Natural Dog Training

5 Comments

1. Scott Yang says:

   September 1, 2010 at 5:35 am

   While I have my quibbles about Kevin Behan’s style of prose (‘Natural Dog Training’ is a little difficult to wade through at times), I simply can’t praise this book highly enough. Behan’s central point of ‘Natural Dog Training’ is that your dog, being descended from wolves, has an irresistible call of the wild – the need to hunt, to chase, bite and kill prey – and that you can train your dog naturally, without relying on treats or ‘domination’ methods, by satisfying this ‘prey drive’. In a natural wolf pack, the need to hunt large prey requires harmony and cooperation between the pack members, not domination and submission, and it is this desire to reach harmony with the pack that you can tap into simply by allowing your dog to be a dog, to satisfy his need to hunt together as a pack. You do this by playing hunting games – fetch, tug, chase, hide ‘n seek and others – and channeling your dogs resultant attention to you into obedience behaviors.

   The ‘Natural Dog Training’ method is very unique when compared to today’s trend towards food-based ‘positive reinforcement’ methods. First, there is no emphasis on ‘early’ puppy obedience training. 8 week old puppies don’t need to learn obedience – they need to learn how to live harmoniously with humans and how to be attentive to their human masters. With ‘Natural Dog Training’ you concentrate on patient housetraining, re-direction techniques and, most importantly, confidence and attention building through robust play with your pup. While mainstream dog training is essentially split between the dominance-based (think Cesar Millan) and ‘positive reinforcement’-based (Karen Pryor, Ian Dunbar) camps, both of these approaches essentially focus on the same thing – the supression of natural, instinctive behaviors of dogs. With natural dog training, the natural and instinctive behaviors of all dogs (jumping up, chasing and biting things) are actually stimulated and channeled into pure, enthusiastic obedience. This method teaches your dog to be highly attentive and highly enthusiatic to obey a command because his ultimate desire, the need to chase and bite something, is fulfilled through attention and obedience to his master.

   When I abandoned the ‘positive reinforcement’ methods of treat-based early obedience training in favor of natural dog training, a funny thing happened with my puppy – she became attentive to me. I became the center of her universe simply by making myself her source of fun and play. We took long walks together, where we played numerous ‘chase’, ‘hide and seek’ and ‘tug o’ war’ games. As illogical as this sounds at first, teaching her to jump on me and to ‘dance’ with me, strengthening that natural instinctive desire to make contact with me, became the key to teaching her to walk nicely on leash, to ‘heel’ and to ‘come’ when called. At 9 months, she took off after another dog that had wandered into our cul-de-sac, but instantly recalled back to me at top speed. She continues to recall like this. Her usual reward? Some hardy wrestling and a ‘tug o’ war’ session.

   My puppy is now a year and a half old, and I can walk with her around the neighborhood off-leash, with all the distractions that that entails. I can leave her alone in the home while I’m away at work, and I don’t have to worry that she will be destructive or bark incessantly for hours. I credit Kevin Behan’s book for showing me the way to raise a puppy properly and to satisfy her instinctive doggy needs in a manner that channels her natural desire for harmony and obedience. Additionally, I would recommend reading any of Lee Charles Kelleys’ novels (see his review of ‘Natural Dog Training’) and his insightful Amazon blog for dog training tips and to further refine your understanding of the natural dog training method.

   Be your dog’s best friend and buy ‘Natural Dog Training’!
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. Dooksarini says:

