Dr Dunbar's iWoofs Podcasts

The Holiday Pet Hokum:  Every December a lot of puppies are purchased as presents for their families.

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 a

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 f

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.  I

All of a sudden, my perfect little puppy… 

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, puppi

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.