Animal Welfare Professionals

Here is one of my favorite human-side-of-the-leash training videos, from Safe Harbor Farm's SMILE! Project (website: www.givesmiles.us;  youtube channel: givesmiles.us).  It discusses seven common reasons why dogs do what they do, to help people see more things through their dogs' eyes.

The seven reasons are:
   (1) The dog has been rewarded for doing it in the past.
   (2) A negative association exists.
   (3) He's never been shown better alternate behaviors.
   (4) He's following a routine.
   (5) He's looking for an outlet for his pent-up energy.
   (6) His behavior is instinctual (after all, he is a dog!).
   (7) He's being set up for failure without his people realizing it.