Episodes
May 19, 2023
How to Calm a Hyper Puppy
As a professional dog trainer, I have never been asked to help make a puppy more hyper, but almost every new puppy owner requests some training on how to make their puppy more calm. To achieve the goal of puppy calmness, it’…
May 7, 2023
It’s Not the Puppy's Fault
The goal of raising a puppy is to prevent unwanted behaviors from developing so that you can live harmoniously with your puppy. Most new puppy owners allow most unwanted behavior to develop, even reinforcing the behaviors in…
April 21, 2023
How to Stop Puppy Barking in the Crate
How to Stop Puppy Barking and Crying in Crate
It’s important to note that some barking or crying in the crate from your puppy is normal at the beginning. The acclimation period of crate training is about 2 weeks. If, afte…
April 11, 2023
Why Are So Many Puppies Being Rehomed?
This is a great question. In this podcast episode, I will discuss why so many puppies are being rehomed and how to prevent this from happening to your puppy. Why Are So Many Puppies Being Rehomed? Owners don’t have time to r…
April 10, 2023
Essential Equipment for New Puppies
Here is the List of some Essential Equipment for New Puppies. Dog Bed for relaxation and teaching place Play Toys for enrichment Kong® mental stimulation toys LickiMat® mental stimulation feeders Dog Puzzles for mental stimu…
April 3, 2023
The Importance of Puppy Socialization
Isolating your puppy in the house and yard during their critical socialization period of 4-16 weeks is a big mistake. Lack of puppy socialization during the critical period of their life is the number one reason they develo…
March 29, 2023
How to Meet Your Puppies Needs
Every puppy has different needs. Below are the ingredients, and it’s up to you as the puppies owner to determine the exact recipe. This list is presented in order of importance for creating a happy, healthy, and obedient pup…
March 25, 2023
Why Your Puppy Needs Mental Stimulation
Mental stimulation is often referred to as enrichment and covers a wide variety of activities. They often appear to be fun games or clever ways to feed snacks, but they're really so much more than that! You can read the full…
March 15, 2023
Puppy Training Series: The Watch Me Command
This is a great exercise to build the relationship between the handler and the puppy. We start this in the house with no distractions, then move it outside with distractions so she can get focused back on me when she has rea…
March 12, 2023
Puppy Training Series: No is Not a Cue
I found this post on another dog trainer Olivia Mergl of Mannered Mutts Dog Training on Instagram. Below is her post text. The image that goes with the post will be placed on a blog post here . No is not a cue!! No is not a …
March 3, 2023
Be Patient With Your Puppy
There are two ways to be more patient with your puppy, and I will discuss both in this episode. Patience will go a long way when raising a puppy. Give your puppy time to learn and adapt to your lifestyle. Be patient when t…
Feb. 26, 2023
Should Your Puppy Sleep in Your Bed?
In this episode, I discuss the pros and cons of having your puppy sleep with you in your bed. Remember, that is my opinion, and the opinions of other dog trainers and vets will vary. The Complete Puppy Training Manual is no…
Feb. 21, 2023
The First Day With Your New Puppy
In this episode, I share what I did during my dog Dixie's First Day Home on May 5, 2020. I immediately taught Dixie her name, leash acclimation, and set boundaries in the apartment. Notice my tone, words, and leadership ski…
Feb. 19, 2023
Leash Training Your Puppy - Part 2
I use three types of walks for puppies that I train. Each of these walks is unique and can be combined to achieve multiple goals in one outing. The Training Walk The Enrichment Walk The Potty Break Walk Roughly 40% of your w…
Feb. 5, 2023
Why Your Puppies Behavior Is Not Improving
The top 3 reasons why your puppy's behavior is not improving: You are reinforcing the unwanted behavior. You are trying to "fix" your puppy instead of teaching your puppy. You are not being consistent. Use this FREE chart be…
Jan. 29, 2023
Leash Training Your Puppy - Part 1
In this episode, I discuss one of the chapters of my new book, Leash Training Your Puppy , which will be available by the end of February 2023. To get on my mailing list for updates on the book release date, go to PuppyTrain…
Jan. 4, 2023
Puppy Behavior Modification
Use this FREE chart below to help identify unwanted minor puppy behaviors and teach a replacement behavior. Practice reinforcing the replacement behaviors without reinforcing the unwanted behaviors. Download the chart here h…
Dec. 7, 2022
How Old is Your Dog in Human Years?
I recently received an email from Dr. Leslie Brooks DVM, MPH, and a Vet Advisor for Betterpet. She sent me some information on a new tool that she helped create called The Dog Age Calculator. She went on to say that many pe…
Nov. 6, 2022
Potty Training and Puppy Vaccines
This is a great question that was a comment on one of my YouTube videos. The short answer is "Yes, But Follow These Rules To Stay Safe." Links to supporting articles and Podcasts: PawsGeek.com article: https://www.pawsgeek.…
Nov. 2, 2022
Top 3 Reasons Why Puppy Potty Training is Failing
Our most popular episode has been #3 from January 12, 2021, on How to Potty Train Your Puppy . I continue to receive comments on social media posts and daily emails from local clients of Top Gun Dog Training who are having t…
Oct. 23, 2022
Using Corrections With Puppy Training
In this episode, I am going to discuss important details about using corrections with young puppies. This information is a companion to the past episode #56 on The Benefits of Positive Reinforcement Training. When to use cor…
Oct. 19, 2022
The Benefits of Positive Reinforcement Training
This episode is from an article written by Taylor Andrews for my website. You can read the entire article here https://topgundogtraining.com/blog/f/the-benefits-of-positive-reinforcement-training Dale's dog training website …
Aug. 14, 2022
Setting Rules and Boundaries for Your Puppy
Everyone in your family, including dogs, has to have rules and boundaries in the house. You should start teaching the puppy rules and boundaries as soon as you bring them home. Giving a puppy too much freedom and the ability…
July 4, 2022
The First 5 Things to Teach Your New Puppy
These 5 things need to begin even before the basic obedience training command such as sit, down, stay, etc. Potty Training - Episode #3 Crate Training - Episode #21 Rules and Boundaries Puppies Name Stopping Play Biting - Ep…