Taming the WILD in Your Dog

Is walking your dog a dreaded activity? If it is, you're not alone. Aside from companionship, the desire to have a walking or running partner is the number two reason why most people choose to adopt a dog. However, the vast majority of dog owners abandon walking or running with their dogs because the activity is either miserable or unsafe. In this episode, Bryan will talk about the reason why dogs naturally pull us and how to stop them, so you can finally enjoy your walk with your dog. Bryan will also be interviewing Tom Shelby. Tom is an expert dog trainer and the author of Dog Training Diaries-Proven Expert Tips & Tricks to Live in Harmony with Your Dog. Tune in and listen as Tom discusses the importance of socialization, passive commands, and door turmoil. During the interview, you will have the chance to call or email your questions for Tom.

Dogs fulfill many of our needs. They guide the blind and hear for the deaf. They search for the lost and protect the weak. They’re your friend when no one else is. Loyal, dedicated and above discrimination is how we often describe them. However, sometimes, a dog will enter our lives to give us hope when we are hopeless and to bring healing when we are sick. These dogs are far more than mere companions. They are salvation on four legs. In this touching episode, Bryan will be interviewing dog owners from around the world who have risen above failure, tragedy, or unimaginable hardship with the help of their dogs. Listen and be inspired as Bryan touches on one of the incredible threads that bind the human and dog experience - interdependent grace.

Canine cough is one of the most maligned and least understood of all dog illnesses. In this episode, we will be interviewing Dr. Carr Kelsey and learning what is the real cause of canine cough and is it preventable? We will also be taking listener calls and answering questions regarding canine health, behavior, training, and much more.

This is the inaugural show for Taming the Wild in Your Dog. Get to know your host, Bryan Bailey, and learn what it means to tame the wild in your dog. Bryan will explain why the biological and behavioral connection your dog shares with its wolf ancestors is so important in establishing a safe and harmonious relationship with your dog. Bryan will also be taking calls and answering questions regarding canine behavior, training, and care.

Does your dog seem more stressed when you’re stressed? According to a recent study conducted by Linköping University, Sweden, dogs and their owners mirror each other’s stress levels. Fascinating or horrifying? Bryan, an expert in treating stress-related issues in dogs, will discuss the study’s findings and how you can lessen the effect of your stress on your dog’s behavior. Bryan will also be answering listener questions such as: -How do I make my nervous dog more confident? -My dog is confused about housebreaking. It goes inside instead of outside. What do I do? -My dog has developed a terrible barking problem. It barks at everything. What can I do to make it stop? -My dog has been treated by our vet three times for eating rocks. Is this problem diet-related or behavioral? -Also, many more.

In the words of famed Russian author Leo Tolstoy, “true life is lived when tiny changes occur.” Be that as it may, I’m not sure the new puppy you just brought into your household considers being plucked from the midst of everything and everyone it knew and then supplanted in a strange environment inhabited by unknown people as a tiny change. And, as soon as your new puppy starts chewing on your furniture, peeing on your carpet, and keeps you awake all night, neither will you. Fortunately, the harmful stress and anxiety that often accompanies the arrival of a new puppy into any household are easily mitigated if you know what to expect, and you are prepared to make the necessary adjustments that will be required to smooth over the transition for everyone involved. Tune in this week and listen to Bryan as he explains what you need to know and do before welcoming a new puppy into your home. Bryan will also be answering listener questions and emails.

You’re trying to sleep, but your new puppy is yelling its head off from inside the kennel that’s parked in the spare bedroom. One trainer recommends you go to your puppy and comfort it. A second trainer tells you to ignore your puppy. The information you read online says you should have never left your puppy alone in the first place! It’s 3 am, you’re sleep-deprived and confused as hell. What should you do? Is your puppy really in need of your help, or is it crying wolf? Tune in this week and get the real answer from Bryan. Also, Bryan will be answering listener questions and emails. If you have a question for Bryan, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

