Visit us at shapedbydog.com I've been thinking about stress and how we deal with it. Consider your dog and any challenges you might have in your training. Those challenges could be creating anxiety for you, and your dog will pick up on your emotions. You are not alone if you find yourself stressing about your dog. In the episode you'll hear: • What happened with my dog Shelby when I locked my keys in the car. • Why I check in with myself when I feel stressed. • How I look for every day with my d...
Feb 17, 2021•17 min•Ep. 67
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Resource Guarding between dogs is a big topic. It's also one of the most requested for me to cover on my podcast. Over the past week, my six-month-old puppy has started attacking some of the other dogs in my household over resources. It's a good time for me to share what I am doing to help This! overcome possession aggression around resources, particularly food. Yes, even professional dog trainers experience challenges to work through. In the episode you'll hear: • Ab...
Feb 12, 2021•22 min•Ep. 66
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Have you ever asked your dog to do something, and he does the opposite? Have you ever thought "but he knows it!". Maybe he raided something from the kitchen, and when you ask him to drop it, he swallows whatever he has. Or perhaps when you call him, he runs the other way. In Agility, you might leave your dog at the start line and say stay, but he does not stay and starts on the course before you give your release. There are two schools of thought to what might be happ...
Feb 10, 2021•19 min•Ep. 65
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Success in dog training comes down to three things. The reinforcement we are using, the training plan, and the environment where we are training our dog. But what happens when things don't go to plan, and our dog make a wrong choice? What are our options? In the episode you'll hear: • The four reactions that are common when a dog makes a mistake. • About looking at your emotional state when you are training your dog. • The reasons building a house is like dog training...
Feb 05, 2021•21 min•Ep. 64
Visit us at shapedbydog.com The inspiration for this episode comes from a walk with my dogs. My puppy, This!, was on leash, and my adult dogs were milling about freely. All of a sudden, a large bunny crossed our path 5 meters ahead. My adult dogs did not really notice the rabbit as it was the equivalent of white noise for them. For my puppy, it was a LOUD noise, a siren, she for sure noticed! Is it that my puppy just does not get my training, or is it that she has just started her education? In ...
Feb 03, 2021•22 min•Ep. 63
Visit us at shapedbydog.com We all want our dogs to have long and happy lives. There are 12 things I believe have a massive influence on the longevity and quality of life for my dogs, and 6 things I avoid. In this episode, I'm sharing what I've learned through trial and error, talking to experts, and from science, that can contribute to an increased life expectancy for our dogs. In the episode you'll hear: • About telomeres and what that means for our dogs and us. • What I've learned from my sen...
Jan 29, 2021•29 min•Ep. 62
Visit us at shapedbydog.com In 2012, my dog Encore almost died. I'm sharing her story with you, and the six incredibly valuable lessons learned from Encore's near-death experience and recovery. In the episode you'll hear: • Why Encore became my puppy and her early life with me. • The signs we started noticing from when she was around 5 years old. • When her neurological symptoms became more apparent. • About Encore's seizure, and the night she almost died. • Knowing your critical care solution f...
Jan 27, 2021•16 min•Ep. 61
Visit us at shapedbydog.com It's not uncommon to know you should be training your dog, but you just don't feel like it. You can't motivate yourself. And you might look at your dog and can tell that your motivation carries over. If you have ever found yourself unmotivated and in need of inspiration, you are going to love this episode. It does not matter what you are working on, or what challenge you want to overcome; you can find success leaves clues. In the episode you'll hear: • About checking ...
Jan 22, 2021•16 min•Ep. 60
Visit us at shapedbydog.com In the world of dog training, a lot of people are trying to train their dog with a focus solely on the use of reinforcement. But there can be a disparity in the success people have when using rewards. We're going to turn the microscope on why the outcome varies between trainers, why it's happening, and what we can do about it so everyone can have success. In the episode you'll hear: • The reasons that animal training fails. • How to get brilliant at understanding and ...
Jan 20, 2021•22 min•Ep. 59
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Raising dogs in a home with kids and kids in a home with dogs can be harmonious when you have the right expectations for great outcomes. Now, I don't have children, but my dogs are around many children as I have a lot of nieces and nephews. There can be a great deal of joy for kids and dogs and many life lessons if we set everyone up for success. Do you know someone who has children and a dog? Share this podcast episode with them, and together we can help families wit...
