The Dog's Way Podcast: Dog Training for Real Life

First, I hope that everyone has stayed safe and healthy through what may have been the worst of the stay-at-home orders that you may have been subject to. We went through a sort of "emergency sessions" period where the podcast episodes focused on specific things to do with your dog - and as a result we put some of the interviews we had scheduled on hold. Today is the first episode of one of those...

In this episode we move to phase TWO of the "down" challenge for food motivated and non-food motivated dogs. I'll talk about an interesting discovery from listeners from the Czech Republic and Sweden and how their "crazy stay in place" situation is nothing like that! Life is proceeding pretty much the same there as it was before March. So we we talked about sweeping the leg and your proximity to t...

In this episode we'll jump to a critical point with the "down" challenge, that uses no food and instead focuses on the "say and show" method. It's not unlike the say and show version of sit; but some there are some angles and positions that are distinctly different. There are two categories of people who may be the best for this type of training; Non-food motivated dogs People with dogs who give s...

In this episode we're going to jump into another obedience skills challenge. This one is focused on the 'down' command. This is an important lesson for small puppies as they develop, and even rescue adult dogs in instances where they may not have received much training, or were last trained years ago when they were puppies themselves. Emails I answer an email from Rachael asking about her puppy an...

While you're all stuck at home, hopefully you've all stayed safe - and hopefully you've been working on parts one and two of the "sit" command with your dog! In today's episode we'll work on sit by moving toward the "stay" progression; and I'd highly encourage you to go back and listen to the previous two episodes if you haven't already before jumping into this lesson! Here are the links; Episode...

In today's episode I'm ramping up the "sit" command in part two of this series. This is also a good step for adult dogs who have a pretty good grasp already. I'll answer some emails that are timely and play into this specific type of obedience training and talk about a very good question that I did not answer in my part one! And I've been making a habit lately of leaving you with an interesting qu...

In today's episode we're going to work on our obedience skills challenges while we're still confined inside with our dogs! Today's skill at first glance may seem like one you think you already know...but there are some key components to this command - whether your dog is "food" motivated, adult dog or puppy - there are some great tips to go beyond what I call the "phase one" version of the sit com...

This is part two of the lesson on teaching the "place" command. We're going to take it up a notch from yesterday's work. We'll look at increasing levels of difficulty. We'll also talk to those with older puppies and adult dogs, and those that aren't as "food motivated". The goal being to learn to apply a more advanced set of skills to get the results you're looking for. Hopefully, after episode 87...

Today's emergency session 87 is a fun exercise, and part one of a session to help your puppy learn the "place" command. As part of this exercise we'll talk about teaching him/her to use their dog bed. We'll go over how to analyze and learn about the personality of your puppy based on the skills exercises I demonstrate, and then tailor your training based on what you observe. It can be a great step...

In today's session I'll give you a few tips for creating some fun and interesting mental and physical exercises for your dog while "sheltering at home".  I've also decided to outline the entire subject below and put in a few links for items that might be useful during these sessions; Fetch Work on teaching fetching rules though (if you're out at the park – be sure to use a long line on your dog to...

Core foundational skill building is critically important, and practical application of that in today's new "social distancing" environment is essential. I'm going to talk about training exercises that you can run through with your puppy to help determine the type of instinctive response your puppy has, and how to establish some good fundamental behaviors. I think about socializing in three differe...

It's a strange time for sure in the midst of all of the COVID-19 concerns worldwide. I've received a lot of questions about their pets and I wanted to publish a few brief episodes to not only answer questions that I've received but to give you some fun things to do with your dog along the way while you're sheltered in place, or stuck at home. In this episode I'm primarily talking about the followi...

In our training session for today I'll help design a game plan for training a puppy that likes to bite and nip. I'll show you how to design an environment that is optimal for training for this type of behavior. It is very much requires a 'relationship based' type of approach. Other trainers use a "behavior centric" approach. I referred to a previous episode I published ( episode 76 if you want to...

