Dr. Becker Interviews Experts on Their Top Tips for National Dog Day
what are the top things that you wish
dog owners would do that they don’t a
bubble you know I want training to be
enjoyable
you want a trainer that is very much
into motivating you job to learn
allowing your dog that element of choice
and using discipline to guide rather
than instill fear and through that
because they associate learning such an
experience of joy progeny understanding
they get certainty all up certainty it’s
predictable safe this right hi I’m dr.
Karen Becker and today I am so excited I
have the pleasure and the honor of
interviewing the one and only dr. Ian
Dunbar dr. Dunbar is a world-renowned
veterinarian he’s an animal behaviorist
and of course a very successful dog
trainer but he has a doctorate degree in
animal behavior from Berkeley
so he’s combined all of his amazing
talents he founded the first off leash
puppy socialization program that I
followed 20 years ago it’s called
serious puppy training and he really is
a pioneer in relationship centered
positive training and I has he really
has been a training mentor for me for
many many years I had not met him but of
course I have followed him I recommend
my clients follow his programs and I was
watching his TED talk I’ve watched his
TED talk many many times but I was
watching it a couple months ago and I
had this thought when I was laying on
the couch you know I would love to pick
this man’s brain and if I could just
talk to him for one minute the question
I would ask this brilliant doctor and
trainer is you have trained so many
puppies and you’ve met so many owners
what is what are some of the top things
that you wish that owners would do for
their puppies but they don’t so I woke
up the next day and that question was
still in my brain and then a few days
later it was still in my brain and I
couldn’t I had this burning desire to
ask this question to dr. Dunbar so I
emailed him and you graciously responded
dr. Dunbar you kindly responded and so
now you are here and I have to pinch
myself you’re here and you’re going to
answer my burning question
so you have helped successfully train
healthfully and positively thousands and
thousands and thousands and thousands of
puppies in your career you have pearls
and wisdoms of knowledge and nuggets of
knowledge that the whole world needs to
hear that may not have heard and so I
have this burning question if you if you
had to give away some of those top
pearls with your lifelong career I’m not
just training puppies dr. Dunbar but
enhancing that bond between pet Guardian
or animal owner and that precious
beloved fuzzy brand new life there are
some how the choices we make early on in
that puppies development is the
difference between an amazing
relationship or a relationship that
leaves something to be desired or in
worst case scenario a relationship that
is not there that there isn’t a
relationship so if you are capable of
answering my question what are some
pearls that you would like each and
every dog pet parent to walk away with
when you start that training program and
well I think I just want people to
engage their dogs I want them to to
enjoy the relationship I find it so sad
that I think a lot of people don’t get
the most out of their dog and it’s not
other vibrant fulfilling relationship
it’s kind of like I feel the same about
kids and this all has to do with the
right way to communicate for the dog
because training is essentially teaching
ESL English as a Second Language we
teach the dog human words the doggy
behaviors in action so we can actually
talk to them so I could say that my
Miami Phoenix come here take this and go
to Jamie please because she knew the
words Phoenix come hey go to and the
name of my son Jamie and she could go
and find him and run messages so
communication is is really important
because the dog speaks their language we
speak our own and then comes motivation
and not just you know I think 5% of
training is teaching the dog what to do
and and explaining it the way they
understand but a good 95 percent of
training is motivating the dog to want
to do it to want to be on your side and
the same it is when dealing with dog
owners and all the information what to
do is available it’s available for free
easily accessible now you know because
of the web and sites like yours but we
have to motivate the owners to want to
do it and so I always try and sell
training as and this is fun you can have
a lot of fun like I love dogs which are
trained to be quiet unless its ups and
let me bar they always know when you got
a delivery right on the other hand get a
beer from the fridge or to find my car
keys or my glasses you know these are
fun things that you can that you can
teach and I think where a lot of owners
go off track you know there’s many ways
to train a dog because there are I’m
going to say too skinny care but that’s