Jan 13, 2021•21 min•Ep. 58
Visit us at shapedbydog.com There is one thing that I do intentionally in my dog training that makes all the difference in the world to the joy and success that my dogs and I have together. That one thing is using Balance Breaks. I'm sharing exactly what a Balance Break is, why it's essential, and the mechanics of how I do it. Let me know when you try it!. In the episode you'll hear: • My 5 steps to an amazing dog training experience. • About the power of D.A.S.H. (Desire, Accuracy, Speed, Habit...
Jan 08, 2021•17 min•Ep. 57
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Do you have a naughty dog or things you want to change with your dog's behavior? It might be to improve your dog's focus on you, stop counter surfing, barking, running off, jumping on guests, pulling on leash, or fixing something that will get you the teamwork you want for dog sports like agility. There are five questions I've been asking my dog training students the world over that will fast track your success. In the episode you'll hear: • The 5 questions to ask tha...
Jan 06, 2021•18 min•Ep. 56
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Choosing the best dog toy for any activity will lead to success. The toy you choose needs to be safe and suit the purpose. Before I was a professional dog trainer, I never gave any thought to toy selection apart from if a toy appealed to me. Since those days, I've created systems and processes for toy selection to benefit my dogs. Picking the wrong toy can set your training back and could be dangerous. Picking the right toy will set you and your dog up for success. In...
Dec 18, 2020•22 min•Ep. 55
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Do you know how to choose the right dog toys? Have you thought of the do's and don'ts when picking a toy for your puppy or dog? Do you consider the purpose of the toy? My dogs have many toys, which might not be a surprise! There are ten key considerations I use when selecting a new toy, including safety. One of the things to look for in a toy might be a surprise! In the episode you'll hear: • The top 10 considerations for selecting a dog toy. • What sort of toys never...
Dec 16, 2020•18 min•Ep. 54
Visit us at shapedbydog.com We're looking at how to train your dog to stop pulling on leash. You have probably heard me talk about the importance of exercise for dogs. But, for some of you, taking your dog for a walk is not enjoyable, and you just want your dog to walk nicely. I'm covering what might have led to your dog's lead pulling, what you can do to fix it, and how you can start to enjoy going for a walk. In the episode you'll hear: • About my trips to Hot Springs, Arkansas, and why world-...
Dec 11, 2020•14 min•Ep. 53
Visit us at shapedbydog.com There are five words commonly used when training a dog. I bet you can immediately think of dog training commands that are in use frequently! Are cues like sit, down, stay, come and okay on your list? One of these words I would never ever use, and I'm sharing why. I believe our dogs put our words into five categories, and I'm covering each cue category and how it relates to what we say to our dog. In the episode you'll hear: • How many words dogs can respond to and und...
Dec 09, 2020•17 min•Ep. 52
Visit us at shapedbydog.com In dog training, there's really only one reason we feel frustration, and that is when the outcome does not meet our expectations. But what happens when we get frustrated? Recently I experienced frustration when training a side pass with my puppy, This!, and I'm sharing with you the process I used for troubleshooting. In the episode you'll hear: • About the motivation for this episode from a post by one of my students. • Identifying the words you use when you are frust...
Dec 04, 2020•17 min•Ep. 51
Visit us at shapedbydog.com When I was 12 years old, I experienced the most humiliating event of my young life with a doctor who was trying to be helpful. That event changed who I was and how I processed information and led me to become the dog trainer that I am today. What if the things that we look at as our greatest challenges are actually our biggest blessings? And how could that help our dogs? In the episode you'll hear: • About my family and my introduction to riding a bike. • Why my broth...
Dec 02, 2020•19 min•Ep. 50
Visit us at shapedbydog.com What if it were possible to dramatically improve your dog's focus, skills and overall behaviour just by changing the questions you are asking? There's no magic pixie dust, but it is possible for everyone. Reinforcement-based training requires outside-the-box thinking. Anyone can become a resourceful solutions-based dog trainer, and I'm giving you the four-step process I share with all of my students. In the episode you'll hear: • About swapping old thinking to new thi...
Nov 27, 2020•17 min•Ep. 49
Visit us at shapedbydog.com The number one problem every puppy owner will experience is "how do I get my puppy to go to the bathroom in the appropriate spot?". Now some puppy owners never get this mystery solved as a lot of adult dogs will mess in the house. Things are about to get easier because today we are covering the HOT topic of getting a pup or adult dog house trained fast. I'm sharing my easy 3 part process so you can have potty training success in a week, and within a month put any acci...
