Natural Dog Training

Kevin Behan - photo Amanda Koh
This page and the sub-pages or posts will eventually explain to the non-initiated what Natural Dog Training (NDT) is and how it is different from other currently prevailing dog training methods. I am starting to write about it because I am convinced that it is the best way to train dogs - if it can be made understood. You might not have heard about it because it just has not been marketed.

One of the reasons Natural Dog Training is not so easy to put into words is because it really is new in the sense that it  does deal with the deeper energetic nature of the dog. It gets to the bottom of it - and that is not so easy to explain. It appears that the other training models and theories did what they could with what was known at the time ...but there is actually newer information available about learning, motivation pack and group behavior of dogs and wolves. It always takes time, usually decades, for that to be incorporated into the wide mainstream.

If you need to, you can start TODAY. If you would like try a Natural Dog Training techniques because you have a problem dog - ie a dog with unresolved charge, high prey drive or dog aggression, and the reward thing and dominance approach are not really working, please check out the "Pushing" and the "Eyes" exercise: the "Eyes" exercise is described very well here and  Pushing is described very well here. I only wish I had known about before I did.
If you are planning to get a puppy, I highly recommend to check out how to raise a puppy the natural way.

Before I say anything else about Natural Dog Training, I would like to say this:
There is NO ONE WAY to train a dog - and whatever works for you and your dog -
and that's GREAT. Depending on time, place and people - methods vary. People tend to get upset or argue rather than being curious and open to learn and possibly improve what has been done so far. - and getting anyone upset is not the intention. If what you do  works for you and those around you - dog included NP.


Here are some links to several websites I recommend if you would like to find out more about Natural Dog Training:

NDT is fundamentally underneath other training methods, and even when a technique "looks" the same ...it often is not, as it is employed in a different framework. This does not mean that other training methods are not useful and work for a lot of people and dogs. As Kevin Behan (KB) - creator of Natural Dog training) says: in police dog training you quickly see where they fall apart. In my own experience, you get a high drive dog or one that does not care for food to "behave", you could be up s***s creek, nvm a dog with unresolved charge, and working with their energy system is not the same as reward training, even as you can shape behavior to some extent, and a tired dog is not necessarily one that has lost it's charge. 

These days - for the sake of the dogs as well as people - some basic training seems to be necessary. Most dogs don't just hang around on farms with jobs to do anymore. They are living in crowded urban environments. Notice also that there is a difference between dog training and dog rehabilitation.


Most important is the kind of relationship you have with your dog. Many people  naturally seem to do this "natural" training and I  also I wish to honor all who are able and willing to get "red-zone" dogs off death row and actually rehabilitate them to be able to live as sociable dogs with their families. Notice though that “coincidentally” since dogs have been bred to be friendly and domesticated rather than be a working dog that had to earn its living through hunting or guarding and people have been “training” dogs with the commonly used methods or treating them as playthings  -  dog aggression and other behavioral problems have been on the rise. Not the “positive” reward training, or the dominance/pack leader based training or the combined training methods get to the root of canine behaviors. As per Kevin Behan: It is in police dog training that you quickly realize where those methods fail.

In either case what is most important is the kind of relationship you have with your dog and whether or not you dog’s energy is fully engaged and charge and energetic blocks have been resolved by getting the energy “unstuck” = flowing again. You might have heard that “pent”  up energy will eventually discharge when triggered – with often unwanted results – such as biting.

So, in looking for  a Dog Training method, I have found the method that most deeply resonates with me as the one to work with is Natural Dog Training. It goes deep and respects the nature of the dog - and it works.

Having watched a number of videos where Kevin Behan works with dogs, my impression is: this guy draws on whatever is needed to keep the dogs safe. (Because, lets face it: if you were not concerned about the behavior of your dog, would you be reading this?)
AND - he is working with the energy of dogs, - reestablishing the dog's ability to conduct and channel energy like they were meant to do - to be able to handle all that emotional energy, prey drive and allow them to be social and playful, happy to be with us, confident in their being-ness and abilities and actually wanting to do what we would like them to do....using what is natural to them on the deepest level.

Again, here are some links to several websites I recommend if you would like to find out more about Natural Dog Training:
Kevin was literally born into a dog training/rehab “kennel”, meaning that he was born on the rural homestead/dog training compound of one of the very first dog trainers in the USA. I know of no one with more dog experience …and no one who has seen methods come and “go”. In the course of his life, he discovered the deeper layer of how dogs work and why they work the way they do and developed what is now known as “Natural Dog Training”.
If you want a happy, healthy & well adjusted dog, or you have a dog with “problems” – give NDT  a try.