Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy - Steve Mann - Book Notes

📷 Snapshot Review

Typically when you search ‘best book about X’ there are reams and reams of listicles that corroborate each other; usually leaving you with one or two front runners in the particular subject area you’re interested in. When I searched ‘best book for new dog owners’ and ‘best dog training book’ I couldn’t find a definitive winner. After scouring the web for a while I came across Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy which purported to be ‘The UK’s No.1 Dog Training Book’, but it wasn’t this marketing slogan that sold it for me, it was the more endearing, ‘Your simple step-by-step guide to raising and training a happy puppy’. A happy puppy. Isn’t that what we all really want from a dog?

Steve Mann’s love for dogs radiates throughout the book and every training exercise, every case study and every memory I read just made me feel more excited to finally bring my puppy home (she’s called Rosie 🐶). As a complete doggy novice, it was important that I read a book that explained the fundamentals in dog training and I’m so glad that I chose this one. The author’s whole philosophy is based on positive reinforcement and teaching your new friend the behaviours that you want them to exhibit, not just stopping them from doing things by screaming their name or yelling “NO!”.

Steve teaches you how to organise a dog’s environment to avoid mishaps, how to deliver a ‘cue’ and ‘mark’ good behaviour followed by positive reinforcement and how to practise core exercises that most dog owners will want to teach for a safe and happy dog.

Not only was this book informative and at times emotive, it was also a fun read with numerous laugh-out-loud moments littered throughout. If you’re getting a puppy, read this book. It’s as simple as that.

✍️ Summary of Themes

This book is all about delivering positive reinforcement (aka giving something puppy loves) in exchange for the puppy behaviours we want more of. We do this by delivering a ‘cue’ (asking puppy to perform a certain behaviour), ‘marking’ the behaviour (by saying “good!”) and then ‘reinforcing’ the behaviour through super delicious treats!
Making your training bulletproof, so you’re safe in the knowledge that no matter the situation puppy will listen to you, is a case of varying the three d’s – distance, distraction and duration. Playing with these three elements will ensure that no matter the distance puppy has to travel, the intriguing distractions on offer and the duration puppy has to behave for, we’re still left with a safe and happy dog.
Control puppy’s environment and you will mitigate the possibility of an unwanted behaviour occurring. Did puppy chew your shoes? That was your fault for leaving your shoes and puppy unattended! The key is to surround puppy with ‘legal’ chew toys and never leave puppy alone if they’re in an environment that contains ‘illegal’ chew toys.
One way to avoid certain behaviours without constant berating is to implement ‘Mutually Exclusive Behaviours’ (MEBs). Here’s a few examples from Steve, ‘Don’t want your dog to bark with excitement when you get home? Cool, teach them you’ll only say hello when they’re holding their favourite teddy (They can’t bark and hold their teddy at the same time). Don’t want your dog to pull on the lead to go over and play with their doggy pals? Okay, teach them that only when they give you eye contact will you say, ‘Go play’ and take them over for the meet-and-greet. They can’t look at you and pull at the same time.’

🙋🏼‍♂️ Who Should Read It?

Any prospective dog owners, especially those who haven’t trained a dog before. Reading this before you bring your puppy home will ensure you don’t get into bad habits like using your new puppy’s name in a negative manner or focusing on punishments rather than positive reinforcement.

💡 How Can I Apply This In My Life?

Rosie! We’re getting a puppy and this will basically be our playbook for the first few months of being dog parents.

💬 My Top 3 Quotes

Why would I ever want to hurt my friend?
There are really only ever going to be two reasons why your puppy won’t do what you’ve asked: 1. They don’t understand what you’ve asked them to do. 2. They’re not motivated enough to do it.
Even if punishment works some of the time, is it worth it? If you end up with a dog that doesn’t trust you or a dog that doesn’t want to come near you? How can that ever be a good thing?

📒 Notes & Highlights

Why would I ever want to hurt my friend?

There are really only ever going to be two reasons why your puppy won’t do what you’ve asked: 1.They don’t understand what you’ve asked them to do. 2.They’re not motivated enough to do it.

Our responsibility is to teach them what we do want, not to spiral into the murky realm of punishing what we don’t want.

This book is all about delivering positive reinforcement (aka giving something puppy loves) in exchange for the puppy behaviours we want more of.

Even if punishment works some of the time, is it worth it? If you end up with a dog that doesn’t trust you or a dog that doesn’t want to come near you? How can that ever be a good thing?

and if puppy chews your shoelaces, then merely put your shoes away properly out of puppy’s reach.