Nov 25, 2020•19 min•Ep. 48
Visit us at shapedbydog.com If you have a dog, there will come a time when your dog will say to you "Don't Wanna, Don't Hafta". That is the moment when you ask your dog to do something, and he ignores you. The question is, what do you do when this happens? I'm sharing what I do when my dog says "no" and the questions we need to ask ourselves. In the resources below, I'm referencing a number of previous podcast episodes that I strongly encourage you to check out with the context of what I say her...
Nov 20, 2020•19 min•Ep. 47
Visit us at shapedbydog.com The topic of this episode comes from a listener suggestion, and it is about "alpha" and "beta" dogs. It's a bit of a spicy subject, and the words "alpha" and "beta" go back to disproven "dominance theory". Even if you are not sure what "dominance theory" is, you might have heard the term "pack leader". It was common around 30 or so years ago for pet dog training classes to be based on "dominancy theory", but not so much these days. Each of us has a filter we see the w...
Nov 18, 2020•18 min•Ep. 46
Visit us at shapedbydog.com If you own a dog, there is a very good chance that at some point in your dog's life, your dog could get jumped or possibly attacked by another dog. It's vital to know that your reaction could actually exacerbate the emotional damage to your dog or puppy. This episode has my top tips for helping your dog and how you can take control of the uncontrollable and your responses. My puppy, This!, was jumped by an older pup, so it's a topic fresh in my mind. In the episode yo...
Nov 11, 2020•18 min•Ep. 45
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Up to this point in your dog's life, your training might not have worked the way you would have liked it to work. You can fix that with a simple set of progressions, and you can start right now. I know this works as it has worked for every dog I've ever raised, including rescue dogs, and it has worked for many thousands of my students. It all starts with arranging coincidences and positive associations. In the episode you'll hear: • What my goal is when I am raising a...
Nov 06, 2020•19 min•Ep. 44
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Would you like a well-behaved dog at the expense of having a happy dog? How do we define happy? Would you be willing to make your dog a little sad, confused, anxious, stressed to be well-behaved? With every dog I have ever owned my approach to training has become a little more Zen-like. Trust in me is important for my dogs to be part of my family, and part of the life I lead. In the episode you'll hear: • What I was taught in the '80s about house training, and what I ...
Nov 04, 2020•16 min•Ep. 43
Visit us at shapedbydog.com What if I were to tell you that your dog's worst behaviour could very likely be there because you have been unintentionally reinforcing it? It might be your dog jumping on guests, barking, getting on the furniture, counter surfing, not wanting to leave the park, lunging, not bringing back a ball. All of these frustrations and many others are things you could be accidentally rewarding your dog for doing. How does this happen? It's got everything to do with behaviour ch...
Oct 30, 2020•20 min•Ep. 42
Visit us at shapedbydog.com When you get a puppy or dog, what are your expectations of your new family member? Do you have a vision of how your dog will fit into your home? What does it look like, and how do you convey your expectations to your dog? You can deepen the bond with your dog by knowing what your basics, manners and extras are. In the episode you'll hear: • All the things you probably don't want your dog to do. • How expectations set people up for success and why that relates to your ...
Oct 28, 2020•14 min•Ep. 41
Visit us at shapedbydog.com Today I'm sharing with you how I get brilliant behaviours with my dogs. No matter what you are training, the key to success is to build value for what you want your dog to do and avoid your dog rehearsing undesirable behaviours. I'll walk you through it step by step using walking on a leash as an example, and for me, that starts with using a Head Halter. Now before you turn off, you need to know that how I use a Head Halter is very different to nearly everyone out the...
Oct 23, 2020•25 min•Ep. 40
Visit us at shapedbydog.com What do we do when our dog shows resistance? What happens when your dog appears to be stubborn, and what does that tell you? You might even see resistance in toddlers, teenagers, your spouse, or a co-worker. We're looking at how you can overcome resistance and build a relationship of trust. In the episode you'll hear: • Why we want to move from resisting to a willingness to try. • What creates resistance in dogs, the sights, scents, sounds, feelings. • How the unknown...
Oct 21, 2020•19 min•Ep. 39
Visit us at shapedbydog.com What is confidence in a dog? Why do we need it? How do we grow it, and why should we even care? Confidence is a topic I'm very passionate about, and there are three things that are big contributors bringing out the best in a puppy or dog. In the episode you'll hear: • What my dog Decaff taught me about confidence. • How confidence replaces stress and anxiety. • About my once in a lifetime dogs. • How our beliefs control our thoughts about our dogs and how our thoughts...
Oct 16, 2020•18 min•Ep. 38
