Dunbar Academy is all about sharing puppy and dog training techniques that are easy, enjoyable, and effective. We use science-based dog training methods developed by our founder, world-renowned veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and dog trainer, Dr. Ian Dunbar.
We've been training puppies and dogs for over 40 years and we specialize in family-friendly, fun and games dog training that looks at training from the dog's point of view, to make sure that training is fun for everyone. Our methods WORK and when you see them, you can see your dog's behavior and temperament change before your eyes. In a single training session, you can, and should see progress. If not, you're probably not doing it right!
Dr. Ian Dunbar was an early pioneer of reward-based training and was a key figure in popularizing early puppyhood socialization and training, but we produce videos to help dogs of all ages and abilities.
My two pups play like video, both make the weirdest vocalizations. One will sound like a constipated cave troll and the other will squeak like she’s trying to kill her opponent with echolocation. Good to know it’s just dogs being dogs though lol, since they always end up sharing running and chasing and have those little pauses as well
Thanks for the interesting chat. I'd love to hear more about your opinion of the Skinner research and how you think that has affected dog training. There are constant debates (to be polite) about his work and the subsequent use of 'quadrants' that many trainers quote but don't seem to understand. Your pov would be interesting.
Oof. Yeah... debates around quadrants rarely help dogs behave like we want them to. You should check out Ian's Science-Based Dog Training with Feeling if you want his in-depth POV on learning theory science: www.dunbaracademy.com/courses/science-based-dog-training-with-feeling There's very little lab research that can be productively applied to training pet dogs in the real world. The real world is very different from the lab and pet dog owners are very different from laboratory robots administering rewards and punishments.
This was fun! We'll do another live session to talk more about dog-dog reactivity on Monday August 12th. Probably at Noon (Pacific Time). We hope you can join us!. If you have dog-dog reactivity questions you want us to answer, you can post them here and we'll answer them on Monday
Hopefully all of you are forming a positive, loving relationship with the pup, and so all of you should be able to comfort the pup. Of course, if the pup doesn't like one of you, then that person will have more trouble comforting the pup. Each of you should be hand-feeding and playing with and training your pup, giving your pup lots of reasons to love you all!
Yes, it could take longer. Yes, you should continue. Just make sure they don't really need to potty. If they don't need to potty, then yes, stick with it. They need to learn to settle down happily in their crate and if you stay nearby and talk to them sweetly and reinforce at the right times, they'll figure it out and this will change your lives together immeasurably for the better. Remember, if they stop whining for a fraction of a second, praise them. Mark that moment! Reinforce those moments and they will grow into minutes, and eventually, into hours of happy puppy napping!
If you teach your pup to enjoy spending time in their crate (which is easy to do), it can make a lot of other aspects of puppy training much, much easier. It's also really useful for emergencies, travel, and general household management. If you don't take the time to teach your pup to enjoy their crate, it can be really traumatizing if a situation ever arises where your dog needs to be crated, and their are a lot of situations like that.
@@DunbarAcademy if you have to teach a pup to “enjoy” being crated then that is a problem in itself. I understand your reference to emergencies but we will have to agree to disagree. 🐾💙
My pup did great the first few days but has been struggling today (it’s Thursday and we got him Saturday). He was unwell yesterday (parasites) so we got out of routine and he got held a lot. But he when he’s well he really needs the crate naps 🤣
Yeah, if you can teach your pup to enjoy spending time in their crate it makes so many other aspects of puppy training so much easier. I'm sorry to hear your pup is dealing with parasites. I hope he feels better soon!
Ha! Yes, well, there are badly behaved cats out there but it sounds like you are happy so we're happy. Yeah, teaching a pup to love settling down in their crate and chewing on chew toys makes everything else about raising a puppy so much easier!
Oh no, that sounds upsetting. But it also sounds like they haven't actually injured anyone. If that is the case, it means that you can resolve this problem quickly, easily, and safely. The secret is finding a friend with a dog so you can do some training together. You should check out our Reactive Dog Toolkit on DunbarAcademy.com
It sure will! The first step is teaching the dog to love spending time in the crate, but that is easily done with their daily allotment of food and a pile of hollow chew-toys
Oh good! Yeah, I thought that might be a cool way to present the info. That reminds me, I should look at the data on this video and see how many people stick around for the extra footage at the end. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I have my 7 year old shitzu ,Balu, and my 1 1/2 year old golden doodle ,Snoopy. Snoopy is pretty hyper and playful, while Balu is not. Balu would bark at Snoopy for running around the house and chase him . It took Balu a while to get used to Snoopy. Recently, i noticed they started "playing" but i think only Snoopy sees it that way. Balu would bark, growl, and chase Snoopy but he didnt have any of that "bouncy" body language so I'm not sure if he enjoys it like Snoopy does.
