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Barking Up the Right Tree: The Science and Practice of Positive Dog Training
When Dr. Ian Dunbar introduced his SIRIUS® Puppy Training in 1982, dog training mostly comprised punishing adult dogs for bad habits and lack of compliance. Dunbar focused on verbally cuing and creatively luring to achieve desirable behavior and using “life rewards” — sniffing, walking, play with dogs, and interactive games — to reinforce speedy compliance and good habits from the outset. His “dog’s point of view” approach revolutionized the field, and today there are few trainers who have not been strongly influenced by it.
While positive reinforcement is now widely adopted, this new book details how other reward-training techniques have strayed from Dunbar’s original, quick and easy, highly effective lure-reward approach for teaching dogs ESL, in which we can verbally cue specific responses, offer heartfelt praise for success, and give guidance when dogs err. With Dunbar’s method, we can teach dogs when and where to eliminate, what to chew, when and for how long to bark, and when and how to appropriately let off steam.
Barking Up the Right Tree offers proof that aversive punishment seldom works to eliminate undesirable behavior or to get the dog back on track. Dunbar presents numerous nonaversiv e yet highly effective solutions for misbehavior and noncompliance — simply by using the words you teach, and without even raising your voice.
The culmination of fifty-plus years at the vanguard of dog behavioral science, Barking Up the Right Tree is an indispensable guide for anyone who wants harmonious, two-way communication with a calm, confident, well-behaved, happy canine companion.
While positive reinforcement is now widely adopted, this new book details how other reward-training techniques have strayed from Dunbar’s original, quick and easy, highly effective lure-reward approach for teaching dogs ESL, in which we can verbally cue specific responses, offer heartfelt praise for success, and give guidance when dogs err. With Dunbar’s method, we can teach dogs when and where to eliminate, what to chew, when and for how long to bark, and when and how to appropriately let off steam.
Barking Up the Right Tree offers proof that aversive punishment seldom works to eliminate undesirable behavior or to get the dog back on track. Dunbar presents numerous nonaversiv e yet highly effective solutions for misbehavior and noncompliance — simply by using the words you teach, and without even raising your voice.
The culmination of fifty-plus years at the vanguard of dog behavioral science, Barking Up the Right Tree is an indispensable guide for anyone who wants harmonious, two-way communication with a calm, confident, well-behaved, happy canine companion.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published December 5, 2023
67 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Ian Dunbar
67 books67 followersVeterinarian, animal behaviorist, and dog trainer, Dr. Ian Dunbar received his veterinary degree and a Special Honors degree in Physiology & Biochemistry from the Royal Veterinary College (London University) plus a doctorate in animal behavior from the Psychology Department at UC Berkeley, where he researched the development of social hierarchies and aggression in domestic dogs.
He has authored numerous books and DVDs about puppy/dog behavior and training, including AFTER You Get Your Puppy, How To Teach A New Dog Old Tricks and the SIRIUS® Puppy Training video.
In 1982, Dr. Dunbar designed and taught the world's very first off-leash puppy socialization and training classes -- SIRIUS® Puppy Training. Subsequently, he created and developed the San Francisco SPCA's Animal Behavior Department, the American Kennel Club's Gazette "Behavior" column, which he wrote for seven years, and the K9 GAMES®, which were first held in San Francisco in 1993 and continue as annual events in Japan and France. He hosted the popular UK television series Dogs With Dunbar for five seasons and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including the Today Show (US) and Dash Village (Japan).
He has authored numerous books and DVDs about puppy/dog behavior and training, including AFTER You Get Your Puppy, How To Teach A New Dog Old Tricks and the SIRIUS® Puppy Training video.
In 1982, Dr. Dunbar designed and taught the world's very first off-leash puppy socialization and training classes -- SIRIUS® Puppy Training. Subsequently, he created and developed the San Francisco SPCA's Animal Behavior Department, the American Kennel Club's Gazette "Behavior" column, which he wrote for seven years, and the K9 GAMES®, which were first held in San Francisco in 1993 and continue as annual events in Japan and France. He hosted the popular UK television series Dogs With Dunbar for five seasons and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including the Today Show (US) and Dash Village (Japan).
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 21, 2024
Great info, very hard to read. Looking for this as an audio book or an online version. Its like a very worthwhile, spot-on academic lecture, with sentences running on for three lines...not conducive to reading in a cozy chair with a cuppa.
December 31, 2024
I looked at a few resources on dog training but felt lost until I found this book. Dr. Ian Dunbar does a great job of not only giving you a clear plan for what to do to train your dog in a positive way, but he also spends just as much time explaining the psychology behind it. He has great insights into the nature of dogs after a lifetime of training himself. This is truly a great resource for any new dog owners. He’s a funny and calm narrator, too, and is very reassuring.
