In this episode I had the pleasure of chatting with Aileen Cronin, the founder of Dogs of Scottsdale and the creator of Baby Pack Leader. We dove into a fascinating discussion about the intersection of dog training and family life, particularly focusing on how to navigate the challenges of integrating dogs into a household with young children.

Aileen shares some insightful anecdotes about her experiences with both dogs and kids, highlighting how the dynamics between them can be both rewarding and complex. From dealing with time concepts that kids struggle to understand, to balancing the emotional demands of working with challenging dog behaviors, Aileen's stories are both enlightening and relatable.

The realities of dog training are that it’s not just about teaching a dog a thousand things once, but rather focusing on one thing at a time and repeating it until mastery. We talk about the importance of context and consistency, how dogs can behave differently in various environments, and how crucial it is for owners to understand and address these differences.

Aileen’s approach is practical and empathetic. She stresses that while dog training is often seen as a luxury, it can be crucial for creating a harmonious household, especially when dealing with complex behaviors or integrating a dog into a family with children.

If you’re interested in learning more about her methods or getting involved with her services, check out her website at BabyPackLeader.com.

Thanks for listening, and if you’re looking for more insights or have any questions about dog training and family dynamics, feel free to reach out. Until next time, keep having fun with your pets and kids, and I’ll catch you in the next episode!

Sean

Links to Aileen and Baby Pack Leader

BabyPackLeader.com | Dogs of Scottsdale Facebook Page | Aileen Cronin LinkedIn

The Swiftest Link
Here’s the link to the comparison article from The Swiftest

The Dog’s Way Affiliate program
If you’ve been referring the video course to people and would like to make a few bucks for your referrals, you might want to check out our affiliate program.
https://thedogsway.com/affiliates-resources/

In this episode I talk about natural transitional rewards. Many may not have heard the term, but a lot of you may have used them in the training of your dog whether you realize it or not. If you want to do a real dive into the behavioral part of training, I encourage you to listen to my two episodes on conditioning - Session 73: Skinner's Four Quadrants Part One, and Session 74: Skinner's Four Quadrants Part Two.

I'll talk about the conditioning baked into every day interactions with your dog (like the feeding ritual). The same thing goes for when we are preparing for a walk. Those rituals can be a good thing. But it's it's more than simply the obedience skill you're teaching - it's the nervous system state that is occurring during that sit/stay and from the moment that you give the command to "break free" or say "all done". I'll describe how those commands and practices get embedded in their head, and how that fixation needs to be inhibited in certain instances.

Here are a couple of other instances where you might practically use this training;

• Preparing for a walk
• Preparing for feeding time
• The "Getting out of a car" ritual
• Going through the front door ritual
• Going through the gate at the dog park ritual

I'll talk about how sometimes we unintentionally signal to our dog when we reward certain types of gregarious responses is "I love it when you freak out and run around when I do this action!" Identifying those habits is a real eye-opener to what you might want to consider adjusting during these routines.

By the way, a couple of things that I wanted to mention to you. First, we have a new sponsor of the podcast! It can be so frustrating trying to find the right insurance for your dog! My new sponsor, The Swiftest, can help you compare different types of policies and quotes for your pet to make sure you get the best value for your pet! Click here for the 6 Best Pet Insurance Plans Compared for 2023. (full disclosure – this is an affiliate link, and we’ll make a few bucks if you decide that the pet insurance that the folks at The Swiftest have recommended is right for you.)

Also, I sincerely appreciate all of those who have referred my video series to friends! 

Here’s how you can make some money by referring the Online Video course to folks:

Affiliates Resources - The Dog's Way (thedogsway.com)

This process will be very straightforward if you are familiar with the Click Bank Affiliate platform.  If you need help signing up with Click Bank and finding the course, there are a lot of videos on YouTube that will walk you through how to do that.  If you need some assistance with the process, feel free to email me directly via the link below:

Contact Page - The Dog's Way (thedogsway.com)