Do the Bully test. Restrain Snoopy and see what Balu does. Does Balu approach Snoopy and try to engage? If so, it's a good sign that Balu enjoys Snoopy's presence and the interactions they have together. If Balu uses it as an opportunity to go off alone and get some peace and quiet, then Balu probably isn't enjoying it so much. In which case it might be nice to give Balu some opportunities to get a break from Snoopy. Of course you can use Classical Conditioning to teach Balu to enjoy Snoopy's presence more, but it's pretty standard for an older dog to be mildly annoyed by the non-stop playful energy of a younger dog.
I'm struggling with my 8 month old labrador dog. He has quite a few behaviour issues including food aggression, timidness of humans and eating his own poo. We are working on the above issues but just lately, as he has grown in confidence the regular dogs that he meets he has started snapping into the air while playing, he likes to be chased and to chase but regardless of which he is doing he does this snapping thing and when they stop playing he is doing it in other dogs faces. Is this something he will grow out of? Or is there a reason dogs do this?
If it's not hurting anyone, it's no big deal. It sounds like he enjoys playing with other dogs. If he air snaps and that makes other dogs stop playing, he will learn to stop air snapping eventually. Of course, if you don't like it, you can help him. When he air snaps, tell him, "Hey, quit it". If he keeps doing it, call him to you and ask him to Sit, and, then, once he does, release him to go back to playing. Any time he's playing with other dogs and not air snapping say "Good dog, I like that, Good playing, good dog...". Praising the good behavior is the key part that people neglect. A lot of people ignore their dog when it's good, including when it is playing nicely with other dogs. Praise your dog when he's playing nicely. Don't take it for granted. When he air snaps, let him know you don't like it, then as soon as he stops, go back to praising and he'll get the idea quickly. You don't need to shout or be especially mean, just a stern "Quit it" and then back to praising nicely as soon as he's playing nicely.
Ha! Yes, good point. Well, feeding from hollow chew toys takes more effort than a food bowl and after a while, you don't actually need much food in active training. That said, things like a Snuffle Matt or Puzzle Feeder are more fun for your dog than a bowl, and just as easy. The real point here is that, if you're not happy with your dog's behavior and temperament, you can improve them using your dog's daily allotment of food, if they value their food, and feeding from a food bowl will usually undermine the value of your dog's food.
Exactly! Often, when a dog means business, they are quiet and stiff. Dogs that are bouncing up and down and making lots of noise are usually trying to have some fun!
You are right, this is not from a reactive dog class, this is from a class for Adult Dogs and it's an activity we call a "Woof Relay" where dogs bark on cue and then stop barking on cue. Unwanted barking is one of the most common problems that people have with their dogs and one of the best ways to solve this problem is to teach your dog to bark on cue. It's counterintuitive but by putting Bark on cue, it makes it much easier to put "Stop Barking" or Shush on cue, because now you can practice repeatedly, whenever and wherever you want. It can also be super useful to have a dog that barks on cue for safety and also for fun. Some dogs love to bark but they rarely get an opportunity because their person hasn't taught them the skill.
Oh yes, I used to teach my German shepherds to bark on you and then I told them quiet and I think that is good for a dog that barks because then you could have an on and off switch but the only problem my dog would have in a class settingwould be all the other dogs barking because he’s a highly motivated over aroused Border Collie and that might get him going but other than that yes I think it’s wonderful. Thanks and keep up the good work you guys
Toward the end, you talk about teaching a dog to growl "on cue". As a woman, it is VERY helpful to teach your dog to 'watch' people, especially at night ! I have a small, very friendly dog, but if I see someone suspicious, I can just say, "Watch!" This is basically reinforcing her attention on another human. However, if this person has not so great attention, having my 30 lb dog standing on her tiptoes, 'watching' them, they MAY assume the dog is ready to defend me. It's sad to be a female and have to think about these things, but, I live in a small quiet town, and I sometimes like walking at night. Also, having a dog heel and doing automatic sits also impresses folks. I had a G.Shepherd as my first dog & had MANY a creepy guy ask if she was "Attack trained" !? (This was back in the 70s) I always said,'YES!!!!' My G.Shepherd took her guarding duty SERIOUSLY, so I don't think I was lying. I just was keeping them from testing her ! Lol 😁 Would love to hear if you have any videos about this?!