   September 1, 2010 at 7:04 am

   This method of training really works in a real life every day run of the mill home. It is presented in a clear, concise easy to understand way that explains the theory, gives examples and provides easy to follow step by step directions while addressing a variety of issues that may apply to you and your dog. I have a young shepherd, with which I began training following the traditional “obedience training” through the so called “humane” training that teaches you that you must be alpha or the big bully on the block to control and force your dog through dominance. After one book and two “obedience” classes, my shepherd was considered untrainable, overprotective and genetically flawed, with the recommendation to be put down at the age of 12 months. I purchased this book, in hopes of working with my dog versus dominating him, as my goal was to have a companion and protector. I found that Mr. Behan’s methods are the not only the most humane and successful of any training, but the only method of training that should be used as I am now developing a strong dog through using the strengths that everyone admires in dogs instead of attempting to destroy them. My dog no longer demonstrates being afraid of me when I give a command, responding slow and challenging, my dog now obeys immediately and eagerly. Whether following a down stay command to not chase the cat, or quietly laying beside me while I read the paper, my dog now looks at me with respect and eagerness. We have developed mutual respect without brutality. These methods work and work well. It is based on accessing the very natural traits of dogs that humans admire and find usedful, and channeling their natural prinal responses to become lifelong reliaable companions; all the while really connecting with your dog on a base level and having fun while doing it. Who knew that successful training can be fun?! This method was so successful that while I train my shepherd, my husband’s Llewellyn Setter responded to the training incidentally and had her best hunting season ever. As with any training, you must be consistent and dedicated to working with your dog. If you are looking to train and develop a strong, reliable companion without bullying, choking or bribing, (none of these methods will produce a consistently obedient dog)in a humane and successful lifelong way, this method is the only way to go. I am so thankful for this book and Mr. Behna’s words of wisdom and encouragement to have fun with your dog. I find it difficult when reviews misrepresent or omit complete ideas of the author’s works such as the use of pinch collars, choke collars and shock collars. After using the traditional choke collar and the training choke collar, I switched to the pinch collar. I found that with the traditional and training collars, I could have damaged my dog’s throat and neck permanently or killed my dog, as these collars can and have blocked off the airways to animals. I believe in the pinch collar because you cannot choke your dog, it will only tighten just so far, and the pinchers are not localized to one spot on the neck, but around evenly so that the corrections can be done with less force and reduces the risk of damage that can be done to a dog’s neck greatly. I believe that common sense, which apparently is lacking in some individuals, dictates that any collar or training device be the appropriate size for the individual dog. This misrepresentation of this and the allusion that the author implies that you put a heavy choke collar on any dog, regardless of its size is ludicrous and false. This is not the case; the author presents in a clear and easy to understand way the methods and discusses the variety of training materials for various dogs with varying issues. This is extremely helpful to be able to address those concerns that are relevant to me and my dog. If any one who would label these devices as torture actually researched and properly used or watched these tools properly used, he would have to admit that the very torture he wants to avoid are most applied and used regularly in traditional methods not in natural dog training. Mr. Behan stresses the proper training and use of these devices and the evaluation of necessary devices only when warranted. It is not helpful to provide a review without all the facts, whether you support the information or not. This book is the only book you need to raise the best companion you will ever have. While searching on the web I located the webpages and found these to be extremely helpful and I encourage anyone who is thinking of getting a dog or already has one, to purchase this book and check out more information on the author’s website for natural dog training. You and your dog will be happy you did!
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. Lee Charles Kelley says:

   September 1, 2010 at 8:56 am

   When NATURAL DOG TRAINING first came out I was a novice dog trainer working in Manhattan. I was looking for a new training modality because I had this feeling that everything I had been taught about dogs was wrong. I was particularly dissatisfied with the alpha theory and the training techniques based on it.

   I read Kevin’s book in one sitting and disagreed with almost everything he said except for two things: he teaches dogs to jump up on command, and he recommends playing hide-and-seek with a puppy when it starts its “independence phase” at about 5-6 months. I’d already found out on my own that these were both very helpful training techniques but had never encountered any other dog trainers who recommended them (this was before I’d read PLAYTRAINING YOUR DOG by Patricia Gail Burnham, who also uses jumping up in her training system).

   The next day I tried one of Kevin’s techniques with a pit-bull mix named Mickey, who had a problem with leash aggression: the instant he saw another dog on the street, he would go ballistic–lunging and growling, teeth bared. The only thing that prevented an all out attack was the fact that I’m a fairly big guy and I had an iron grip on his leash.

   After doing an exercise from Kevin’s book three or four times, Mickey’s behavior changed so dramatically that as soon as he saw another dog coming toward us, instead of lunging the way he did before, he would move back into position next to me, right into the pocket, and actually look up at me while performing the most perfect heel I’d ever seen. The urge that had been so completely in control of his behavior before — the desire to sink his teeth into the other dog — had been transformed into an intense, almost magnetized focus on me.

   A week or so later I got a call from a woman who owned a Jack Russell terrier named Mack. The experts at the Upper West Side training school he’d attended told her that he was untrainable because he wouldn’t learn the down. They said that there was probably something wrong with his breeding. Mack’s owner was in tears when she told me this, thinking that she had a “defective” dog.

