Category: Training Skills for People

Learning these skills will improve your training.

(Video 86) How to Stop or Prevent Dogs Fighting at Home

Are your dogs getting along well or do they sometimes freeze and stare at each other or even get into fights? Watch this video for ways to help keep the peace at your home.

Note: this could be a life-and-death situation, depending on how seriously your dogs are going after each other. As always, please consider hiring a dog trainer near you if your animals are in danger.

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(Video 84) Me First! How to Train More Than One Animal at a Time

If you have more than one animal to train at a time (like multiple dogs, your dog and your cat, your dog and your son…) it can be very helpful to use something called “stationing” to keep them from mobbing you. This is also useful for dogs who fight in the home…more on that later. Watch this video for several useful tips for training in multi-dog or multi-species households.

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(Video 73) Deaf or Blind Dogs: Training and Care Tips

Dogs who have trouble hearing or seeing can still be perfectly happy in a family. Contrary to popular belief, dogs with sensory impairments can still function in society, but we do need to make some changes to the way that we communicate with and train those dogs. With some effort, we can help them to safely navigate their lives.

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(Video 69) The Sky is Falling! How to Survive Fireworks with Your Dog

Fireworks can be terrifying for dogs. This video explores some tips to help you get your dog comfortable with fireworks. It’s best to watch this video a month or two before fireworks start, so you have time to train, but it also gives you some ideas of what to do to help your dog on the day fireworks happen.

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(Video 68) Walking Your Dog Off Leash: Safety and Training

Have you ever come across off leash dogs on your walk? It’s fun to walk with your dog running free, but your dog being off leash may actually endanger other dogs or animals. Shouting “he’s friendly” is not enough when the other dog is on leash.

This video gives useful tips to help you keep your dog and others safe. It’s the neighborly thing to do whenever you choose to walk your dog off leash.

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(Video 65) Make Your Life Easier with the Right Dog Gear

There are a ton of different dog training contraptions… clickers, choke chains, harnesses, long lines, e-collars, ex-pens, crates, and more. Which ones are right for you and your dog? Which ones can cause problems or harm? This video gives my recommendations on how to choose dog training and management gear.

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(Video 40) When Can I Stop Using Dog Treats?

Teaching your dog with positive reinforcement doesn’t mean that you have to be a food dispenser for the rest of your dog’s life. Part of reliable dog training is having your dog listen to you without having treats in your hands or even needing to feed all the time. Humans, dogs, and other species don’t work for free, but there are a lot of reinforcers out there besides for just food. These tips and tricks will help you wean off of constantly treating your dog for every single behavior.
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(Video 39) Top Tips for Reliable Dog Training

Does your dog sit at home, when you have a cookie, but not when you are out on a walk or when guests come over? With a fully trained cue, you should be able to get reliable behavior in just about any situation, and definitely not just when you have a treat in your hand.  If your dog isn’t responding to your cues, that doesn’t mean he’s stubborn, stupid, or dominant. It just means that you have missed an aspect of your training. Watch this video for tips on building reliability, for dog training you can trust.
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(Video 38) This Means That: How to To Add a Cue to Behavior

Cues like “Sit,” “Down,” etc. are how we ask for behavior (similar to commands but different, as you’ll see in this video). Cues are signals that tell the dog that a specific behavior might earn a reinforcer. A cue can be anything the animal can perceive – hand signals, spoken words, random sounds, doorbell, scent, etc. This video will teach you how to add a cue to a behavior that your dog is already performing, as well as transfer from an old cue to a new cue. Watch my 4 Ways to Get Behavior video to teach them to do a behavior in the first place.
Continue reading (Video 38) This Means That: How to To Add a Cue to Behavior

(Video 36) 4 Ways to Get Your Dog to Do a Specific Behavior

Positive reinforcement is very effective, but how do you get the dog to do something that you can reinforce in the first place? One outdated option is to just force the dog into the position, like picking up the paw or pushing the dog into a sit. It ‘works’ but there is an emotional cost when you force behavior instead of setting up a situation where the animal will offer it. Fortunately, humans are pretty smart and have developed much more empowering ways to get behavior! Watch this video to learn how to use 4 essential ways to get non-verbal animals to offer behavior: shaping, luring, capturing, and modeling/copying.
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(Video 28) Play With Me! How & Why To Play With Your Pet

Does your dog or cat like the way you play? Are you sure? Each animal has his own preferences about what kind of play is actually fun and which kind is boring or even stressful. In this video, Grisha gives some tips on how to play with dogs other animals, how to know they are enjoying the games, what kind of play to avoid, and how to use play in training.
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(Video 35) Efficient Dog Training: How to Save Time with Good Timing

Does your dog do things for the dog trainer but not for you? Part of the problem may be timing. For example, if you treat too early or late, your dog may be confused or could even be learning a behavior you didn’t mean to train. This video goes over some essential tips on timing, to make you a more efficient animal trainer.
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(Video 33) The More Please Signal Will Change Your Pet’s Life

Do you need help with grooming, vet care, or teaching your dog to be comfortable with touch? We can create a positive association using basic classical conditioning, but we can take that a step further to give the animal more control. The More Please Signal is a way for animals to cooperate in their own training and care. It’s a very important concept for dogs, cats, and all other species, so please watch this video!
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(Video 01) What is Modern Dog Training?

Modern animal training techniques focus on helping animals WANT to work with us. This type of training can efficiently teach “dog obedience” type behaviors, set boundaries, and change problem behavior. But it also helps create two-way communication and meet the animal’s needs. This video shows the power of the modern training techniques used in the Building Blocks Academy.

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(Video 02) Empowerment: How to Build Cooperation and Trust

In old-fashioned training, problems are blamed on the animal being too dominant. Ironically, the problem is not that they have too much control over us, but rather, they do not have enough control over their own safety and wellbeing. In this video, Grisha explains what empowerment means, and why empowered animal training is so helpful for problem solving.
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(Video 23) How to Set Boundaries for Animal Care

Boundaries define personal dignity and integrity. They are rules about what we can and cannot accept. Boundaries define ways that we feel comfortable interacting, how we want to be spoken to or touched. This video explores ways to set boundaries with and for your pets.
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(Video 22) What’s Really True? How to Handle Conflicting Advice

With some notable exceptions, pet training is getting more and more humane over time. That’s why the more you learn about dog training, the more conflicting advice you seem to get! This video discusses the Humane Hierarchy and other useful ways to sort through fact and fiction.
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(Video 13) Watch This Before Petting Another Animal!

Dogs and many other furred and feathered animals are fun to pet! That doesn’t mean they like us touching them the way we are doing it – if at all! In this video, Grisha goes through how to greet animals in a way that makes them feel more safe and happy.
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