These Building Blocks are especially useful for socializing and training young animals. We mention puppies and kittens specifically, but many of these videos apply to young animals of any species.
Animals, including dogs, bite for a whole lot of reasons. The severity can be anything from a puppy play bite to a bite to kill. Watch this video to learn some of the reasons animals bite and what you can do to prevent bites.
Continue reading (Video 81) Ouch! Why Animals Bite and How to Prevent It
Many dogs freak out when they’re home alone because they were not eased into being on their own; they were never specifically taught how to handle it. Addressing full-blown separation anxiety takes time and patience. Preventing separation anxiety before it starts is a lot easier and that’s what this video is about.
If you have a puppy or rescue dog, I highly recommend that you watch this video right away and start putting the tips into practice, *before* you have a real separation anxiety problem.
Continue reading (Video 75) Home Alone: 5 Ways to Prevent Separation Anxiety
The recall cue is one of the most important skills for dogs. This video goes over some useful ways to teach your dog to reliably come when called.
Continue reading (Video 67) Come Back! Train Your Dog for a Reliable Recall
Getting a new dog or puppy? Start out on the right paw, because first impressions really do count!
Take a few minutes to watch this video to get some tips on how to best introduce your new dog to the existing animals in the home. Following the tips in this video will help you prevent problems before they start, by avoiding fighting and reducing stress for everyone.
Does your dog fight you when you try to trim his nails? Are you not even sure how to do it right? Or does it seem like a stupid thing to do, anyway? Check out this video for why and how to trim your pet’s nails.
See also: (Video 59) Cooperative Grooming: 3 Tricks with a Purpose
Continue reading (Video 60) Mani-Pedi: How and Why to Trim Your Dog’s Nails
Does your dog freak out when you try to trim her nails or brush her? It doesn’t have to be that way, and there are much better options than just holding her down until it’s all over. This video goes through ways you can specifically train your dog to be a cooperative and enthusiastic partner for grooming. This helps prevent bites but also helps your dog stay comfortable and calm.
See also:
Continue reading (Video 59) Cooperative Grooming: 3 Tricks with a Purpose
Your dog’s experience at the veterinarian’s office doesn’t have to be full of panic and fear. This video goes through ways you can specifically train your dog to be a cooperative partner in his veterinary care. This helps prevent bites but also helps your dog stay comfortable and calm.
See also: (Video 16) Vet Visit Stress Tips for Dogs
Continue reading (Video 58) Cooperative Vet Care: 3 Tricks with a Purpose
Do you have trouble getting your dog to move? I notice this “donkey dog” problem most with bulldogs and other short-nosed (brachycephalic) breeds, but it can happen with any dog, especially puppies. This video will explore this problem from the dog’s perspective and also give you tips to be able to walk *together* with your dog or puppy.
See also:
Continue reading (Video 56) Let’s Go! 5 Tips to Keep Your Dog Walking
If you have trouble figuring out what’s causing your dog to explode with aggression, frustration, or fear, you might be missing an important variable: trigger stacking. Check out this short video to learn how stress piles up for dogs.
See also:
Continue reading (Video 53) Stress Adds Up: Trigger Stacking Leads to Reactivity
A dog door (or cat door) can be a really convenient way to fix your housetraining problems, but there are some things you should know before cutting a hole in your door or wall. This video goes through the do’s and do not’s around pet doors and also explains how to train your dog to use the dog door.
See also:
Continue reading (Video 52) Dog Doors: When to Use and How to Train
Potty problems? Your dog can ring a bell to let you know when it’s time go outside. This video explains the perks of teaching your dog this trick and goes through some easy steps to train your dog to ring a bell.
See also: (Video 18) Tired of Cleaning Messes? Housetraining 101
Continue reading (Video 51) How and Why to Teach Your Dog to Ring a Bell
Does your puppy steal socks? Does your dog run after the ball to fetch, but run around and not give it back?
