Teacher's Pet Podcast - Training Pets & Pet Obedience - Pet Life Radio Original

What is clicker training and why is it so popular? A clicker is simply a tool, just like your dog’s leash and collar that helps you train your dog. It’s a small plastic box with a mechanism that, when pressed, makes a clicking sound. Clicker training is a special form of positive reinforcement training that emphasizes the use of two types of reward: a primary reward and a secondary reward.

Once your dog becomes "clicker savvy", meaning that he really understands the meaning of the click, he may start to "offer all his favorite tricks. A dog that offers behaviors has caught on to the game of training and is trying to figure out what it takes to get you to click! This is great mental stimulation for your dog and makes training an interesting and creative process for you. It’s a win-win situation!

Carolyn Barney will review the basics of clicker training and go over ways to "turn your dog" onto another way to train!

More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Clicker Basics for Dogs and Puppies - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com

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Teaching your dog to move away from doorways, hot ovens, the refrigerator and more can come in very handy when you are carrying something or want your dog to avoid getting hurt. This is especially necessary for small dogs since they can easily be stepped on.

Once your dog has learned to move back, we will work on getting him to sit or lie down away from you. This can come in handy if your dog is at a distance and you need him to be still or when he is riding in a car and blocking your view.

More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - TRAINING SESSION #11 -- "Get Back!" -- Teaching Your Dog to Back Away from Doors and Other Areas - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com

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Do you come home to find complaints from your neighbors taped to your door about your barking dog? Do you have to put your dog outside when guests come to the door because he barks uncontrollably? Does your dog seem to be constantly "on patrol", barking at every person, animal or sound that he sees or hears? If so, you have a barking dog problem. In this interview, we talk to certified animal behaviorist Dr. Daniel Estep about why dogs bark excessively and what can be done to reduce or stop problem barking. Dr. Estep is internationally recognized as a teacher, researcher and educator in animal behavior.

More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Barking Dogs - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com

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Many of you are probably experiencing the problem of your puppy or pulling on leash. As with most behavior problems, this does not simply go away with age. In fact, the older and larger your puppy gets, the worse it can become. To allow your puppy or dog to pull actually tells your him that pulling is acceptable because the more you reward a behavior, even ones you do not like, the stronger the behavior becomes. Many owners inadvertently teach their dogs the fine art of mushing by yanking and pulling them back while continuing to walk. Instead of teaching them not to pull, you teach them to pull harder. When a dog pulls forward and you pull back and continue to walk, the dog’s reaction is to pull forward again, only harder. He is being inadvertently rewarded since the walk continues; he gets to sniff and his obedient owner (you) follows behind him.

More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - TRAINING SESSION #10 -- "Teaching Good Leash Manners" -- Walk With Me -- I am Not a Sled! - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com

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There are many contributing factors that cause behavioral problems in pets. Some of these factors include poor training techniques, lack of understanding on how pets communicate, environmental factors, and medical issues. In addition an animal’s genetic predisposition and underlying neurochemistry are also factors that can lead to behavioral problems such as aggression, anxiety, panic, house-soiling, feather picking etc…..If the behavioral problems stems in part or solely due to underlying neurophysiological reasons, medication may be a necessary and valuable part of an overall treatment program. The assessment of whether the behavior problem is based in underlying physiology should be seen by a qualified individual such as a veterinary behaviorist (www.dacvb.org) or a veterinarian with a special interest in behavior (www.avsab.org).

The medications that can be used in pets with behavior problems are similar to medications used in people with various behavioral issues. The medications are similar as the underlying neuroanatomy and neurochemistry in people and pets is similar. Medications are not without risk and each patient needs to be evaluated on an individual basis to identify which medication would be best for that pet and realistic expectation of that medication.

More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - The Use of Psychoactive Medication in Pets with Behavioral Problems - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com

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A very common behavior problem that people deal with is jumping up on people to greet. Most puppies and dogs jump on people out of excitement, friendliness, and as a means to seek attention. Inadvertently, people pay attention to a jumping puppy by pushing her off, by making eye contact, and/or by petting her. Most of your houseguests are being polite by telling you they do not mind, when, in fact, they really do. You must teach your dog that jumping is not a way to greet humans or get attention. This is important regardless of the size of your dog -- 4 muddy paws are still 4 muddy paws!

More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - TRAINING SESSION#9 -- "GET OFF ME!" -- Teaching Your Dog to Properly Greet People Without Jumping Up - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com

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Throughout the past several thousand years, we have tried to understand and organize personality types using the stars, skull shapes, tea leaves, and the human mind. Finally, there is a more reliable - if often higher-shedding - system for understanding yourself and the other two-legged creatures around you: dogology. Yes dogs. Dogs can talk. Vicki Croke and Sarah Wilson, the world's first practicing dogologists, have been jotting it all down, forming this fool-proof personality-analyzing system. Sarah will talk to us about what they have found out and how it can help with your relationship with your dog.

More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Dogology! What Your Relationship with Your Dog Reveals About You! - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teacher-s-pet-podcast-training-pets-pet-obedience-pet-life-radio-original--6670294/support.

Two weeks ago, we started to establish a good foundation for getting our dogs to come to us by finding our feet and sitting until released. This week, you will expand upon that by breaking the "recall chain" down into three different links. Think of a recall as a chain of behaviors, consisting of three links. If one link is broken, your dog will not come to you. You will work on the three links separately, and eventually you will put them all together.

More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - TRAINING SESSION #7 - "HERE"- Getting a Really Reliable Recall! - Part 2 - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teacher-s-pet-podcast-training-pets-pet-obedience-pet-life-radio-original--6670294/support.

Too much emphasis has been placed on comparing the similarities of domestic dogs and wolves and not enough on recognizing the significant differences between these 2 species. This unilateral and misguided focus has perpetuated myths about dominance and the "need" for owners to be "alpha", which has had a significant negative impact on dog training and handling philosophies. The result has been a communication breakdown between owners and their dogs resulting in conflict for both parties. We will discuss behavioral, lifestyle and genetic differences between domestic dogs and wolves and how this impacts dog-owner interactions. We will consider challenges in working with owner-directed aggression, behavior modification strategies that work, those that don’t work, and management options.

More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Much Ado About Dominance Part 2 - with Pia Silvani on PetLifeRadio.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teacher-s-pet-podcast-training-pets-pet-obedience-pet-life-radio-original--6670294/support.

Too much emphasis has been placed on comparing the similarities of domestic dogs and wolves and not enough on recognizing the significant differences between these 2 species. This unilateral and misguided focus has perpetuated myths about dominance and the "need" for owners to be "alpha", which has had a significant negative impact on dog training and handling philosophies. The result has been a communication breakdown between owners and their dogs resulting in conflict for both parties.

We will discuss behavioral, lifestyle and genetic differences between domestic dogs and wolves and how this impacts dog-owner interactions. We will consider challenges in working with owner-directed aggression, behavior modification strategies that work, those that don’t work, and management options.