In today's podcast I will talk about a remote training method using e-collars! In podcast session 45 I talked a bit about this but I'll talk about how it relates to obedience training. There's controversy and some things to consider and I will discuss all of that. When we use it for training it can be very effective and I'll talk about steps for you to train your dog effectively with it. I've give...

If there's one consistent thing that owners put at the top of their list for behaviors it's to keep their dogs from jumping on their owners and other people. I will discuss options and how to create the right environment for it. I'll also talk about the modes of communication, starting with postural and vocal methods and their place in this type of training. These are essential in understanding th...

I love this heartwarming story! Today's episode features Beau Maxwell, owner of Love for Senior Paws. Her focus is on care and adoption for senior pets. Her love and dedication started with a cocker spaniel she rescued from a disreputable breeder. Since then, she's dedicated her life to rescue and adoption of senior dogs for all through her group. She talks about the primary goal of Love for Senio...

Today's interview was with David Blank, owner of Happy Tails Canine Adventure Tours . David is the contact you need to know if you like travel and taking your dogs along! Background David started as a tour guide and found tremendous happiness with travel and tourism and eventually realized that incorporating the travelers' dogs in their adventures was an incredibly enriching experience. He talks a...

On today's show I answer a two commonly asked questions; the first from Tanya, one of our listeners. I get a lot of questions specifically about this. If you listen regularly to the podcast I'm sure you've noticed that I make occasional references to my video training series but I don't often talk about the details. I think the explanation of the video series will help you understand my approach a...

In today's episode, and after a few recording attempts, I sit down with Angie Burlingame, owner of A Dog's Life Training School. Angie's a trainer that uses a a board-and-train style method, and offers 2 and 3-week programs. She's based in my neck of the woods (Woodinville, Washington) and we talk in detail about what a typical session would look like for those interested in this type of method fo...

In today's episode I will follow up on one of the many responses I received regarding my Skinner's Four Quadrants episodes 73 and 74 that I received. The concepts and methods that dog trainers use is varied, with peoples' passion for dogs it stands to reason that it would bring out a lot of passionate responses to my use of certain parts of all 4 of Skinner's 4 quadrants. A listener, Vicki wrote i...

Ryan Brown (the dog "Philosofur") operates a dog training business based in Hamilton, Ontario. He has been a great colleague in the business, and was a great guest on my podcast back in episode 69 , where we spoke about his practice, and talked about tips for newer dog trainers. In this session Ryan and I will talk about some training commands for your dog WITHOUT food (yes, it is possible). Ryan'...

This is a continuation of my talk about Skinner's Four Quadrants. If you're reading this and haven't heard the previous show ( episode 73 ), I'd strongly suggest going back to listen to that first. It will give some context to my deeper dive into what the concepts mean. We'll talk in this episode about the broader argument of the "purely positive" trainers, why I use a mix of all four, and why. Po...

Hey there Dog's Way fans, today it's time to get "geeky" and talk about Skinner's Four Quadrants. I get asked a lot about the references I make to B.F. Skinner and Skinner's Four Quadrants so it makes sense to go a bit further into what the concepts are behind positive and negative reinforcements, how trainers adapt to those concepts and in this and episode 74 I go into depth on my methods as well...

A Great Discussion with Bennie Copeland, author of Family Dog Fusion Bennie Copeland and I had a great discussion! If you remember Bennie Copeland from Episode 61 , you're going to love our continued conversation. Bennie is a trainer in the Nashville area, and recently published a book,  Family Dog Fusion . It's full of insights and tips on how best to teach, train, love and build an amazing bond...

In episode 71, Sean interviews Eric Letendre about his method and tips for introducing the down command to a dog.  Sean and Eric talk about some of the pitfalls that people fall into when introducing an obedience command and how to progress from introduction to a little greater proficiency in the down.