Wow..I have a four year old rescue who has been totally unmanageable and by just having recently found your videos and applied the techniques I am experiencing massive behavioural changes in Pablo..thanks so much 😊

Honestly, just keeping treats on you has been a game changer for me. This summer, I decided to get back into training my dogs, and just having treats on hand has dramatically improved their barking both indoors and outdoors! They've gone from going nuts at every dog barking outside to one or two barks from my terrier and my Tervuren completely ignoring them!

Isn’t behavior swapping remarkable? It focuses on the root of our dogs’ behavior, not just the surface. Have you tried it? Any challenges or triumphs to share? Your story could help other dog parents navigate this journey. Let’s keep the conversation rolling and hit that ‘Share’ button if you found this helpful!👍👍

LOL This is precisely the technique that I used with my learning-disabled middle grades students! Teenagers aren't THAT much different than an overly excited dog, after all! Fortunately, I didn't have to use treats very often. I gamified it, though, and they kept track of the points.

Totally agree with you Zak. My dad was trying to school me in how to train my puppy but stopped when he saw that using your methods had the desired result with no physical correction or negative consequence (apart from just just getting the treat/toy) Also my dog is so happy to train and learn ❤ it’s definitely strengthened our bond loads. Would never train any other way!

OMG, I am so grateful to you for breaking this training down into baby steps and then gradually into application to other behaviors .

Training hasn’t been as consistent as I would like, so I’m grateful for these deeper dives on basic challenges. Thanks Zac!

I use this technique with our standard poodle puppy (8m). When she gets over-stimulated and nippy, we do a quick sit and calm training exercise. Since she knows she'll be getting some Pupford's, she calms down and works for the reward.

My Corgi is very energetic and sensitive to motions and noises, especially when I train her outside. I've increased the value of her rewards to small pieces of summer sausage. I'm using a clicker. We train inside in different locations, first. Now when she goes out to potty, she sits and stays while I open the door. Working on automatic focus. She's a smart 2 year old. While I was watching your KZfaq video, she was bringing me a toy and we were playing fetch. Also, there's bears around. I'm working on routine and consistency. She shows food aggressive, especially when I try to teach her how to manipulate a new puzzle feeder. I've put that one away. I'm working on "place" with her and started using distractions. I believe that her energetic personality helps with how quickly she's learning her training skills.

I'm starting today with my Corgi who has the loudest, most shrill bark of any dog!! Thank you for showing exact steps to take.

We have a 1 year old corgi we are working on training. The behavior around our kids has gotten so out of hand its either buckle down and train or rehome her, and rehoming her is the absolute last thing I want to do. I am so looking forward to going through your videos and working with her every day. Thank you so much!

Thanks, @zacgeorge! My dogs & I appreciate you and Bree so much. Your techniques taught my 7 year old Border Collie mix everything he knows starting at 16 weeks old. Now I also have a 3-5 year old Rat Terrier. She was starving, dehydrated, kept in a small crate, and abused before she was taken by a local rescue last November. She wasn’t potty trained or anything. I play your playlists for them everyday when I go to work. Sometimes I come back home and realize my new rescue knows how to do something I didn’t teach her- your videos taught her without me even being home! I tell everyone I can about your channel. Thanks for all you do! ❤❤

this video is AMAZING My dog barks to visits. I recently understood that he has the habit of barking to the doorbell, so I started a desensitation (sorry if I am masacring the words) to the doorbell and is going good, but still haven't had visits since that. I will apply your notes. You are helping a lot

My dog River turned 3 yesterday, he is a border collie too, we are still working with this, now i can look at it as giving him something else to do, so thank you, i really needed this video today ❤

Your videos have helped me and my golden puppy so much, thank you!!

