Are you a fan of my training style, but can’t travel to Kentucky to see me in person? No worries! I offer an awesome online dog training course, which includes access to an array of exclusive videos and content, personalized coaching, journaling, and in-depth mentoring and evaluation by yours truly! If you just need some an advice or have a couple questions you need answered, I also offer professional consulting by the hour. Both of these great services can be found here: www.kentuckycanine.com Thank you all for your remarkable support over the years! I cannot express enough how grateful I am for your appreciation and patronage of this channel, my training style, and my kennel. Always remember, it’s a great day for a puppy-sized adventure!

You would have to force me to hang out with the force free people. Love it!

The arguing and rants that have been going on between other trainers and their followers have gotten ridiculous. Stonnie, I'm glad you addressed this. You did an excellent job explaining things and also used great examples. I am a big fan of your training style, and it's clear that any dog would want to be around you!

Simple, practical, and sensible. Well said, Stonnie

What 'force free' people don't understand is that once a dog realises they don't have to think for themselves anymore all their worries disappear. The anxiety goes away, they become more confident and they come to to bond with the handler much more than they would otherwise. They come to realise that they can just be a dog and the handler will take care of the stressful stuff, all they have to do is listen and in exchange they get a lot more freedom.

What an absolutely perfect way to put this into a simple perspective.

Keep us posted on how this turns out. I have a husky that I can run with a 4 wheeler 10 miles, have him follow me on a tractor but the second I turn around to turn some wrenches he's bored and off he goes to entertain himself with something a half mile away

I worked in shelters and did a good few courses on dog training (not an expert at all but I've seen and heard multiple different training styles in real life) and I LOVE your training method. As you said, the proof is in the pudding. Happy, relaxed dogs and a happy, relaxed Uncle Stonnie. What more could you want?

Husky type dogs are great, lots of fun, but they ARE bred to RUN. It's who they are. They're a little ADHD in that regard, and are often quite intelligent dogs, as well as strong willed. Ya gotta reign 'em in if you hope to hold their attention long enough to do any training. Love seeing you work with such a dog, Stonnie.

Allways the voice of reason. But also a real master of his trade, you cannot argue with Stonnie's logic..

I like this analogy- well done Stoney you are spot on ❤

😂You had me howling! You are so right! Personally I think most dogs would love to go live with Uncle Stonnie!

Force-minimized seems like the practical/actual approach.

When you own a predator, you’ve got to be willing to use some level of force. I own dogs and sheep, and I had to use force to remove my dog from the pasture when she thought chasing sheep was a good idea. It’s either that or a pile of dead sheep. It’s a fantasy to think dogs will behave without consequences for misbehavior. Where people get it twisted is thinking control comes from aggression and rigid dominance. Control is a dynamic give-and-take process, not a fight

Interesting. I haven't heard force free as much, but I agree with your thinking. I would lean towards error free learning, where I just praise the good and don't do much correcting. But even that is not 100%. I have 15 years of mostly informal experience, and what I find is safety takes priority over any preference on methodology. If I need to use some force to keep my dog from running across the road toward the trailhead, because cars, so be it. Force free is a well intended overcorrection from Dominance/Alpha style dog "training" that was more abusive control. We need to have patience and respect for dogs as living creatures, but that doesn't mean all discipline or "force" is bad.

I’m so happy to hear you say what you have stated in this video. You’re right on.

Beautiful words as usual Stonnie! I used your techniques to train my Labs and we hike every day. Everyone always asks how I got my dogs to behave so well and I refer them to your videos!

The World must be ending! I thought Stonnie would never take on a Husky.

Thanks for all you do Stonnie I really appreciate all your content and have learned so much from your videos!

I enjoy your videos, your perspective and the very fun things the dogs get to do with YOU!

I love this explanation ! Thank you, for taking the time to address this and for stating so clearly, what should make perfect sense. My dog is grateful,too, as she and I have trained using your principles and logic.

When Stonnie dropped the long line, I was waiting for the husky to notice he was free and take off.

Whoop! I needed a Stonnie video. They calm the brain and focus the mind.

