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 Instagram: @tarheelk9 Facebook: TarheelCanineTraining Protection Sports Website: psak9-as.org Patreon:   patreon.com/controlledaggression Slideshare: Tarheel Canine Calendly: https://calendly.com/tarheelcanine    Sponsors:  ALM K9 Equipment: almk9equipment.com PSA & American Schutzhund: psak9-as.org Tarheel Canine: tarheelcanine.com Superior Canine Website: https://superiorcanine.ca/  Superior Canine Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/superiorcanineinc  Superior Canine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/superiorcanineinc/    Train Hard, train smart, be safe.     Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie   Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.