Drinking From the Toilet: Real dogs, Real training

By Hannah Branigan

Kids & Family Hobbies

What's Drinking From the Toilet: Real dogs, Real training about?

A behind-the-scenes look into the reality of dog training, behavior, teaching, and learning. We love our dogs, we love our jobs, but sometimes it's not all unicorns and rainbows. Sometimes at the end of the day, you just need a drink and friend who gets it. We'll keep it fun, and keep it real.

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#160: Spring Clean up for D...

05.28.2022

This week we are finishing up our Spring Cleaning series... you’ve already organized all your resources you’ve collected over the weekend, you’ve worked out a new better system for your planning and record keeping and this time you’ve got the ...

Drinking From the Toilet: Real dogs, Real training episodes:

05.28.2022 #160: Spring Clean up for Dog Trainers, Pt 3: The Things We Overlook This week we are finishing up our Spring Cleaning series... you’ve already organized all your resources you’ve collected over the weekend, you’ve worked out a new better system for your planning and record keeping and this time you’ve got the ...
05.10.2022 #159: Mentorship with John Anthony Shahor In this episode, we discuss what does mentorship mean?, what makes a good mentor?, what makes a good mentee?, how can you get the most out of a mentorship relationship?, and what is the most important thing to focus on ...
04.26.2022 #158: Spring Clean up for Dog Trainers, Pt 2: Planning and Record Keeping In this episode, we discuss getting a fresh start with your planning and record keeping, what gets in the way of being your best self, where to start when nothing is working for you, looking at switching systems a little ...
04.12.2022 #157: Rescuing RiffRaff, Pt 2: Placing a Dog With a Bite History with Gaby Boijsen What kind of people adopt a dog with a bite history? This episode is the second in a 2-part special series following the journey of RiffRaff, a rescue dog with some seriously problematic behavior. In this episode, we discuss what ...
04.05.2022 #156: Rescuing RiffRaff, Pt 1: Fostering a Dog With Aggression with Gaby Boijsen This episode is the first in a 2-part special series following the journey of RiffRaff, a rescue dog with a tendency toward violence. This sounds like a common story, but I assure you... RiffRaff’s story does not end the way ...
03.31.2022 #155: Spring Clean up for Dog Trainers, Pt 1: Organizing and Applying Your Hoard of Resources This week we are starting a “spring cleaning” of sorts for our training with a decluttering and organizing theme, but I’m not going to talk about how to store all your platforms and treat pouches. It has come to my ...
03.01.2022 #154: Training Bloopers with Karen London In this episode, we discuss some of our truly epic training bloopers, why Karen encourages us to think of them as “bloopers” instead of failures, the importance of normalizing bloopers and sharing them, thoughts on how to recover after an ...
02.17.2022 #153: Tips for Raising Criteria Without Breaking Everything In this episode, we discuss the power of starting your session conservatively, how being in a position to increase your criteria rapidly is better than being greedy and being forced to lower it, the importance of avoiding getting stuck on ...
02.08.2022 #152: Reactive Behavior with Grisha Stewart In this episode, we discuss why reactivity is such a big topic, why it’s so hard, so common, and so important, how our own emotions and behavior play into the problem, what we can do to manage our emotional responses ...
01.21.2022 #151: How to Improve Your Timing In this episode, we discuss why timing matters in dog training and why you cannot escape it, how it’s really about processing time, reaction time does have a biological basis, so just like we do with dogs, make sure you ...
01.11.2022 #150: How Not to Socialize Your Puppy In this episode, we discuss what most people get wrong about socialization, which is worse - bad socialization or no socialization?, what is the solution?, and where should trainers focus with new puppy owners? For full show notes, visit: www.hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/150 ...
12.02.2021 #149: Memory as Behavior... What? with Stephanie Keesey-Phelan In this episode we discuss what if we looked at memory as behavior? For full show notes, visit: www.hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/149 This podcast is supported by Behind the Scenes: hannahbranigan.dog/backstage-pass
11.16.2021 #148: Episodic Memory with Marsha Penner In this episode, we discuss a super nerdy deep dive into episodic memory and even more about memory and learning and brains. For full show notes, visit: www.hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/148 This podcast is supported by Patreon: www.patreon.com/DFTT
10.20.2021 147: Nerdy Nail Trims & Enthusiastic Eye Drops with Laura Monaco Torelli In this episode, we discuss clever splits for shaping husbandry behaviors, the importance of checking for human readiness, reinforcement strategies for husbandry, what even is husbandry, how important mechanics are, good training techniques for increasing criteria no matter what behavior ...
10.08.2021 BONUS: I CU Are Stuck Bonus episode! Here's a preview of my upcoming Conference Unleashed session with Leslie McDevitt, which we're calling "I CU Are Stuck." Conference Unleashed is taking place virtually on November 5-7. To hear Leslie and my full session, sign up for ...
