Useful External Resources
Our understanding of dog behaviour, psychology, social structures and how they learn has come a long way in recent years and we’re always learning too.
We’ve pulled together some resources for you to dive into, not just our own but others as well because there are so many fantastic professionals out there doing great work and sharing great information.
Books
Meet Your Dog by Kim Brophey
The Forever Dog by Rodney Habib & Karen Shaw Becker
Canine enrichment for the real world - Allie Bender & Emily Strong
Doggie language - Lili chin
Culture Clash - Jean Donaldson
Atomic Habits by James Clear - A very interesting read about habit forming. Not specifically dog related but definitely appropriate. Changing our own habits is extremely challenging and understanding the science behind it can help give some reference around what it takes to effectively change behaviour. So much of dog training is about changing our own habits so that we can change our dogs.
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown - Another book not dog training related but outlines healthy ways to be a leader, something so often misunderstood in the dog training world.
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek - One more book aimed at people in leadership roles rather than dog training but the principles outlined in this book are so easy to adopt when it comes to our dogs.
Indistractable - Not a dog training book but a book on time management and the effects of doing so poorly can have on our lives as well as practical solutions. In this busy world I meet many people struggling to juggle their responsibilites and this little book is a fantastic tool to help bring some stability into your picture.
The Body Keeps the Score - Not a dog training book and comes with a graphic warning that this book covers trauma of all kinds and may be triggering to those sensitive to issues contained in this book. This book dives deep into how our brains and bodys respond to stress and trauma and given that our nervous systems are so similar to our dogs it gives us a deep insight into dogs that may be struggling with PTSD, stress related behaviours and their ability to ‘be trained’.
Podcasts
Bitey End of the Dog - Aggressive dog specialist Mike Shikashio
Cog Dog Radio - Sarah Stremming
Shaped by Dog - Susan Garrett
Unleashed and Unhinged - This is actually our own latest podcast
The healthy Dog Pod - This was our first podcast
Be Right Back Separation Anxiety info with Julia Naismith
Videos & Youtube
Grisha Stewart - A fantastic trainer
Craig Oglivie - Learn how to play with your dog
Kim Brophey Ted Talk
Beyond The Operant Youtube video series - A very interesting discussion about dog training
The Huberman Lab (Specific Epidsode on Dopamine) - Not a Dog Podcast - I've listened to this podcast a few times for myself for my own personal benefit but it also relates to something we see often in our dogs behaviour in this modern world.
So many dogs we see are dopamine junkies, they avoid sleeping and other deep and meaningful activities that would bring healthy restorative endorphins and promote healthy emotional regulation because of their own insecurities, lack of trust in their environment and learned behaviours that bring them immediate gratification.
So many of the dogs we see are in deficit of sleep, they're stressed and they rely on behaviours that give immediate gratification and a quick dopamine fix to help them feel better.
We do it too, but getting a handle on it can have such great benefits for us and for our dogs too.
