Dog Training Topics: The Five Things Owners Search For

Back to home Home Dog Training Topics Topic hub Dog training topics Nearly every dog training question people ask falls into one of five buckets. Pick the one you're in — each section links straight to the guides that answer it. Before you pick a bucket, five minutes with Vanessa Woods on the myth that derails most training plans — and how to make progress on 10 minutes a day. Finding local & professional help Puppy training Potty & house training Cues & problem behaviors Adult dogs & retrains Local / pro Finding local & professional help The highest-volume searches in dog training are for a human: classes, trainers, and board-and-train near you. Before you book, know what you're buying — and what your dog actually needs. Dog IQ test: what a science-based assessment measures Bring a cognitive profile to your first session so the trainer starts informed. The science behind dog intelligence testing How real research protocols differ from a 10-question online quiz. How Dognition works Twenty minutes of games, five cognitive dimensions, one report to share. Meet Dr. Brian Hare The Duke researcher whose lab work underpins every method on this site. Puppy Puppy training The first 16 weeks shape more behavior than any class you'll take later. Socialization, name recognition, and impulse control come before obedience polish. How to train a puppy: 8-week science-backed plan Week-by-week roadmap from socialization through first cues. What is puppy kindergarten? Why the socialization window matters more than obedience drills. Puppy kindergarten at home Run the Duke curriculum in your living room. All puppy basics tips The full puppy section of the training tips hub. Potty / house Potty & house training Accidents are almost always a schedule or supervision problem, not a stubbornness problem. Predictability plus immediate reinforcement fixes most cases in two weeks. How to potty train a dog: the complete guide Four-pillar protocol, bladder chart by age, Day 1 schedule, crate steps. All potty training tips Every house-training resource in one place. Cues / behavior Cues & problem behaviors Sit, stay, recall, leash pulling, barking, jumping. Most problem behaviors are normal dog behavior pointed at the wrong target — read the dog first, then redirect. Behavior & body language tips Staring, gait changes, vocal recognition, and video analysis. Why does my dog stare at me? Five meanings behind the stare — and the one that needs a vet. Enrichment games that double as training reps Mental work tires a dog faster than a walk and burns off problem energy. Cognitive enrichmen

t in 15 minutes Short-format games that build focus, patience, and impulse control. Adult / rescue Adult dogs & retrains Adult dogs learn faster than puppies in many domains — they just arrive with history. Retraining is mostly about replacing a rehearsed habit, not teaching from zero. How to train a dog: adult and rescue playbook Seven core cues, loose-leash walking, recall, and regression resets. Adult & rescue training tips The full adult and rescue section of the hub. Senior dog cognitive health DISHA signs and a daily brain-work routine for older dogs. Breed intelligence profiles How breed tendencies shape which retraining methods land. Not sure where to start? Pick your dog's stage and the problem you're solving — potty, crate, sit, stay or barking — and get a routine plus the guides that apply. Open the training problem finder Want a schedule, not just advice? Answer four questions — breed, behaviour, life stage and how many minutes you have — and get a printable four-week training plan with daily sessions and weekly checkpoints. Build my training plan Training tips for your breed Potty training, leash pulling, barking, recall and chewing — rewritten around how each breed actually thinks. Browse breed-specific training tips Looking for the full library? The training tips hub has every guide filterable by topic and skill level. Browse all dog training tips Train the dog you actually have Dognition's science-based assessment shows how your dog thinks across five cognitive dimensions — so you can pick the methods that will land. Get Started Based on the work of Dr. Brian Hare & Vanessa Woods Every Dognition guide, assessment, and blog post is grounded in the research and methodologies of Dr. Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods at the Duke Canine Cognition Center. Their work established that "smart" isn't one number — dogs think across five distinct cognitive dimensions, and the best training matches the method to the mind. Book · 2013 The Genius of Dogs How dogs are smarter than you think — the founding text on canine cognitive science. Read more Book · 2024 Puppy Kindergarten The Duke Puppy Kindergarten study — how the first 16 weeks shape a dog for life (as covered by The New York Times). Read the NYT feature