not Cece and you know there’s many ways
to train a dog that there’s different
dog trainers and I want owners present
to be like masters of their own destiny
guardians of their canine companions and
Kitty companions to and to search for a
method which is the easiest quickest
most effective most enjoyable way to
train and quickest because well easiest
or else the owners can’t do it yeah so
complicated methods are no good so we
never teach an owner to teach the way
that I will necessarily teach you know I
had 45 years of doing this so I teach
really easy techniques that are quick
otherwise the owners won’t be so
inclined to do it
they are techniques that don’t require
the owner to be consistent or have good
timing because most owners aren’t
consistent like need for example it’s a
well-known fact you know my wife used to
always think you are so inconsistent I
said yes but I’m consistent about my
inconsistent way that I will signal for
my dog when he has
pay attention by changing his name and
so instead of saying Hugo come here
which is a suggestion you know like a
stop sign in Canada you know I would say
Hugo Louie come and when I call him Hugo
Louie he knows there’s no option for
refusal he simply must do it there’s no
enforcement but once I call him Hugo
Louie he’s going to come and he’s going
to sit because I’m going to keep on his
case until he does and then when he does
I say thank you now you could have had
this treat but that was a really slow
recall so I’m going to eat it and we’ll
do it again come here sit and what you
find is once you’ve got the dog’s
attention eventually now they do it
quickly
I want training to be effective so I
always ask the owners how’s that working
for you oh you know you’re punishing the
doctor soiling the house how many times
you’ve done this Oh every day where is
that working no it’s not working well by
definition if a punishment doesn’t
inhibit the immediately preceding
behavior then technically it’s not a
punishment so what is it just harassment
or abuse but it’s not punishment it’s
not working so let’s use Plan B or Plan
C and then a bubble you know I want
training to be enjoyable it’s it’s got
to be fun why not I mean education
should be enjoyable and fun for both
parties dr. Dunbar every oh I be having
fun yeah no absolutely not just the dog
but the owner and onlookers right you
know when people watch me train my dog I
mean they crack up laughing because it’s
funny but if you just set the dog is
doing there’s also actually being very
responsive and very obedient very
compliant but the dog is happily and
willingly compliant and of course that’s
the only kind of compliance that works
in family dog training because a little
boy or little girl can’t physically
force the dog they have to use brain not
brawn yeah so if a little girl says you
know Ritchie can’t yes yes and it does
so you know we could laugh and say oh
she squeaked at the dog and it did
but no she spoke in a squeaky voice and
the dog complied with her instructions
quickly willingly and happily and then
we’re all happy and if a dog happily
comes and sits off leash he’s so
unlikely to bite you I mean that’s the
proof of the pudding and evening he
likes you because he wants to come close
to you when he comes close he wants to
sit next to you it really is a good sort
of magnifying glass into how the dog is
thinking and feeling so dr. Dunbar
there’s so many different as you I can’t
imagine from your from your vantage
point looking over 45 years of dog
training and all of the totally
ineffective systems that have come and
gone and then reappeared and then gone
and then kind of research there’s been a
lot of very unproductive methods that
are still being utilized now for
training puppies but there’s also
ineffective timing when it comes to
training puppies so one of the things
that I’m constantly asked or actually
people are constantly telling me is that
their veterinarians they’re oftentimes
recommending delaying any socialization
or training until a puppy is 6 months of
age what are your thoughts about do you
have any ideal age my statement is the
puppy puppy training should start the
minute you bring your puppy home
actually you want to have plans in place
prior to the puppy coming home but what
is your thought on delaying a puppy
training until 6 months of age well I
think it’s insane and inhumane I think
to deny a puppy and education
that’s like saying let’s not send our
kids to school until they’re 21
yeah it’s they’ve just lost their start
in life the owners now can’t communicate
to the dog to get them to do things you
know and it’s I mean it’s just such a
silly stupid cruel idea and if with
puppy training we include puppy
socialization I mean it’s it’s
disgusting yeah that to not socialize a
puppy with people so that’s the Harry I
don’t care so much about socializing
them with
