DSD Training Videos

Before you confine your dog in their crate, make sure they want to go in. Easy to do if you stuff a chewtoy and put it inside, with the dog stuck outside!

The dog park is a wonderful place to practice training.  If you recall your dog for short training sessions every couple of minutes, then tell them to go play again, you are using the other dogs as both a powerful distraction and reward.

Bite-inhibition is a very important step-by-step process.  When you play active games with your dog, it’s important to enforce strict rules.  Otherwise, your dog’s our of control play will get them in trouble some day.

Good dogs are fun to be around.  A dog that’s well-behaved and always under control will get to go out into the world and meet lots of people.  They’ll be happier and you’ll be happier.

Meeting new people is very exciting, so it can be a difficult time to control your dog.  If you want to train your dog to meet people in a calm manner you have to practice it.

Play like a puppy: when your pup bites you, yelp and stop playing with them for a moment to let them know you didn’t like it.

There’s nothing like a little competition to motivate people and dogs.  Competing against others and your own personal bests will drive you and your dog to really excel.

Ian describes the well-worn path from cute and cuddly puppy to abandoned shelter dog.  If you get a puppy, it’s your responsibility to train it!

Dogs love food and so it’s a great idea to have them do a little obedience training to earn their dinner.  It’s also a great time for handling exercises.

If you don’t want your dog to chew your slippers, you have to show them what to chew.  A treat-filled chewtoy will be much more appealing to a dog then any slippers.

A dog that enjoys being handled and examined by strangers will make your next trip to the vet a breeze.  Don’t wait until your dog is injured or sick before you teach them to enjoy handling.

A rock solid, lightening quick “Down” (or “Sit” for that matter) solves just about every problem in dog training, and also happens to be very useful in agility competition.  Just practice it!

When you stuff a chewtoy, try to wedge a couple of them in there really well, so your dog can’t get them out.  Then add a few more treats that will fall out more easily to capture their attention.

Pass the Puppy teaches your pup to enjoy being handled by strangers.  If you are the only person who handles your dog, they may not be comfortable being touched by anyone else, including your vet.

For energetic dogs it can be difficult maintaining control because they’re always moving so quickly.  If you can train your dog to slow down on command, it means you can practice speeding up on command

It’s much better to teach a rock-solid distance sit, but a good distance recall can also be very useful.

The best chewtoys are indestructible and hollow.  This means you can stuff them with tasty treats and leave them with your dog unsupervised.

True off–leash control means that your dog will listen to you even when they’re in the middle of another fun activity.  Until you have this control, be very careful of where you let them fun free.

This little owner has excellent control of their dog, and she did it by making training fun.  It keep the dog interested and engaged and it means that they only punishment she ever uses is to end the training session.

Have other people practice handling your puppy, so they’re comfortable being examined by strangers, such as a veterinarian.

Many dogs are unhappy being handled by strangers, let alone in a veterinarian’s office when they’re hurt or frightened.  Make sure your dog is happy being everywhere, and by different prople.

In crowded urban areas, there are lots of distractions for your dog.  Give them time to get used to new and unfamiliar surroundings.  Classically condition them to enjoy different environments.

Training a dog to  enjoy their crate is an easy way to get them to settle down for extended periods.  Make sure you introduce the crate with lots of treats and some chewtoys to keep them busy.

Your puppy should practice all of their training exercises with other people as well.  Positive training experiences with strangers are an important part of socialization.

To train human bite inhibition, put your hand in their mouth and praise them until they bite hard enough that it hurts a little.  Yell “Ouch!” to let them know they’ve hurt you and they will relax their jaws, at which point you can resume praising them.

Your dog is likely to get over-excited while meeting people on the street.  So repeat it over and over again until they’re calm enough that you can have them sit to say hello.

If your puppy doesn’t learn to enjoy having their collar grabbed, you’ll end up with a dog that runs circles around you, which makes for a lot of potentially embarrassing or dangerous situations.

Puppy biting is a vital part of dog development.  Do not stop them from mouthing until you’ve trained them to have a gentle mouth.  Then they won’t get into trouble by hurting other people or dogs.

A dog that’s sitting can’t jump up.  Ask your dog to sit before letting them out, so you  at least begin the exercise in control.

Your dog NEEDS to pee and poop, there’s simply no way to avoid it!  The solution of course is teaching your dog when and where to go.  The only way to prevent mistakes and put potty on cue is regular confinement sessions.