June 3, 2025
While some animal training techniques are robustly supported by scientific experimentation, real-life dog training is much more art than science. People have all sorts of theories about cause and effect. People differ in how much value they put into food rewards vs. other kinds of reinforcement. The whole conversation about punishment and aversives can be a conversation-ender in the dog park. So I find that reading books like Barking Up the Right Tree is never time wasted; I always learn something useful. Overall, I definitely would say that there is more good than bad here.
Is it a perfect book, though? Not at all. The organization is sometimes odd. I am not sure the book was professionally edited or read critically at all. Some of the explanations of specific training routines were hard to follow. It would have been helpful if the book had mentioned at that point that there were videos accompanying it, but that tidbit does not arrive until the very end. There were some eyebrow-raising bits at the end, like Ian Dunbar's dream that all dogs be trained to sniff for bombs and explosives and that this would bring about world peace. I blinked and went WTF at that. The section on competitive dog training games also felt like it was in an odd place; that probably belonged in the main middle part of the book right after proofing, etc.
On the other hand, there are some excellent bits of advice here. There is some useful discussion of the need to proof commands in a variety of settings, and the relative non-reliance on treats. I had hit a dead end with my highly trainable and hyperactive Aussie where even the most high-value treats appeared to lose their value, or she would pester me for treats and I realized I had turned into a vending machine. So I was in the right audience for that advice: I stopped taking treats on walks with me, used nothing but praise as reinforcement for off-leash recalls and sits, and bam--problem solved. I also appreciated the point about how you never feed out of the luring hand when using it for targeting. That was another stumbling block for me; I had a hard time getting some behaviors out of my dog using the "YouTube" style of training, and simply switching the hand that delivers the reward fixed it in a cinch. I also felt validated when he echoed some old-fashioned advice (known since Campbell's Behavior Problems in Dogs book) about the Jolly Routine, which is all about training the owner. More than half of dog training is about knowing what you're reinforcing and how, and being self-aware. The Jolly Routine is an excellent lesson in how to not transfer your own nerves and anxiety to your animal.
Dunbar tries very hard to avoid using some of the terminology that is ubiquitous in the dog-training world. He almost never uses terms like "capturing" or "premack" (the latter of which I learned from Jean Donaldson's Dog Training 101 course on Kanopy)--even though the concepts are explained. He also applies solid principles of behaviorism without dwelling on the taxonomies. For example, an applied behaviorist basic is teaching an incompatible behavior to get rid of an undesirable behavior. But which behavior to teach? His favorite is 'sit', which he seems to use for everything from jumping on people to keeping dogs from chasing cars or wildlife. That's why his main prescription is sit-stay every 25 yards on a walk. I can imagine someone who was hoping for more fireworks to want some more variety than this, but honestly, it's basic and something most owners can handle. Watch your average "dog owner with a trainer" video, including one of Dunbar's own on dog-dog aggression, and you can appreciate how clumsy and inept most people are even at something this basic. So, the gulf between behavioral science and applied training techniques is being bridged here with fairly practical advice, without making things overly complicated. Though he does occasionally nod in the direction of scientific evidence, for example as to the timing of when punishment and rewards need to arrive in order to be effective.
I don't think this book is going to cut it as the only dog training book you'll ever need in your life, but it is a solid addition to the library of any dog owner interested in positive, non-aversive training.
Is it a perfect book, though? Not at all. The organization is sometimes odd. I am not sure the book was professionally edited or read critically at all. Some of the explanations of specific training routines were hard to follow. It would have been helpful if the book had mentioned at that point that there were videos accompanying it, but that tidbit does not arrive until the very end. There were some eyebrow-raising bits at the end, like Ian Dunbar's dream that all dogs be trained to sniff for bombs and explosives and that this would bring about world peace. I blinked and went WTF at that. The section on competitive dog training games also felt like it was in an odd place; that probably belonged in the main middle part of the book right after proofing, etc.
On the other hand, there are some excellent bits of advice here. There is some useful discussion of the need to proof commands in a variety of settings, and the relative non-reliance on treats. I had hit a dead end with my highly trainable and hyperactive Aussie where even the most high-value treats appeared to lose their value, or she would pester me for treats and I realized I had turned into a vending machine. So I was in the right audience for that advice: I stopped taking treats on walks with me, used nothing but praise as reinforcement for off-leash recalls and sits, and bam--problem solved. I also appreciated the point about how you never feed out of the luring hand when using it for targeting. That was another stumbling block for me; I had a hard time getting some behaviors out of my dog using the "YouTube" style of training, and simply switching the hand that delivers the reward fixed it in a cinch. I also felt validated when he echoed some old-fashioned advice (known since Campbell's Behavior Problems in Dogs book) about the Jolly Routine, which is all about training the owner. More than half of dog training is about knowing what you're reinforcing and how, and being self-aware. The Jolly Routine is an excellent lesson in how to not transfer your own nerves and anxiety to your animal.