Stonnie, you are my kind of trainer. Love your videos and your philosophy. Keep bringing us great videos. ❤

I love Stonnie Dennis's knowledge and wisdom. I love how he treats dogs and the joy he gives to them and receives from them. He inspired me to deep dive into behavioral science. This video challenged me. I thought he was being very shallow and felt disappointed because I respect him a lot. So I stepped back and found what triggered me, it is because I am a woman and it wasn't that long ago that women were owned and at the mercy of who owned them. So I like the fantasy of my present autonomy being force free, but it is not. There are rules, I have been taught and guided in specific directions. My takeaway from this is that dogs are at our mercy so make their lives as fun and enriching as possible within the boundaries set by the human society they are in.

You rock! I adventure hike with my GSP every day. I am your exception though. I used to not hike so much. I got a high energy dog, but I did changed my lifestyle to go hiking with the dog. It's been super rewarding.

dear mr @stonnie dennis: haters always gonna hate, but please dont mind them. just continue the good work 🙏

This is such a well articulated point! Ive always felt that force free training isn't exactly truthful. If you have a fenced in yard or keep the dog inside your home, arent you forcing it to live with you? To some extent, force affects all of us - for example, if a storm comes along, I'll be forced to take shelter. The best option is a flexible one that provides both freedom and safety. Great work, Uncle Stonnie! You nailed it. I'm envious of your lifestyle, though I recognize it's also a tremendous amount of work. It must be so rewarding for you! Be well

This is the best response I’ve seen to force-free training. Well articulated and humorous.

I want to board at uncle stonnie's. No, not my dog, ME. I want to be out there like that everyday! God bless.

This man is so chill. What a nice guy

so good to see you and hear from you Uncle Stonnie!! Looking well. And yeah, we moved from tropical rainforests of North Queensland to suburbian Melbourne... missing our epic mountain hikes as was just a 4 minute walk to the hills from home. Walks and backyard ball have been keeping him happy and tired. Still, we miss our radventures and being owners who did rad stuff. Also seriously miss the beaches!!

Fantastic video - you are a real dog trainer, working in the real world. Dealing with the same issues at the moment in terms of a dog not respecting the rules so this video is well timed for me, thank you!

Stonnie, your channel is the best resource on dog training I have seen; but also the best channel for people to educate them on specific dog breed requirements before purchase or adoption. Watching dogs perform exercises and hiking in the open with a variety of dog breeds is the best method I have seen to truly uncover the best breed choice based upon the lifestyle of the human wanting a dog. Most people with canine behavioral issues never researched the needs of the dog breed before purchase or adoption. This also applies to parrots. Keeping a Cockatiel is distinct from keeping a Macaw or African Gray in terms of diet, exercise, habitat size, type of exercise required, and the amount of physical contact necessary on a daily basis. People that purchase a Husky or Malamute will have very different relationship/training requirements than people choosing a Labrador Retriever or Standard Poodle, although there will always be shared similarities no matter breed choice. I highly recommend watching this channel to help determine the training requirement difficulties and challenges before bringing any dog breed into your home. Thank you again for sharing your wisdom and experience with us, you are truly a zen master of dog training.

I'm not in the situation to get my own dog right now, but I follow lots of trainers from all kinds of views to educate myself on as much as I can when I get there. I'm always coming back to your videos since your ideas on what makes a happy, healthy, meaningful and balanced relationship with a dog resonate with me the most. Keep up the good work. :)

Not force free here, but we do cool stuff and two of three of my dogs would still want to go hang out with Uncle Stonnie. The Heelers are always down for an adventure. 😂 The third, my Aussie, wouldn’t go. He won’t even leave with my SO if I’m not going with them. He’s my service dog and knows his job is to be with me.

Thank you !❤

Very well said Stonnie

You are very good behind the camera sir. The scene along with the message and delivery made a great video!

