Ian Dunbar's Blog, page 2

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Why so much learning theory doesn’t work too well in practice.

An applied learning theory is essential for teaching/training all animals, people included 

These days we are being increasingly advised that dog training should be based on peer-reviewed, published studies. I feel this is a bit silly because there are so few research studies on dog training. In fact, there are next to none. Certainly, there are wonderful studies on the behavior of wild canids, on feral or free-roaming domestic dogs and there are some really interesting studies on cognition in companion dogs but … there...

What To Do About Canine Flu: Canine Influenza Type A H3N2 & H3N8

As you probably know, there is currently an outbreak of Dog Flu in the South Bay and more recently, a number of cases have cropped up in other areas around the Bay. All dog owners, including myself, are understandably concerned about what they can do to reduce the likelihood that their dogs will be infected. However, there is no need to panic. Although Canine Influenza, or dog flu, is extremely infectious, it usually causes only mild symptoms for a few days to a couple of weeks and the dogs normally make a full recovery despite treatment. Yes, complications from the flu can occasionally be...

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canine flu
dr. ian dunbar
vet advice

LIVE Dog Aggression Q+A with Dr. Ian Dunbar

We're excited to announce that we will be hosting a live webinar Q+A session with Dr. Ian Dunbar on Friday, April 28th at 11am PST. This webinar will be open to everyone who registers for Dr. Dunbar's Aggression Seminar on Dunbar Academyby this Friday, April 7th and to all members of the All-Access Pass on Dunbar Academy.

 

The Dog Aggression is a 6 hour lecture-format seminar. Usually $50 we are offering a 50% discount if you register by this Friday and use promo code LUNCHTIME. Registering for the seminar will get you lifetime access to stream the seminar videos online, or you can download...

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Ian Dunbar
dog aggression
Dunbar Academy
seminar

AN EXCITING NEW CURE FOR SEPARATION ANXIETY

Given that we developed the AutoTrainer nearly 26 years ago, I find it surprising that only recently, (largely due to feedback from dog owners and trainers), we have discovered that the device is extremely effective for the rehabilitation of dogs with severe separation anxiety. 

We designed the AutoTrainer to reduce recreational barking and other vocalizations, which it does extremely effectively, as evidenced by reviewing the barking history and plotting the decrease in number of barks per day. Our original research showed that in addition to reducing barking, the dogs paced less and spent...

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dr. ian dunbar
separation anxiety
dog training
stop barking

Ian Dunbar's Top Ten Tips To Become A Successful Dog Trainer

We recently posted a free course on DunbarAcademy.com: The Top Ten Tips to Become a Successful Dog Trainer

 

1. What's Common & What's Not 

You need to understand what are the common issues and problems that dog owners (your potential clients) are likely to face with their dogs. Although the types of behavior and training problems are truly unlimited, just a handful represent the vast majority of cases. Learn 1-2-3 solutions for these few predictable problems and don't get bogged down with the rare cases.

 

2. What's Dangerous & What's Not 

You need to be able to accurately assess...

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Ian Dunbar
dog trainer
dog training
top ten tips
Dunbar Academy

How a Radio Show Changed How We Train Dogs Forever

Eighteen months ago, I was driving from Heathrow Airport to the farm in Hertfordshire on Christmas Eve, when I heard Kelly’s voice come over the car radio. She was talking about sheltering and rehoming dogs. A decade beforehand Kelly saw major problems with the existing shelter model and so, provided a solution … Open Paw. www.openpaw.org

Open Paw transforms shelters into a cross between a Canine University and a Canine Country Club, so that resident dogs (and cats) enjoy their stay while receiving an education, and hence, are more likely to be adopted and stay adopted.

Instead of feeding from...

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Open paw
shelter
radio
bbc 4
national animal welfare trust

We Need A New Kind of Dog Training Show On TV

I love dogs. Obviously. Dog behavior has been my life for nearly 50 years and for me, dog training has always been the most intriguing aspect of the whole field of animal behavior. I have always found dog training to be interesting, challenging, fulfilling, beyond useful, exciting, tantalizing and above all, fun. 

Training is the very essence of sharing life with a dog. How we communicate with our best friend, i.e., teaching them ESL, so they understand what we would like them to do. How we motivate them to want to do what we would like them to do. How we ask them questions? Yes, objective,...

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dog training
tv show
Ian Dunbar
summer fun
contest

Ian Dunbar Seminars, Books and DVDs Online for Just $20 per month

The All-Access Pass on DunbarAcademy.com

Over the past 45 years, I have given over 1300 one-day seminars and workshops around the US and worldwide. All in all, a whole lot of fun. But realistically, giving the same seminar over and over in city after city is not an efficient means of information transfer and also, spending nine months of the year in hotels on the seminar trail, albeit enjoyable, was not an efficient use of my time. Fortunately though, the technological age is a game-changer for education. Indeed, Jamie has spent the past three years filming my seminars and now they are all...

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Ian Dunbar
Dunbar Academy
Online Subscription
dog training
Trainer
dog behavior

Ian Dunbar Seminars, Books and DVDs Online for Just $10 per month

Over the past 45 years, I have given over 1300 one-day seminars and workshops around the US and worldwide. All in all, a whole lot of fun. But realistically, giving the same seminar over and over in city after city is not an efficient means of information transfer and also, spending nine months of the year in hotels on the seminar trail, albeit enjoyable, was not an efficient use of my time. Fortunately though, the technological age is a game-changer for education. Indeed, Jamie has spent the past three years filming my seminars and now they are all available online for downloading or...

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Ian Dunbar
Dunbar Academy
Online Subscription
dog training
Trainer
dog behavior

BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE — FOR 110 YEARS?

Edward Lee Thorndike showed that behavior is modified by its consequences and in 1905, he published his Law of Effect, basically stating: Any behavior followed by pleasant consequences will increase in frequency and be more likely to occur in the future, whereas any behavior followed by unpleasant consequences will decrease in frequency and be less likely to occur in the future. The notion of binary feedback is the quintessence of learning theory. The Law of Effect was a wonderful start but as theory was put to practice in education and training, something went very wrong along the way. Over...

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dr. ian dunbar
dog training
punishment
seminars