Dr Dunbar's iWoofs Radio

Dog Training is all about learning and teaching.  There is a lot of research that has been done about how animals and humans learn, and the results should inform our approach to dog training.  However, learning theory has been developed from experiments conducted in a lab, and it’s important to recognize how that knowledge is limited or different from real world situations.  Learning theory has a lot to offer dog training, but dog training may have important lessons for learning theory.  In this episode, the Dunbars discuss the science of learning and how it can inform, and be informed by dog training in the real world.

Apps are all the rage these days.  As more and more people get next generation smart phones and iPhones, a whole industry has sprung up.  These mini computer applications can be anything, and they’re usually relatively cheap and can be accessed from your phone while you’re on the move.  The Dunbars talk about the apps available to dog owners, and discuss which of these are useful or entertaining, and which are just plain fluff.  What would make a good app for dog training?  Listen in and find out!

There are a lot of products out there that claim to help you take care of and train your dog.  Some of these items can make your life considerably easier, while others are a waste of money and some can even be dangerous to your dog.  The Dunbars talk about the best tools you can use in dog training, and how you can use them to make training as easy and fun as possible.  Learn which products can automatically train your dog, which can’t, and what the potential is for reward-based training machines in the future.

Dog Star Daily and the Dunbars could not be more excited to announce the launch of a new show that is going to revolutionize dog training TV.  There are nearly as many ways to train dogs as there are dog trainers, which is why we will feature a new trainer each week.  Each one will be using their own brand of  fun and effective, reward-based methods.  Part of the problem with traditional dog training TV is that it’s such a major production that it deprives trainers of the freedom to show real, authentic training, instead of highly-edited entertainment.  You can watch America’s Dog Trainer now on DSD TV, only on DogStarDaily.com

Dog owners can have some silly notions about their dogs, but if you watch TV and movies it’s easy to see where they come from.  Dogs in the media are regularly portrayed as little people in doggy bodies, which automatically understand us and help us when we need it.   And the dog trainers that have been the most successful in the media have not necessarily been using the most effective or enjoyable methods, contributing to misperceptions about what dog training can and should be like.   The Dunbars talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of dogs in the media.

Getting a dog is a huge responsibility in a a number of different ways.  In this episode, the Dunbars talk about the financial commitment that a dog, and especially a puppy require.  They break down the cost into the most common categories, and discuss tips on how you can save a little money without compromising your pet’s well-being.  Of course, the single biggest money-saving tip is to train your dog well from the very beginning.  Otherwise you’ll be spending money on destroyed property and professional training and socialization help later on.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!  No puppy class is perfect, but an off-leash puppy training and socialization course provides one of the most wonderful learning opportunities in dog training.  Puppies can play together without worry that any of them are aggressive, learning invaluable socialization and bite-inhibition skills.  And a rough and tumble, totally wild puppy class is the greatest training challenge out there.  If you take the time to practice at home and the class is run well, you can gain amazing control of your crazy puppy.

People get dogs for a lot of different reasons.  In this episode we hear about the different dogs Kelly and Ian have had throughout the years, and the variety of roles the fulfilled for them.  Dog can provide a lot of things in their relationships with humans, with the most obvious being companionship and protection.  Dogs can make people friendlier, healthier and happier, but only if they've been trained properly.  A well-trained dog will help you make friends, get exercise and enjoy life!

The Holiday Pet Hokum:  Every December a lot of puppies are purchased as presents for their families. Sometimes these puppies are purchased as a surprise for children who will not be able to properly train the new pets, and as result some of them end up being surrendered to shelters.  A puppy is a living, breathing creature and you can’t take out the batteries when you get bored with it.  Please don’t get a puppy for someone without first understanding the time and energy that will be required to raise it.  Additionally, the holidays are a busy and stressful time, so think about whether you will have too many other distractions preventing you from properly starting your puppy’s training.

Living with multiple dogs can be a lot of work, even in the best of cases.  If those dogs don’t get along though, it can turn your entire life into a stressful nightmare.  As with all dog aggression, the first question is how good is their bite inhibition.  If the dogs are aggressive, but don’t actually harm each other, then the solution lies in lots of classical conditioning.  However, if the dogs are hurting each other you have a dangerous situation and you may have to find a new home for one of the dogs.