This exercise is all about building off-leash control of your dog.  It rewards your dog for coming when called, sitting and having their collar taken, which makes them very easy to catch. The alternative is a dog that runs away when you go to take it’s collar.

If your puppy has too much energy, it’s a smart idea to train in some control before they grow into an adult dog with too much energy.

To start building distance control, you want to try luring your puppy into following you without touching them first.  After you lure them, it’s still important to positively reinforce the collar grab.

Puppies learn very valuable social skills during their play sessions, with the most important being bite-inhibition.

Training your puppy to enjoy having their collar grabbed is very easy.  Simply go up to them, grab their collar and give them a treat.  And hold onto that collar when you’re not paying attention, otherwise they’re going to run off.

Dogs are naturally possessive around their food, but with a little training it’s easy to show them that they should welcome children around their food bowl.

If your pup doesn’t get the message from a simple yelp, you should yell louder and put them on time-out by leaving the room.  Always take a moment to make up after a harsh reprimand by asking them to come and sit, then give them a treat.

The more fun you can make training, the more you and your dog will want to practice, and the better behaved your dog will be.  Use games to make training into a good time.

It’s easy to teach your dog to speed up and slow down. Alternate periods of moving quickly and slowly, giving them the appropriate cues before hand.

Dogs are most likely to bite when they’re anxious, and they’re likely to anxious around children who tend to act a little wild.  Prevent problems by actively conditioning your dogs to enjoy the presence of children, and teaching your children how to act around dogs.

Games motivate everyone and make training fun and exciting.  Just make sure you always maintain control of the dog so they don’t get over-excited.

Use short and varied exercises to keep training fun.  If your dog is losing interest, try a different exercise or take a break and come back to it later.  You can never practice recalls too much!

An expertly stuffed chewtoy will keep a dog occupied all day.  Mix it up and stuff your chewtoys with a variety of treats to keep them interested.

When you practice recalls, be sure to reward them when you grab their collar, and have them sit before you release them.

Dogs may naturally becoming defensive around their food, so Gwen Bohnenkamp demonstrates how to condition your dog to enjoy your presence and handling during dinner time.

A chewtoy cannot be consumed or destroyed.  Toys which can be eaten pose a very serious safety concern for your dog.

If you make training fun and integrate it into your dog’s life, then it will become completely self-reinforcing, eliminating the need for any sort of external rewards.

If you take the time to teach your puppy to enjoy being handled, you will end up with a dog that is easy to groom because they enjoy it.

Practice makes perfect.  Practice putting your dog in confinement and letting them out again.  The first few times they will be very excited and hard to control.  Each repetition will make them more manageable, giving you the chance to praise them.

When you interrupt a puppy play session with a successful recall, you are challenging the pup with doggy distractions, and then giving hem a huge reward by telling them to go play again.

It’s not very helpful to punish your dog for going in the wrong place if you don’t show them where you would like them to go.  Use confinement to prevent mistakes and reward them every time they get it right.  If you ever catch them making a mistake, yell at them and hustle them to their toilet.

Gwen Bohnenkamp explains how to train your puppy to enjoy being held and handled, otherwise you’ll end up with a difficult and anxious adult dog.  Increase handling a little bit at a time and praise them when they’re being calm

Potty training is not the time to practice other behaviors, like going outside.  If your dog won’t go outside on command, that’s your first problem.  When your dog does learn to go to their toilet on command, you have to go with them.  How else can you praise or reward them for success, or be sure that they’re emptied?

Playing with one other dog will not be sufficient for your pup’s socialization.  Instead, they should meet, and play with as many other puppies and dogs as possible.

It’s important that your puppy enjoys being restrained and examined.  It’s easy to train them to enjoy it with daily cuddle sessions filled with lots of handling and treats.

If you want your dog to be calm and confident, you have to first give them time to get used to new people and places, then you have to  praise and reward them for their good behavior.

Agility requires as much control as speed.  By taking these features step by step you can show your dog the places they really need to touch.

Dog can have a lot fun playing together, but it’s important to harness that fun for training.  Make play a part of training.

If you make training fun your dog will be happy to listen.

Toys and games are great ways of getting dogs excited about training.  However, it’s very important to enforce clear rules so that you maintain control, and the fun reinforces their good behavior.

