment that may not be the best fit for them. New York City certainly isn't the best fit for many  individuals of any species, which is perhaps one reason why we have several programs specifically for Misfit dogs. In this episode, Annie talks to two School For The Dogs clients who have been attending a couple of unique types of private sessions: Dog Socialization and Misfits Day School. New York-based dog owners Alyssa and Jen talk about how these sessions have helped them help their "Misfit" dogs. Learn more at http://schoolforthedogs.com/services ***** NEW: Subscribe to Brainy Box, and you'll get a new enrichment toy and new treats every month. Get 15% off for a limited time. Code in episode! Learn more and sign up at http://schoolforthedogs.com/brainybox Like t

Everyone is impressed by a dog whose eyes meets a human's gaze with magnet-like intensity on cue. Teaching a dog to "touch" his or her eyes to your eyes is a great exercise to practice no matter what the pooch's training level is. When teaching this attention-based behavior to a dog-- whether you use a word such as "Look" or the dog's name -- Annie suggests focusing on your training mechanics before jumping to setting criteria for your dog. In this episode, she clearly breaks down how to build a stellar "Look" cue from scratch, in just six quick steps, using only sixty tiny treats.Notes: Treat suggestions - Tricky Trainers (and other brands that make these pencil-eraser sized morsels) can be broken up into at least four pieces, meaning you'll go through only 15 treats in your session: storeforthedogs.com/products/tricky-trainers- Lamb lung breaks up into neat pieces without getting greasy or crumbly: storeforthedogs.com/products/lamb-lung.Dogs and presidents: https://read.bi/2SrAVxu"Look For The Silver Lining

Elise Mac Adam and Annie first met in 2002 when Annie wrote up Elise's engagement announcement for her column in The New York Observer. Both of them were terrier lovers, writers, and native Manhattanites: They became fast friends. When Annie and Kate first started School For The Dogs in 2011 and running classes out of Annie's Manhattan living room, Elise and her dogs were among their first clients. Elise, her sons, and her husband, have worked with half a dozen of School For The Dogs trainers over the last decade, with three of their dogs. She has, overall, clocked more sessions than any other single client. Eventually, she had to make the difficult decision to rehome one of her terriers. She and Annie discuss how rehoming a dog can feel like both a success and failure at the same time, and the silver lining of this difficult experience: It led her to decide to enroll in the School For The Dogs Professional Course. Apply to the Professional Course at http://schoolforthedogs.com/professionalcourse2022Next coho

Jessica Maddox, an assistant professor of digital media at the University of Alabama, is the author of the forthcoming book The Internet Is For Cats: How Animal Images Shape Our Digital Lives. Her research has largely involved looking at how people share and consume photos of animals on the Internet. She and Annie discuss a variety of topics relating to social media pets. Maddox offers an academic take on why people create Instagram accounts for their pets, are drawn to stories about Ukrainian rescue cats, and more. What does Youtube have to say about the practice of tying puppies to train tracks so that someone can post a video of their rescue? Why do some brands prefer to work with pet influencers over human ones? Are we living in a new era of anthropomorphizing our pets in a non-private arena, or is this just a new iteration of an age-old practice? And: Is it possible to breed an NFT cat? Maddox addresses these questions, and more.  The secret life of pet Instagram accounts: Joy, resistance, and commodific

Karen Pryor turns ninety on May 14th! Annie is celebrating today and... plotting continued celebrations on this podcast in the coming year. If you're a Karen Pryor fan, join the celebration! If you're not, you'll enjoy learning why she is so worthy of it. In this episode, Annie interviews BF Skinner Foundation president Dr. Julie Vargas, about the importance of this incredible scientist, writer and entrepreneur who, over the last thirty years, has done more than probably anyone else alive to help show people how we can use operant conditioning and secondary reinforcers to train dogs with rewards: aka, clicker training. When her husband bought Sea Life Park in the 1960s, Pryor was tasked with training the dolphins to perform. She got her hands on a paper written by students who were working in BF Skinner's Harvard lab, and it outlined the basics of operant conditioning and how to use a secondary reinforcer, like a whistle, to pinpoint the moment a desired behavior occurred. It further described how to then use