NOTE: Courtney cant leave her shoes downstairs

Control the environment properly so these unwanted behaviours don’t occur and make sure you offer plenty of more acceptable outlets for puppy to partake in.

A place where only positive associations are made.

NOTE: A den/crate

At the very least, as soon as puppy comes home with you, help them to discover the wonderful items to be found in their den.

Make the den a place where wonderful things are to be found, complete with awesome chews, a luxury bed, amazing toys, a wonderful comfort blanket and, obviously, a bowl of water.

At bedtime, or constantly in the den, have a warm (but not too hot) water bottle wrapped in their comfort blanket, available for puppy to snuggle up to in times of need.

The trick isn’t to try and stop them chewing; the trick is to appreciate they have to chew – it’s natural and necessary, so therefore your challenge is to divert that chewing onto the right target:

Puppies generally get fed three to four times a day initially, so try and use a good percentage of that daily food constructively, either to give a good association with the den, to reinforce correct toilet habits (see ‘Toilet Training’ on page 51) or to stuff in an interactive feeder to allow for relaxing and legal (!) chewing.

Of course, we don’t want to be using too much of anything that may be unhealthy but a little bit of Oh my days, that was DELICIOUS! is really going to help puppy remember (and therefore repeat) the great behaviours they did to get that little bit of ‘awesome’!

Specifically regarding treats, try to avoid any that have a high level of sugars, salts or tons of complicated-sounding additives and preservatives.

Fence off a pond or any accessible water.

NOTE: Water feature?

If possible, collect puppy in the morning so they have all day to spend with you and become familiar with their new environment and new home before night time.

With this in mind, where do you leave the ‘seasoned’ blanket wrapped around the hot water bottle? In the den. Where does puppy find all their tasty treats throughout the day? In the den. Where will puppy ‘discover’ the most comfortable bedding in the house? In the den. And where does puppy get to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner? You guessed it, in the den! Throughout the first day, do everything you possibly can to illustrate to puppy that their den is THE place to be.

I suggest for the first few nights you have puppy in the bedroom with you, on the floor in their den. Remember, our plan here is to build a confident, optimistic puppy, and to build trust like that takes patience and time.

After a few days or even weeks, as pup gets more and more comfortable in their den and being around their new family, if desired you can start to place the den further from you and closer to the final location that you will eventually want your family dog to be sleeping in each night. Don’t rush it. Remember, trust takes time.

at 8 weeks I’ll need 18–22 hours sleep a day; at 12 weeks, I’ll still need around 16 hours of ‘shut-eye’ a day.

When puppy has gone to the toilet – AND ONLY WHEN THEY HAVE GONE – it’s carnival time! Treats, fuss, praise, play – the lot! Whatever your puppy loves the most, make sure that they receive it immediately after toileting outside, in order to not only reinforce the behaviour, but to reinforce the behaviour in the right place.

The lesson here from pup’s perspective is: –Toileting inside = nothing –Toileting outside = THE BEST STUFF IN THE WORLD!

A key tip at this point: as tempting as it may seem, toileting is one particular behaviour where we want to start the reinforcement process as soon as the behaviour is complete, NOT as soon as it starts.

One final crucial point here – NEVER punish your dog if they toilet inside.

Only when you know what your puppy’s body language looks like in a neutral state, can you then truly take ‘measurements’ to read when puppy may be getting frightened, over-aroused or fruity!

Simple lesson: a ‘waggy’ tail does not necessarily mean the dog is being friendly. A ‘waggy’ arm from us doesn’t necessarily mean we’re waving a cheery ‘Goodbye’. Our ‘waggy’ arm may be shaking an angry fist!

The head tilt occurs so puppy can figure out exactly where the sound is coming from. Their ears are working as little satellites to figure out distance and orientation,

A great, reliable sit is by far one of the most precious exercises you can teach your puppy.

‘Marking a behaviour’ is when you say ‘Good’ as the behaviour occurs, before reinforcing the behaviour (with a treat).

If they know what behaviour paid the dividend, then it’s easier for them to recognise what behaviour to repeat in future.

the Three Ds – distance, distraction and duration

Duration: we may want to ask puppy to sit for 60 seconds, rather than one. Distraction: we may want to ask puppy to sit at the dog groomers, rather than at home. Distance: we may want to ask puppy to sit when they’re 20 metres from us, rather than on the lead.

