Training & Behavior Links

[Sharon, Boo & Cricket]

No more pulling on walks (and no choke chains):
Gentle Leader’s Easy Walk Harness
Sense-ation Harness
Halti Training Harness

Great dog trainers/authors:
Trish King
Jean Donaldson
Dr. Ian Dunbar
Suzanne Clothier
Victoria Stilwell
Patricia McConnell
Dr. Sophia Yin
Leslie McDevitt
*Note: AVOID Cesar Millan! (aka The Dog Whisperer). Many of his training techniques are harsh and can cause physical and emotional damage to our sweet doodles. Instead, look for a trainer who uses Positive Reinforcement training.

How to find a positive reinforcement trainer:
Do a trainer search on the APDT website
(Association of Pet Dog Trainers- founded by Dr. Ian Dunbar, the creator of the “puppy class”)
Look for a trainer that has CPDT certification

Articles:
“He Just Wants to Say Hi”. This is an important article for doodle owners to read. It explains why our very friendly doodles tend to get some rather cold receptions from other dogs.

The Gift of Growl. Why growling is a good thing.

More good training articles on these pages:
http://www.positivelytrained.com/edu_resources.php
http://www.flyingdogpress.com/artlibreg.htm
http://www.sfspca.org/behavior/dog_library/index_library.shtml
http://www.wagntrain.com/TrainingTips.htm

Video Clips:
Dr. Ian Dunbar: Off leash recall- building the foundation using Hide and Seek game
Using treat toys to keep dog busy and out of trouble
Getting a dog to love crate time
Dogs, busy parks, and kids
On-leash aggression – why slow walks help
Funny- dog pack relationships and what an Alpha dog really is

Jean Donaldson: Conditioning an Emotional Response
Teaching a dog to like something they would normally dislike, e.g. Halti head harness.
(scroll down, it’s the fifteenth video on the page.)

Learning to read dog body language:
Video clip: http://www.dogwise.com/video/video.cfm?itemid=DTB730
Video clip: http://www.dogwise.com/video/video.cfm?itemid=DTB1017
Diagrams: http://www.hssv.org/docs/behavior/dog_body_language.pdf
Diagrams: http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/diagrams.html