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It Starts With You

Training a future Dog Star Dog begins in the puppy’s first home. The first few weeks of a puppy’s life are crucial — the optimal time to familiarize your puppies with a home environment, to begin socialization and to accustom puppies to being handled by people. Also, this is the time when good habits are formed regarding what to chew and where to eliminate, and so this is the best time to begin errorless housetraining and chewtoy training programs.

High Standards, For You and Prospective Owners

We encourage prospective owners to be very careful when selecting their puppy and to only choose one that has already begun learning to be a Dog Star Dog. We tell owners to look for puppies that are started on the right paw, and to ask questions about a pup’s socialization and housetraining program. Similarly, we encourage you to be equally as careful when choosing among prospective parents. Only choose people who are prepared to continue your puppy’s training and socialization.

Prepared Parents for your Puppies

Before you send your puppy to his new home, do make sure that they have read BEFORE You Get Your Puppy (available for free download on this website) by Dr. Ian Dunbar. This will guarantee that they understand how to easily and effectively continue the puppy’s errorless housetraining and chewtoy training program from the very first day. By referring new owners to dogstardaily.com, you can be sure they have all the relevant information they need to raise their new puppy to be a wonderfully well-behaved and good-natured companion.

Distribute Behavior Blueprints with Your Kennel Information

dogstardaily.com has all of Dr. Ian Dunbar’s 16 Behavior Blueprints available for free download. These artfully designed handouts concisely explain how to deal with common behavior problems. Each behavior blueprint may be customized to include your own kennel name and contact information so that you may duplicate and distribute them in your puppy packets.

Contact us at: breederinfo@dogstardaily.com

The Free Online Dog Training Textbook

The most important feature of dogstardaily.com is the TRAINING TEXTBOOK — a free comprehensive, multimedia guide for raising and training your puppy to be a confident, friendly and well-mannered adult dog. If you are thinking of getting a puppy or if you already have a puppy, adolescent or adult dog, go immediately to the age-relevant section of the Training Textbook for information specifically targeted to your dog’s stage of development. Also, you may go to RADIO to listen to or download episodes from Dr. Ian Dunbar’s iWOOFs audio program about dog behavior and training

Is Your Dog a Dog Star?

In addition to the wealth of training information, there are numerous fun photos and videos posted by other dogstardaily.com members. On the DOG STARS page you can view the newest and most popular photos and videos. Of course, it’s easy and free to become a member, at which point you can upload photos and videos of your very own Dog Stars.

New & Entertaining Content Every Day

dogstardaily.com also features THE DOG BLOG — a pack of well-respected dog experts and bloggers from around the world. You can find out what the dog world is talking about and join the conversation by posting your own comments.

Share the Fun While Keeping Dogs Out of Shelters

If you enjoy dogstardaily.com, please email this e-card to your friends and join our e-newsletter to hear about upcoming features, contests and new downloadable material. If you know someone who is thinking of getting a puppy, please send him or her the link to the free download Dr. Dunbar’s book BEFORE You Get Your Puppy. Or, if you know of a dog that is not getting the education he deserves, refer the owner to the TRAINING TEXTBOOK.

The Clock is Ticking

If you are already raising a puppy, please appreciate that there is lots to do and a very short time to do it all. Please consult the developmental deadlines so that you have an understanding of what you need to accomplish, and by when. Many important aspects of training must be taught during the Critical Period of Socialization — the first three months of a puppy’s life. Consequently, it is vital that you begin developing your puppy’s bite inhibition and start socialization with people and other dogs as soon as possible. Every aspect of training is easier the earlier you begin, so start errorless housetraining, chewtoy training and teaching good manners the very first day your puppy comes home. Remember, good habits are just as easy to establish and as hard to break as bad habits.

Don’t Be a Jerk

Each year, far too many perfect puppies grow into unwanted adult shelter dogs as a result of ignorance and laziness. What you accomplish, or fail to accomplish, during your puppy’s first few weeks and months at home will have a dramatic, long-lasting and indelible effect on your adult dog’s future personality and temperament. Preventing behavior, temperament and training problems in puppies is much easier than trying to fix problems in adult rescue dogs. Please take the time to raise and train your puppy to your liking, so that he will enjoy your home for the rest of his life.

