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Variables That Make Your Dog Unique

Lesson time 08:06 min

Brandon discusses the key variables that make your dog unique: breed, age, history, and imprinted DNA. You’ll learn how to make important decisions based on your particular dog’s factors.

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Topics include: Breed · Age · History · Imprinted DNA

Brandon McMillan

Teaches Dog Training

Expert animal trainer Brandon McMillan teaches you his simple, effective training system to build trust and control with your dog.

Preview

[00:00:00.00] [MUSIC PLAYING] [00:00:07.41] - Throughout this class, there are some keywords that I want you to truly understand. Keyword number one-- variables. And in those variables, there are four key elements that make your dog have a different personality than any other dog in the world. And those four elements are breed, age, history, and imprinted DNA. Now I'm going to go through those one at a time. [00:00:38.21] [MUSIC PLAYING] [00:00:43.38] And worldwide, there are hundreds of breeds. And these breeds are broken down into seven groups, and the groups of dogs are typically broken down into the job it was bred for at the time. And most-- and I mean most, 99.9%-- of these jobs are now obsolete for these dogs. Technology has now taken over. [00:01:04.73] So, for example, the working dogs were bred exclusively for work. Best example I can give you of the working dogs is the husky. Huskies were bred to pull a sled. This is why they have so much energy. The herding dogs were bred specifically to herd. To date, there's no technology that can herd a flock of sheep as well as an actual herding dog. [00:01:28.80] The hound group was bred solely for their sense of smell. Hounds have a better sense of smell than any other group of dog, and this is why hunters traditionally have been using them for hundreds of years. A hound can pick up a scent in the woods miles away, and this is why, in this day and age, hounds are still used by police to find a missing person in the woods. [00:01:48.60] The sporting group-- one of the more beloved of all the dogs. This includes the golden retrievers, the Labradors. These dogs were bred to assist the hunter as the hunter goes out in the woods and shoots the waterfowl. Well, the bird could land hundreds of yards away, and the dog-- the golden retriever-- runs out in the woods, finds it, and retrieves the duck back to the hunter. [00:02:12.96] The non-sporting group is kind of a catch-all category that they do lots of jobs, but they don't necessarily fit into the other breeds, like terriers or working dogs. And these dogs include the poodle, the chow chow, the dalmatian. For example, the skipper key was bred to be a boat dog to kill vermin on the boat, but the skipper key is not a terrier. [00:02:34.71] And the modern-day bulldog is not the original bulldog. The original bulldog was bred to fight bulls. The modern-day bulldog is just bred for companionship, OK? There's no way that thing could ever fight a bull. [00:02:45.66] And then we have the toy group. The toy group are typically very small-- your Maltese, your Pekingese, your chihuahuas. And they, like the non-sporting group, also have lots of jobs. Some of them were bred to be lap dogs, others were bred to hunt vermin. [00:03:01.08] The terrier was bred to kill rats hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Well, nowadays, we have exterminators. We retired the terrier's job. So as a pet, yeah, the terrier's a great pet. But don't be surprised if, one day, ...

About the Instructor

The Emmy-winning host of "Lucky Dog", Brandon McMillan is an expert trainer dedicated to building relationships between humans and animals. In his MasterClass, Brandon shares his simple, effective training system to help you develop trust and control with your dog. From using commands like sit, stay, and down to fixing barking and digging, you’ll learn how to improve your dog’s behavior—and create a lifelong bond.

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Brandon McMillan

Expert animal trainer Brandon McMillan teaches you his simple, effective training system to build trust and control with your dog.

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