This is why I ❤ this channel. This is a summary of the lessons in the Inertia series that helped me raise my dog 2+ years ago =)

My dog’s jumping used to be one of the most challenging aspects of training him. One thing that worked well was teaching him the command of “jump up/hug”. That way we could ask for the behavior when we wanted it and could also say “off” when we wanted him to stop. (We didn’t use “down” in this instance because “down” means lay down in our house and I didn’t want to confuse him.) I love your long form videos so much! 💜

I'm honestly dealing with resource guarding with my dog around food and water. I'm a dog trainer myself and I'm slowly taking my time. The signs were there as a puppy, I just didn't capitalize working on it and I'm very well aware it's my own fault. I'm watching my dog's body language such as tenseness of her face and position of her ears since she actually doesn't growl much and her signs that she is uncomfortable are very subtle rather than very obvious. We have been making progress with guarding towards the cat especially the fact that our cat does what he wants despite her barking and air snapping. (Our cat is weird. He just doesn't care and desensitized until she actually air snaps. He just lurks around until she snaps which is my own fault as well because I could be managing her a little better). But I'm restricting her access around dogs and trying to counter condition her towards sharing food and water until she does better. The less she practices her resource guarding and more she is exposed to other dogs taking resources while being reinforced when they do, the better she is doing. So it's definitely a struggle but we are making steady progress, it's just that my girlfriend doesn't see it. She only sees the big progresses and not the tiny ones which is why I'm the dog trainer at home and at work. 😂 So, if there's anyone reading this, take your time with the training and start early. When I saw the signs, I told myself, "I'll get to it when I get to it." And i never got to it and it bit me in the ass. So I guess my other lesson is don't procrastinate. 😅

Hey Zac I adopted my red Heeler/German Shepard pup at 9 weeks old. He just turned 1 woohoo! He’s very smart. Sits, Stays, Down, place very well at home. Outside improving! He’s improving on walking on a leash beside me of course we stop a lot when he starts to pull. Watching your videos I’m trying to do training daily actually it’s ask day every day at his age. But when he sees another dog he stays whining and pulling. I’ve been working with him for many months on it and for some reason it’s not improving. He use to be perfect in stores but now he’s perfect until he sees another dog and now whining has turned into a bark…I know I messed up by taking him to play at dog parks because he became a social butterfly he really needed to run but then I learned to do good training dog parks want the west to go. Plus we started a service dog program and they told me no. So we stopped all stores and no dog park but the training was too intense for me with my mental health. I’m a combat veteran whose decided to train myself but to focus on his foundation and how to act in public. It’s like he’s gone backwards? It’s no longer puppy whining 🤷‍♀️

This has been really helpful. My two are making progress slowly, but surely. One of my doggos is deaf so I think her barking is a response to what she sees her brother doing? I am working on building a clear channel of communication between her and me. That was she isn't getting all the information from her brother. He is slowly making progress at not barking when people walk by. Thank you for making these videos!

Hi Zak, I just got a believed to be 3 yr old Belgian Malinois Shepherd from a shelter just over a month ago. She has a lot of leash pulling issues. Im going to be putting her in training classes through Petsmart after she heals up from being spayed.

I'm so glad you featured treats that we can both enjoy cos that's a momentary lapse in my part that's definitely going to happen at some point. 🤣 I'm probably getting a puppy at the end of August who will ultimately be my service dog, so I'm finding your videos really helpful and interesting. 😊

I wish I could have a private teacher like yourself.

I need this video .

Your training is amazing. Thank you for all your videos.

My dog acts totally different when she’s outside. She does not wanna be around other dogs. She does not listen to commands, and she knows all of them. She doesn’t wanna be on a leash at all no matter how many times I try, no matter what corrective color or harness I put on her she gets out of it she does not want to be on a leash. She wants to roam free She doesn’t go far. She always make sure that I am in sight, but she wants to run. she’s a German Shepherd with a lot of energy who wants to run and play. She loves to play.

😊❤good treats I always have

Hi Zak, If you are ever looking for more content we could use your help. My 14 week old puppy is driving us crazy. My husband and I know she is a very smart dog, we can see she is learning but we struggle when it comes to our 2-year-old son. our puppy is excited about everything and training doesn't stick when she is distracted or when she is too excited. The puppy is causing stress and frustration for my husband and myself

I really like these Q & A videos! Keep up the good work!

I had no idea. This is so valuable.

If your dog is hyper, he's most probably a) deprived of adequate social interactions with other dogs b) deprived of adequate physical and mental activity c) deprived of accepted authorities that reflect on unwanted behavior d) encouraged by the owners to produce excitement, since they believe it's the dogs way to show love Nothing, treats can possibly cure.

This new camera setup with HDR looks immaculate

Wondeful Thank you!