Hi Stonnie, I just found your channel and I really enjoy your videos. I live in an apartment and mainly use treats to train my little Lagotto Romagnolo. Luckily we live close to the mountains so I can take her out on adventures. I keep her on a leash when hiking. The leash saved her from getting into trouble with a large bull elk yesterday. There is no way she would have come back for treats once she picked up his scent. She doesn't have enough experience to reliably make good decisions so a leash lets her get out and learn safely. Kara says thanks for the idea to blow out her coat after adventures with the forced air dryer (I got that from your golden doodle video) It lets us get outside instead of spending all day in the bath😂

Love this example

Perfectly said!

Simply true … Force free is a non sense argument… you cannot train humans, soldiers, police officers or even professionals with force free stupidity whenever there is training there have to be restrictions and forced boundaries involved….

Great video!

Keep doing what your doing!

Gee you should advertise this as a parenting video for kids and dogs!!!

Stoney, love it! Amen

Hi Stonnie. Your videos are the best and I continue to learn so much. Would you be able to do a video about dogs meeting horses out on the trails? Thanks for everything that you share with us!

Love it!

Nailed it! It’s so simple

I like that long leash bc you can just step on it instead of carrying it all the time. Plus the dog MIGHT learn his boundaries. (I know Huskies that love to run) Force free training is like free range parenting. Sometimes you have to say no. There are many ways to say no.

I've watched a few of your videos before and while I thought you were doing a great job and seemed very knowledgeable, it wasn't necessarily what I was looking for to help with my shepherd mix and my malinois. Completely agree with you on this take here as I've had to set a few dummies online straight with their ignorant judging philosophies and impractical methods. Subscribed and looking forward to gaining some more insight into your techniques. Also, I used to live in Hardin county and just seeing you wander through the Kentucky woods makes me miss that scenery.

Dogs with off leash reliability live better lives. Period.!!! My “force free” friend only walks her dog to go potty, otherwise dog refuses to leave the house, and my friend doesn’t wanna force her to… What do you think a good argument would be when the dog is, allegedly, too afraid to have fun adventures outside?

All breeds are different for sure. Huskies love to run, so you have to use force on some breeds. The dog is so much a better dog! You are spot on Uncle Stonnie!

Good one.

Exactly, you've just hit the nail, the proof is in the pudding. What all those pure-positive, force free is about is pure talking, they never show any reliable work, they say "yes, i'm able to train any kind of dog, even the most difficult without corrections, force and with only love and positive reinforcement", that's the moment when i shoot the challenge, "ok, do it, record it and show me your magic" what happens then is crickets and silence, no more talking

True. The Force-Free approach is used by some of these trainers to train a dog without corrections; which is, in my honest opinion, just extremely dumb. If I were not to constantly correct my 1 year old Malinois x Dutch Shepherd, she'd end up walking all over me. And that's not something I can't afford to happen. Not for my safety and not for hers either.

Great way to put it

The dogs look very happy. Pretty place too!

These people talking trash are ( TALKING WHEN THEY SHOULD BE LISTENING ) keep up the great work! Keep up the great work Sir !

Stonie is the man!!! Use the “force” lmao

Total greatness!!!😂🙌

There's always some force even with force feel training. The collar and lead are force right? But I think most people are referring to hard corrections, prong collars and general rough handling etc which you don't do! Love your channel stonnie!

Our black lab Hooley walks in the woods for 2 hours a day... but aged 12 months she decided to chase deer. She came back quickly eveytime. But she risked getting gouged by barbed wire or the deer theselves. She has spent 4 months on a lead Walking the woods for 2 hours a day but learning not to chase animals. She now spends most of the time off the lead and is much less of a risk to herself. She was only doing what she was breed to do. But it was putting her at risk. Teaching her boundaries was to protect her and was the only responsible and loving thing to do

Ha! This isn't the episode I thought it would be but it was hilarious.

You tell ‘‘em Stonnie!!!!!!!!

Im 100% with you!

Uncle Stonnie, looks to me like Loki, though he might forget from time to time, really just wants to be around you and your pack. I am in awe of the way you contrive to engineer situations

You are so right, I had to laugh but only cause it’s so true. That’s the world force free raising kids , that’s why the kids are so damn friendly now-a-days.

