Episode 106: Teaching Your Dog Good Manners

Master of None- Adventures in a Hands-on Life

We're tackling the next step in dog training. Everyone loves a dog with good manners- greeting strangers politely without jumping, no excessive barking, coming when called, not pulling on the leash, and so-on. Dogs don't naturally exhibit good human manners though; they're dogs, so they exhibit natural dog behavior. It's our job as trainers to teach them to do something different than what they would naturally do on their own. We also don't teach a dog "etiquette" as a general idea; each individual behavior must be taught, trained, and reinforced. For more guidance on the particulars of positive reinforcement dog training, check out the two books "Zak George's Dog Training Revolution" and "Zak George's Guide to a Well-Behaved Dog."