Natural training technique releases canines’ pent-up energy By Susan Chaney, Dog Fancy; November 2011 “Natural dog training.” What could that possibly mean? Skeptical? So was I. Then I talked to Kevin Behan, who pioneered a new way of working with dogs in the 1980s after learning the trade from his dad, a police-dog trainer. At […]

When I work with clients I often reference certain movies as insights into how animals learn and what the training and rehabilitation process is truly about. The “Karate Kid” is one long time favorite as in “Wax/On; Wax/Off” and then there is the “Horse Whisperer” —to paraphrase Robert Redford’s character: “Maam, I don’t help people […]

This post is extracted from a comment left by AZDogermanStu on March 29, 2010 “How I Developed the Pushing Technique” Here is the comment followed by the videos Here are the videos I was feeling a little pressured by the camera and tried to keep them short. Thanks for taking a look! I tried to […]

Kevin Pushing and Pulling with Hessian

Short clip showing Kevin Behan working with a Pit Bull and conducting the Pushing Exercise.

In the early eighties I found myself describing certain behaviors as “electric,” as for example when a dog is defensive, fearful or hyper, bristling, tense, taut and touchy, while other behaviors I intuitively would call “magnetic,” as for example when a dog is rolling on the ground, body contacting with others, supple to the touch, […]

Evolution is the story of overcoming resistance. Things must be broken down in order to exploit their energy. Concentrating and storing energy in order to overcome resistance is the organizing principle of every species’ anatomy, physiology and behavior. Inside your dog is a battery, an emotional reservoir filled with “unresolved emotion”. Unresolved emotion is created […]