Ian Dunbar 2025 UK seminars
Preventing and Accelerating the Resolution of Stress, Fear & Reactivity
Thursday, 18th September 2025
Topics include:
SEVEN Temperament Problems that owners don't see coming and so, don't appreciate the dire need to PREVENT.
Raising puppies to be stress-free as adults is easier, quicker, and much kinder than protracted resolution of excruciating anxiety and stress in adult dogs.
THREE Ways to safely socialize young puppies with PEOPLE and PREVENT adolescent-onset anxiety, stress, fear, and aggression toward people (Dog-Dog reactivity is easily prevented in off-lead puppy classes).
What holds us back? Concerns about stressing our dogs. Five Excuses to accept rather than resolve excruciating, lifelong stress and anxiety, Five Euphemisms used in lieu of resolving stress and anxiety.
Temperament Modification — once the Gene Team has made its play and we have a zygote, environmental enrichment, socialization, handling, and especially training during early puppyhood are ALL that are relevant and effective.
Environmental Stimulation and especially, SOCIAL stimulation cause enormous and immediate (real time) changes in neuroanatomy, specifically in terms of cell growth, forming new synapses, and increased levels neurotransmitters.
Raising the Tolerance-Threshold by 1. Changing an adult dog's behaviour to change their feelings and emotions and 2. Changing their perceptions and feelings (via classical conditioning) to change their behaviour.
THREE Tests to gain insights into a dog's brain and objectively monitor stress levels during training and when puppies/dogs interact with people or with other puppies and dogs.
Clear and Specific Verbal Instructions and Guidance as to 'how to act' i.e., to remain still, quiet, and to watch you. The key to success is learning HOW to verbally control your dog's behaviour when they are distracted, worked up, worried, or panicked. (see Crucial Concepts)
Dealing with YOUR Stress and Anxiety and the stress and anxiety of other dogs and people.
The NINE Most Crucial Practical Concepts in Dog Training
Friday, 19th September 2025
Topics include:
1. The THREE Faces of Positive Reinforcement — As wondrous as it is, there is so much more to positive reinforcement than rewards reinforcing the immediately preceding (desirable) behaviour, which therefore increases in frequency and will be much more likely to occur in the future.
2. The 'Antecedent Arrangement' (#2 in The LIMA Hierarchy), which most trainers interpret to mean 'REMOVING eliciting stimuli for undesirable behaviours', rather than more productively, 'ADDING verbal cues and hand signals to cue desirable behaviours', i.e., teaching ESL — The Second Face of Positive Reinforcement.
3. Differential Comprehension of Verbal Cues — By objectively testing the variable comprehension of our instructions, we find that Response-Reliability Percentages differ considerably according to the nature of the exercise, the trainer and the scenario — best indoors but not so good outdoors, off-leash, at a distance, on-leash on the sidewalk, and close to zero when dogs are distracted or worked-up.
4. Phasing out ALL Training Tools — Hand-contact, leads, specialised collars (metal and shock), halters and harnesses, and food lures and rewards - otherwise, temporary training tools will become permanent management tools, and the dog's willingness to comply will become dependent on the tool. The effectiveness of food rewards fades with time, especially in the face of distraction, or frightening situations.
5. FOUR Ways to Phase Out Food Lures — So we don't go down the slippery slope of Bribing.
6. FOUR Ways to Reduce Reliance on Food Rewards — By asking 'more for less', using Life Rewards and interactive games, and amping-up the power of PRAISE (a primary reinforcer) as an ultra-powerful secondary reinforcer.
7. Consequence Cascades during Play to Power-up PRAISE and Kibble. The TOP TEN Reasons to Consider PRAISE instead of a Click!
8. NON-Aversive 'Punishment' — The Third Face of Positive Reinforcement is literally HUGE — using entirely non-aversive techniques to reduce and eventually eliminate misbehaviour and non-compliance, i.e., using just our voice (instructions and guidance) and without even raising our voice. Irrefutably, easier, quicker, more effective, and a darn sight more enjoyable than any aversive means.
9. TROUBLESHOOTING EXERCISES — Highly practical exercises to teach dogs to respond promptly*, reliably*, and happily* during each common, impossibly-distracting scenario: including: "Sit" to greet visitors at the front door; a calm "Walk-by" to let passersby pass by without molestation, i.e., the default greeting is 'no greeting'; "Sit" on the Sidewalk to let people and dogs walk by; "Come-Sit-Stay-Watch-Shush" to focus your dog for classical conditioning; Distant "Sits" when dogs are playing to teach an Emergency Command.
*These three adverbs are objectively quantified by checking the speed and reliability of responses when off-lead.