Resource guarding is a very natural behavior for dogs.  It’s very important that you take the time to teach your dog that they have no need to guard objects from humans.  Otherwise, you’ll have a ticking time bomb that’s eventually going to scare or hurt someone.  Meanwhile, they’ll live a life filled with unnecessary stress and anxiety.  Fortunately, training your dog to enjoy surrendering objects couldn’t be easier.

Dogs have needs.  They’re dogs and they were born to do certain doggy things.  If you try to stop your dog from ever barking, chewing, digging, chasing it’s going to go crazy.  It’s just not fair to the dog.  The secret to success is teaching your dog when and where to do the things they love.  If you can put the behavior on cue, it will cease to be a problem.

All of a sudden, my perfect little puppy… 

Adolescent dog problems take far too many owners by surprise.  Adolescence is going to be a time of change, and every puppy is going to go through it, so get ready for it!  Your puppy needs a gentle mouth and a rock-solid foundation of socialization and obedience training.  Other wise, you’re going to have a very difficult time when your adolescent starts running off or fighting with other dogs.

Puppy problems may look harmless now, but unless you do something about them, they’re going to get bigger and badder.  Puppies don’t naturally grow out of their biting, jumping up, barking or chewing habits.  Instead you have to train them how to do these things appropriately.  Fortunately, puppies are eager to learn.  The Dunbars explain the importance of tackling puppy problems head on, as early as possible.

Punishment is one of the most misunderstood elements of dog training.  There is certainly a place for punishment in dog training, but there is no reason it has to be painful or mean.  Successful punishment decreases the frequency of an undesirable behavior, and can be phased out as the dog learns.   The Dunbars explain how to tell your dog when it is misbehaving, without hurting or scaring it, which is likely to aggravate most behavior problems.

Good dog training goes through several important steps.  Using lures and rewards to teach a command is just the beginning.  A dog that sits on command while you’re alone in the living room and holding a cookie is not necessarily going to sit on command at a BBQ in the park, surrounded by playing children and plates of food.  First you must phase out your food lures & practice training with longer durations, greater distances and more distraction.

In dog training the concept of respect can be a dangerous thing. Too many owners expect their dogs to behave appropriately out of sheer respect. While that would be nice, it’s simply not the case, and it’s foolish and inhumane to expect that. If you want your dog to listen to you, first you must communicate what you want them to do, then you must motivate them to want to do it. If you do this in an enjoyable and engaging manner, not only will your dog respect you, they’ll adore you!

Getting a dog is always a big decision and everyone in the household should be a part of the process. Of course, this includes any dogs that you already live with. You certainly don’t want to bring home a new dog without first checking that it will be a good fit for your household. The Dunbars explain the pleasures and pitfalls of living with more than one dog, and what to keep in mind when it comes to training and socialization.

Separation anxiety is a phrase that gets used a little too much in dog training. That’s not to say it doesn’t exist, but that some people are too eager to use it as a scapegoat and an excuse to put their dogs on drugs. Anxiety is a terrible thing for a dog, but it’s usually easy to fix with appropriate training. The Dunbars explain how to teach your dog to be comfortable spending time alone. Give your dog an acceptable activity to keep them busy while your gone. A few stuffed chewtoys will go a long way.

One of the biggest mistakes people make in dog training is blaming their dog’s behavior problems on “leadership” or “dominance” instead of poor training. The Dunbars explain how dog hierarchies actually work, and why it doesn’t really matter when it comes to your relationship with your dog. You are a human, of course you’re in charge! Train your dog well and they’ll want to listen to your every word, even when they’re chasing a squirrel and you don’t have a food treat.

The dog park can be a scary place, especially if you are worried about your dog's socialization skills. The Dunbars discuss when to be worried about your dog being dangerous, and how safety is really all about off-leash control. The park can be an exciting place, so work your way up to it. Hang out next to the park, or go when it’s nearly empty. Keep your dog on-leash and tell it when it’s acting appropriately and when it’s not. Used correctly, the dog park can be the ultimate training tool!