The dogs and owners in this video have only been to 8 puppy classes.  The vast majority of their training took place at home, thoroughly incorporated into daily life.  Big thanks to them and to everyone who made these videos possible!

The only way for dogs to learn to get along with other dogs is by playing together in a positive and controlled environment.

You shouldn’t expect a child to successfully train a dog all on their own, but sometimes it does happen.  Emily has clearly spent a lot of time working with Jessie, and Jessie clearly loves training with her.

Dogs at play will often look and sound like they are fighting.  With a well-trained dog you can always check that things are in control by interrupting the play session with  a bit of obedience.

Chewing can be a very serious and expensive problem.  Dogs will chew, it’s a simple fact.  So it’s a very good idea to teach them what you want them to chew.

Start by keeping your dog in different positions for very short stays.  Build the duration of the stays slowly, a few seconds at a time.

The whole point of puppy training is to raise a dog that is a pleasure to be around.  Dogs make such wonderful companions when they’ve been taught good canine manners.

Sit, Stand & Down.  Mix them up so that you’re dog can’t anticipate which position you’re going to ask for next.

Getting your puppy to follow you in a room full of other puppies is no easy task.  It’s the perfect time to practice maintaining your puppy’s focus.

Suzie Bluford demonstrates how to condition your dog to enjoy having children around them while they’re eating their dinner.  Hand-feed your pup some extra tasty treats while they’re eating their normal dinner.

Your puppy is not going to learn to potty in the right place if you can’t properly praise them when they do.  The surest way to give an effective praise is to pair it with a delicious treat.

Letting the little dogs off-leash first gives them a chance to explore and get comfortable.  Some pups are naturally shyer, and need more time to build up their  confidence.

It’s very important that your puppy forms appropriate chewtoy habits as early as possible.  Fortunately, this couldn’t be easier.  Simply stuff a hollow chewtoy with some treats, and leave your puppy confined with it.

It’s important that your puppy is handled by strangers as well.  The best part of puppy class is sitting in a circle passing them around and getting the chance to handle and praise each pup.

Handling is such a simple exercise that  people often neglect to do it often enough.  The only way your adult dog will be happy being handled is if you trained them to enjoy it as a puppy.

Walking through a new environment can be very stressful for a dog, especially if there are other dogs or strangers around.  Take time to settle down in unfamiliar places and reward your dog for acting calmly.

Toilet training is the most important thing to teach a puppy.  Confine the puppy so you can prevent mistakes and get them to eliminate in the correct place, where you can reward them handsomely.

Play sessions are wonderful for bite-inhibition and dog socialization, but you also want to capture the power of playtime as a reward in training.

If you catch your pup making a mistake indoors, startle them and rush them outside.  If you want to housetrain your pup you’ll have to reward them for successfully eliminating outside, and the easiest way to do this is with crate training

Ian & his malamute Omaha practice a little heeling and distance obedience at the park.  SIRIUS Puppy Training Classic is dedicated to Omaha.

Children can be scary to dogs. Its very important that you take the time to condition your dog to enjoy children and all of the silly things that go with them.

The best way to practice settling your dog down is with many  short alternating periods of getting them excited, then settling them down.

Puppies need the chance to play with each other if they’re going to grow up into well-adjusted and confident adult dogs.

A jazzy little play session.   Even Nessie comes out for a little playtime

Take your dog to new and interesting places and hand feed them with their dinner or special treats.  Your dog will become much calmer and more confident.

Active physical games are wonderful for training.  Enforce some ground rules and take frequent breaks, using the continuation of the game as a reward for obedience training.

Walks can be very exciting for dogs.  It’s important to give them time to adjust to new surroundings, with praise and treats as reinforcement.

Most dogs love walks, so they make fantastic rewards for training.  If you only walk your dog after they eliminate, they will learn to go immediately

Hollow chewtoys can be stuffed with food, making them very interesting to your dogs.  Your dog is going to chew, so you should show them what you want them to chew.

When you meet a new dog, give it the chance to come to you, and check to see if it will take a treat from you.  All puppies and dogs need to be actively handled and socialized so they are friendly with strangers and during vet exams

Games make training fun for you and your dog.  Use games as rewards and be sure to use strict rules when playing physical games like Tug-of-War

A food-stuffed chewtoy is an automatic dog training device that reinforces your dog for settling down and chewing an appropriate object.  It’s a great doggy-hobby!

All-or-None reward training is the easiest way to train your dog to teach your dog “Off”