If your dog has something in her mouth, you can do some training so you don’t have to end up playing tug of war with your favorite shoes. Drop is not something dogs are born doing on cue, but it’s easy enough to teach a reliable Drop. This video goes over 3 ways to train your dog to quickly drop whatever is in her mouth!
Continue reading (Video 49) Drop It: 3 Ways to Train a Fast, Reliable Drop
Touch is one of my very favorite dog training tools. Instead of physically grabbing your dog to get his body into a certain position, you can train him to touch his nose, hip, foot, etc. to a target. This is great for a range of things, from coming when called, to putting the harness on, to grooming and vet care. Touch is essential for all dogs.
See also: (Video 24) 6 Cue Words that Every Pet Should Know
Continue reading (Video 48) On Target: How and Why to Train Touch
Dogs have played with each other as probably as long as the species existed, but dog parks are a relatively new phenomenon. Dog parks are usually fenced in and can be great socialization locations but they also have a fair number of risks. Please watch this video before taking any dog to a dog park, particularly those who are most at risk – puppies, dogs with fear issues, and rescue dogs.
Also check out
Video 45: Why Dogs Should Play with Other Dogs
Continue reading (Video 47) Dog Parks: How to Stay Safe and Have Fun!
Dogs should socialize with all kinds of other dogs, but how do you get them together? And what if you just want to have friends over and they’re bringing their dog? Coordinating play dates can be a great way to set the dogs up for success and fun. This video shares some of the most useful tips to keep in mind for dog play dates.
Also check out Video 45: Why Dogs Should Play with Other Dogs
Continue reading (Video 46) Dog Playdate Safety
Play with other dogs is excellent physical and mental exercise, and that can solve a lot of behavior problems. Dogs also learn a lot from play and so can you! But how can you tell they are playing and be sure it’s a good experience for all involved? Check out this video for a look at how to supervise safe play between dogs.
Also check out Video 46: Dog Playdate Safety
Continue reading (Video 45) How and Why to Let Dogs Play Together
Cues are often called ‘commands’ with punishment based training. It’s the word or signal used to tell your dog which specific behavior you want and might reinforce. If you’ve already watched 6 Cue Words that Every Pet Should Know and want more cues to teach your dog to make life easier and more fun, check out this video.
Continue reading (Video 43) 20 Dog Training Cues to Make Life Easier!
If your dog is destroying your house or looks ‘depressed’ it may be that you just don’t have enough mental stimulation. Brain games are excellent for preventing separation anxiety, teaching dogs not to chew your furniture or other items, and just generally making your dog smarter and happier. Dogs and puppies are not natural freeloaders – they would rather work for their food than lie around all day doing nothing. This video has several practical ideas to solve behavior problems and help your dog have more fun!
Also watch: Rainy Day Dogs: How to Exercise Your Dog Indoors
Continue reading (Video 41) Fun Dog Brain Games for Happiness and Mental Health
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.
Continue reading (Video 28) Play With Me! How & Why To Play With Your Pet
When your dog barks at the doorbell or your cat hears the can opening and comes running into the kitchen, that’s likely because of respondent learning, also known as “classical conditioning,” a type of learning where one event is paired with another. You may be able to change your pet’s association with the doorbell, for example, by using a “counterconditioning” process: consistently following the doorbell sound with treats. This video explains how to use this cool scientific principle for socialization and the rehabilitation of fear.
Continue reading (Video 30) Building Your Pet’s Confidence with Classical Conditioning
In this video, Grisha gives an overview of counterconditioning, “Behavior Adjustment Training,” and “Treat and Retreat.” These three useful techniques are used in different ways to rehabilitate fear of people, other dogs, surfaces, body contact, etc. These techniques are essential for professional dog trainers and pet owners alike.
We will go over counterconditioning and BAT in more depth in other member videos. Grisha also has full courses, books, and feature films about BAT in the Campus Store and a section on Classical Conditioning in the Ahimsa Manual.