   I took Mack into Central Park and applied one of Kevin Behan’s techniques. Basically I teased him with a tennis ball then got him to chase me around until he was crazy to bite it. Then I taught him that if he wanted the ball he had to lie down to get it. Within half an hour he was lying down on command and LOVING it! In fact, he’d do it while running at full speed! And just like with Mickey, it was almost as if Mack’s focus had been magnetized to me. Mack’s owner later told me that whenever she went out for pizza at a little place on Columbus, she would tie him to a parking meter and go inside to order her pie. From inside the restaurant all she had to do was look at him, put her index finger in the air and then point it toward the ground and Mack would instantly lie down on the sidewalk, happy and proud of himself. And this was a “defective” dog that couldn’t learn to lie down on command!

   I cannot praise NATURAL DOG TRAINING highly enough. It’s true that Kevin’s prose style sometimes gets in the way. But when you apply the exercises he describes, and understand the underlying philosophy behind them (i.e., there’s no such thing as an alpha dog, and that learning doesn’t have to take place through association, trial and error, or countless repetitions), dog training becomes an amazingly enjoyable experience. But it’s more than that. In my case it actually changed my life because it’s specifically designed to put both the dog and owner back in touch with nature.

   I now write a series of mystery novels with Kevin’s philosophy and techniques woven into the storylines. I get e-mails from readers who not only tell me they like my stories, but that they’ve tried Natural Dog Training and that their dogs are better-behaved as a result.

   Every dog lover, dog owner, and dog trainer should own this book!

   Rating: 5 / 5
4. Seattle Dog Lover says:

   September 1, 2010 at 11:41 am

   I must say that for those reviewers who complain about the use of corrections or prong collars etc, you’ve obviously missed the whole point of the book. This book is not based or focused on using correction techniques. If you use corrections simply to suppress a dog’s behavior, then yes, you will cause behavior problems and possible aggression as well. But that is not what Kevin is recommending or teaching in his book. The entire premise and theory is based on building and controlling a dog’s drive, not correcting a dog to suppress them in order to create a desired behavior. I’ve worked in the correction based methodology before, and believe me, it’s an entirely different world than what is being taught in this book.

   I’ve used dominance based training, as well as positive reinforcement and clicker training. Neither of those methodologies got me the results I wanted. Sure, they both worked to a degree. Dominance training created dogs that were under control, but they sure weren’t happy. And there was always that undertone of fear and tension between us. Positive reinforcement and clicker training worked great when we were working. But it would all fall apart in the real world when there were more interesting things to do. Not to say they didn’t retain some of what they learned. But they just weren’t reliable when using only positive reinforcement methods. I guess if I had continued doing it for the next 10 years, then maybe they would finally be reliable all the time. But once I began using Kevin’s techniques, I started seeing an instant transformation in my dogs. They started going from confused and disinterested, to paying attention and being happy to work with me. And it really was almost immediate.

   I believe that all forms of training have something positive you can take away from them. Although I’ve learned that dominance training has little or nothing that I would want to continue using. But natural dog training has and continues to transform my relationship with my dogs. And I am convinced that it can do the same for most people.

   It is fair to say that every dog is different, and that there will be dogs that may require a different form of training, or creative elaborations on Kevin’s techniques. But I would also say that I have yet to find any other philosophy that works as well for as many dogs as this one.

   Any training model will probably work if you dedicate yourself to it. But I think that Kevin’s philosophy and techniques provide a way to get the results you want, while respecting and honoring the dog’s true nature and spirit, instead of trying to suppress it. And that’s why I recommend this book more so than anything else I’ve come across.

   Rating: 5 / 5
5. Lee Charles Kelley says:

   September 1, 2010 at 12:49 pm

   When I first read this book ten years ago I disagreed with almost everything in it. But there was something about the things that Kevin Behan said that piqued my interest, so the next day I tried using one of the techniques from the book on a dog I was training at the tiome (I’m a professional dog trainer and author) and was amazed at the results. I tried other techniques in turn and found that they always worked. In almost no time I was re-training dogs that had been “ruined” by far more experienced trainers than I was–dogs that certain experts said couldn’t be trained at all were almost instantly transformed into very obedient doggies. And they all loved it!
   It’s so sad that most pet dog trainers don’t understand or use these techniques, which are similar to the methods used to train search-and-rescue dogs, drug-enforcement dogs, and police dogs.
   I am currently training dogs in NYC using Kevin’s methods, and I am also writing a series of mystery novels featuring a dog trainer/detective who also uses Natural Dog Training techniques. In fact, these techniques are artfully interwoven into the mystery stories. The first book, A Nose for Murder is available from Avon, and it’s a testament, in part, to all of the incredible things I learned from Natural Dog Training, which I think is the best dog book ever written.
   Rating: 5 / 5