but they’ve got to meet a lot of people
be handled by a lot of people be trained
by a lot of people before they’re 8
weeks old at the breeders kennel and
then before that 3 months old otherwise
I mean the effects that happen this is
what people don’t understand and many
veterinarians – probably yourself
included what happens in the
socialization process and this is
actually the reason I came to the States
45 years ago to join a study that looked
at the effects of experience on the
brain and what happens when you neonatal
handle a puppy when you stroke a puppy
when you train a puppy
it changes the brain’s anatomy and it
does it instantaneously instantaneously
either dendritic spines are always
moving like this and one dendritic spine
from one cell plugs into another and
this pretty much happens in real time I
mean when I sort of looked at this
research 45 years ago you were just
looking at gross changes in the cortex
of the brain you know and looking at you
know it’s electron magnification of
brain cells after three weeks but now
they know it happens within seconds and
to deny a puppy normal brain development
is just a disaster it will never develop
the social savvy and confidence to be
around people it will be anxious and I
think that the worst thing we can
inflict on any dog or person that we
don’t raise it in a way that it has
confidence instead it has to face its
biggest fears everyday which of course
is people and the human environment yes
and so in an ideal situation what is
your suggestion if of course a lot of
people thankfully are rescuing dogs when
you rescue a dog you get them at all
different ages they have had sometimes
no socialization sometimes poor or
abusive experiences but it’s in a
perfect scenario dr. Dunbar where you’re
able to bring home at a puppy and do it
right what are your basic suggestions
from the get-go in terms of timing
well timing in terms of you know
yesterday today and tomorrow I mean we
can’t do anything about yesterday it
doesn’t matter whether we’re getting a
puppy of eight week or whether we’re
adopting a ten-year-old dog of ten years
past is history you don’t know what
happened and you can’t do anything about
it what you can do is start training
today right now and what I like to show
two people in one session you will have
a different dog I mean I’m just working
with a dog before we start adversity we
got a couple of dogs here in training
their assistants selves for veterans and
one dog is just so Wiggly wouldn’t sit
down so I just tried a little procedure
on and we call it all a nun reward
training and we ended up for the 22nd
six days high in five minutes in five
minutes this wiggly crazy dog the six
month old adolescent was now calmly
sitting and looking at me focused and
engaged so we trained today we trained
today the owner may not have good timing
in sense of skills of responding
consequentially to what the dog does so
I try and use techniques where good
timing and consistency are that
important because they are you know
strong points for most people and so we
use all a nun reward training techniques
lower award training techniques like I
would never start them on the clicker
training or shaping they don’t have the
technical toolbox they don’t have the
skill leader at the timing they don’t
have the academic knowledge so that’s a
training technique where you need to
have a lot of skill before it works well
but classical conditioning any one could
do it a four-year-old child can do it
and you can start changing that dog’s
temperament ie
the way he feels towards you and people
immediately then next would count all a
none reward training where you just look
at the dog and you ignore everything he
does that’s wrong and look for anything
that he does that’s right and then you
say good boy pet him give them a tree
and it stops changing the behavior so
quickly so as you already know that with
all of these different training styles
and techniques out there some of them
incredibly beneficial many of them
incredibly damaging for first-time pet
owners that are coming to my site or
that are looking you know they’re
they’re contacting ABMA and they’re
asking about you know how where do I go
to find a trainer let’s talk about the
general things that pet parents should
be looking for when they’re going to
assess a training technique what are the
key things you are going to suggest to
either say yep it’s in and something you
could consider or absolutely not
well first and obviously is do you think
the puppy or dogs having a good time
getting trained do you think happy dog
likes his trainer and likes the training
are you enjoying watching this so yes
absolutely go and look at a class first
and if the trainer won’t let you look at
the class don’t go we’ve always had the
you know a classes for now of nearly
forty years have been open to anybody to
look at including other dog trainers