💯💯💯 I have hunting dogs for years.. i they get to adventure all over the country.. they must have recall & manners.. I use positive and negative reinforcement (force) some need almost no pressure some require quite a bit.. but I’m here to say stopping one hundreds of yards away.. turn from a road, cliff, partially frozen river…..whatever to likely save their life. I use a GPS collar and all of my dogs check in on tone & steady/slow on vibrate but they were all nicked at different levels.. my current Lab (black) 2 which I can hold in my hand with almost no notice like a tickle.. my English Setter 9-11. She’s 6 now and I haven’t nicked her since she was 3 and she’s steady through shot but will track bird after and I missed a pheasant and she was not turning from a road and at over roughly 28-30 mph I needed her to turn back right away. Done right creates a far more zen hunting environment

Stonnie....you keep doing what you are doing and how you are doing it. The theories behind your dog training are also theories in which a person can "train" up a child. I am talking theory, not physical dog training aids like leashes or collars being used on children. This culture has gotten too far away from holding one (dog or person) responsible for their own actions, which then can lead to consequences. CARRY ON, Stonnie 😊

WOW! well put! I'v never heard any one explain it better. Thanks. I'l be using that, cause here in Israel things are headed that way to...

Again 100% with ya. Met a force free dog trainer once. She trained dogs and horses, and she owned two border collies and 5 sheep. Absolutely lovely, wacky Lady. She was excellent with horses, as far as I can tell, but in the evening, had to bring in the sheep herself. 😂 Her two dogs, 5 and 3 yrs old, were absolutely unimpressed with whatever she told them ...

Amen!

Well said….its so obvious…so many people get hung up on a word and don’t think about it…

i would be interested to hear your opinion on "tools" like corals, shock-collars etc...

Stonnie. Curious when is it best to introduce a puppy to leash? And to keep the puppy from wanting to bite at the leash? Thanks!

Thanks for this. Our labsky puppy is more husky than lab in our field at home. I always have a thirty foot orange nylon band training lead on her to work with her on recall. Whew what a challenge she is! She is mostly indeferent reward/treats as encouragement. I sometimes give her a little too much freedom and, I'll be darned if shes not making dash for an open gate. I tottally agree with you using force is must to keep your dog safe especially when setting safe boundary limits. However, I am really challenged by "Ruby". My frustration with her is not being able to use positive reinFORCEment effectively for training her. Im sticking with my long lead and, she's is slowly learning the limits and, I'm getting better at keeping her within an appropriate distance.

I see your point. There are limits on pretty much everything in society, if we are to function cohesively. Same for domesticated animals. What I’ve watched and read about force free training seems to label any other type of training as abuse. They have comments on their videos about prong collars, electronic collars and the like as abusive tools. They feel that any dog, regardless of its breed, temperament amid background can be trained/ managed with treats and kind words. Now, a lot of dogs can be trained successfully that way. I had a wonderful West German GSD female for 11 1/2 years who was the easiest dog in spite of the worst trainer (me). People with dog phobias would cite her as a dog that got them over their fear of dogs. But that is the exception. ( Which I discovered after she passed away and we got other dogs) Anyway, a rambling post to say that I agree with you.

Finally my first time I see you with a Husky that's awesome!! Hahahaha

Like this video a million times

What do you do for fleas and other insects when going into the woods for the dogs? Thanks

Great stuff Stonnie!

The force free community have become extremists. I'm all for using treats and luring a dog as well as using rewards, however there are things to dogs which are much more satisfying than any treat or praise. Corrections are just a part of training a dog and raising kids! I would love to see a force free trainer take on aggressive dogs and show success. Instead they usually recommend euthanasia as the dog can't be helped. Stonnie, you have a great balanced approach to dog training and love watching your videos.

May the Force be with you.