Before she became a dog trainer, Jenny Efimova was working human trauma survivors for a living. Her job involved being empathetic and meeting people where they were. It wasn't immediately obvious to her that a lot of the lessons she'd learned at work could be applied to someone in her home who was suffering: Her dog. Her young rescue, Larkin, was increasingly afraid to go out on walks in her neighborhood. The first professionals she worked with told her she was the issue: She wasn't “confident” enough with her puppy, and he thought he was the boss.  It didn't feel right to her, and the suggested methods didn't work. In fact, they felt like they were making matters worse. Then she started working with a trainer who explained how to use positive reinforcement in training, and it was a behavioral game changer for her and her dog Larkin. This led her to become a certified dog trainer herself, through the Karen Pryor Academy. Today she trains online and in Brookline, MA. She also runs an Instagram account @dogmind

In his work as a set designer, Saturday Night Life staffer Ken MacLeod had seen many well-trained dogs, and had even done commercial work with his own Jack Russell, Mac. But then he got a dog named Scooter and he realized that every dog has different needs. This realization led him to decide he wanted to become a certified dog trainer. Today, he splits his time: Part of every month, he can be found building sets for SNL, and the rest of the time, he is training out of his Hoboken, NJ-based studio, My Positive Pup. He talks to Annie about getting certified,  the emotional nature of working with dog owners, behavior lessons learned learned on the ski slopes, and how the old saying "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar" can be true for both people and dogs.Learn more about My Positive Pup at https://mypositivepup.com/Learn more about L.E.G.S.® Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation® Professional Course (thinkific.com) https://kimbropheylegscourses.thinkific.com/courses/legs-applied-ethology-family-dog-med

Oftentimes, the toughest thing about training dogs is dealing with people. Strangers out in public, however well-intentioned, can be major obstacles to a fruitful training session, further complicating things in what is most likely already a high-pressure environment for your dog. Annie feels for dogs who are basically bullied (often unintentionally) by strangers, or even their own owners, during interspecies greetings. If people who love dogs so often make them uncomfortable without meaning to, is it fair to judge people by how they relate to their dogs? Maybe not. Annie reads aloud from an article that she wrote for the Boston Globe about how animal welfare is relative and not absolute. (Stay until the end for a rather shocking bit of trivia about a certain genocidal dictator).Episode includes a special Earth Day offer: a coupon code (good this weekend only) for 20% off the REVOL crate by Diggs. ---"Animal welfare is a matter of perspective" - Boston Globe article by Annie Grossmanhttps://www.bostonglobe.co

The Netflix docu-series Bad Vegan is about the owner of a raw food restaurant (which happened to be located on Annie's street) who was conned out of millions of dollars by a narcissistic sociopath who claimed he could make her dog immortal. The story leads Annie to think aloud about how genius manipulators use coercion, punishment and classical conditioning in order to get the behaviors they want from their victims. While many of their techniques do not constitute “good” dog training, we can draw parallels between how they create positive associations in others to make themselves appear trustworthy. Can we do the same to build our dogs’ confidence? Also: Should we trust our pets to be good judges of character in potential partners? Annie offers her answer. --- Bad Vegan on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/81470938 Inventing Anna on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/81008305 Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 84 | Sociopaths as dog trainers, Negative Reinforcement at NXIVM & how to train humans to

Did you know that The Dog Whisperer and Jada Pinkett Smiths are longtime best friends? Two weeks ago, Will Smith calmly and confidently sauntered up on to the stage of the Oscars and slapped someone who said something he didn't like. His vibe and techniques struck Annie as a bit Dog Whisper-y. Maybe that's because she was aware that Cesar Millan, aka The Dog Whisperer, was supposedly made famous in part early on because of his connection to a small handful of movie stars, among them, the Smiths. Annie unearths some old Red Table Talk recordings of The Dog Whisperer revealing his origin story to Jada and her mother,. She also reads from a 7-year-old Cesars Way blog post where Jada talks about how the dog training lessons she learned from Cesar has helped her marriage. Cesar Millan on Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith and Gammy (Adrienne Banfield-Norris) in 2018https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=600331890366290&id=538649879867825&_rdrCesar’s Way article from 2015: Jada Pinkett Smith Takes