Continue reading (Video 29) Scary Monsters! 3 Useful Ways to Reduce Your Pets’ Fear
Tug is fun to play with your dog and it is a great motivator for force-free training, but is it safe? In this video, Grisha explains 5 rules to keep tug safe without losing the fun. Continue reading (Video 32) 5 Essential Rules for Tug Games
Most modern training relies heavily on treats. Do you just give up if your dog or cat doesn’t like your treats? The solution is not to switch to punishment, but to find a better reinforcer. Unless your pet is lying around like a lump and doesn’t even eat, there is a reinforcer he will work for. That reinforcer may just not be food because the individual animal defines what ‘treat’ means. In this video, Grisha explains some creative ways to find training reinforcers that motivate your pet.
Continue reading (Video 25) No Treats? No Problem! How to Use the Premack Principle
Puppies are little chewing machines. We recommend puppy-proofing for any dog under 1 year old or dogs who have not yet lived indoors. In this video, Grisha gives tips on what to do to keep your puppy and your house safe. This advice also applies to kitten-proofing and preparing your home for any new pet that will able to move around your home.
Continue reading (Video 09) How to Puppy-Proof Your Home
In this video, Grisha goes over the list of the most important training cues for every pet to know, plus a bonus for dogs. Focus on early socialization and these 6 cues to strengthen your relationship and prevent a lot of problems before they even start. (p.s. cues are sort of like “commands”)
Continue reading (Video 24) 6 Cue Words that Every Pet Should Know
Tired of living with a mouthful of biting puppy or kitten teeth? Don’t worry, this is totally normal and it will pass with some simple, consistent training. In this video, Grisha explains some great ways to help teach young animals not to bite.
Continue reading (Video 20) I’m Not a Chew Toy! How to Handle Puppy Biting
Crate Training can give you a way to create a safe haven for dogs, puppies, cats, and other animals. The techniques in this helpful video also apply to teaching a horse to load or a bird to fly into her cage.
Continue reading (Video 19) How (and Why) to Crate Train Your Puppy or Dog
It may seem like it’s taking forever to housetrain your dog or puppy. The good news is that puppies can be potty trained much faster than human babies using the advice in this video.
Continue reading (Video 18) Tired of Cleaning Messes? Housetraining 101
Learning when your pet is saying “I like that” or “more please” is really fun! Understanding happy communication gives you a better bond with your animals and also helps you meet their needs.
Continue reading (Video 12) 10 Ways that Your Pet Says “I’m OK”
Did you know that a wagging tail does not necessarily mean your dog is happy? Animals often ask us to back off because they are scared. Unfortunately, humans miss most of the signals and our pets have to bark, hiss, growl, or even bite to finally get the message across.
Continue reading (Video 11) 10 Ways that Your Pet Says “I need space”
Socialization is one of the key experiences that a young animal must have. Carefully get your new pet used to people, dogs, and other potentially scary things – early and often. Socialization is not just for puppies – this video is a must for every family with a young animal.
Continue reading (Video 17) What is Puppy Socialization and Why is it So Important?
Most dog ‘behavior problems’ are really just an attempt to meet needs. This video explains 7 important needs that all animals share. Learn them for the sake of your dog (or cat, child, etc.) – and the sanity of your home!
Continue reading (Video 07) Your Dog’s Top 7 Needs and Why You Should Care
Without exercise, dogs can become destructive, bored, reactive, and physically unhealthy. Watch this video for solutions if you can’t walk your dog because of injury, weather, aggression, vaccination status, etc. Continue reading (Video 42) Rainy Day Dogs: How to Exercise Your Dog Indoors
Tired of a barking dog? Socializing a puppy? If you want your dog to be calm around other dogs, you can help your dog practice being calm. In this 11-minute video, I explain Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT), which I developed to reduce aggression, frustration and fear in dogs and other animals.
Continue reading (Video 31) Quick Intro to BAT 2.0