Contact us at: info@dogstardaily.com

Dear Colleague,

dogstardaily.com is a free educational resource designed specifically for veterinary practitioners to refer to new puppy owners to use as a practical guide for safe in-the-home socialization and training before their pup is old enough to go to puppy classes.

There is an extreme urgency for new puppy owners to learn about errorless housetraining, how to prevent destructive chewing, excessive barking and separation anxiety, how to safely socialize their puppy, and how to teach bite inhibition and basic manners. Raising and training a puppy is hardly rocket science but many owners fail, simply because they do not have the requisite know-how at the appropriate time.

Veterinary practitioners have the unique opportunity that they see every puppy, usually when he is just seven to nine weeks old. By directing new puppy owners to dogstardaily.com, from the very first day that their puppy comes home, owners may prevent the utterly predictable, yet extremely common, behavior and temperament problems that cause the death of millions of unwanted shelter dogs annually.

I am convinced that active preventive participation by the veterinary profession offers the only solution to the problem of unwanted (poorly educated) pet dogs. Help from dog trainers and shelter workers is usually sought much too late (after dogs have already developed numerous problems) and not all breeders emphasize errorless housetraining, early socialization and basic manners.

Dog StarDaily is our attempt to solve the problem at the source. Early education is the key, because good habits are just as hard to break as bad habits. I so strongly believe that puppy husbandry and training information is so important that it should be freely available to all, with the hope that dogs (and their humans) will be happier and healthier because of it.

Please share dogstardaily.com with your clients and with colleagues in your practice and in your local VMA. If you would like Dog Star Daily postcards to display in your waiting room, to include in puppy packets, or to take to your monthly VMA meeting, or if you would like an electronic dogSTAR postcard to email to clients, colleagues and college friends across the country, please contact us at vetinfo@dogstardaily.com. Please, help us try to effect a paradigm shift in puppy husbandry by spreading the word about dogstardaily.com and in-the-home, pre-puppy-class puppy education.

Yours sincerely

Ian Dunbar PhD, BVetMed, MRCVS
Scientific Advisor, dogstardaily.com

Dog Star Dogs Make Excellent Clients

Well-trained and well-socialized dogs are simply easier to handle. As a veterinarian you have a lot to gain from well-behaved dogs and a lot of power to see that puppies all become well trained and well socialized. Please encourage your clients to properly raise and train their puppies by referring them to the free multimedia TRAINING TEXTBOOK at dogstardaily.com.

Time is of The Essence

At eight weeks of age the Critical Period of Socialization is already nearly two thirds over. Puppies must be socialized before three months of age. New puppy owners need to be advised that during their pup’s first month at home, they should invite many (MANY) people, especially men, children and strangers to socialize with their puppy. This may be done quite safely, if guests leave their outdoor shoes outside and wash their hands. By instructing guests to hand-feed kibble while training, hugging and handling the puppies, the dogs will be easier to restrain and examine as adults.

The Most Common Terminal Disease in Dogs

The most common cause of death in dogs is misbehavior. More dogs are ultimately euthanised for housesoiling, destructive chewing and excessive barking than any other condition. These predictable and common problems can be easily prevented with well-timed dog husbandry and training information. Indeed, timely educational inoculation is equally as important for mental health as timely vaccination is for physical health. Referring your new puppy clients to dogstardaily.com will help ensure that their puppies have the opportunity to grow up to be happy, healthy dogs that remain your clients for a long, long time.

Puppy Classes Prevent Bite

The immediate behavior and training gains of puppy classes far outweigh the very minor and manageable potential disease risks. Puppy classes are essential for puppies to acquire bite inhibition and develop a soft mouth, to maintain socialization, to make sure they continue to enjoy being handled, especially by children, men and strangers, and to learn basic manners — to settle down (in the waiting room), to sit (on the scale) and to stand-stay and rollover-stay for examination. However, always check out classes before recommending, or advise owners to research classes from the Dog Trainer Search on the Association of Pet Dog Trainer’s website www.apdt.com

How Dog Star Daily Will Help Your Practice

Temperament and training problems waste time in veterinary practice; wriggly and ill-trained dogs take more time to examine and fearful and aggressive dogs can be tricky and potentially dangerous to handle. Moreover, owners experiencing behavior, temperament and training problems with their dogs want immediate answers during clinic visits.

dogstardaily.com features all of Dr. Ian Dunbar’s 16 Behavior Blueprints available for free download. These artfully designed handouts concisely explain how to deal with the most common dog behavior problems. Each Behavior Blueprint may be customized to include your own clinic name and contact information so that you may duplicate and distribute them in puppy packets or your waiting room.

