by Grayson Schaffer | on April 15th, 2009 | in DVDs, Media, Syllabus
The How of Bow Wow!
Even though it came out in 2004, The How of Bow Wow! is still the DVD to beat for careful explanation of early obedience training. Sherri Lippman and Virginia Broitman spend the full 84 minutes on the little stuff—like eye contact and resisting temptations—that you’re likely to rush by in order to get to the fun stuff, like retrieving. They use clickers and treats shape early behaviors that will become habits is you instill them early. Whether you’re training a hunting dog, a service dog, or a stay-at-home pal, these skills apply. Take them seriously, or regret it later. $35
by Grayson Schaffer | on April 8th, 2009 | in DVDs, Media
The Wildrose Way DVD
The Wildrose Way DVD arrived with my chocolate, Danger, as a sort of Labrador owner’s compendium. Mike shares his low-force, operant training methods from basic obedience to advanced retrieves. Having raised a dog and watched the video several times, I’d recommend using it it primarily for the more advanced retriever training like whistle stops, casting, and blinds. The drills like the circle memory, walking baseball, and ladders are excellent tools for slowly raising the bar on your dog’s retrieves. The Wildrose Way covers basic obedience and makes it very clear how important it is, but no DVD alone will get you and your dog up to speed on the subtleties and difficulties of raising a dog that wants to do nothing but perform for you. For that, you need to learn from actual human experts. $35