If at any stage puppy moves out of the sit before you’ve said, ‘Good’, that’s fine. That’s training. Just lower your criteria to an achievable standard on the next repetition and progress from there. Remember: we’re training, not testing.

When training any exercise, if puppy is struggling, drop at least one of your Three Ds. To advance an exercise, increase one of your Three Ds. Only slightly though, don’t be greedy!

Don’t just practise in one area. To generalise your training and make it as reliable – and therefore as valuable – as possible, you need to practise in as many different locations as you can.

always ask the dog for what you do want them to do, not what you don’t want them to do.

As puppy heads towards 12 weeks of age and the jaw becomes stronger, then those baby teeth begin to be pushed out by the set of 42 adult teeth

(18 weeks is the time to start wearing your thickest socks around the house because when you tread on one of those discarded puppy teeth, it makes Lego feel like marshmallows!)

If you have a puppy that loves to play bite, Rule #1 is don’t try to handle puppy when they are over-aroused.

If you pick a up puppy when they don’t want to be handled, they may decide to bite you and you may decide to put them down. So, what has puppy just learned? Biting WORKS! Ooops.

If/when puppy forgets that rule and they put a tooth on any human skin whatsoever, immediately say, ‘Too bad’ and walk away.

As a consequence to biting, we never want to give puppy anything bad (EVER) such as shouting, tapping them on the nose, etc, but we can deliver the not-so-cool consequence of stopping/removing ‘the good stuff’. In this scenario, you are the source of the good stuff.

For example, do not leave puppy alone in an area with anything that you do not want chewed:

If there is a time when you cannot watch puppy, then pop them in their den to see if the Den Wizard has been

From your perspective, a positive interrupter is a friendly noise that you will make whenever you want puppy to stop what they’re doing in order to be directed on to something more constructive and suitable instead.

Crucially, if you just say ‘No’ or ‘Stop it!’, puppy will learn that when you’re not there, the bad punishment won’t happen, so it’s fine to chew the furniture in your absence!

Have puppy next to you. 2.Say ‘Yippee!’ and within one second give puppy an amazing treat. 3.Repeat several times, in several locations over several days. 4.With enough correct repetition, puppy will not be able to resist dropping whatever they’re doing and running to you whenever they hear that cherished ‘P.I.’ 5.When conditioning the sound, make sure you say the sound first, then produce the treat. We don’t want the treat to be in the picture until the sound has been made. It’s the sound that predicts the treat, not the other way around.

NOTE: We can decide our own word or sound

control access to the furniture and offer plenty of cool alternatives to chew.

ensure a plan was in place that when the puppy was at home, they were either being supervised by someone in the household or, if that wasn’t possible, they were in their den,

your investment in training will go out of the window in times of need unless puppy feels safe and secure.

The most valuable, precious period is between 3 and 12 weeks of age. Although socialisation really is a continuous process throughout your dog’s life, the potency of positive exposure diminishes day by day as puppy matures.

As soon as possible, get yourself out and about with puppy to as many different environments as you can and let them learn and experience that the world’s okay. This will not happen by itself. It takes a little commitment from you but it can, and should, be fun for both of you.

Set up situations where puppy is around a wide variety of passive people, and if treats are being introduced to the environment, let them come from you. Puppy still gets to make the association that good things happen in the presence of other people, but retains a focus on you to ensure they’re not pawing or jumping at total strangers in the hope of hitting the jackpot.

You’re far better starting at a good, safe distance and gradually decreasing the distance as confidence grows, than you are staying up too close, puppy having a bad experience and you then having to make a retreat.

As much as possible and where safe, avoid having a tight lead or any obvious restrictions on puppy’s movements when exploring new environments and things. You can have a long thin line from the puppy’s harness to ensure they feel no restraint or restriction. That way they can move at their own pace, slow down, stop or even back away if need be.

If I were you, I’d call in to the vets tomorrow and ask if it’s okay if you pop in every now and then over the next couple of weeks to give puppy a few treats. If they say, ‘Yes’, then cool, crack on. If they say, ‘No’, also cool, just find another vet and take your business elsewhere.

Get to the entrance of the vets, then as soon as you go in the door treat, treat, treat, treat, treat; have a little party for a few seconds … then go outside again.

puppies will often go through what’s known as a ‘Fear Period’ between 8–12 weeks of age.

during the age of two to three months you may well notice puppy being a little more cautious, a little more sensitive in situations. Sometimes they will bark. It is crucial that during this period you DO NOT PUNISH the barking.