Contact us at: vetinfo@dogstardaily.com

What is the TRAINING TEXTBOOK?

dogstardaily.com’s online TRAINING TEXTBOOK was designed for prospective and new puppy owners: 1. To use as a guide to help them look for and choose a puppy, 2. To learn about errorless housetraining, chewtoy-training, safe socialization, bite inhibition and teaching basic manners in-the-home prior to attending puppy classes and 3. To use as a comprehensive multimedia textbook while attending your puppy and adult dog classes. The behavior and training information is arranged developmentally, so that it is easy for owners to locate sections that are relevant to the age of their puppy, adolescent, or adult dog and to benefit from supplementary text, audio and video instruction.

Your Free Online Textbook

dogstardaily.com can be your free textbook; made available to any client you are working with. Encourage them to develop a basic understanding of fundamental dog training concepts so that you can teach them how to maintain their dog’s good behavior after your class or in-the-home consultation.

Digital Homework

Using dogstardaily.com, trainers may email their clients a list of FAQs and appropriate URL solutions, plus reading, listening and watching, homework assignments to prepare for the next week. This saves so much time on questions in class and allows you to focus on the essential business of owners training their dogs, rather than talking away half of your precious class time.

Distribute Behavior Blueprints with Your Business Information

Dr. Dunbar’s BEFORE You Get Your Puppy, all 16 of his Behavior Blueprints and all of his articles are available for free download. The Behavior Blueprints provide concise, easy and effective solutions for the most common dog behavior problems. You have the author’s and publisher’s permission to customize each Behavior Blueprint to include the name of your dog training company plus contact information in the space provided. You may mail/email the Behavior Blueprints to veterinarians, animal shelters, dog breeders or potential clients to promote your business, or print copies to hand out in class.

Contact Us For More Information

If you would like your clients to fully benefit from the text, audio and video instruction in the TRAINING TEXTBOOK, please contact us at trainerinfo@dogstardaily.com for an email list of FAQs and URLs and suggested class homework URLs.

dogstardaily.com — Rescuing Unwanted Adult Shelter Dogs One Puppy at a Time

It’s Never Too Late to Train a Dog

Training an adult dog is undoubtedly very different from training a puppy. Bad habits can be difficult and time-consuming to change. That’s why we are so passionate about puppy education and teaching them correctly from the get go — good habits are just as hard to break as bad habits. However, not all dogs are so lucky, but they still deserve a second chance to become Dog Star Dogs.

Building Confident and Happy Dogs

Many shelter dogs are fearful and anxious, which can make them harder to train. Consequently, shelter employees and volunteers will be especially interested in the confidence-boosting classical conditioning techniques plus the all-or-none reward training techniques specifically designed for re-training adolescent and adult dogs. These techniques facilitate teaching poorly behaved (insufficiently educated) dogs to settle down quickly and quietly, to pay attention, and to walk calmly on–leash.

Finding New Homes

Adult dogs with serious behavior and temperament problems are much more difficult to place with new owners. Even when re-homed, dogs that are fearful or hyperactive, and dogs that bite, fight, bark excessively, soil the house, or chew inappropriate items all too often find their way back to the shelter. However, an adult dog that has been taught to like people and how to live in a home will have a much greater chance remaining in his newfound home.

Helping Owners Help Their Dogs

If a dog does get another chance in a household it is so important that the future parents have the resources to train their dog. By referring adopting owners to dogSTARdaily.com, you ensure that they have access to quality adult dog training information.

Dr. Dunbar’s BEFORE You Get Your Puppy, all 16 of his Behavior Blueprints and all of his articles are available for free download. The Behavior Blueprints provide concise, easy and effective solutions for the most common dog behavior problems. Each Behavior Blueprint may be customized to include the name of your shelter plus contact information in the space provided. You may either email these to veterinarians, trainers and dog owners in the community; print copies to hand out to shelter visitors, or reprint them in your newsletter.

