Journal Articles

Case Profile: The Staffy
Case Profile, Separation Anxiety James McMahon Case Profile, Separation Anxiety James McMahon

Case Profile: The Staffy

It’s high time that this breed got a special mention on the case profile list. With their infamous reputation, you’d think that they’d have appeared sooner. But the truth is, I don’t work with many, and when I do - it’s never for aggression. The three issues which I do see most commonly are fear of traffic - Separation Anxiety, and being too friendly with people.

Read More
Fear Season - Off Season | When Empathy becomes Toxic
Fear Season, Big Topics James McMahon Fear Season, Big Topics James McMahon

Fear Season - Off Season | When Empathy becomes Toxic

It’s the middle of summer, and we’re in currently “off season”, but fear exists all year round, and there are still cases we work during the summer months. In this article, we cover a crucial topic of working with fearful dogs - the difference between the Empathic human experience, and the concept of ‘mirroring’ - how these two psychological experiences clash, and become dangerous when working with fearful dogs.

Read More
5 Habits of Highly Successful Dog Owners
James McMahon James McMahon

5 Habits of Highly Successful Dog Owners

In this article, I’ve reduced down the five most important things that Highly Successful dog owners do differently to the normal dog owning public. The things that stand out the most when it comes to making the biggest positive difference on how these dogs are raised and what makes them succeed.

Read More
Case Profile: The Golden Retriever
Case Profile James McMahon Case Profile James McMahon

Case Profile: The Golden Retriever

In today’s case profile, it’s time we had a little chat about the literal Golden Child of the dog world - the breed that ‘definitely never has any issues, ever’ - and the challenges that come with training the breed the also happens to be my very earliest childhood memory of a dog - The Golden Retriever.

Read More
Responding to The Atlantic - ‘Dogs Are Entering a New Wave of Domestication’
James McMahon James McMahon

Responding to The Atlantic - ‘Dogs Are Entering a New Wave of Domestication’

I read an article recently in The Atlantic that left such an impression that I felt it was worth sharing my thoughts on from the perspective of dog ownership in the UK, because it seemed to highlight something that I’ve been feeling in my own work with dogs and their owners for years now. It raises a fundamental question about what we want and expect from our dogs - and I would also argue - how good we are at selecting for it in the dogs we choose to bring into our homes.

Read More
Case Profile: The Labrador
Case Profile James McMahon Case Profile James McMahon

Case Profile: The Labrador

Here we explore one of the world’s most famous breeds - and a breed that we know very well! The Labrador. This walking contradiction most commonly suffers with two issues that people would expect the least - a distrust of strangers and a fear of loud noises.

Read More