Finding a good dog trainer can be a difficult process. Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to make sure that the trainer you find will be a good fit for you and your puppy. The Dunbars discuss what to look for in a good trainer, whether it’s for puppy classes, adult dog training, or individual behavior consultations. Most of all, make sure you use a dog-friendly trainer! There’s no reason why training can’t be fun for all involved.

Some dog behavior problems can put your dog in jeopardy. These need to be addressed in order to ensure the safety of dogs and their owners. The Dunbars respond to listener questions and discuss the importance of highly reliable emergency commands and boundary training. With training for safety, where reliability is so important, the key is proofing the commands against all possible distractions.

Long-term and short-term confinement, indoor and outdoor doggy toilets, night shifts and long days, rewards and reprimands. When it comes to training your pup to use the loo, the devil is in the details. The Dunbars discuss housetraining specifics, including how to set your new puppy up for success from the very beginning.

Do your homework before you get a dog! The Dunbars discuss some of the questions you should ask yourself before adopting a dog. What do you want from a dog? How do you imagine your ideal canine companion? The first step in training a dog is determining your lifestyle and expectations. Also it's important to make sure the whole family agrees on getting a dog, and understands how to raise it responsibly.

When I first started teaching off-leash puppy socialization and training classes over 25 years ago, I had recently left Academics at the Psychology Department in Berkeley, California. Many of the Psychology professors were my friends and many brought their new pups to puppy class. As the word spread, many more came simply to observe the classes. Most had the same reaction, that they had never before seen applied psychology quite this way before — in the raw. The interactions between people and dogs were interesting and provided many wonderful examples of good dog training techniques. However, the family dynamics were an observer’s gold mine and provided many examples of not-so-good people-training techniques.

Games are motivating for dogs, owners, trainers, and onlookers. Games bring out the best performances in dogs and owners, and sometimes in trainers. Playing games (with many rules) is one of the easiest (and sneakiest) ways to get owners to pay attention to instructions and to achieve owner compliance. Most important though, playing games is the least intimidating way to objectively assess the reliability and precision of performance and the effectiveness (in terms of “time and trials to criterion”) of training techniques. Playing games increases the speed (and enjoyment) of learning and the quality of the owners’ and dogs’ performances.

Shelter dogs usually have a bit of behavioral baggage and require immediate and regular behavioral rehabilitation during their stay, to make them more adoptable and ready them for a second chance in another home. Otherwise, uneducated shelter dogs will quickly develop additional behavior, temperament and training problems and will become less adoptable.

The presenting subjective history for most dog-dog aggression is: “He fights all of the time and he is trying to kill the other dog”. However, when we objectively analyze the facts, in most cases, we discover that the dog has been involved in several (or many) dog fights, but has yet to put any of his opponents in the veterinary clinic surgery for repair. Obviously, if he is trying to kill the other dog, he is simply not very good at it. On the contrary, over and over, the dog has proved that he is not a dangerous dog. Instead he is belligerent, bellicose, or more likely lacks confidence around other dogs because he was never given the opportunity to develop the social savvy for meeting and greeting unfamiliar dogs. Really he is not different from most people, who nag and argue a surprising amount of the time.

Pulling on leash is a huge problem for many dog owners and they try and solve the problem by buying all sorts of specialized leashes, collars, halters, and harnesses. In reality, leash-pulling masks the real problem: What would happen if you had no leash? No dog either, right?

Unless trained otherwise, dogs, especially puppies and adolescents, are noisy and active. What else is new? If you want to be able to have your dog sit or settle down on command you'll have to practice doing so.  The secret is alternating between having them get excited and having them settle down, all on cue.  The more you practice, in the more environments, with the more distractions, the more reliable they will be.

Training a reliable recall is one of the most important things you can do with your dog.  A dog that comes when called under any circumstances is always under control, and can be let off leash with confidence.  Training this kind of reliability isn't easy and takes a lot of steps, always increasing the level of duration, distance and distractions.  It's well worth it though.  And you must remember to never punish a succesful recall.  If they come when you call you reward them, regardless of what they were up to before you called.