Contact us at: shelterinfo@dogstardaily.com

Dr. Ian Dunbar’s book, BEFORE You Get Your Puppy is available for free download on our Free Downloads page. This book is a must-read for anyone considering getting a new puppy. If every prospective puppy owner took the time to prepare themselves for training their new canine companion, there would be fewer dogs in shelters, and more dogs that spend their entire life with their original owners.

Behavior Blueprints are attractive two-sided fliers that address the most common behavior problems and training questions. They are available for free download on our Free Downloads page. Once downloaded, they can be customized with your company’s contact information and e-mailed or printed for promotional use.

Behavior Blueprints are available as pdf files that you can download and customize with your company’s information for use as a promotional tool.

To open and customize these files, you may need Adobe Reader, available for free download.

How to customize Behavior Blueprints:

1 Download the Behavior Blueprint pdf by clicking on the file name under the Attachment section. The Blueprints are available in the relevant sections of the Training Textbook, and on the Free Downloads page.

2 Open the Behavior Blueprint with Adobe Reader
If your computer automatically uses another program to open pdfs, right-click (or CTRL-click) the file, and select “Open with...” > “Adobe Reader”

3 Go to the bottom of the second page and enter your company’s: Business Name, Phone Number, Email or Website, Address Line 1 and Address Line 2 in the appropriate text fields.

4 Save the customized file

Now you can e-mail or print the Blueprints, complete with your company’s information and distribute it to veterinarians and breeders as a promotional tool. Or you can give them to your clients as complimentary handouts.

If you are unable to use Adobe Reader, or if it is not functioning properly on your system, you can try opening the Blueprints with another program, and printing to a pdf. With some programs there is an option in the “Print” dialogue box to “Save as a pdf”

Getting your hands on top-notch dog training information has never been easier. Dog Star Daily has teamed up with James & Kenneth Publishers to make some of the best dog training books ever written available for download. Visit our New Digital Storefront to find audio books, podcasts and ebooks that can be delivered instantly to anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

Selecting a product from our Digital Storefront will take you to the respective purchasing page on the PayLoadz website. Here you will be able to securely purchase and download your file(s) using an existing PayPal account or your credit card.

We sell dog training audio books, podcasts, eBooks and video downloads on our Digital Storefront. All audio files are mp3, all eBooks are pdf and all videos are mp4.

Currently we have Doctor Dunbar's Good Little Dog Book, How To Teach a New Dog Old Tricks, After You Get Your Puppy and Before You Get Your Puppy available as both an audio book and an ebook. The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson and DOGS BITE by Janis Bradley are available as ebooks only.

We sell all 13 episodes of Dr. Dunbar’s first season of iWOOFs. In each podcast, the Dog Trainer’s Trainer talks at length about a different subject, such as Housetraining, Adopting an Adult Dog or Socialization.

We also have some resources available free of charge on our Free Downloads page. We have
BEFORE You Get Your Puppy the must-read puppy-owner preperation manual and all 16 of Dr. Dunbar's Behavior Blueptints. These artfully designed handouts address the most common dog behavior problems. They are available as pdfs with customizable text fields for dog trainers, veterinarians, shelters and breeders to use as promotional tools.

We want you to feel comfortable purchasing a digital product download, so we have made a couple of downloads available for one cent, so you can try out the process. In addition, we have chosen PayLoadz to manage the downloading and purchasing process, and they are the official file-downloading service of PayPal.

To test the purchasing process, simply select either the audio book or eBook version of BEFORE You Get Your Puppy and add it to your Shopping Cart and check out. This will allow you to familiarize yourself with the PayLoadz process and verify that our files are compatible with your computer and not too large for your internet connection (audio books range from 100-350 MB).

If you are not concerned with the purchasing process, and merely want to test the mp3 and pdf file types, you can download samples of these from our Free Downloads page.
You will need Adobe Reader to open the pdfs, available for free download here.

Yes, you certainly can! The downloaded mp3s can easily be burned onto a CD or opened in iTunes and added to you iPod or alternative mp3 player. This way you can listen at your convenience, in the car or walking the dog.

Of course if you’d rather listen for free, you can listen to iWOOFs online at our RADIO page