The idea behind Dr. Ian Dunbar's rationale for and method of puppy training is both simple and logical. At six months, the traditionally accepted age to begin training, a dog--especially a good-sized dog--can already do serious damage to both health and home. Dr. Dunbar's suggestion is to start training the puppy at home long before it reaches 18 weeks of age. Using simple verbal commands (Sit, Stay, Off, etc.), Dunbar takes a class of boisterous pups (with wonderful names like Lady Chumley), and teaches those canines to chill out--with a few food tidbits, of course. A 5-pound furball is a lot of fun to cuddle, but even at 6-weeks old for some breeds, a 60-pound excited dog leaping into your lap is going to cause some pain. Fortunately we were able to test the program on our new puppy Sagen. Over a few weeks, he learned to stay off the furniture, stop chewing on the videos (and people), and come when called. Which is great, because he's a combination of German Shepherd and Alaskan Husky. Today, he eats rocks for fun (we're not kidding.) He's also a fairly good-sized dog that--thanks to this video--understands that it's not proper to chew the owner's ear clean off his head. In short, the program works--and it's far better than having to deal with a dog trainer in person (since they invariably regard dog owners as the lowest form of intelligence on earth, and are not afraid to speak to people in tones that one wouldn't even use on a dog.) Highly recommended. (Available from most distributors.)
Sirius Puppy Training With Dr. Ian Dunbar
(1987) 90 m. $19.95. Bluford/Toth Productions (dist. by Pacific Arts Home Video). Public performance rights included. Vol. 4, Issue 5
Sirius Puppy Training With Dr. Ian Dunbar
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