number two how much does the dog’s
behavior improve in one session so what
I like to show people is we do almost of
our training off leash unless of course
we’re teaching leash walking and here we
have a puppy who has no recall the puppy
doesn’t even realize his owners are on
the same planet ten minutes later the
puppy is happily doing off leash recalls
in the group of eleven other puppies
also off leash we ask the puppy to sit
stay he starts off he won’t sit still
for a second
but after a short while he’s now doing a
ten-second six day and a twenty second
one a thirty second one and and so I
always like to count and objectively
quantify the dog’s performance so I can
prove to myself and the owners number
one training has taken place and how
quickly it happens one donessa key I
come back to this again the training
technique
to be quick and easy because in family
training the trainers are mum she’s
really pretty good dad well Skippy call
that we focused on the methods of trying
to teach them and the kids they have
obviously have constraints in terms of
they don’t have the physical force so
therefore we just don’t use physical
force we do off leash training so you
can’t manhandle the dog you’ve got to
use your supposedly superior human brain
to teach the dog to understand the words
you say and then the happily and
willingly comply all good information so
dr. Dunbar if people wanted to learn
more about the brilliant system that
you’ve put in place where would people
go to get more information about serious
puppy training and the information in
your particular vantage point towards
training well rather we going to serious
pops home it’s a local website for our
puppy school I would go to dog star
daily so www.isaithai.com load and a
training textbook that takes you you
know from the first day you get your
puppy all the way through to adulthood
and so this is a free site and that’s
definitely the place I would go to start
and you can by looking at the videos
there and it was like we recently did a
video competition with trainers around
the world and look at some of their
videos and you see how much fun that
they are having you know doing this this
kind of stuff so definitely dog star
Bailey it’s a super huge site and it’s
free it is free and it’s loaded with
unbelievable information if you are
contemplating getting a puppy or new dog
not just a puppy if you are if you have
some training concerns if you are
thinking about getting a dog if you have
a dog now and you feel like you’ve had
ineffective training I really can’t
recommend his information the website
the books enough your your approach
towards dog training is was wildly
refreshing before your time but in this
day and age where we are
some reason back in this archaic a
dominant vantage point of kind of
forceful training it’s still refreshing
to know that that these techniques that
have been time-tested and proven their
kind but I think most importantly what
year your entire approach has been to
really focus on the relationship between
the dog and the owner and by making that
relationship not only clear
communication but foundation in trust
trust and good communication will take
you a long long ways with dog training
and those are things that you have said
from the get-go so I appreciate your
your all that you’re doing
I appreciate your vantage point and the
approach that you’ve taken when having a
relationship with all of the dogs that
you’re training and I appreciate that
nearly 50 years that you have
contributed to moving our profession
forward I can’t thank you enough for
joining me today well thank you very
much dr. Becker it’s been been a lot of
fun I’ve enjoyed it and next we have
Britain’s most well loved and well known
dog trainer she’s the star of the hit TV
show with me or the dog miss victoria
Stilwell I’m so honored Victoria thank
you for joining me thanks for having me
so I’m asking my favorite dog trainers
in the whole universe one question which
are one of the top things that you wish
dog owners would do that they don’t
because it’s probably a long list but
you you probably have a few right at the
top of your head that you could answer
and we’ll talk we’ll go with that
yes I do first of all what I’ve seen in
my training is that more emphasis it
seems on people teaching their animals
how to do things rather than and rinse
on relationship so I don’t think people
are playing enough with their dog I
think there’s too much emphasis being
put on training them rather than
building that bond so I’d say that’s
number one I think number two as well is
still not just in the United States but
really in many different countries
around the world there’s still too much
emphasis on more punitive training
methods
that really kind of exacerbate a lot of
behavior problems and can really damage
relationships so I think if I was my
