Reading Review #2: Dr. Ian Dunbar's Before & After

Good Morning, Afternoon, and Evening to you lovely dog people in the interspace. I am going to do another book review for you today while I'm working away at my computer here. I bought this book not out of what I have heard about Dr. Dunbar's approach but out of pure consumerism. I'm actually a member of the local bookstore chain Chapters Indigo and since buying a membership/frequent buyer's card I had a coupon for so much off of a book providing I bought it online. This book was the result of my endless search for all things dog.

Granted, there are a load of ill-advised and over populated dog books out there, this is not one of them. I throughly enjoyed Dr. Dunbar's approach at raising a dog from puppyhood. Dr. Dunbar (now that I am aware) is well known in the dog world and has a stable business and series or books and DVD's that explore how to get the best out of your dog.

The first section is concerned with the fast and dirty of going into dog ownership. I think this is primarily for those owners who have their dog prior to reading the text. It goes about exploring rule learning, physical handling, confinement, socialization, and some serious concerns with small behaviour problems in your pup. It's a very good opener to a book that is very easy to read and very understandable.

In the following section, Dr. Dunbar breaks down the chronological developmental deadlines that every pup goes through. Though I think that these deadlines cannot be set in stone due to the same variations that we see in the social development of humans, Dr. Dunbar also suggests that these deadlines are crucial but have flexibility (especially in the case of owning an older puppy).

Dunbar suggests there are 6 major developmental deadlines as follows:

1. Education

• Dunbar goes into depth about how to choose your dog (Mix breed or Pure? Spaniel or Retriever?). He then talks about when you should bring the puppy into your home (note: NEVER bring a puppy into a home at holidays or other celebratory times).
• Dr. Dunbar is a big promoter of adopting a dog from the shelter. This is very aimiable because I believe that adopting dogs who need homes is very important, especially in North America. I plan on adopting greyhounds in the future when I own a home that has a fenced yard.
• Selecting a good breeder is one of the ways you can prevent the onset of Puppy Mills around your area. With the addition of the Pet Shop to our materialistic culture we have created a vortex of bad news bears by not supporting local breeders and supporting the quick and cheap puppy mill version of already sick dogs.
• Dr. Dunbar also includes a small shopping list of things you'll need in preparation for your puppy (He believes in training a dog to eat from Kong stuff toys rather than from food bowls which is quite interesting and definitely worth a try).

2. Puppy Social Progression (with owners and other pups)

• Dr. Dunbar talks about going to the breeder to see the puppies after the first set of immunizations (usually a couple of weeks after the eyes open -at the 1 month stage). All breeders should welcome you in their home for viewing provided you will not provide any risks to the animals.
• When going to the breeders to choose a puppy you should be able to comfortably handle the pup in all of the sensitive spaces (bum, underleg, belly, genitals, mouth and teeth, ears).
• Some people have been popularizing Alpha rollovers to test dominance in a dog (it is not recommended by the author)
• It's important to test the animals sensitivity to sound as a pup should be surrounded by sounds in the breeder's home (pots banging, cupboards or doors slamming, people being loud, etc. )
• A pup should know basic manners when coming from the breeder to your home. It should already know how to sit, lie down, and possibly roll over (though I think this is one of the hardest things a dog can learn, it's not natural for a dog to want to roll over to its backside).
• The final thing is to consider your preference in the litter. Do you like the obnoxious know it all pup or do you prefer a pup who is waiting its turn to see you?

3. Puppy Training and Confinement

• This is one of the most intensive chapters. I personally spent a lot of time reading this chapter to absorb all of the information. Dunbar actually teaches what you should work on with your puppy during the first week in your home. Then he outlines chew-toy training and errorless housetraining.
• What to do when you aren't home. This is a big deal for me as I hate the idea of leaving a pup during the day for the first couple of weeks. Think about it for a moment- a pup spends all of his time with his litter mates until you take him/her away to a quite lonely place where you're bored and tired of having no fun- it doesn't sound like its much good to me. But we are often very busy people so I think that Dunbar has some very useful tips about what to do while you are away.
• What to do when you're home. Just because you're home doesn't mean you should be spending all of your time occupying a puppy. They need to learn that quite time happens when you're in the house as well as when you are gone.
• The differences between short and long term confinement.
• Pitfalls and training tips to make sure your puppy doesn't make piddles on your floor into adulthood.
• Chew-toys are a godsend according to this expert. I actually like the idea of using chew-toys to feed your dog. My previous family pet had a Kong toy and it went over well. So allowing your dog to hunt, gather, and dig out for food is much better than letting him/her run back and forth to a bowl.
• Theres so much other stuff in this chapter that I can't possibly talk about it all but I'll list some of the things I left out: Kong stuffing 101, Settle down and Shush, Home Alone, Separation Anxiety, When leaving home, When returning home, Jekyll & Hide Behaviours, Wonderful Weekends...worrysome weekdays, what to do at nighttime, sit etc. and Misbehaviour.

4. Puppy-People Socialization

• Dr. D (as I shall now call him) insists laying on the heavy for socialization with people. In fact, he has a rule, 3 people a day must meet your puppy (100 people by 4 months of age). That's a lot of people but once you read the chapter it makes a lot of sense.
• Each person that meets your pup should get him/her to sit, lie down, and roll over before playing or petting the pup.
• As many children and/or men as possible should meet your dog in this training stage. This teaches your puppy to like and respect people.
• Positive training methods are of utmost importance to Dr. D. They should be given appropriately and in a timely manner. Actually, according to Dr. D your dog should be only hand or chew-toy fed until the pup is fully trained (mostly never).
• Once the pup is comfortable with sitting, laying down, and rolling over guests should be training the dog by handling them and playing puppy games. Teaching bite inhibition and positive punishment practice.
• Socialization continuation throughout the dogs life is also discussed in a heavy way. The phrase "I ate my dog's homework" is used to undermine the human condition of making excuses for not continuing socialization and training through the lifespan.

5. Bite Inhibition

• This is an important skill for all dogs to learn. Having soft gums is very good for playing with your pup and teaches them to never let themselves get out of control. Bite inhibition training is combined with the Sit and Shush to create a well minding dog.
• Dr. D also introduces the idea of puppy training classes in this chapter.

It's short and sweet but has an important message.

6. Navigating the world through Adolescence

• The sixth deadline involves what to expect when your puppy starts going through adolescence. How to maintain all of the training you worked on through puppyhood. And how to continually keep socializing and training for the greater world. Distractions in the environment continually inflict your dog. Distracting your dog from training and generally maintaining a balanced condition.
• Introduction to training in the car, on a walk, in a dog park, recall, and emergency sit.
• How to play during training sessions, integrating training and lifestyles.

The final chapters are so much simpler than the other in-depth chapters. Dr. D goes through puppy priorities both important to teach and urgent to teach. Then homework schedules, and finally a listing of important books, videos, websites for training, ownership, and fun.

I am looking forward to picking up some more of Dr. D's books in the future. He has a lot of good things to say and a great attitude toward the canine disposition.