Housebreaking can be an incredibly frustrating and long process if you’re unsure how to approach the task, which is frequently the case. The advice you receive from friends, family, and the internet is often incorrect or misleading, especially in regard to the amount of time and effort that will be required to train your dog to reliably go potty outdoors and not indoors. However, successful housebreaking doesn’t have to be so scary or painful. It just requires patience, consistency, and a small bit of knowledge about your dog’s natural behavior. Listen this week as Bryan takes the pain out of housebreaking! Bryan will also be answering listener training questions. If you have a question you would like Bryan to answer on the show, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

When Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, and well-known conservationist advised When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all, you have to wonder if his words of wisdom were borne from his observations of wolves in the wild. Wolves and dogs appear to quickly shift from play to work and from work back to play. However, new revelations in wolf and dog play behavior suggest there may be no shift at all between play and work. Is this true? If so, why all work and no play? And, what about when we play with our dogs? Tune in as Bryan explains the real motivation behind canine play. Bryan will also answer the following listener questions: I am currently working with a trainer who told me that allowing my dog to sleep in my bed will degrade my training bc my dog will think of me as an equal. Is that true? I am fostering a new puppy. My personal dog keeps growling at the new puppy. Should I be worried? Does this mean I can’t foster any more?

Time waits for no man and no dog. If your dog lives long enough, old age will creep up on it just like it will to you. When it does, it will bring a host of ailments that can include an increase in anxiety, confusion and dementia, changes in digestive function, arthritis, and degradation of sensory input, to name a few. These ailments, singularly or in combination, can lead to a sharp decline in quality of life for you and your dog or a shortened lifespan. The good news is that simple changes in diet, physical exercise, and living conditions, along with the addition of some dietary supplements and specialized medications that have proven to enhance cognitive function, can reduce the debilitating effects of old age. Learn from Bryan what you need to do to slow the hands of time, so you and your dog can have more of it together. Bryan will also answer training questions sent in by our listeners. If you wish for Bryan to answer your questions, send them to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

Before embarking upon training your new dog, three factors must always be taken into account. First, how will I gain my dog’s attention? Second, what will motivate my dog to learn? Lastly, is it even possible for my dog to learn what it is I wish to teach it? Of the three factors, the latter is the most commonly overlooked when training puppies. Yet, it is the most critical of the three. As it is with a child, a young puppy’s learning abilities are defined by its age, not its owner’s desire. Placing unrealistic expectations on your puppy’s response to your teachings will not only lead to poor performance, but it can also have life-long consequences. Tune in this week and listen to Bryan as he explains why staying in the lane of natural developmental periods is so important when training your new puppy. Bryan will also be answering listener questions and emails. If you have a question you would like Bryan to answer on the show, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

Housebreaking can be an incredibly frustrating and long process if you’re unsure how to approach the task, which is frequently the case. The advice you receive from friends, family, and the internet is often incorrect or misleading, especially in regard to the amount of time and effort that will be required to train your dog to reliably go potty outdoors and not indoors. However, successful housebreaking doesn’t have to be so scary or painful. It just requires patience, consistency, and a small bit of knowledge about your dog’s natural behavior. Listen this week as Bryan takes the pain out of housebreaking! Bryan will also be answering listener training questions. If you have a question you would like Bryan to answer on the show, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

In the words of famed Russian author Leo Tolstoy, “true life is lived when tiny changes occur.” Be that as it may, I’m not sure the new puppy you just brought into your household considers being plucked from the midst of everything and everyone it knew and then supplanted in a strange environment inhabited by unknown people as a tiny change. And, as soon as your new puppy starts chewing on your furniture, peeing on your carpet, and keeps you awake all night, neither will you. Fortunately, the harmful stress and anxiety that often accompanies the arrival of a new puppy into any household are easily mitigated if you know what to expect, and you are prepared to make the necessary adjustments that will be required to smooth over the transition for everyone involved. Tune in this week and listen to Bryan as he explains what you need to know and do before welcoming a new puppy into your home. Bryan will also be answering listener questions and emails.