headline it would definitely be people
needing to promote or to work on
relationship which is the top thing more
than anything else with their job but
before they do anything else and you
know that’s true of course of human
interactions as well above all
relationships and and the focus on
relationship is the most important thing
in life and we get that related to our
own species but for whatever reason
there seems to be a disconnect where we
think that we are the owner and we
purchase an animal and then we have to
we want it to do certain things in a
certain amount of time and in a certain
way and oftentimes that relationship
component either gets lost or was never
originally established can you offer
some tips on maybe for first-time dog
owners or in many situations dog owners
that realize previously that they were
training with more of these intimidating
fear-based techniques they weren’t
effective or maybe they didn’t have
their relationship with their dog that
they wished what are some nice easy
take-home points if people are thinking
about adding a puppy to their lives how
do you go about really making
relationship the focus of your
commitment to that brand new puppy well
even though it’s important when you get
that puppy or that you don’t come into
your home whether it’s another from a
rescue shelter or any dog is that yes
it’s important to teach them life skills
as I call it but focus on that
relationship first and the best way to
do it the most dogs not all dogs for the
most of this place and that’s what I
really encourage people to do to play
more with their dogs because when you do
that wonderful interactive play that
truly that something as a team that you
are working on so tub is a great game
for example and I know that’s like a a
bit of a hot-button issue because there
are people who stay on should never play
tub with your dog or if you do playtime
you should always win and you should
never let your
when well I don’t agree without I think
Todd is a very it’s a great game cause
I’ve got to feed boundaries with
anything in this bucket – right –
through a you know over the top with it
and maybe exacerbate some of that more
aggressive growly stuff then yes he may
be tone it back a bit but the whole
thing about play especially in Basel
healthy play is that it is give and take
there’s there’s a winner and a news and
a loser and a winner and there’s this is
wonderful give and take so sure when you
say stuff with your dog sometimes you
don’t win sometimes you win but the
boundaries come into playing when you
teach your dog not to become very
protective everything there the fact
that you’re playing means you’re sharing
and that that Symphony Scullin is mouth
can be shared with you you’re not Brett
so Todd is not just relationship builder
it’s also it’s going to show your dog
that hey when I’m playing with mom or
when mom wants to have something then
I’m holding in my mouth it’s okay to
give it up to her because it’s the fun
thing to do rather than a negative thing
to do yeah that’s that’s awesome talk to
me a little bit about let’s say you
rescue a mid-life dog I have heard this
comment over and over Victoria people
say you know I rescued a dog that
doesn’t know how to play and I think
sometimes maybe better phrase there are
so many different ways that dogs can be
stimulated to play in some of them
incredibly gentle and very very subtle
just even hide-and-seek around the house
so what besides have what are some other
innovative ways of interacting with dogs
especially if you’re getting a rescue
dog who didn’t have maybe a positive
experience with their last several
owners how do you engage a spirit of
playfulness in a dog that could be shut
down or maybe doesn’t necessarily know
those traditional means of play that
people might think about
yeah then there are a lot of rescue dogs
especially that they come into your home
and they don’t really want to have that
interaction with you there they’re a
little get to begin with a little
nervous
and watchful and so therefore what I do
with these dogs is first of all when any
dog comes into my home or when I’m
teaching people in a job conflict at
home lay off just lay off give that up
time to acclimate it surrounding don’t
pressurize it too many people coming
around don’t expect it’s interactive you
all the time
just let it be for a while let it
transition as much as you’re
transitioning having that dog in your
home your dog is also transitioning yeah
they let have some time and I think
that’s the number one thing that you do
then what I like to do is I like sort of
squeeze out maybe and let the dog choose
what toy one so maybe it’s a ball the
dog wants to play with a ball maybe it’s
interact like an interactive puzzle toy
that your dog wants to play with you I
put in there maybe it and you save get
some food to add toys and you put some
food in and then you playing hide and