Annie interviews Katya Lidsky, a writer, podcaster and frequent dog fosterer who lives in Austin, TX. She recently started a podcast called The Animal That Changed You, and interviewed Annie about an animal that changed her (head over and check out the episode! https://www.katyalidsky.com/podcast).Katya, who refers to herself as a "soft core" animal activist, tells Annie about loving and losing a dog who helped her heal from her longtime struggle with an eating disorder. In her dog Ophelia's final days, Katya wrote her love letters daily. Annie lends her some advice on introducing a foster dog to her current dog, and the two discuss their thoughts on how vegetarianism relates to being a dog lover -- Katya doesn't eat meat, but Annie does and... has complicated feelings about that fact. That point in their conversation moved Annie to share a section from the 2010 book by Jonathan Safran Foer Eating Animals: The Case For Eating Dogs. Learn more about Katya at https://www.katyalidsky.com/Find our on-demand cours

Annie recently received an email from a producer who had a request: Were there any School For The Dogs students who were big men with tiny dogs? Or people who had big dogs who wouldn't mind their dogs being humorously mocked on Youtube? The request came via Douglas Widick, a Brooklynite who had recently brought his young Scottie, Skye, in for playtimes at School For The Dogs. A musical comedian, he'd written a song and was casting its music video. The song's title was "Big Man, Tiny Dog." Annie called Doug to talk about the origin of a song that pitches woo to the Yorkiepoos of the world while also poking fun at men who seem to use big dogs as accessories to accentuate their own toughness. Their fun conversation touches on everything from being inspired by the Notorious BIG, swimming with dolphins, Dorothy's poor dog training abilities in The Wizard of Oz, dog-fostering tourism in Hawaii, and the joy of using a hands-free leash. -----Through the end of this month: Get a FREE virtual 90 minute private session

High-fat diets are popular right now in the human realm, but should your dog be "low carb" too? Annie speaks to Daniel Schulof, who left a career in law in order to help combat the canine obesity epidemic by getting people to stop feeding their dog food that is high in carbohydrates. He is the author of Dogs, Dog Food, and Dogma, and founder of a new company that makes low-carb dry food for dogs: Keto Natural. He and Annie discuss his journey into the world of pet food and chat about some of the myths and misconceptions about what dogs should be eating.  KetoNatural food is available at https://ketonaturalpetfoods.com/Dogs, Dog Food, and Dogma: The Silent Epidemic Killing America's Dogs and the New Science That Could Save Your Best Friend's Lifehttps://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Dog-Food-Dogma-Epidemic/dp/0692768408/Like School For The Dogs Podcast? Leave a review on iTunes! http://schoolforthedogs.com/listen---Partial Transcript:Annie:Keto eating is kind of all the rage right now. I feel like I was an early adopter

Every day, School For The Dogs trainers meet one-on-one with puppy owners in private sessions designed to help pave a path of success for all the species in that unique, particular household. Annie attempts to take an unbiased peak at what happens in these sessions by cold calling two clients who recently attended private ninety-minute sessions with a School For The Dogs trainer. She speaks to Dana, whose family has worked with SFTD's Erin Whelan with her dog, Goldie, and she speaks to Rachel, who saw SFTD's Shaina Norton. She discusses the experience of attending these sessions, their expectations, and their takeaways. Annie also chats with these owners about the benefits of walking with a leash attached to your waist, and throwing "desensitization picnics" for your puppy. Want to work with a School For The Dogs trainer? You don't have to be in NYC! Through the end of March 2022, take advantage of a special offer: Two of our on-demand courses plus a ninety-minute virtual private session with a School For The

Susan Mravca is an entrepreneur with a mission: To help people spend more time with their dogs, without their dogs bothering them. Bully sticks, she found, are great at keeping a dog occupied, but she didn’t like having to hold her dog’s chews in place in order to keep her from burying it or swallowing it. She decided to try to design something that could work—something unlike any other product she could find for this purpose—but she had one major criterion that was rather unusual: It had to be an object of great beauty. The result, which she designed with help from her brother —an engineer with a background in the Department of Defense — is the recently-launched Treat Clincher, which just won the prestigious Good Design Award. The price tag, however, will leave some pet owners aghast. Annie interviews Susan about the origins of this product (and offers a $30 coupon to the first five people to purchase a Treat Clincher at SchoolForTheDogs.com/clincher).https://storeforthedogs.com/products/treat-clincher-bully