Yes, dogs are wonderful for safety and security, especially with the right training! We don't have any videos about "attack training" but as you've pointed out, if you simply train your dog to Heel, pay attention to someone on cue, or even better, teach your dog to growl or bark on cue, then you'll get most of the benefit without the liability of actually training a dog to attack someone
Yeah, it's good to let dogs be dogs but it's also good to be able to get control when you need it. If your dogs are playing and roughhousing, it's great if you can tell your dog to Come and Sit at any time, to know that you have control. Then, when they've done that, "Go Play" is a wonderful reward! And now you can relax, know that you can stop the play if you need to.
Would this be an issue if a dog has shown resource guarding over toys (specifically only balls)? My guy LOVES tug and has excitement reactivity but I’m wondering if a long rope with a play pal he already gets along with would help.
Yeah, if you don't mind it, it's a non-issue. That said, if you ever have guests over or you take your dogs out to public places, it can be nice to have the ability to control the activity and vocalization. It can be really impressive to have your two dogs playing in a way that looks and sounds scary to an observer, but then you say "Dogs, Sit" and they both stop playing and do an immediate Sit Stay, and then you say "Good Dogs, Go Play" and they jump right back into playing!
How do I know when my dogs are playing too rough? I have a husky (Aloy) and lab (Apollo), and I think Aloy is playing too rough, chasing after Apollo or biting at the top of his head/neck/lips. Apollo hasn't seem too bothered, and actively participates in the chasing, even instaging it. He's very patient with her and is used to her style of play, but I'm worried if she ever meets new dogs. I know they're playing and not fighting, but im worried about a fight starting or one of them getting hurt, just due to how rough they play If so, do you have any tips to help redirect her, I've tried using treats to direct her attention, but she hyperfixates and won't pay attention, the only way I can get her to stop is spraying her with the hose, but I don't feel that's effective long term
How would you define too rough? Too rough for who? The Bully Test (which I believe we describe in this video) is a great way to test that both dogs are enjoying the play session. Simply restrain one dog and see what the other dog does. Then switch which dog is restrained. It is true that active play, especially high-velocity, high-energy play can lead to injuries, even when there is no intention to cause injury. It's just like people playing sports. Yes, if you want to get control over play, you have to integrate training into play and play into training. Don't let them play sessions get crazy, instead, interrupt after just a few seconds, when everyone is still calm. Don't let play resume until your dog listens to you and does a nice Sit-Stay for ten seconds or a Sit-Down-Sit, or a Rollover, or whatever, just to establish that you have control. Of course, basic obedience practice is essential and there are a lot of steps you can take to build up reliability before you try to interrupt a play session, which is a big challenge.
That's what we're here for. Say the stuff that should be obvious but isn't when you're in the thick of it with your own dog and your own life and all the other distractions... Glad you liked it!
@@alexandraturnwald2286 Doesn't that imply that any dog (or person) who is anxious will calm down just by your giving them "calming" signals? Look at how one person may use words and body language to calm another down, by gently prompting and calmly reacting to their anxiety? My senior training dog would do that with hundreds of scared or aggressive dogs. Not with some static "signals", but by the total interchange between them. And, virtually any simple "signal" can have any of several quite different meanings, so using some static chart is sure to be wrong much of the time.
@@gerryglauser2394 what I mean is that some dogs are aggressive because they are frightened and cannot read the other dogs signals I have several chesapeakes and an almost miniature wirehaired dachshound with type 1 Diabetes - if he has a glucose problem he is able to lash out out of fear and feeling unwell, even though the much bigger chesapeakes have a very, very clear body language. If I don't intervene, the little gremlin could get himself in some serious trouble
I'm sorry to hear that. It doesn't seem like this trainer is very good. If your dog isn't dangerous (if they have never harmed another dog) then you should be able to resolve their dog-dog reactivity in a few weeks, or a few months at most, assuming you're willing to do the work. You should join the Top Dog Academy and look at our new Dog-Dog Reactivity Training Plan. We lay it all out super clearly.