seek stuff like that this is more this
is Loki and kama and in that way then
you’ll be able to maybe see what your
dog chooses yeah it’s not what you’re
putting on your dog it’s your dog choice
and then from there you can build up the
game now there are some dogs that don’t
like that tub and maybe they are they
like to retrieve maybe they like to go
search for things most of loves to use
that most go search for things so you
find what you love to do and you don’t
overwhelm your dog by either
pressurizing him into doing something
you doesn’t want to do or doing
something too much yeah great advice
okay so point number one have more fun
have more fun with your dog but I think
most importantly figure out how your dog
wants to have fun and then honor that
great advice point number two is engage
in positive training so Victoria how do
people go about how do people maybe
first time dog owners how do they know
that they’re aligned with an ethical
relationship centered trainer how do how
do first-time pet parents know that
they’re getting positive training and
that training that could adversely
affect their dog down the road a couple
of things are what equipment that
trainer uses and ask about an unasked
house
Treena punishes users discipline what
kind of methods and that’s the trainer
uses choke chains prawn collars shock
collars to Train runaway if the trainer
says well yeah we use some physical
Corrections and/or we’ve used a shock
collar on collar but that that’s not
your trainer now when we’re talking
about positive training people get mixed
up my definition of positive training is
that yes we train with rewards based
training we make y’all feel good we
motivate them to learn we encourage
learning by encouraging that dog seeker
system and we make the dog feel like it
were the best thing since sliced bread
that’s a British expression and so but
also at the same time we still use this
but we’ve dissipated by dog into making
us better choices rather than causing
fear and pain so we don’t use any
physical distance and we’re not shouting
result we’re not causing the dog to be
fearful so if you do find a trainer that
you did any of the techniques that could
possibly cause fear or pain in your dog
that’s not a positive trainer you want a
trainer that is very much into
motivating your job to learn allowing
your dog that element of choice and
using discipline to guide rather than
instill fear all good advice so those
are their top tips from this victoria
Stilwell who could offer us a many many
more but those are two excellent tips to
start with Victoria thank you for
joining us on our top expert panel of
best advice from the world’s top dog
trainers thank you you’re welcome
my next guest is the beautiful and
wonderful Tamar Geller now Tamar wrote
the New York Times best-selling book the
love dog and she is here joining me
answering my burning question of
tomorrow if you could give some advice
to dog owners or to to pet parents about
what you wish they would do but they
don’t what would your advice be my dear
the most important thing Karen but
before that I care I tomorrow
excuse me I love you I love what you’re
about is such an honor and a pleasure to
be a part of it
trick is that don’t you agree with you
hahaha no no no and thank you of course
for joining me uh you do a lot of
amazing things but I think most
importantly tomorrow you you let you let
relationships lead and that’s really I
mean there’s nothing more important in
life than relationship and your entire
focus your entire mission is promoting
that and for that reason alone I love
you even more
oh thank you the thing of it is is if
you think why people get going is
because the one could be able to give
love and to receive love so then when
you think you’re going to go because you
want love but then you become next to
them with obedience and make them
submissive and you dominate and command
the knowledge that she doesn’t make
sense so what I’m looking at is how can
I build a relationship one of the most
important thing that we have in a
relationship with a dog is a dog named
when we talk to the dog when we call the
dog when we want to go to the tension
what do we need to do we need to set a
dog’s name yet how many people
unbeknownst to them teach their own dog
to ignore his name his or her name now
desensitizing the dog for the name how
does it do it by simply saying the name
the whole time when they are talking
about their dog so let’s say I just got
a puppy and I’m on the phone oh yeah I
got it real rescue what’s his name his
name is Roxie Roxie Roxie Roxie Roxie
Roxie Roxie Roxie is learning when you
Sorachi how to pay attention to you yeah
me what they want people to do is not to
say the dog’s name keep it sacred
unless you are dressing your goal if you
are happier if you have said but you’re
addressing your dog when I is the same
