Steve Mann - Easy Peasy Doggy Squeezy

First published in the UK by Blink Publishing

An imprint of Bonnier Books UK

Wimpole Street, London, W1G 9RE

Owned by Bonnier Books

Sveavgen 56, Stockholm, Sweden

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Trade Paperback 978-1788703-41-3

Ebook 978-1788703-42-0

All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or circulated in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing of the publisher.

A CIP catalogue of this book is available from the British Library.

Typeset by Envy Design Ltd

All Photographs Dan Rouse

All illustrations Shutterstock

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Copyright Steve Mann & Martin Roach, 2020

Steve Mann & Martin Roach have asserted their moral right to be identified as the authors of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This book is not intended to be a substitute for Veterinary advice. If you are concerned that your dog has a behavioural or other disorder, you should seek Veterinary advice. The author and publisher will not be liable for any loss or damage in connection with or arising out of the performance or use of methods described and contained in this book.

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders of material reproduced in this book, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers would be glad to hear from them.

Blink Publishing is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK

www.bonnierbooks.co.uk

For my dad, who never entered a room without a silly song, and for my mum, who told me to do the job that makes me the happiest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For over 30 years, Steve Mann has been a professional dog trainer and has worked with over 100,000 dogs and owners worldwide. He is the author of the bestselling book, Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy and is also Chairman of the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers. This organisation has education centres for dog trainers and behaviourists throughout the UK, Australia, South Africa and China. He is a regular speaker at dog training and behaviour events around the world, including conferences in South Africa, the Middle East and throughout Europe. Steve has also trained many dogs, owners and handlers within the pet, detection and security world, has a long list of celebrity clients and appears on TV, radio and other media to demonstrate and promote the value of positive dog training.

He lives in Hertfordshire with his family, many rescue dogs, horses, chickens and a goose called Gandalf.

CONTENTS

T HANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PICKING UP THIS COPY OF EASY PEASY DOGGY SQUEEZY IM GUESSING YOURE A DOG NUT, TOO!

Im really excited for you that youre going to find lots of answers to your dog training questions here. Living with a dog can be a wonderful life-affirming experience; however, it can also be a real pain in the butt, so my role is to offer exercises and solutions to simply make life better for you both.

As a lifelong trainer and founder of the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers, the largest education and membership body for trainers and behaviourists worldwide, I get asked A LOT of dog questions! Many of these queries are frequently repeated and its those questions, and importantly those answers, that Ive distilled for you here, so Im sure theres plenty for you to get stuck in to. I havent published the answers to the simplest questions, and likewise I havent explained the answers to the most complicated (however, Mrs Jenkins from Poole, if youre reading this, dogs should NEVER wear roller skates!).

What I have done is split the book into four sections:

Important Exercises To Teach Your Dog

Problem Behaviours and How to Help

Exercises for Quality of Life

Learning About Dogs, Learning About Training

Not only am I a dog nut, but Im also a dog training nut, so its important to me that I dont just tell you what to do and how to do it, but also why. My job is to get across why were teaching an exercise and, importantly, why were teaching it that particular way. If we understand the why of a behaviour the benefit were much more likely to put it into practice.

When Im teaching, I always imagine the students are saying to themselves, Yeah, but why, whats in it for me? and thats fair enough. To that end, when youre asking your dog to do a behaviour, its only fair that you realise theyre asking the same question!

Please read these letters in the order of the book no flicking allowed! The reason being that these exercises have been deliberately structured in this order because what you learn in the earlier exercises, you can then apply to the later ones.

Remember, dogs are always a work in progress and in my experience you and your dogs standard of training will never stand still it will either go backwards or itll go forwards... your choice!

Im a dog trainer by trade and teaching is my passion, but its the love of my own dogs that has inspired me to write this book. What I explain here arent only the methods I use to help owners and dogs professionally, but also the skills that have helped me live with the dogs Ive owned and loved throughout my life. Its those skills that I want to share with you now, so you too can make the most of your lives together.

Settle in, have a read, make notes, reflect, make a plan, look at the world from your dogs perspective and get to work! Enjoy the process and, above all else, be friends.

Steve Mann

B ig or small, yappy or quiet, all shapes and sizes... and thats just the owners! Throw all of our individual dogs into the mix, with their different personalities, characters, loves and dislikes, and its easy to see that in dog training, no one size fits all.

There are so many variables in dog training to consider. Even in my own career Ive gone from being buried in snow as a decoy, waiting hours for the Search and Rescue dogs to pleeease find me, to working with rescued Pit Bulls in South Africa; puppy classes in Australia; detection dogs in the Middle East; and in and out of thousands of households in England and Ireland helping owners with their own very individual dogs, each with their own very individual problems.

What we need is to create a bespoke solution for your dog and your circumstances. The way youll do that is not to look for one-off recipes or solutions, but to focus on what I like to call...

THE SEVEN ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

We will visit these Seven Active Ingredients time and time again throughout this book. Understand and apply these ingredients to any behaviour you want more of, or indeed any behaviour you want less of, and youll be on the right track to a happier life with your dog!