Uncle Stonnie Dennis himself ! Even a Layman can understand you , Well Said 👋💫

Nice relaxed dogs And some current discussions are just not good for the most folks involved. Positiv-only or force free being one of them Hi from a mean mom who forces her kids to brush their teeth Aaaand wash their feet…

You provide so much great information for those people looking to train a dog, is a shame people want to urgue with you. Keep doing the great work always enjoy those videos 👍💪🐕

I couldn't stop laughing when you were talking about Loki .... I own a Malamute

Stonnie, I've been following for a while & watching a few videos here and there & I really don't understand what you do to get these dogs to behave so well with you. Don't get me wrong, you're absolutely doing something right but in the time I've been following I haven't seen much of training "tools", usually you're just using a leash. What would you say you specialize in? Confidence building through basic agility? What makes you trust these dogs off leash? Would you trust them off leash in a new area such as a trail for the first time? Would love to hear your answers! I've been training my dog through e collar training over the past several months & we're now at a point where offleash hikes are 100% an option. Personally for us, without ecollar training we'd be using a long line forever - not because we can't trust him but because our city leash law is "leash or other means of control" - which means "ecollar" because there is no other form of control other than a leash or "digital" leash Also, how long have you been working with dogs? Every video I watch you definitely seem to know what you're talking about & you have all of your marbles together. Seriously, for someone who doesn't use any tools I wouldn't have guessed you'd have a comeback video to the "force free" epidemic. Hell, as a kid I wanted to run around and explore every mall in America. My momma had me on a childs backpack leash!! Ain't no way Jayson was running away haha. I was forced to stay! Today she'd be called a bad parent all for wanting me to be safe... It's crazy... Anyways, would love to hear back from you on my few questions. Thank you for your time Stonnie!

You are my favorite dog trainer. I wish I could bring my dog to work with you. Force free training sounds silly, if they had my two year GSD they would know that it is impossible!

I also see a lot of "force free" trolls infantizing their dogs as "fur babies" and such. They're animals that will grow up knowing boundaries and limits or be nightmares to handle. It's "no!" When they try to handle a behavior and the dog completely ignoring them. Will I correct a dog? Absolutely. I will do it fairly. Dogs need corrections. My brothers dog at a year and a half consistently jumps on people as a greeting. Had he simply leashed him in the house and practiced greeting people without jumping, fairly, this wouldn't be an issue. But instead it's "No" and the dog completely ignoring him.

Have a working line German shepherd I adopted from a shelter. She was 2&1/2 when I got her--- she'd had 4 previous owners(!) Poor girl. We luve in the city but have a nice large fenced back yard. She was nervous, afraid of noises-- ADHD ( always moving). She bit a dog ONCE when accidently loose -- front door was left open by family member--- and off our property. 😢 She latched onto a harness at the neck the other dog was wearing and held on. Had to force the bite open. We use prong and she is always on a lead, 6ft or 30-ft. Behavioralist vet diagnosed her with anxiety. Put her on Prozac and she's been a different dog with diligent training. Much calmer, still high prey drive with squirrels& rabbits,& passing cars when she's riding in our vehicle. But--- we are managing her. Would love for her to be as relaxed as all your dogs look together. ❤ We have an elderly boston terrier she's never even growled at...they are coexisting and show affection mutually. Not food aggressive at all. People friendly/neutral. Just leash reactive toward dogs. But don't feel comfortable trusting her to meet any other dogs because I don't have the skills for tjis. She barks ferociously at certain dogs on our walks, ignores others. Does she sound like a candidate for socialuzation, or will she be labeled dog aggressive for life? Thanks.

Would be great to see more husky training videos

Lol i love your philosophy on training vids, like this and the “look in the mirror” vid. Nobody else talks about that stuff. Make the dog like you…makes sense lol

Husky's hey? :) Been there!

Stonnie Dennis mic drop to the FF community. Love it! Pretty much all dogs would choose YOU, except maybe those tea cup dog or purse dogs.

This is such a funny down to earth way of addressing the silly argument that force free is the only correct way. 'Plastic prison with a crazy lady', haha.

Stonnie- I got a question. Is it better to have 1 dog or 2 dogs? I mean, as a previous dog owner, would 2 make it better for each of them? Or, am I looking for more small challenges, to use the force?

In the end, the dog has to accept or learn the lesson.😂❤