Yeah, mental stimulation is so much more important for a dog's overall well-being. Playing with your dog, training your dog, letting your dog sniff or see new and interesting things can all satisfy your dog's need for mental stimulation and lead to a happy dog that sleeps well! Walking a dog is wonderful, if the dog is well trained and the walks are pleasant for all involved.
I don’t walk my Dachshund everyday. For instance yesterday, she discovered a new scent in the woodpile. She spent all morning digging, going under the tarp, etc. trying to get at whatever was in there. I had to bring her in to rest. She was knackered for the rest of the day and evening.
Dog parks can be a great place to take your dog and a really wonderful place to work on their training because you can practice off-leash control in a distracting but safely confined environment. But it depends on the people and dogs at the park. You shouldn't be afraid to leave a dog park if the people or dogs there are not pleasant to be around. But of course, if you don't want to take your dog to dog parks that's totally fine too. It is good to have regular play dates or walking dates with other dogs to maintain socialization, but that certainly doesn't need to happen at the park
Unfortunately my dog was never socialized. I adopted her when she was 3 yrs. I’ve been working with a trainer for 2 years now. Gypsy doesn’t like other dog. It’s heartbreaking at times. But not all dogs like other dogs. All I do is maintain her anxiety and reactivity to the best of my ability. I never subject her to situations that are uncomfortable for her
Yes, it's true. Exagrerated movement, bouncy movement, wiggly movements are all signs a dog is looking to play. Usually, when dogs are anxious they are stiff and still
OMG...the description of the dog explainling the owners reaction when seeing a dog coming around a corner is priceless ! Mine would have just as much to say .( a work in progress as more is incorporated as I listen to the rationale behind these methods ) .
Dear Dunbars, thank you for this! I actually had to hold back the tears whilst watching this because that is me, a ball of anxiety when l’m out with my 20 month old Australian Cattle Dog who from a very young age was reactive with certain other dogs and a bully with puppies 😳 He has been involved in about 10 fights, never any blood, even lying down next to the dog he had a run in with after the fracas ended … and l just want to burst into tears because l find the fights so traumatic. His play style is very rough and he herds other dogs (being a heeler). I felt anxious from moment we got him, far from a calm gentle leader. I took him out for a good long walk and run after watching this video and as the sun came out l started humming and singing and congratulating him on walking so calmly. We met about 6 dogs off lead at the park and he was well mannered with all of them, chased his ball and lay in the shade with a new doggy friend he met whilst we were there. Learning to change my attitude will change his life. Now l have to master the on leash encounter without fear. Thanks again, Suellen
Oh wow, that's wonderful. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this comment. Yeah, you've got to lead by example and show your dog there's nothing to be afraid of, even if you're anxious on the inside. That's where setting up training encounters with friends and familiar dogs can be a real confidence booster. Best of luck on your journey!
This is very interesting information for me. We have been enjoying daily time on a bench at our condos dog walk area. This dog walk is next to a large lot where cars and coming and going and boats are being worked on by many people also coming and going. During the summer months this is a VERY busy place. This gives our rescue a change to "gear up" to the heavy summer traffic around our condo as the activity gears up during the busy summer season. There helps us during a "transitional" time between the quiet winter months and the very busy summer traffic months. This is very good to help our reactive rescue to "chill our" and NOT react to the increasing activity. I also do the same thing sitting in the sunshine on the ground in front of our condo sunporch overlooking a VERY busy bike path with many walkers, runners, bikers and dogs walking by where we are even closer to all the action. The rescue came from a lifetime living in a crate in a kennel in a warehouse with 200+ other dogs and eliminating in that same crate. We have consistently working her fear and reactivity now for almost three years and she is doing quite a bit better.
Oh good, I'm glad you found this video helpful. Yeah, dogs often need some time to adjust to changes in their surroundings. Too often, people take their dogs walking through new, unfamiliar, dynamic surroundings and it's overwhelming. Far better to find a place to settle down and watch the world go by, getting lots of praise, encouragement, and maybe some treats from their human to make it all seem pleasant and fun. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for breaking this down. During Q & A from the recent summit Dr. Dunbar had responded about this when I asked about my adopted Aussie's fear of dogs I will listen a couple of more times to absorb the info !