Bring the BEST treats you possibly can for your outings with puppy.

If you love it, reinforce it!

Also, do not use the long line to pull puppy into you. That’s uncomfortable for them and it won’t create a good positive association for puppy coming to you.

you see another owner with their dog at the park and you think the dog may be an appropriate meet-and-greet for puppy, please ask from a distance first. Never assume that all other dogs will be happy with a puppy running up to them

Let’s say on average that initially you say ‘Hi’ to every one in five dogs that you meet. That’s a sensible target and will help avoid creating a ‘frustrated greeter’.

Play is at its most potent when it’s a social activity. Do not expect puppy to play on their own.

During play, meet puppies at their own level. Not just from a height perspective, but concentrate on playing with no more strength, speed or activity level than a sibling puppy of the same age would assert.

In addition to food, you now have another currency to exchange for the behaviours you love from pup. You can reinforce puppy automatically running back to you down the park with a great game of tug or have a quiet game of ‘What Hand?’ as you wait in the vets for puppy’s health check.

Let me expand on this idea of MEBs. Don’t want your dog to bark with excitement when you get home? Cool, teach them you’ll only say hello when they’re holding their favourite teddy (They can’t bark and hold their teddy at the same time). Don’t want your dog to pull on the lead to go over and play with their doggy pals? Okay, teach them that only when they give you eye contact will you say, ‘Go play’ and take them over for the meet-and-greet. They can’t look at you and pull at the same time. Perfect MEB.

After a few seconds of nothingness, say ‘Colin’ in a nice, cheery voice. Wait one second and then put a treat into Colin’s mouth, regardless of Colin’s behaviour. It’s not important if he’s not looking at you at this stage; what is important is that we are consistently ‘charging the battery’. ‘Colin’ – wait one second – treat.

Without doubt, this is the one exercise that makes all other exercises easier. If I had to name one exercise as my number one, this is it! It is the foundation of everything else in this book. Simply put, if puppy’s not looking at you, there’s a pretty good chance that they’re not listening to you either! Done correctly, strong and reliable ‘Eye Contact’ can be the spine of everything else.

The fact that you’re saying ‘Good’ to ‘mark’ the behaviour means that you don’t have to be in a rush to deliver the food. For perfect conditioning, ensure you say ‘Good’ then start the process of moving your hand to feed. Separate the two actions. If you don’t ‘mark’ the behaviour with a ‘Good’, then puppy will still enjoy the food, but they won’t know why they got it, which means they won’t know what behaviour to repeat next time.

I like to let puppy know it’s ‘Training Time’ by having a little play as I say, ‘Wanna do a bit of training, buddy?’ I’ll then do a few repetitions of eye contact to get us in the zone. Sounds silly, I know, but it’s a nice way for us both to focus on each other. Imagine having dancing lessons but never knowing when they’re taking place; you’d be all over the place!

for all recalls, we want to be reinforcing puppy running to you, not just a slow walk or trot.

NEVER call puppy in an angry voice, no matter how tempting! An angry voice or body language does not predict great things are coming from you for puppy, therefore you’ll ‘poison’ your cue, leading to a hesitant recall in the future.

If puppy just happens to offer a behaviour you love, like coming to you on a walk, even if you haven’t cued it, then ‘capture’ the behaviour by reinforcing it with a great treat.

What gets treated gets repeated!

The way you’re training puppy is by employing what is known in dog training circles as ‘Operant Conditioning’. You’re asking for a behaviour, and then positively reinforcing that particular behaviour in order for it to become more fluent and reliable in the future.

While we’re at it, to ‘Don’t touch’ or ‘Don’t do’ is not a behaviour, therefore we cannot teach it and put it on cue. So there!

‘Positive Conditioned Emotional Response’ (+CER – namely, you see puppy excited in anticipation when they hear the ‘To The Fridge’ claxon),

‘No’ may well be the most overused word in puppy training, yet it probably has the least specific meaning to a puppy!

Simply put, do this: Control and manage the environment so errors don’t occur. Reinforce heavily the behaviours you do want. Take ‘Leave’ and ‘No’ out of your puppy training vocabulary.

What does the word mean … not to us, but to Puppy?

For us to give a cue and expect a decent response before we’ve even taught puppy what that the cue means is crazy.

‘Play is the highest form of research’ – Albert Einstein

Dogs won’t always know what you’re saying, but they’ll always know how you make them feel.

Tyler Roberts