By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
There is an old saying that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. You are probably thinking, how does this apply to our profession, and with cause? If you have read…
Read moreJan 14 2020
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
There is an old saying that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. You are probably thinking, how does this apply to our profession, and with cause? If you have read…
Read moreJan 7 2020
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
We know dogs have emotions and form bonds with us; however, sometimes human-animal attachments seem broken or unable to develop. Today, we will explore the various reasons why this happens, but more importantly, how we can…
Read moreDec 5 2019
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
I have been told by students over the years, Thanks to you, my dream has been destroyed! I am here to tell you why I did it and why am happy I did. As a teacher…
Read moreNov 10 2019
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
The following is factual information. When you need information about something, you should never ask your friends and learn how actually to use Google. Anecdotes and stories are not scientific. Science is not opinion-based, it is…
Read moreOct 3 2019
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a human intervention system that connects two individuals to facilitate therapeutic goals and objectives. The process can also be preventative in nature. When I tell people what I do for a living…
Read moreMay 19 2019
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
Zootherapy: In my field of work, I call this practice pet the puppy. Most human-dog teams have little to no formal training. People do not implement or document behavioural changes or have specific goals for…
Read moreMay 12 2019
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
I get many e-mails from people proposing their dog as an animal-assisted therapy partner in our programs. I also receive multiple messages each month from people who ask me to train their new puppy for emotional…
Read moreMar 1 2019
By Gaby Dufrense-Cyr, CBT-FLE
I have not written in a while because I am very busy with the Dogue Shop, university classes, promoting the book, and raising a Broholmer puppy. All that said, there is a topic on my mind…
Read moreJun 12 2018
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
Dogs are social creatures; consequently, social animals socially learn from one another. It sounds redundant, but it is true. Life is not all about behaviourism. Other learning theories apply to dogs, and today we will look…
Read moreMay 7 2018
Apr 16 2018
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
I receive messages daily in private and on the blog post My Dog Killed My Other Dog. I am very saddened to hear all your stories, so today, I thought I would write to you…
Read moreMar 27 2018
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
I didn’t think I would have to write about breed-specific legislation, aka BSL, so soon after Montreal reversed the BSL by-laws forbidding certain breeds. So, why am I writing? Because the provincial government wants to…
Read moreJan 9 2018
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr
The rescue industry has a new source of dogs. Big rescue organizations go to South Korea or the Philippines and bring back canines destined to be on a restaurant or on the home menu. Some dogs…
Read moreNov 15 2017
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
The following taboo topic article might surprise some, but I assure you that dogs killing dogs within the same household is common. You have probably never heard of this phenomenon because people rarely talk about the…
Read moreOct 4 2017
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
Many dog trainers use lures to train dogs. Lures are most often food, but they can be toys or even safety. There are multiple reasons to use lures, but the most common motive is to teach…
Read moreSep 16 2017
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
The question I am most often asked is how do we teach a dog to stay. It does not matter which behaviour you teach the dog because stay will be trained the same way. It…
Read moreAug 29 2017
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
Umwelt is pronounced o͝omvelt and is defined as the world as it is experienced by a particular organism. For the sake of this article, we will discuss the canine Umwelt or the world as…
Read moreJul 31 2017
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
As more and more people discover social cognitive learning theory (SCT), I’m reminded just how slow the dog training and behaviour industry evolve. I practice and teach social learning on a regular basis. Actually, I’ve…
Read moreMay 12 2017
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
As the busy season comes to an end, I’m happy to blog again and hear what you have to say. This week, I want to talk about delinquent clients, and by delinquent, I’m referring to clients…
Read moreMar 16 2017
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
Actually, I kissed many wolves throughout my career and yes, I did like it. The question is why? Why do we seek inter-species interactions and displays of affection? Some people risk their lives to touch…
Read moreMar 8 2017
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
Morphological characteristic is a newly debated topic to which I’d like to shed some light. Recently, or should I say finally, the city of Montreal established what the morphological characteristics are for pitbull-type dogs. The topic…
Read moreFeb 6 2017
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE
Someone asked me a pertinent question the other day: “Why do some trainers feel they need to dominate, punish, control, choke, or even electrocute* dogs?” The following is my summarised answer. As is the…
Read moreJun 29 2016
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT/FLE
With all the media hysteria (you can thank journalists and columnists for that) surrounding pit bulls, I thought I’d explain the difference between agonistic and aggressive behaviour for you. My goal is to demonstrate there…
Read moreJun 21 2016
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT/FLE
In light of yesterday’s city council in Montreal on Pitbulls and other dangerous dogs (pitbull-type) hearing, I’d like to take a minute and point out the many Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) advocates that using…
Read moreJun 14 2016
By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT/FLE
I normally don't write two articles in the same week, but this week is special. I decided to disregard my own rule and write a second piece. What follows is a huge summary of my very…
Read more