Dunbar tries very hard to avoid using some of the terminology that is ubiquitous in the dog-training world. He almost never uses terms like "capturing" or "premack" (the latter of which I learned from Jean Donaldson's Dog Training 101 course on Kanopy)--even though the concepts are explained. He also applies solid principles of behaviorism without dwelling on the taxonomies. For example, an applied behaviorist basic is teaching an incompatible behavior to get rid of an undesirable behavior. But which behavior to teach? His favorite is 'sit', which he seems to use for everything from jumping on people to keeping dogs from chasing cars or wildlife. That's why his main prescription is sit-stay every 25 yards on a walk. I can imagine someone who was hoping for more fireworks to want some more variety than this, but honestly, it's basic and something most owners can handle. Watch your average "dog owner with a trainer" video, including one of Dunbar's own on dog-dog aggression, and you can appreciate how clumsy and inept most people are even at something this basic. So, the gulf between behavioral science and applied training techniques is being bridged here with fairly practical advice, without making things overly complicated. Though he does occasionally nod in the direction of scientific evidence, for example as to the timing of when punishment and rewards need to arrive in order to be effective.
I don't think this book is going to cut it as the only dog training book you'll ever need in your life, but it is a solid addition to the library of any dog owner interested in positive, non-aversive training.
May 7, 2025
Very unimpressed with this book.
The book claims to be positive training and about all the ways to use lure based training. The author explicitly says the book is about non-aversive techniques.
But instead the author is constantly advising methods based in extinction and flooding - called the wait-and-reward method - and describes loads of scenarios of successful wait-and-reward training that is simply slow, clunky, complicated and inefficient extinction/frustration methods. Which are aversive. 11 minutes of a dog flipping out until it is tired so you can capture a sit (instead of any other easier behaviour) is hardly good training or a good example. Extinction frustration trial and error method of leave it is hardly positive.
The author relies on no reward markers … even when a dog is already being successful. He purposely sets the dog up to fail to use no reward markers. Completely unnecessary step and a very messy and cluttered approach.
During the myths section the author makes lots of claims contrary to common science and doesn’t cite any of them. Eg dog development stages, negative effects of over stimulation in neonates.
Downright bizarre constant grandstanding about seminars claiming to have created stuffed kongs? The constant rambling anecdotes were exhausting and provided no detail or information on training.
Lots of preaching against punishment and aversives without recognising that the main technique in the book so far is a reactive extinction based aversive.
Good sections were the reward vs bribe and premacking environmental rewards.
The book only covered lures for teaching the 3 basic positions of sit down stand. It never branches out from there, those three positions are used as the solutions to most things.
The book never goes into any luring techniques outside of these, or how they can be used in other situations, despite the book saying it’s about lure based training!
The author is fixated on compliance and never asks the reader to think about why a dog might not respond. He simply advises you to withhold all rewards/environmental access until the dog complies.
I gave up on the book 70% of the way through just completely useless.
Felt like I was reading “Nothing in Life is Free” rebranded. No new reward based methods learned.
The book claims to be positive training and about all the ways to use lure based training. The author explicitly says the book is about non-aversive techniques.
But instead the author is constantly advising methods based in extinction and flooding - called the wait-and-reward method - and describes loads of scenarios of successful wait-and-reward training that is simply slow, clunky, complicated and inefficient extinction/frustration methods. Which are aversive. 11 minutes of a dog flipping out until it is tired so you can capture a sit (instead of any other easier behaviour) is hardly good training or a good example. Extinction frustration trial and error method of leave it is hardly positive.
The author relies on no reward markers … even when a dog is already being successful. He purposely sets the dog up to fail to use no reward markers. Completely unnecessary step and a very messy and cluttered approach.
During the myths section the author makes lots of claims contrary to common science and doesn’t cite any of them. Eg dog development stages, negative effects of over stimulation in neonates.
Downright bizarre constant grandstanding about seminars claiming to have created stuffed kongs? The constant rambling anecdotes were exhausting and provided no detail or information on training.
Lots of preaching against punishment and aversives without recognising that the main technique in the book so far is a reactive extinction based aversive.
Good sections were the reward vs bribe and premacking environmental rewards.
The book only covered lures for teaching the 3 basic positions of sit down stand. It never branches out from there, those three positions are used as the solutions to most things.
The book never goes into any luring techniques outside of these, or how they can be used in other situations, despite the book saying it’s about lure based training!