In celebration of School For The Dogs' recent ten year anniversary, this podcast's fourth anniversary, and Annie's birthday last week, she shares two gems for anyone who loves dogs and loves reading, or writing, about them. One is an obituary for Finn, a Manhattan-based dog who died last month. He belonged to Dr. Alexandra Horowitz of Barnard's Dog Cognition Lab. The other is a fictional piece about a pampered dog, yearning to break free from an overbearing woman who insists on treating him like a child. It is a chapter from the first Mary Poppins book, written by P.L. Travers in 1934. Special guest: Magnolia Pedicone Finnegan, Dog Known for His Exemplary Nose, Dies at 14  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/opinion/dogs-animals-obituaries.html Books by Dr. Alexandra Horowitz  https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Alexandra-Horowitz/46971319 Miss Lark's Andrew  https://lingualeo.com/en/jungle/p-l-travers-mary-poppins-chapter-four-miss-larks-andrew-165704 Mary Poppins  https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Poppins-Dr-

In 2014, Meredith Witte decided she needed a Border Collie. The fact that she lived in a studio apartment in Manhattan did not deter it. But how was she going to train a puppy? The day the dog arrived, she called Annie. At the end of their first training session, Meredith was in tears. But they were good tears! Fast forward eight odd years: Meredith and her super bright dog sidekick, Roma, now live in LA. Roma knows how to count and can perform a wide array of adorable tricks. Annie and Meredith discuss their own friendship, Meredith and Roma's incredible relationship, and the wonders -- and challenges! -- of sharing your life with a brainiac, active dog. Find Roma and Meredith on Instagram! @romalovepupGet our free guide to people training at http://schoolforthedogs.com/peopleBook a free session with an SFTD Certified Professional Trainer this month only at http://schoolforthedogs.com/virtualconsult---Partial Transcript:Annie:I am here with client turned friend Meredith Witte. Meredith, thank you so much for

***February 2022 Special: New to School For The Dogs?  Book a free virtual consult with a trainer at http://schoolforthedogs.com/freeconsult***This episode is a rebroadcast. It first aired on May 15, 2020. There is one behavior we teach every dog we work with at School For The Dogs: Touch! This is an easy-to-teach building block that you can use to build... whatever you want! In this episode, Annie outlines how to teach touch, and talks about this behavior's countless uses and variations. Annie's Free Webinar on training touch - https://event.webinarjam.com/go/replay/78/k6v60c95ir6t6nf1More on Chirag Patel's Bucket Game - https://www.facebook.com/thebucketgameKen Ramirez demonstrates different types of targeting. - https://theranch.clickertraining.com/live-episode-1/Doodle Buddy and other apps you can use with your dog - https://anniegrossman.com/2013/12/training/3-apps-your-dog-can-use-to-make-art-35313/8246/Support this podcast by shopping in our online store, storeforthedogs.com!  http://storeforthedogs.co

Someone in a dog-related Facebook Group reported being bitten by a dog in School For The Dogs' neighborhood. The person wanted the dog owner to pay his medical bills  -- this seemed, to Annie, to be reasonable. But then a client reached out to Annie, upset about the rancor in the comments section. It seemed like an angry mob was forming to lobby that the dog be euthanized. Could Annie maybe chime in to suggest that the dog and his owner perhaps deserve some empathy, too? She did. And she also suggested people in the group listen to this episode... This episode is part of our new Best Pet Ever! series. Inspired, in part, by Betty White's 1970s talk show, The Pet Set, this series features conversations with people about a pet they love, or loved. Listen to the first episode in the series here. https://anchor.fm/dogs/episodes/Best-Pet-Ever-WriterProducer-Jessica-Vitkus-talks-about-Cookie-and-Coffee--her-guinea-pigs-e1cjtj5-----Special announcements: Sign up to be notified when we begin taking applications for th

When Ionelee Brogna decided to bring a Miniature Schnauzer puppy into her NYC apartment a couple of years ago, she knew she didn't want to employ the punishment-based or "balanced" methods that her family had used on their dog back in rural Massachusetts. But she wasn't sure what other options there were. Her research led her to... this podcast! And then to classes at School For The Dogs, and then to our six-month-long Professional Course. Ionelee, who formerly worked in publishing and at New York's famous Strand Book Store, just finished apprenticing with us, and is now starting to see clients. She and Annie discuss her background training horses, the human insight one gains working in the service industry, the surprising lessons learned while teaching a dog tricks, and the challenges associated of living with a terrier who is training obsessed. If you're interested in being notified when we start taking applications for our 2022 Professional Course (aka our "Apprenticeship") join the waiting list at http://