New Free Course – Six Simple Steps to Solve Your Dog's Behavior Problems

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Dominance and Dogs: Who is the Boss?

Dogs often act as connectors in society.

Puppies and Shelter Dogs: Two Sides of the Same Coin

I am a dog trainer and I lead a double life. Of sorts. Behaviorally speaking.

The 2 Most Common Mistakes Dog Owners Make (and How to Fix Them)

There are a couple of mistakes that dog owners frequently make which are simple to fix and have the potential to dramatically improve a dog's behavior.

The Essential Puppy Training Course is HERE!

We are thrilled to announce the release of our all-new Essential Puppy Training Course.

Resolving Dog-Dog Reactivity

FOR A LIMITED TIME Watch the all-new Dunbar Academy Dog-Do
Ian Dunbar

Puppy's First Week at Home (8-9 weeks)

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Wed, 11/21/2007 - 10:48

Start housetraining your pup the moment he comes home. It is important, and surprisingly easy, to train your puppy without him making a single toilet or chewing mistake. Each mistake will make training considerably more difficult. Puppies quickly establish toilet habits and even a single mistake heralds many more in the future. Also, punishing puppies for soiling the house or making chewing mistakes inadvertently teaches them to soil the house or chew on shoes while their owners are away (and therefore, cannot punish). Remember, good habits are just as hard to break as bad habits and so, housetrain your puppy from the outset.

 
Training:  Puppy's First Week at Home
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How to Select a Good Puppy

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:13

When choosing the puppy, it is so important that all family members agree. You want to select the puppy you all like best, and you want to select a puppy that likes all of you. Sit down quietly as a family and see which puppies make contact first and which ones stay around the longest.

You want to select a puppy that likes you and enjoys being hugged and handled (restrained and examined). You want to select a puppy who is socialized, confident, housetrained, chewtoy-trained, and obedience trained.

Social Attraction

 
Training:  How To Select Your Puppy
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How to Select a Good Breeder

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:12

A good breeder will be extremely choosy in accepting prospective puppy buyers. A prospective owner should be equally choosy when selecting a breeder. A prospective owner can begin to evaluate a breeder's expertise by noting whether she ranks the puppies' mental well-being and physical health above their good looks. Assess several factors:

· whether your prospective puppy's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and other relations live to a ripe old age

· whether the breeder's adult dogs are all people-friendly and well-trained

· whether your prospective pup is already well-socialized and well-trained, i.e., evaluate the breeder’s socialization and training program.

 
Training:  How To Select Your Breeder

Choosing Your Puppy

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:10

Choosing a puppy is a very important decision, and everyone who lives in the household should agree before any puppy is brought into the home. If the puppy is to truly become a member of the family, then all family members will need to be involved in training. Before you choose your puppy (usually at eight weeks of age), you need to know:

· How to evaluate and select a good breeder

·How to evaluate and select a good puppy and specifically, how to assess your puppy's behavioral development.

Also, you must keep in mind that there are no perfect puppies. In this chapter we recommend giving careful consideration to where, when and how you choose your puppy, but please remember, any puppy you pick will need to be trained if you want to live with a well-behaved, friendly and mannerly dog.

 
Training:  Choosing Your Puppy

Developmental Priorities

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:06


The most urgent priority is to continue socializing your puppy to a wide variety of people, especially children, men, and strangers. Well-socialized puppies grow up to be wonderful companions, whereas antisocial dogs are difficult, time-consuming, and potentially dangerous. Your puppy needs to learn to enjoy the company of all people and to enjoy being handled by all people, especially children and strangers.

 
Training:  Developmental Priorities

Shopping List For a New Puppy

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:05

Once you have completed your doggy education, it is time to shop for your prospective puppy. Many training books, pet stores, and dog catalogs display an awesome and confusing array of doggy products and training equipment. Consequently, I have listed a number of essentials with personal preferences in parentheses. 1. Books and DVDs about puppy behavior and training (instructions for use) 2. Dog crate (Vari Kennel), and maybe an exercise pen or baby gate barrier 3. At least six chewtoys to stuff with kibble and treats (The Kong Company’s Kong and Biscuit Ball, Premier’s Squirrel Dude and Football, and sterilized long bones are the best.) 4. Doggy toilet (Construct your own — turf in a litter pan) 5. Water bowl (Only buy your pup a food bowl once he is socialized, well-trained, and has impeccable household manners.) 6.

 
Training:  Shopping List
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Puppy vs. Adult

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:05

Before rushing ahead and getting a puppy, it's a good idea to at least consider the pros and cons of adopting an adult dog. There are certainly several advantages to getting a pup, the foremost being you may mold the puppy's behavior and temperament to suit your own particular lifestyle. This, of course, presumes you know how to train and have the time to do it. Sometimes you might not. And so in a lot of ways an adolescent or adult dog with a Kennel Club obedience title and a Canine Good Citizenship Test may make a more suitable companion — especially for a two-income family whose members barely have the time to get together as a family themselves.

 
Training:  Puppy vs. Adult?
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Where to Get a Puppy

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:01

Whether selecting your prospective pup from a professional breeder or from a family breeding a litter for the very first time, the criteria are the same.

First, look for puppies raised indoors around human companionship and influence. Avoid pups raised in an outdoor run or kennel. Remember, you want a puppy to share your home, and so look for a puppy that has been raised in a home. See Choosing Your Puppy: How To Select A Good Breeder

Second, assess your prospective puppy's current socialization and education status. Regardless of breed, breeding, pedigree, and lineage, if your prospective puppy's socialization and training programs are not underway well before eight weeks of age, he is already developmentally retarded.

Adapted from BEFORE You Get Your Puppy by Dr. Ian Dunbar

 
Training:  Where To Get A Puppy
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When to Get a Puppy

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Mon, 11/19/2007 - 11:56

Aside from the obvious answer — not before you are ready — the time to get a dog is when you have completed your doggy education. And when the pup is ready.

An important consideration is the age of the pup. Most puppies change homes at some time in their life, usually from the home where they were born to the homes of their new human companions. The optimal time for a puppy to change homes depends on many variables, including his emotional needs, his all-important socialization schedule, and the level of doggy expertise in each household.

 
Training:  When To Get A Puppy
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Mixed Breed or Pure Breed?

Dr. Ian Dunbar  |  Mon, 11/19/2007 - 11:55

This decision is a personal choice that only you can make. The most obvious difference is that pure breeds are more predictable in terms of looks and behavior, whereas each mixed breed is utterly unique — one of a kind.

Regardless of your personal preference for attractiveness, attentiveness, and activity, you would do well to consider general health and life expectancy. By and large, due to lack of inbreeding, mixed breeds are healthier genetic stock; they tend to live longer and have fewer health problems. On the other hand, at a pure-breed kennel, it is possible to check out the friendliness, basic manners, general health, and life expectancy of several generations of your prospective puppy's forebears.

Which Breed?

 
Training:  Mixed Breed or Pure Breed?

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