The author is fixated on compliance and never asks the reader to think about why a dog might not respond. He simply advises you to withhold all rewards/environmental access until the dog complies.
I gave up on the book 70% of the way through just completely useless.
Felt like I was reading “Nothing in Life is Free” rebranded. No new reward based methods learned.
March 15, 2024
Barking Up The Right Tree, the science and practice of dog training by Dr. Ian Dunbar is not only entertaining and helpful plus informative but it’s also funny easy to follow and a fun activity you can do with your beloved furry companion. From barking to dog training to greeting new guests at home Dr. Dunbar explains with examples and practical reasoning how to make your dog a trained dog because a bad dog is still just a dog if we consider their activity to be bad we’re only thinking in human terms because these are dogs not people and I totally understood what the good doctor was explaining not only is he qualified to give this advice but it’s something he has a live through and talks about in the book I listen to some chapters more than once because I have four dogs and they all have different personalities and different quirks this was a great book not only for entertainment purposes but for practical purposes and I really and thoroughly enjoyed it everything about this book was awesome from the narration by Elliot Fitz Patrick to the humorous but serious advice given by Dr. Ian Dunbar. I want to thank Highbridge audio and net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
April 2, 2024
As someone who found immense value in Dr. Ian Dunbar's previous work, "Before & After Getting Your Puppy," I eagerly dove into 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗨𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘. Faced with the challenge of reigning in Fudge's exuberance when guests arrived, I was thrilled to discover Dunbar's new insights on positive dog training. Through his guidance, I've learned fresh approaches to encouraging Fudge to remain calm without dampening her enthusiasm for meeting new people. While we're still a work in progress, I've already noticed significant improvements. Dunbar's expertise shines through in this must-read for anyone seeking positive methods to train their furry companions. Plus, the book's infused with his trademark humor, making it an enjoyable and informative read.
February 26, 2024
Narrated by Elliott fitzpatrick
Ian Dunbar is undoubtedly an exceptional dog trainer at the top of his game and have a puppy, so I thought I would give this audiobook a go. I've had dogs all my life so I really wasn't 'in need' of this.
It was informative and very helpful and would be great for someone who has never had a dog. However please change the narrator he kills the audio. There is no rise and fall in his voice and to be honest, if I was looking to purchase an audiobook and listened to this sample I would not purchase it...because of the narrator....sorry.
Thank you to Netgalley and Rb Media for giving me the chance to listen to it.
Ian Dunbar is undoubtedly an exceptional dog trainer at the top of his game and have a puppy, so I thought I would give this audiobook a go. I've had dogs all my life so I really wasn't 'in need' of this.
It was informative and very helpful and would be great for someone who has never had a dog. However please change the narrator he kills the audio. There is no rise and fall in his voice and to be honest, if I was looking to purchase an audiobook and listened to this sample I would not purchase it...because of the narrator....sorry.
Thank you to Netgalley and Rb Media for giving me the chance to listen to it.
June 15, 2024
It's definitely an inspiring and highly motivating read, anyone who has a dog in their family should consider reading Barking Up the Right Tree. Dunbar love and trust towards dogs shine through in every word and his teachings are quite clearly and easily explained. I just found the book a bit too long and sometimes repetitive (especially the last part that felt a bit forced). I didn't care much for the narrator, he has a kind of voice, which I find flat and not particularly captivating.
June 25, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Hadnt read any of Dr. Dunbar's books before, though i have perused his website and articles. Lots of helpful insight, information, and training techniques. I'm also pretty pleased to read that the lure training method I chose when training my first puppy of my own 20 years ago, feeling that it was the easiest, and most simple, was spot on!
March 7, 2025
I absolutely enjoyed this book. Rather than telling you overly simplified explanations of what you should be doing with your dog, Mr Dunbar approaches the content as if you’re a partner with your dog. With this framework you both want to succeed and help each other. I really appreciated the explanations and step by step guides he provides.
November 28, 2024
I don't think I got a chance to finish this one but in general I really liked it. I need audio version to finish it. I liked the ridgeback on the cover but I also like his unique way of looking at what living with and working with a dog is like.
December 9, 2023
If you want a serious book on Positive Dog training,written buy a veterinarian and specialist,this is it.
March 3, 2024
Great book with great insights into training. Can't wait to implement them. But it felt like it was longer than it needed to be. Way longer. A lot of repetition of ideas I feel like.
September 14, 2024
Ian Dunbar writes very well and for the most part his methods are sound. This book does not really have new information, but it would be great for new dog owners.
November 24, 2024
All dog owners should read
July 16, 2025
Here’s hoping this helps! There are several things that sound like good ideas that we are definitely gonna try that I had not heard from other training guides.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews