Ben Lepinski: Dog/Puppy Selection, Independence, Nerves, Recovery & Decoy Training

In this episode, Jerry Bradshaw and Ben Lepinski discuss:

Raising and training sport dogs and police dogs from a decoy perspective.
Attributes that make for a good sport dog.
Handling a dog in fear and avoidance (without creating a bigger problem in the fear period).
Digging to the root of an issue and not just taking it at the surface level.
Teaching the dog to solve problems on his own with proper progressions.

Key Takeaways:

When selecting a puppy, understand what you want to do with the dog, then look at the attributes of the parents (not just the titles).
In training, you’re going to struggle with something. The dog having independence is a great thing, as it shows they will be less likely to fall into confusion and safety seeking behavior when they hit a challenge.
Don’t repeat the problem when the dog is stressed. Get his confidence back up and a while later, ease them back into a similar situation before approaching the exact same situation.
The fewer repetitions of the bad thing happening, the greater chance of rehabilitating the dog.
The best way to bond with your dog is to work your dog, regardless of if you get a puppy or an older dog.

“I’m more interested in that dog that’s going to go find his own satisfaction in his environment, instead of looking for me to kind of bring him through it.“ — Ben Lepinski

Get Jerry’s book Controlled Aggression on Amazon.com

Contact Ben:

Bio: http://www.tarheelcanine.com/2011/09/ben-lepinski-police-k9-instructor/

Website: www.tarheelcanine.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben.lepinski/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Ben_Lepinski

Contact Jerry:

Website: controlledaggressionpodcast.com

Email: [email protected]

Tarheel Canine Training: www.tarheelcanine.com

Youtube: tarheelcanine

Twitter: @tarheelcanine