10.04.2021 146: Sniffing and Marking In this episode, we discuss handling **unwanted sniffing in training, the connection to sniffing and urine marking, how to teach sniffing on cue, using Premack's principle, and ways to split to engineer setups so that you can create a progression. ...
09.14.2021 #145: Getting Out of a Training Funk It seems like so many of us are getting stuck in a funk with our training lately for one reason or another... or maybe for all the reasons at the same time. I don't know about you, but I keep ...
08.24.2021 #144: Pet Trainer Roundtable In this episode, we discuss all kinds of topics related to working with pet owners and training life skills, the first behavior you teach a new team, the most important thing for a pet owner to learn, what do most ...
07.27.2021 #143: Can You Reinforce Fear? In this episode, we discuss can you reinforce fear?, have you heard that you shouldn't console your frightened dog, that might "reinforce" the fear? (That's kind of unempathetic, isn't it?), and the more progressive message to dog owners is that ...
07.13.2021 #142: Training Herding Skills with Claire Apple In this episode, we discuss what reinforcers are in play in herding behavior, marking and rewarding the dog for the human's behavior, training skills out of context, the heretical use of food during herding, switching reinforcement, and behaviors you can ...
07.06.2021 #141: Learning and Memory in Dog Training with Marsha Penner In this episode, we discuss what dog trainers need to know about memory, the fun mashup between neuroscience and behavior, how positive associations spread through neural networks, and wanting vs. liking. For full show notes, visit: www.hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/141 This podcast is ...
06.15.2021 #140: Reinforcement for Gun Dogs In this episode, we discuss what reinforcers are in play when training and working with hunting dogs, working with behaviors when the reinforcers might be hiding out in a bush where you can't control them, and strategies for breaking down ...
05.26.2021 #139: Constructional Aggression Treatment In this episode, we discuss what is Constructional Aggression Treatment, what makes it constructional, how this approach is different from other aggression treatment protocols, how CAT deals with the function of aggressive behavior, some common misconceptions trainers may have about ...
05.11.2021 #138: Should Dog Training Be Regulated? with Bradley Phifer In this episode, we discuss the process of certifying professional dog trainers, as the CCPDT sees it, the advantages of certification, where the CCPDT stands on regulation in the training industry, and why and what they are doing about it. ...
05.04.2021 #137: Do You Like to Watch? with Chirag Patel, Eva Bertilsson, and Emelie Johnson Vegh In this episode, we discuss what is the value of having someone watch your training session, what is the value of watching someone else's training session, when watching a training session, what do you look for?, the difference in skills ...
04.27.2021 #136: How to Recover from a Bad Training Session In this episode, we discuss bad training sessions can happen for a lot of reasons, be kind to yourself (beating yourself up won't help you do better training in the future), fault is the wrong thing to focus on (you ...
03.23.2021 #135: Helping Hypervigilant Dogs with Leslie McDevitt In this episode, we discuss the difference between normal awareness and hypervigilance, how anxious dogs perceive their environment, how to play the Look at That game (LAT), the way environmental cues can transfer and how we can use that to ...
03.16.2021 #134: Do You Have an Exit Strategy? In this episode, we discuss how to signal the end of a training session, why it matters, how you end a training session matters as much as how you begin one, preventing practicing good behavior without reinforcement, reducing frustration by ...
03.02.2021 #133: Data - Why Bother? with Eduardo Fernandez, Emelie Johnson Vegh, and Eva Bertilsson In this episode, we discuss what we mean when we say "data," the whole point of recording any data at all, quantitative vs. qualitative, why any data is better than no data, dfferent kinds of information you might want to ...
02.23.2021 #132: Sensory Bias in Training with Carrie Davis In this episode, we discuss how humans tend to be visually oriented, animals might respond more significantly to other senses, what variables might influence how an animal reacts to a prop or target, how to deconstruct what sensory elements might ...
02.16.2021 #131: Living as a LIMA Being - Panel Discussion In this episode, we discuss what is a LIMA being?, how did this project evolve?, why is it so hard to apply positive reinforcement principles to ourselves and other people?, and strategies for changing how your own behavior is reinforced. ...
02.02.2021 #130: Enrichment with Allie Bender & Emily Strong In this episode, we discuss what "enrichment" is and why we should care, whether enrichment is part of training or whether training is part of enrichment, what we mean when we say "meeting the animal's needs," whether we can just ...
01.26.2021 #129: Treat Everyone Like a Dog with Karen London In this episode, we discuss how we can apply dog training principles to interacting with humans, why people might think using R+ on people might be manipulative, breaking down skills for human learners just like we do for dogs, don't ...
