Sunday, 6th October 2024 — Results-Based Reward Training

IAN'S OTHER SEMINAR
If you are interested in Ian's other seminar, Resolving Dog-Dog Reactivity on the 5th of October, CLICK HERE to register for that event, or CLICK HERE to save money and register for both events together.

TIME
9am-5pm with a short mid-morning break, a lunch break and a short mid-afternoon break. Lunch is not provided.

PRICE
Regular Price is $149

ADDRESS
Hilton Garden Inn – Seattle Downtown
1821 Boren Avenue
Seattle WA 98101

PARKING
At the Hilton – $64/day
A short walk away ~ $40/day

HOTEL ROOMS
We have not arranged for a special discount for rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn.

CANCELLATION / REFUNDS
Email us to request at least 30 days before the event to receive a full refund. Email us between 30-7 days before the event for a 50% refund. No refunds will be issued for cancellations in the 7 days before the event. You may transfer your registration to another person at any time, up to 24 hours before the start of the event.

DOGS
Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed at the seminar, but dogs are allowed to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn, although an additional fee may apply.

CONTINUED EDUCATION
This seminar has been approved for 6 CEUs by the CCPDT and IAABC.

MULTIPLE TICKETS
On this website you can only purchase one ticket at a time, and only one ticket per account. In order to purchase a second ticket you will need to create a second Dunbar Academy account, which will require a second email address. Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to purchase multiple tickets without creating multiple Dunbar Academy accounts.

In 1982, Off-leash puppy socialization and training classes introduced APPLIED SCIENCE and the notion of TEMPERAMENT MODIFICATION to the world of dog training. Off-leash puppy classes demonstrated that without a doubt, regardless of breed or breeding, early socialization and training is the #1 variable that determines adult behavior, temperament and training.

Sadly, Covid inflicted a sudden death on in-person puppy classes, and exacerbated by sequestering puppies during early development, temperament problems sky-rocketed. So much so, that many trainers spend an inordinate amount of time rehabilitating dogs with dog-dog reactivity, fear and aggression towards unfamiliar people, or 'fear of their own shadow', and separation anxiety.

Nowadays, in-person, off-leash, puppy socialization and training classes have become a rare breed. Puppies and their people so desperately need for off-leash puppy classes to be up and running once more. Consequently, we are currently compiling a directory of Puppy Trainers to promote to State Veterinary Medical Associations. Please complete this short survey if you would like to be included. (For the first two Annual Conferences ('93 and '94), the working acronym for the Association of Professional Dog Trainers was APT — the Association of Puppy Trainers.)

Real Science-Based Dog Training

If you want the best results, you have to measure them!

Learn how to teach your dog: to Sit on cue anytime, anywhere, no matter what the distraction: to eliminate on cue, so you can teach when and where; to Settle Down promptly, quietly, and happily, with a food-stuffed chewtoy, so your dog learns what to chew and to enjoy little quiet moments by itself; to Shush on cue, so your dog learns when to stop alarm or recreational barking; to Jazz-up & Settle Down on cue, so your dog gets the opportunity to let off steam, when and where appropriate for you, yet settles when requested; and to greet visitors and unfamiliar people and dogs in an appropriate fashion. Who would have thought that dog training could be this Easy and so much FUN?

The Lure-Reward Training sequence of 'A1. Request, A2. Handsignal (Lure), B. Response, and C. PRAISE and maybe Reward' comprises all the salient aspects of associative learning and operant conditioning.

In Stage 1: Food/toy lures are used to teach the meaning of Handsignals and then PHASED OUT in the first session, since Handsignals may be used to teach dogs the meaning of Verbal Requests. In Stage 2: Food rewards are drastically reduced to increase their reinforcing power and are largely replaced by much more powerful Life Rewards, administered via Reinforcement Schedules that are far more sophisticated and effective than CC, FI, FR, VI, VR, and DR.

Lure-Reward Training is the easiest, quickest, and most comprehensive method for teaching dogs to respond promptly, reliably, and happily to verbal cues. All three adverbs are quantified: speed, duration, and reliability of responses, and the dog's consent and eagerness to train. (Training is conducted off-leash.)

The secret of Response-Reliability is a variety of extremely simple exercises in Stage 3 that ensure that your dog responds to your verbal cues off-leash, at a distance, anytime, anywhere, regardless of what they are doing, and regardless of competing distractions, and all without you even having to raise your voice. Indeed, the Jewel in the Crown of my book and seminars is how to produce ultra-reliable cued responses without using force, or incurring anxiety, stress, or fear.

Why teach cued responses? To open communication channels, so that we can: 1. Teach dogs how to act in different scenarios; and 2. Instruct them precisely what we would like them to do when they misbehave, often by using just a single word, such as: "Shush", "Chewtoy", "Outside"/"Toilet", Bed", "Settle", "Sit-Stay", or "Watch", or by using a sentence, such as "Rover, Shush, Find your Chewtoy, Go to your Bed, and Settle. Thank you."

CLICK HERE for more information about Ian's Results-Based Reward Training seminar.


About Dr. Ian Dunbar

Veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and dog trainer, Dr. Ian Dunbar (PhD, BSc, BVetMed, MRCVS) has authored numerous books and DVDs about puppy/dog behavior and training. His latest book, Barking Up the Right Tree, which sold out before it was even released, is available on Amazon.

After researching dog social behavior and the development of aggression at UC Berkely during the 70s, in 1982, Dr. Dunbar designed and taught the world’s very first off-leash puppy socialization and training classes — SIRIUS® Puppy Training and later, he founded the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and similar associations around the world.

Dr. Dunbar developed the San Francisco SPCA’s Animal Behavior Department, Open Paw's Shelter Behavior & Training program at Berkeley Humane Society, and the American Kennel Club Gazette's award-winning Behavior column. He hosted the popular UK television series Dogs with Dunbar for six seasons, has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, consulted on a variety of movies, (including Pixar’s UP), and twice spoke at the prestigious TED Conference.  

Over the past fifty years, Dr. Dunbar has given over 1500 one-day seminars and workshops for dog trainers and veterinarians to popularize off-leash puppy socialization classes, behavior and temperament modification, and owner-friendly and dog-friendly dog training. 

Dr. Dunbar lives in Berkeley, California and currently works with his son Jamie, creating video-content for www.DunbarAcademy.com.

You may download three of Dr. Dunbar's puppy/dog training books for free from: https://dunbar.info/FreePupBooks

Please Share These Books with all your doggy friends, neighbors, work colleagues, clients, and customers, and on social media, encouraging everyone to share the books with their doggy friends. Also, please, post the books on your own website for free download, to lure oodles of dog people to your site. 

Dr. Dunbar's goal is that every prospective, new, or current, puppy or dog owner gets these books before they get their puppy or dog.