way dogs named my dog know immediately
she’s talking to me there’s no doubt
that I’m talking today right ticket
please I call that the wall I and she
absolutely the many who said her name
she looked yes
yeah but she’s looking at my August and
yeah yeah what did was baby that felt
wrong
but never what she knows if she doesn’t
turn they can be anywhere and
what happens if I take it to the next
level when I call a dog by name and I
get bunch of them coming and I give a
treat only to the daughter called the
name and I mention it again calm Roxy
calm Roxy calm rust and everybody else
is looking and if I do not say your name
so then when they go away they look at
you please say my name could she keep
them my name so you’re really turning it
around where that they becomes the most
yummy sound to the world there is
important advice I can give to people to
be aware of how difficult it is to say
my little black and white dog my little
blonde or not to say the name it is very
very difficult and when I ask people
when it comes to the relationship with
the dog happens to be mindful we might
follow how we show up in the
relationship with our dog and we show up
at the source of pleasure a source of
pain one of the themes of being mindful
is to catch yourself when you say the
dog’s name without thinking unwittingly
because I want you to be in your body I
want you to be present in your
relationship with your dog so the
practice is not to say your dog’s name
unless you are talking to you know a lot
of times that makes a lot of sense and
there’s a millions of people that are
going to have to stop and save my
goodness that will require some
retraining on our part
major sure it’s major Karen is really
funny people broke down this is so hard
that’s why they didn’t realize until you
know you stop and you realize I’m a time
you say in your name the dog’s name
without talking to your dog you don’t
realize how much you’re doing right and
you don’t realize how much have trained
you don’t not to pay attention teacher
and then you call a dog trainer right
yeah makes that money any other
overwhelming burning things you wish
people would do that they don’t yes I
would love for people to never say good
dog
never to say good dog good boy good girl
none of that and the reason line is
because it doesn’t give enough
information one of the thing is being
mindful cuz that’s what I do
mindful dog training because I believe
in mindful relationship with two legged
people or with four-legged people it’s
about mindfulness is to be very clear
with our communication and we know with
people as we speak the same language we
have most of the time breaking some when
it comes to communication what people
said that’s not what I meant that’s a
number I say you didn’t hear me so can
you imagine how much more difficult it
is for a dog who does not speak the same
language so if the dough go to the
bathroom and you say good girl and
dissolve your collar and she comes to
you and it’s a good girl and the dog is
sitting and what do you say good girl
how the heck will the dog learn English
and you know that now we have all the
research to show that cognitively
developmentally dogs are very much like
a human toddler and just like you in
toddlers they can learn words we know
that on average so can learn I believe
150 words it was a segment of 60 minutes
on a dog it knows a thousand were life
right so instead of saying good girl
good dog but whatever be specific saying
good see oh don’t even city good just
see see show up with this olive would
show up with your face expression that’s
the place when we get to practice
expressing love fully loving seriously
without being judged so when the dog is
come turn created calm when she’s laying
down down crickets down down normally
she would be barking so now I can assure
sure trick it shoosh so I tell her what
it is that I like just like it in child
development approach to tell you do not
say good boy bad boy mister sniffing I’m
not happy that you didn’t clear your
plate after you ate but you are still a
good boy so that’s the same I think
on the research to develop us how to be
emotionally intelligent kids and I bring
it into my dog training of how to build
emotionally intelligent dogs and words
and how we use them again the being
mindful is going on hmm.well and really
what you are what you are advocating is
a lesson in mindfulness for us as pet
parents as well of course right the this
technique will require a whole lot of
being present and thinking about our
words before we speak them which of
course is good for everyone
why because honestly caring the way I
look at that I believe the dogs are
angels of God angels of the universe
came into our life people like to teach
us how to open our heart I’ll extend it
and again how to learn how to receive
and give love so I’m looking at them is
our training wheel because we are baby