12.15.2020 #128: Getting Behavior From No Behavior with Peter Amelia In this episode, we discuss what your options are when starting from scratch trying to shape behavior, how you can get stuck when trying to shape behavior and your animal isn't offering much, considerations when making changes to the environment ...
12.08.2020 #127: Should I Change My Cue? In this episode, we discuss when to change a cue, just because a cue doesn't seem to be working does not mean it's the cue's fault, when it's a training or fluency issue, when the cue itself is actually broken, ...
12.02.2020 #126: Guide to Treats In this episode, we discuss three possible treat categories - "snacks", enrichment/management, and treats for training, some basic principles for treats selection, how many treats it's ok to give a dog, how snacks matter, but they are different than training ...
11.23.2020 #125: Behavioral Euthanasia with Dr. Chris Pachel In this episode, we discuss who makes the decision - the vet, the trainer, or the pet owner; how behavioral euthanasia is an "active choice" rather than a default decision - there is no formula, and this isn’t something that ...
11.17.2020 #124: Training Eye Contact In this episode, we discuss why training eye contact is so fulfilling for humans, the other benefits of training eye contact as a behavior, whether dogs hate making eye contact, the drawbacks to training eye contact, how you can make ...
11.10.2020 #123: Herding Instinct with Ayoka Bubar In this episode, we discuss what is so cool about herding, what kinds of dogs can do herding, what is herding instinct, are there things we can train at home to prepare for herding, and what kinds of reinforcers are ...
11.02.2020 #122: When You Have to Be Your Own Training Assistant In this episode, we discuss the challenges of training behaviors that require another person, using remote reinforcement strategies to give you a way to practice, a little zen bowl, the advantages of role-playing a judge, groomer, or vet with your ...
10.07.2020 #121: Training Alone In this episode we discuss what makes training alone so hard, obstacles and challenges, what is GOOD about training by yourself (it's not all doom and gloom!), some ideas for motivating yourself, tracking progress and staying on track. For full ...
09.18.2020 #120: Three Essential Skills for Living with a Reactive Dog with Leslie McDevitt In this episode, we discuss what makes living with a reactive dog hard in addition to the top three skills that make life easier. While we're at it, we discuss how the pandemic brought about surprising changes, too! For full ...
09.08.2020 #119: Using stations in training sessions In this episode, we talk about training stations and the multitude of ways to get geeky about laying down on a mat! For full show notes, visit: www.hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/119 This podcast is supported by Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DFTT
08.31.2020 #118: Reinforcing Diversity with Ken Ramirez In this episode, we discuss why diversity matters, what we can do to promote inclusion in the industry, and how Ken's personal experience influences his thinking. For full show notes, visit: www.hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/118 This podcast is supported by Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DFTT
08.21.2020 #117: Geeking Out with Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz In this episode, we are geeking out with Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz on shaping, Conditioned Emotional Responses, and more. For full show notes, visit: www.hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/117 This podcast is supported by Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DFTT
07.24.2020 #116: Fading a prompt or lure In this episode, we discuss what a prompt and lure are, why you would want to fade a prompt (or not), options for techniques, and the number one thing to avoid. For full show notes, visit: www.hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/116 Support the show ...
07.16.2020 #115: Different Perspectives - Panel Discussion In this episode, we discuss getting started in dog training, small business ownership, the importance of role models, code-switching, why representation matters, implicit bias and human behavior, and easy actions you can take right now to help support BIPOC in ...
07.08.2020 #114: Accidental Behavior Chains In this episode, we discuss how behaviors accidentally get chained together. For full show notes, visit: www.hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/114 Support the show on Patreon! www.patreon.com/DFTT
07.02.2020 #113: Cue Hierarchies with Vidhya Karthikeyan, Part 2 In this episode, we discuss how context cues affect training, how cue hierarchies function, how to set up a training session to teach cue discrimination, how errorless learning plays a role, what default behaviors are and how to choose them. ...
06.29.2020 #112: Cue Hierarchies with Vidhya Karthikeyan, Part 1 In this episode, we discuss how context cues affect training, how cue hierarchies function, how to set up a training session to teach cue discrimination, how errorless learning plays a role, what default behaviors are and how to choose them. ...

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