How To Train Your Dog With Love + Science - Dog Training with Annie Grossman + Anamarie Johnson PhD (Formerly known as School For The Dogs Podcast) · Annie Grossman

Dogmas & Dog Ewoks: How Halloween can polarize dog lovers

·34 min·2 clips

Grossman argues Cesar Millan turns dog training into self-salvation, where the owner’s morality supposedly fixes the dog.

1. How To Train Your Dog With Love + Science uses Halloween, Tompkins Square, and dog costumes to question who an event is really for. 2. Annie Grossman hosts the episode, and Anamarie Johnson PhD joins as a trainer who pushes the science side of dog behavior. 3. The episode asks whether dog Halloween is a celebration of dogs or a display of human creativity. 4. Grossman says the Tompkins Square dog Halloween parade in New York City is packed with dogs in costumes. 5. She describes small dogs at the parade as facing a crowded, loud environment that could be stressful. 6. Johnson notes that many of the dogs in the photos are small dogs, which she says already tend to have higher anxiety levels. 7. The hosts compare costume parades with agility and nose work, which they treat as more clearly dog-centered activities. 8. Grossman says some owners seem to want “dog park people” status even when their dog may not enjoy the dog park. 9. They connect that pattern to the idea of “dog as accessory,” including the Paris Hilton handbag image Grossman names. 10. Grossman brings up an Atlantic article by Dr. Brian Hare and Vanessa from the Duke Dog Lab about a “third wave of domestication.” 11. She objects to the implication that service dogs are the only dogs that can count as truly social or well-tempered. 12. Grossman says the article leaves out the 18 months to 2 years of training, socialization, and handling that service dogs receive. 13. The hosts read Mark Goldberg’s quote that “The vast majority of America's 100 million pet dogs doesn't need a professional trainer.” 14. Grossman says that line is misleading because the same article also cites dogs who chew furniture or lunge at neighbors. 15. The conversation turns to the Monks of New Skete in upstate New York and their breeding and training program. 16. Grossman says their books have marketed themselves well while using vague language such as “love” and “connection” instead of clear training terms. 17. They discuss the alpha roll, a technique of pinning a dog on its back, and say the Monks of New Skete were known for it historically. 18. The tone stays conversational and argumentative, with the hosts interrupting each other, laughing, and reading quoted text aloud. 19. Listeners who like dog training, behavior science, and critiques of Cesar Millan will get the most from it. 20. Listeners wanting a light Halloween pet segment without training debate may skip it.

As heard by us

A Halloween dog conversation that grows into a broader, looser talk about service dogs and training.

What starts as a Halloween dog joke opens into a sharper look at what a dog might actually want, especially once costumes, service-dog expectations, and resilience enter the picture.

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Why you'd press play

You want a Halloween dog conversation that is funny first and honest second.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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