the ability to receive love and to give
up all heartedly so what I’m doing is
I’m using dogs to teach people how to
show up in relationships and what they
do after the comfortable is become a
commercial memory in the own body how to
smile how to be happy which honestly is
not comfortable for most people and if
you can do it on the children then you
can do it with a significant other they
can do it with the co-worker there is
not one day that I do not spend –
jennice my assistant of talent rather
they are so grateful to you thank you
for being in my life because what it is
I’ve trained myself to live in a set of
gratitude to lick me to see what is
there it wasn’t natural to me a waddle
going this way but through working with
dogs and come to be seeing what it is
that is amazing about them they are
learning I’m learning how to notice what
is working what is there what is
beautiful and if you wouldn’t say we
and actually it’s good advice for all
mammals those it does you know using
focusing on being in a state of
gratitude animals naturally live in the
here and now they’re naturally present
you know dogs are not fearful about
tomorrow or they’re not worrying about
anything other than what’s happening at
this moment and they’re beautiful at
hopefully as mirrors in reflecting us
pulling us along our evolutionary scale
in our attempt to get there really agile
engine any other means any other burning
things you wish people would do that
they don’t so the first thing you don’t
say your dog’s name just give Nick name
and and unless you’re talking to your
dog directly you are happy what’s he
upset either one you’re communicating
connecting with yourself second do not
say good boy or good girl
make it clear what it is that you are
happy about and the third thing that I
would like people to do is to walk
around throughout the day and to notice
so I can be in the kitchen making my
coffee in the morning and the dog is
just sitting next to me I’m going to be
sick and by the way when I question I
never touched him like that I never paid
him like a dog and truly connect with
him I touched him the way these little
angels came to me a few days ago she was
rescued from Mexico her name is Mona
Ramona and she was completely afraid she
didn’t want to be touched so what I did
is just I showed her this coming to me
be such by me very gentle it seriously I
do not actually like a dog I’m really
connect with her the way I would connect
with any human being and I really wanted
to know that I see her that I got her
and I touch them a lot of third eye and
the face and everything so the third
thing is look for what your dog is doing
right and acknowledge it and then if you
want to catch them catch them slowly
lower your voice be more intentional
like like as if you are singing them a
lullaby or if you’re talking to a loved
one go into you’re really a lobbyist
don’t do it like I’m on up hi how are
you you know I’m sorry sorry well I
really that’s good parenting advice to
any to anything you are parenting really
ultimately praise the good focus on what
they’re doing right tell me how good
that they’re being for what they are
doing right good advice for parents
across the board yeah and I have those
who come here to live with me for what
we call training vacation and these
don’t have never trusted people I’ve not
trusted other dogs and they come here
and it’s an environment that is about
mindfulness and gratitude so what
happened energy here is such that
they’re being appreciated for what they
are I do not put on them demands that
they need to obey or its comment is none
of that and through that because they
associate learning such an experience of
joy misogyny understanding they get
certainty we all are certainty it’s
predictable it’s safe they thrive it’s
one definitely want people to know yeah
all good advice you’re a good mama to
not just your baby Samar but I know that
really your goal is to role model being
a beautiful parent being a blessing to
the animals all around you but also the
people the goal is to focus on
relationship and then good behavior
follows well just like you I think we
know that we came to this world to serve
we know that our job here is not about
get-get-get I think you and few of our
mutual friends and me we thrive on
serving with driving seeing somebody
bluffs and health-wise emotional eyes it
gives us pleasure it’s a home and we are
doing even serving the same thing we
just come from a different angle you but
and I appreciate the the part in the
role that you are providing in terms of
role modeling beautiful peaceful
relationship centered dog interaction
it’s it really is much needed in our
world of lack of sensitivity and
harshness so I appreciate that Tamar and
I appreciate your
I’ve been sharing them with us today
thank you my darling thank you for
including me it’s really an honor
