Canine Nation on Pet Life Radio (PetLifeRadio.com)

The technical stuff is interesting and teaching the cool tricks is lots of fun. But sometimes you just have to do the practical everyday training to make things work with your dogs. This podcast covers some of the things we train to make things run smoothly with our own dogs! It could be moving our dogs from one room to another or making walks a little more pleasant. Simple behaviors can be trained with any dog to make communication better. And it helps that it can make life easier and more fun too!

Correcting bad behavior in our dogs can be like putting out a fire. We have to act swiftly and decisively. But if we don’t know a little bit about behavioral science, we could end up making things worse instead of better. Inspired by Dr. Susan Friedman, this article looks at what our options are when we need to deal with unwanted behavior. Punishing our dog for bad behavior might be the first thing that comes to mind but, according to Dr. Susan Friedman, it is likely that it will be the least effective for correcting behavior long-term. There are lots of options to try before we resort to trying to stop behavior. Being proactive and teaching the behaviors we want to see is a great start!

There are a few common phrases that float around in the dog training world that get my hackles up. One of those phrases is 'I use whatever training technique my dogs need.' Not all training techniques are equal in how they impact your dog and your relationship with him. You should know all you can about how a training method works before you try it on your dog. Don’t take the word of your neighborhood 'dog expert' without understanding how it works. If they hearsay doesn’t make sense, don’t be afraid to be a heretic and do things your own way!

This is a special edition of the Canine Nation podcast. It’s longer than our usual podcasts and it’s features a couple of special guests. We hope you enjoy it. Petra Wingate is a great dog trainer. She also happens to be my wife. She has been teaching puppy and agility classes for the past few years. Darcie Jennings is a great friend and has been training dogs and their owners through her CommuniCanine business for over 13 years. As we often do, the three of us sat down to talk about dogs and dog training. But this time, Petra decided to record it and also prepared some questions for us to discuss. The result was a spirited discussion that lasted well over an hour and covered a lot of ground from essential behaviors to what makes us laugh about dogs. We’ve edited down the first part for this podcast. Not every trainer sees things the same way but in this case, we all challenge each other to be better and better.

What if your dog offered you a behavior you didn’t ask for? What if it was a good idea? Being smart enough to catch your dog doing something right is good for both of you. You get what you want and your dog gets to flex his creative muscles! Making your dog a more active participant in your training can make great things happen. Giving them the freedom to try things doesn’t mean that they will be the "wrong" things. Rewarding your dog for doing the things you like can lead to a great relationship and less trouble for both you and your dog! Give it a try; catch your dog doing something right.

Sit!. Down!. Fetch!. These are things that most people associate with dog training. But is there more we can teach our dogs beyond simple behaviors? You might be surprised that you already do! And there might be more you can teach them. It’s not hard to teach our dogs to do tricks. They are, after all, just behaviors. But how do you teach a dog to think about things like bigger and smaller or closer or farther away? Our dogs have the capacity to learn such things and they do it every day. What if we could engage that conceptual learning? What might be possible if we trained beyond just behaviors?

Crossing over to positive training can be frustrating. Abandoning old techniques for new is uncomfortable. Especially when you aren’t good at the new stuff. Dog trainer Eric Brad has found that sticking with positive training is well worth the effort for the rewards that come later. Back when I was crossing over to positive training, it seemed like every time I turned around another technique I used to use was now a bad idea. I had to keep running back to books or asking questions of positive trainers online to find appropriate alternatives. But the answers were there and my new habits developed quickly. But not as quickly as my relationship with my dogs improved! It was well worth the extra work.

Do you ask your dog to do things for you or do you tell them to do them? How we think about working with our dogs matters. It affects our expectations and can lead to cooperation or conflict. It seems to be an AND/OR proposition. Is working with your dog a cooperative offer or is it a ‘do it or else’ proposition for your dog? Your dog’s willingness to work with you might be at stake. It’s not just about getting results. HOW you get those results can make all the difference

Is it more ethical or moral to use positive dog training? For Eric Brad, the reasons are less lofty and more practical. And sometimes the simplest reasons can be the most compelling. When I decided to re-think my approach to training my dogs, I wasn’t looking for a moral or ethical solution. I was looking for a fast and easy change that wouldn’t involve a lot of expense and effort. Imagine my surprise to find that positive training would give me more than I could have hoped for!.

Have you heard about positive training but aren’t sure what it is or how to get started? Well, I can give you a road map to success with four great books to get you on your way! These four books cover different aspects of a positive approach to training and living with our dogs: Don’t Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor, The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson, The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell, and How Dogs Learn by Burch & Bailey..

When a dog’s behavior suddenly changes, a good dog trainer does not turn to training techniques and behavior modification. They turn to their veterinarian. Chances are there is a very real health problem that should be dealt with first. The drastic change in our dog’s behavior was both confusing and frightening until, with the help of our veterinarians, we found the cause. It was not purely a behavioral issue. Without help, we might have made the problem worse. This series of podcasts explores what happened with our Tiramisu, one such dog, and what was done to unravel the mystery of her behavior change.

It would be great if positive training and behavioral science made everything perfect and wonderful with dogs. Most of the time, it does exactly that by providing a way to communicate effectively with our dogs. But sometimes things can break down. Eric Brad shares a story of a frightened dog that needed more than food treats and positive reinforcement. The drastic change in a dog’s behavior can be confusing, frightening, and can make you feel like a failure as a trainer. But it’s not always a purely behavioral issue. This series of podcasts explores what happened with Tiramisu, one such dog, and what was done to unravel the mystery of her behavior change. The next podcast in the series discusses what has been done thus far for her rehabilitation.

Coming to Positive Reinforcement training from more traditional methods is called 'crossing over.' It’s not easy to cross over from more familiar and socially accepted forms of dog training. There are lots of reasons not to consider it. But many do. In this series, Eric Brad looks at what it takes to ‘cross over.’ Change is difficult and frustrating and something most of avoid if at all possible. My own life circumstances made reconsidering my dog training approach unavoidable. But for most dog owners, what they have always done has always seemed to work. Well enough, anyway, or at the very least it got results. But what if you could get what you have now with half the effort? What if you could change the way you worked with your dog and it made life better for you and your dog? Would it be worth a little work now for an easier life later? It’s up to you. It’s seems an easy choice to me.

Dog trainers are supposed to be teaching their dogs. Eric Brad has found that there is much that the dog can teach the trainer as well. In this installment, Eric says “Thank You” to his dog Tiramisu for the lessons he has learned. Listening to his dog has made him a better trainer. Books and articles can only take you so far. You actually have to dothe positive training with your dog in order to get good at it. And who is the judge that you are improving as a trainer? Why, your dog of course! The faster and happier they learn, the better you are getting at teaching your dog. If you make it fun, it’s an even better way to learn.

Is your dog ‘dominant’ or willing to submit? Could you be living with a dog determined to take over and control your household? Dog Trainer Eric Brad looks as his own dog to see if the warning signs described by so many web sites could mean his dog is a tyrant in the making! There are lots of websites out there that will tell you just how badly behaved your dog might be. And most of them will happily tell you how to correct these signs of aggression and dominance to keep your dog from thinking he’s the alpha in your pack. But you may have to agree to a price first. The truth is, dogs are not pack animals. They are domesticated companion animals bred by humans. And those warning signs some web sites caution you about may just be natural behaviors or indicators of something totally different.