Living with a socialized and friendly dog can be a dream. Living with an unsocialized, asocial, or antisocial dog can be a nightmare.  Fortunately, socializing your dog can be great fun, and it's likely to do wonders for your social life.  Show strangers how to introduce themselves to you dog while on walks or at the park.  Have a puppy party so your pup gets used to meeting and being handled by strangers, in an exciting party atmosphere.

If puppies and dogs are not housetrained and chewtoy-trained during the first couple of weeks at home, then they will likely be confined to a single room or ostracized to the backyard, where they will develop additional forms of occupational therapy to pass the time of day when left at home alone. The dog will learn to eliminate indiscriminately and chew anything and everything. Also, the dog will take up digging or barking as newfound hobbies. Soon, the neighbors will likely complain about the dog’s barking and so the dog is further confined to the basement or garage…which he destroys. The poor dog is no longer a companion, but instead an uneducated animal (with many behavior problems) confined to a basement. But not for long. Soon the dog will be surrendered to a shelter and confined to a smaller cage. Maybe out of sheer boredom in solitary confinement, some dogs may escape to explore the world beyond his backyard. Free roaming dogs have decreased life expectancies.

Housesoiling and destructive chewing are two of the most common, yet utterly predictable, behavior problems, which cause many owners to banish their dogs to the back yard, or maybe surrender their dogs to shelters. These two problems are so common and so utterly predictable, why don’t dog owners know how to housetrain and chewtoy train their dogs? It’s hardly rocket science. Of course it is easy to cite, “owner irresponsibility.” But for the most part, this is simply not true. As always, education is the key. And all pet professionals (including myself) have been negligent with regards proactively educating prospective and current pet owners. Hence this internet radio program! The solution is simple. Obviously dogs need to eliminate and they need to chew. Peeing, pooping and chewing are all perfectly normal, natural, and necessary doggy behaviors. Owners must learn to teach their dogs where they should eliminate and what they should chew.

Living with dogs is all about relationships. When owners enjoy their dog’s behavior and company, the relationship blossoms. When pets misbehave, the relationship sours Unfortunately, dog behavior, temperament and training problems are extremely common and utterly predictable. Temperament problems make a dog a challenge to live with. And behavior and training problems are the #1 terminal illness for pet dogs. Behavior, temperament and training problems are the most common reason for people to surrender or abandon their dogs. Ironically, all behavior, temperament and training problems may be so easily prevented, and most may be resolved. The secret is to try to see things from the dogs’ point of view. People often consider their dog’s behavior to be inappropriate, unacceptable and problematic. However, the dog views these so-called “problems” as quite normal, natural and necessary doggy behavior. Quite the culture clash!

On January 26th, Off-leash Puppy Classes celebrated their 25th Birthday. The world’s very first off-leash puppy socialization and training class for pet dogs was started on 26th January 1982. Just 25 years ago, dog trainers only taught adult dogs repetitive on-leash obedience drills. Puppy Classes emphasized the importance of teaching bite inhibition, early socialization, temperament training, and simple solutions for common and predictable behavior problems, as well as basic household manners. Also, Puppy Classes championed user-friendly and dog-friendly dog training techniques, that were suitable for all family members, especially including children. Nowadays, the gentle and easy, yet science-based puppy training techniques have been adopted and adapted by most progressive trainers worldwide. Puppy Classes revolutionized pet dog training. In fact, in a sense, Puppy Classes created the field of pet dog training.

Over the past 30 years or so, pet dog training has evolved as a specialized field of dog training. Pet dog training is one of the most complicated, challenging, sometimes frustrating, yet most thoroughly rewarding of endeavors. Pet dog training differs markedly from teaching competition dogs or working dogs, and from training animals for public shows. In all other fields of training, the syllabus is finite, and the handler knows both the rules and questions before the examination. With pet dog training, there are no rules, the questions are unknown, and the syllabus is infinite — comprising all aspects of a dog’s (and owner’s) behavior, temperament, and training.