Puppy eyes resemble the black holes that exist in outer space in that they have so much gravitational pull that once you cast your gaze upon them, your emotions and your sense of logic are sucked in, and there’s no escape. As a consequence, you end up with a dog that is incompatible with your lifestyle, your family, or your existing pets. Making matters worse, your new dog is a genetic mess that will require a direct deposit made out to your veterinarian for the next decade! Tune in this week to learn how not to be a sucker for every cute puppy. Instead, Bryan will be giving tips on how to find perhaps not the cutest puppy, but the perfect one for you and your family. Bryan will also be answering listener questions and emails. If you have a question you would like Bryan to answer on the show, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com Episode Key words (Comma Separated) puppy, dog breeders, dog breeding, puppy mills, selecting a good puppy, finding a good breeder

Do you know which brush is best for your dog’s hair? Did you know that your dog’s hypoallergenic fur isn’t really hypoallergenic? Did you realize that shaving your dog could change its appearance forever? Does your dog run whenever it hears the groomer’s name? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, you will want to tune in to this week’s episode and learn all you need to know about grooming your dog. Bryan will also be answering listener questions and emails. If you have a question you would like Bryan to answer on the show, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

I am walking my dog, on-leash. Your three dogs escape from your yard and attack my dog. My dog kills one of your dogs while defending itself. You blame me. I blame you. But, who’s really to blame? Tune in this week and listen as Bryan discusses a recent event in which this scenario occurred and the hysterical, incriminating mayhem that followed. Also, Bryan will be answering listener questions and emails. If you have a question you would like Bryan to answer on the show, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

For thousands of years, we have exerted genetic and behavioral control over dogs to enhance their value and functionality to us. The result has been an incredibly variable mammal in both structure and form that is entirely dependent upon us for survival, or is it? What would happen to our pampered dogs if we humans disappeared from the planet earth? Would they thrive and survive, or would they roll over and die? Tune in this week and listen to Bryan as he explains the most likely scenarios and why we should be paying more attention to what we are doing to the domestic dog. Also, Bryan will be answering listener questions and emails. If you have a question you would like Bryan to answer on the show, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

The pet industry is a 70 billion dollar a year economic powerhouse that employs slick marketing to convince you that its main objective is the welfare of your pet. However, welfare is defined as something that aids or promotes well-being. But, it is also defined as a contented state of being happy and prosperous. When you turn to a pet professional for help regarding your relationship with your dog, which definition of welfare does that individual adhere to; the one that aids or promotes the well-being of your dog, or the one that is more concerned with the professional’s state of happiness and financial success, or worse yet, their hidden agenda? Tune in this week and listen to Bryan as he challenges pet professionals to lay aside their differences in training methodologies and forgo their personal agendas for the sake of your our dogs' welfare. Also, Bryan will be answering listener questions and emails. If you have a question for Bryan, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

You’re trying to sleep, but your new puppy is yelling its head off from inside the kennel that’s parked in the spare bedroom. One trainer recommends you go to your puppy and comfort it. A second trainer tells you to ignore your puppy. The information you read online says you should have never left your puppy alone in the first place! It’s 3 am, you’re sleep-deprived and confused as hell. What should you do? Is your puppy really in need of your help, or is it crying wolf? Tune in this week and get the real answer from Bryan. Also, Bryan will be answering listener questions and emails. If you have a question for Bryan, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com

In some period of their lives, more than 90% of dogs jump on their household members entering the house. Children, seniors, or disabled adults are knocked over by jumping dogs. Children and adults that are fearful of dogs are traumatized by jumping dogs. Dog nails rip clothing and skin. It’s a real problem and one that dog owners seek help stopping as much as they do in preventing dog aggression. Does being a household member differ from being a stranger when it comes to why your dog jumps on people? Does exercise affect the frequency of jumping? Is your dog more apt to jump on people inside your home or outside your home? Regardless of the answers, how do you terminate this problematic behavior? Tune in this week and learn about the factors affecting dog jumping on people and how best to train this undesirable behavior out of your dog. Also, Bryan will be answering listener questions and emails. If you have a question for Bryan, send it to Bryan@TamingtheWild.com