Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     Having coached thousands of people in dog training, I've observed that their dogs seem to fall into three categories. The dogs who seem to hate training sessions, the dogs who are so over the top about the training they are frantic, and the dogs who are driven and focused and absolutely love it. It's not the breed of dog or their personality that determines the cate...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      I use shaping rather than luring with food or toys in my dog training. In the 80s, I was taught to food lure and correct, learned to do it well, and luring brought me a lot of success in obedience and agility. Luring can have benefits, but I decided to change. When I say I don't lure, it always gets a lot of comments and questions on social media, so in this episod...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      We're geeking out the topic of dopamine in dog training and how it impacts a dog's motivation. Dopamine is a type of  neurotransmitter, and there's a lot of research on its relation to the drive to seek out happiness. Now, you might be wondering what it has to do with dog training but to make sure our dogs want to work with us, it's something we need to know, and i...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     We use targets in our dog training, which has prompted popular questions on the best way to fade a target and when to start fading. So that's the topic of this episode, along with what targets are and why they work so well. Before you attempt to remove a target, there are three questions to ask and a clear process for fading so that your dog has a strong finished be...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      A good dog training plan will set you and your dog up for success and protect your confidence. The planning I do for myself and my students includes 10 key elements. We're covering what the 10 elements are, along with how to grow the layers to take training from your living room to the bunny farm.   In the episode you'll hear:   • Why the detailed planning I do for...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      The way we dog train is different, and there are four elements that are vital to everything we do. It starts with confidence for people and their dogs and layers to grow a relationship of trust. There are many ways to use reinforcement in dog training, and our focus is on layered shaping, which might be a new concept for many people.   In the episode you'll hear:  ...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     If someone says to you that they are a reinforcement-based dog trainer, what does that really mean? There are a lot of ways of training dogs with food or toys. Even though they fall under the reinforcement grouping, the different types of training are all dramatically different. We're covering what I tried in the past, what I suggest you avoid, and the most effectiv...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      If you were to google for help for an anxious, stressed, or reactive dog, you'd get many suggestions, many of which are good! But there are critical elements that are essential for you to know. We're covering the 10 things that are vital for you to help your dog get into the confidence zone.   In the episode you'll hear:   • Why training should be about reinforceme...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     If your dog is stressed, anxious or reactive, there's so much you can do to replace that stress, anxiety and reactivity with confidence. Two things are super important to help our dogs become confident, and those are our mindset and training clarity. Believing in your dog will help you bring out their best in any situation.   In the episode you'll hear:   • About th...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      Inadvertent stress is something we want to minimize when training our dogs, as excessive stress has the same impact on dogs as it does on us. Now, stress is everywhere, but we don't want to create it unintentionally and don't want our dogs to endure anxiety if we can avoid it. We're looking at how we can set up our training to prevent our dogs from stressing out.  ...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     If you were to get 100 of the world's best dog trainers in a room, there would be a lot of disagreements. However, if you asked, "what's the number one training mistake people make with their new puppy?" 99 of those dog trainers would give you the same answer. If you were to google, how do I get my puppy to stop, search results like stop peeing in the house, stop ba...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     Help, how can I stop my dog barking in the car while I'm driving!? That's one of the most common questions we receive, and it's a dilemma as you can't drive and train your dog at the same time. But you can fix it! It starts with knowing why a dog is barking in the first place. It could be fear, excitement, anticipation, or maybe the dog is triggered by what they see...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      Do you consider yourself a risk taker? Or maybe you play it safe? What about when it comes to your dog? We all want our dogs to be safe, but there's one area in a dog's life where people take highly dangerous risks, and that is when travelling in the car.   In the episode you'll hear:   • That I'm not risk aversive, except when it comes to my dogs. • Why I decided...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     If you've ever trained your dog in public or put a video on social media, chances are somebody has offered you unsolicited training advice. Likely it's advice you don't need, don't want, and most certainly didn't request. How to deal with it is a question we see frequently, so if you have ever received unsolicited dog training advice, this episode is for you!   In t...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      There are two types of dogs when it comes to water and going for a swim. Some dogs LOVE water and swimming, and others don't want anything to do with it. How we teach swimming applies to both kinds of dogs and is different from what you might see others do. Dogs who naturally love to swim can be a challenge, as can dogs who hate water. Help is at hand with my 5 ste...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      Understanding the science of dog training is going to help you help your dog with clarity. In Episode 158 of Shaped by Dog, we covered training and using positive interrupters, and a few questions came in asking how that's different from a recall cue. The difference starts with the words "unconditioned stimulus" and knowing how conditioning works.   In the episode...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      I have owned nine puppies and had many rescue dogs new to my home, and all have become amazing adult dogs. It might seem I was lucky, but the truth is that I followed a process! And there are things that I don't do with my puppies or dogs when they come to live with me. I'm covering the 10 common mistakes that people make with a new puppy. Avoiding these 10 things...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      It's important to realize when a puppy might not be interacting appropriately with another puppy or dog. Some puppies can be bullies, play far too roughly, or be overly exuberant and unable to read the room. We're covering the steps you can take to help a puppy with appropriate interactions and what to know about puppy play.   In the episode you'll hear:   • What I...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     If you took an obedience class back in the 80s, you could have learned to say things like AH-AH, NO, and HEY to stop your dog from doing something. And if you learned that that recently or find those old habits still with you, I've got something to help! Those short sharp words spoken harshly will startle dogs and stop a behavior, but they will also create stress an...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      If you spend time on social media, you will have seen videos where somebody has a family dog and a young toddler or a baby in very precarious situations. It's unnecessarily dangerous as the dog is giving clear information with their body language on how they are feeling! If we live with a dog, we need to understand how they communicate their emotions. We're coverin...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      The best thing we can do for our dogs is protect them from unpleasant events. Fireworks displays can be beautiful for us but can be traumatic for dogs. It's not just dogs; many animals are scared of fireworks, including wildlife. We can help our dogs by preparing and keeping them safe, and I'm covering strategies that you can put into place right now.   In the epis...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      There's a good chance that you've seen how to train a sit by luring your puppy or dog with a treat above their nose. I teach a sit 10 different ways, and none involve a lure. I'm covering the details of the 10 alternate ways to train a sit, how I use them and why, plus the reason I am never in a hurry to put sit on cue. You'll be able to pick one of the 10 ways I'm...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     Do you take your dog on vacation or for road trips? It will help make your holiday great if you plan ahead and prepare your dog for car rides, consider safety for your trip, know where to take breaks along the way, and where to stay when travelling by car with your dog.   In the episode you'll hear:   • About planning so that your vacation is enjoyable for you and y...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     Dog training games deepen the bond we have with our dogs, grow trust, build confidence and give our dogs beneficial skills for daily life. A life skill that is important for all dogs is wearing a muzzle. We want to create a positive conditioned emotional response to a muzzle for our dog. Fun games will help your dog LOVE wearing a muzzle and give you confidence if y...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     We're now in part three of our series on dogs being able to respond when they are far away, and I've got a training plan for you. It's super important for your dog's safety that they can listen at a distance and come when called. A recall from something like deer or bunnies all begins with your dog being able to listen close by, and in part three, we're growing the...