The "keeping treats in my pockets" used to work for most of my dogs - right until I got the Beagles. I swear their noses are next-level compared to the average dog, as they'll sniff the air in locations where treats hadn't even been DROPPED, but merely, GIVEN to another dog. And the moment they scent some in my pockets, they're not leaving my side. Which isn't always practical. So, I'm stuck with having multiple locations in the home with treat jars, and once a dog did something desirable, I mark with YES and then, walk over to the treat jar.

I’m trying to do this with my new puppy (almost 12 week mini labradoodle) but having a tricky time. I also have a 5 yo son and 2 yo daughter who play together and tend to get loud and rowdy. I’m working on teaching them how to best behave around the puppy but also trying to teach the be puppy how to behave around them. When they’re getting too rowdy it almost seems like the puppy goes into protector mode and thinks he needs to protect me from them. If I have pup connected to me with a leash it makes it difficulties interact with my kids because he wants to jump and bark at them if they get too close. I’m trying to get on his level to calm him down and help him know they’re not a threat, but it’s been a tricky balance!! In addition when I tried to give more treats through the day to help condition him to good behavior he ended up throwing up for about three days (only once or twice a day, not all the time). So I think maybe his tummy had a hard time digesting the treats (Pupford freeze dried beef liver). Any tips to help if constant treats don’t seem to be an option?

Hey Zak, we recently got a dog from the shelter and she is a big cuddle bug. We introduced her to my parents and it went perfect. She was such a good dog, but yesterday when we introduced her to my whole family she would yelp as if in pain. We don’t know what has changed because she loves to meet people, but then she changed on a dime and now doesn’t want people to touch her. We were curious if you had any insights.

Plsss Make like a day in the life with zak gorge and what it's like traveling with dogs

Wish you could give us suggestions with how to get a Shiba Inu to ever listen to you. Mine is so stubborn. Treats don't usually work. The worst thing is that she will not walk. If she doesn't want to go out or if she doesn't want to go the direction I want to, she will just sit down and won't move. Sometimes I have to just pick her up. And she definitely does not want to follow you. She will just sit in protest until I go the direction she wants.

One of my dogs is really food driven so your Tricks works great, the other one is not food driven or just a little and when we are outside it s impossibile to lure her to listen to me with food and I have to find what she really likes yet so it s hard for now to train recall and to teach her to Don't pull on leash.

Have you any videos showing how to correct a dog that is scared of traffic

How would i switch my dog's behavior of barking at other dogs when walking ?

I think my girl barks when she's in guard mode.

Just found your videos. Hoping they're going to help us. We recently adopted a middle age Boxer or Boxer mix (waiting on DNA results) who LOVES to bark because he wants you to get his toy or play with him. Hoping your techniques will help for sure. We had a Boxer previously but since he was a puppy and apparently we did good because he never barked for attention etc. This is our first rescue though and yeah we've pretty quickly learned that's a very different situation.

I used this for getting my dog, Maks, to quit chewing on furniture, shoes, etc. by offering him a proper chew. He learned to chew on his own things really quickly. It never occurred to me to try with any other behavioral issues. Really simple, but never dawned on me. I'm going to have to try this with his barking at everything that moves. We also just got two very young kittens (11 weeks now), and he REALLY wants to play with them. Unfortunately, his idea of playing is holding his mouth open with their head in it. He just sits there like that, doesnt hurt them, but it terrifies my mom. Also, even though our last cat didnt care and would just sit there, these two do not like it and try to run, which prompts him to chase them into hiding. I dont want them to feel like they have to hide ALL the time, so I am going to find something to play with that is more interesting than Sheeba and Shiloh. Thanks! I really feel this can work better than just picking them up or constantly telling him to "leave it".

Great video!

My 10 month old dog barks when I am tired watching TV at night or having a friend over. Like 8-10pm. This is after a full day of fun together! She even barks from her bed when I ask her to stay here 😅 It's the moment when I am most tired and don't have reserve energy for her. Leaving her in another room for 10 minutes sometimes makes her relax or sleep, but sometimes not 😐 I think she is over-tired? But I am not sure. She stands staring at me, wagging her tail (slowly) and barking.

I got 3 puppies that are 5 months old and they like to jump and bark I need to try this thanks.

Searching for a video along these lines but to help me with puppy jumping on us when we enter the room! He's 16 weeks old today.

Great video.

Very good video! Thank you!

Any advice for training partially sighted dog 19 months old Trying these techniques and they work great 😊. Bit stuck on keeping attention as the dog will turn his head with good eye towards distractions!!! Thank you

How could behaviour swapping be used to train our dog not to react to our cat? (She chases and barks at him to clear him out of the room)

What about outside. My 5 yr Maltipoo is fearful of strangers approaching. She does the bark and run towards them then backs up and barks. She is not aggressive I believe she is just fearful

Not only are the pupford treats excellent, the engage chews like yak cheese and elk antler keep my dogs settled for hours

My dog gets excited by people. How do I get her not to jump??

My borde collie nips when overly excited!

Zak could you please give some advice on how to deal with a dog refusing to walk? All videos I found are on leash pulling, and my dog refuses to walk in a certain direction (even though it's on the way to the dog park which he loves) and just sits there stubbornly on the pavement. If I lure him with treats, I make the behavior worse.

How would you recommend fading out treats? My dog listen only when he knows treat is available and any friends visiting is too overstimulating for him as well. How do I transition from me coming through the door (which he usually does not jump) to other people (that he goes crazy and unable to control himself)?

My dogs really differentiate between training and daily life. They can pay attention to me in a training session, but in the same scenario in daily life they don’t even pay me so much as a thought. They can check in with me during training when spotting dogs or people, but in daily life they only bark and lunge. How do you solve this and make it more of a grey area instead of all black and white? They both have guarding instinct and really love to bark at people and dogs passing by, both in the yard and on a leash.

My dog has learned from a Mal at a dog sitter to bark as if to say "play with meeee!" to other dogs. It is about the only time she barks and often is the only one barking right into other dogs ears at the dog park. So much they don't want to play with her. I have no idea how to train that one out because she wont bark anywhere else and seems to get just enough validation to keep thinking her barking gets her play attention.

I have two boerboel puppies(3 weeksold)..are they old enough to start training??

Otherwise known as Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior

I had success with this with demand barking around food, BUT I have not been able to increase duration without him reverting to old unwanted behaviors. Will I ever be able to just eat a meal without having to toss treats every few seconds at the same time??

This is an excellent video. However, it is just the start of the process to get dogs to change the meaning of someone coming to the door for the dog and be able to swap it for a more controlled behavior. You have relayed the foundation very well but you need to go onto the next steps. I can see people with a dog like Brie who follow your instructions but not know where to go next. They may get frustrated and resort to methods you don't like out of that frustration. If you want to truly help people change their views on how to deal with these issues, a follow-up video with Brie (or a dog like Brie) is the next step.

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My dog barks when I’m taking her for a walk and she sees another dog! I just think she’s excited and wants to say hello and play with them…I’ve been grabbing her attention by doing the watch me command by holding the treat next to my face and when she looks at me and stops barking I will treat her…this usually averts her attention towards me but once I’ve treated her she may bark again towards the other dog so I repeat command! Is it sooo bad that my dog barks and howls at other dogs…she is just happy and expressing herself…should I really be stopping this behaviour? it doesn’t bother me but I stop her because it may bother the other person or dog?! Advice needed please? 😳

I dont know how to say this question in the right way but i fell like training my puppie always can make them dont play in the future?

Love your channel Zak. With barking how would you suggest addressing my 4 month old barking at my neighbours out of excitement to get pets and attention when I take her out on a walk. Also how would you address her barking when I take my other dog out to pee? I know it's bcs she wants to come too but she has always just been out and it my older dogs turn and I don't want noise complaints at 2am lol. Thank you I hope to get some advice from you :D

My AussieDoodle only barks when my other dog gets the toy we are playing fetch with. And she doesn't stop until he drops the toy. Any thoughts?

Does this dog have on a star collar.

Thankfully Millie isn't a barker...but our new puppy, Lenny, is a demand barki...not sure what he wants at times, or how to stop it.

I like your video but I have one question. Do you give them a command and when do you do that? If I don’t give them a command then, they do it al the time.

My trainer has us doing this magic mat exercise in the kitchen to eventually stop counter surfing and attentions seeking. We only bring it out for training at the moment but will eventually use it for every day use. Our trainer says it's not to be a bed. it's just a target. Thoughts zak?

I have 2 Bernese Mnt Dogs aged 4 and 2. My 2 yr old is a barker and jumper when ppl come over or we come in the house. Also when we pay attention to the older dog. I try to ignore her and encourage her to wait. Any tips???

How do i train my dog with treats if he is diabetic and i cant treat him all the time?

What if they don't settle for longer time guests? My small dog who's just over a yr old, barked at my sister who stayed here for 3 days. It got tiring and I felt bad for my sister who loves dogs. We don't have company much but I figured she'd get used to her in time but nope.

How do you help an over protective dog? My dog will not let people near me, including my roommate. My dog growls and barks and has nipped at her before. We are going to start having my roommate feed my dog a couple times a week and see if that helps any. My dog is fine with her if I am not around, but as soon as I come around she gets protective. Any advise?

My dog could care less about treats. I had two trainers try giving her treats for training and she refuses to take it....not interested. Now pick up a ball and you have her attention, but how do I get her to stop being so afraid of everything and the non stop barking due to it? I can't always play ball when she won't stop barking. HELP....my vet is recommending prozac.

I have a 6 yr old Australian shepherd mix he’s a rescue and I’m hoping to correct some behavior 😢 Wish me luck

My dog generally listens really well to me and does what I ask him to do/stops when I ask him to stop. But he doesn’t do as well with my parents who live with us despite the fact that he’s been with them (and me) every day since he was 8 weeks old. I can’t quite figure out how to get him to listen to them the way he listens to me and I know how important consistency is in dog training. Any tips on what to try? 💜

My main issue is that my puppy is just way too excited and energetic 24/7, so it's unclear how to even begin this process when he never goes down or stops running throughout the day

My biggest problem is my stepson's untrained Huskie. When we moved in here, the Huskie became the selfish bully ALPHA. My poor little Shannon has very little 'space.'

So is blocking the dog with ur hand is not a correction? , u used a physical touch to let the dog know it wasn't desired behaviour

My son and his wife came today to help me with some household alterations and I had the dog shut in the kitchen. Then my friend (who Marzieh loves) came to help so Marzieh got much more excited. She wasn’t barking or jumping but she was getting in the way and because the weather has been bad today she was wet and muddy. In the end I shook the training discs which makes her quiet down a lot and my son could get on with the construction work. When she was younger the noise would make her freeze and shake and I am glad that she isn’t as frightened of the noise as she used to be and it just quietens her. Training discs are the opposite of clicker training because you shake them when the dog should not take the treat. I can’t use a clicker because I have a weakness in my hands that means I miss the right moment when the dog does the right thing.

Your dog does unwanted behavior because it does not know you don't want him to do it. That is what corrections are for. To just keep on re-directing does not present a clear picture to the dog. That is why you have dogs that are older and still do not know what you want them to do. You reward for wanted behavior, correct for unwanted behavior.

This is really great but it doesn't necessarily work with a Shiba. She just looks at the treat and says " no, I don't think so. I don't need a treat that bad" and walks away.

The thing is you won't always have treats. They need to learn without the baiting. What if you don't have them and now you're left to be embarrassed by your dog.

I have 18 mth old shepherd rotti mix and is 115 lb he jumps at people from over excited which is annoying for everyone so im goong to work hard on trying tips in this video. He's other worst habit is barking at people on atv,bicycles and sometimes running I mean goes berserk and i cant get him to stop it. Any help would be appreciated

how many people will have the patients or are willing to put the time into these animals? NOT MANY That's the problem

Ok I’m listening…I have a Great Dane and when she jumps on ppl, she tends to lay them out 🤦‍♀️ Edit: Is it true that rawhide is not recommended for large breeds?

I have yet to see Zak train a dog that actually has behavioral problems or a dog that actually wants to kill him but I highly doubt we will ever see such video since there's only so much that positive training can do.

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My dog suffers from separation anxiety really bad,tries to escape and I’m afraid that he will hurt himself one day 😢

My dog 1 1/2 year old rescue 4 months with us… pees with many people when they come. How do I stop that?

It’s not possible in a single session. It takes a minute to get this to work when your not there.

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But I have a boxer and he has ADD

Hey Zak, question: Do you recommend shock collars? (I saw you had one on Veronica) if so, can you recommend somewhere to buy one? Thanks for all your videos!!