Dog training and cognition guides
49 guides covering everything from a puppy's first week to a senior dog's cognitive health — each one built on research from Dr. Brian Hare's team at the Duke Canine Cognition Center rather than training folklore.
Training how-tos
Step-by-step guides for the skills every dog needs, written around how dogs actually learn rather than dominance folklore.
How to Train a Dog
The complete foundation: timing, reinforcement, session length, and the order to teach cues in.
Read the guideHow to Train a Puppy
The first sixteen weeks matter more than the next sixteen months. What to prioritize, and when.
Read the guideHow Dogs Become Service Dogs
The science-backed pathway from candidate temperament and Duke puppy foundations to task work and a supported team.
Read the guideWhere to Get a Service Dog
Accredited national programs, realistic costs and waitlists, how to verify a program, and the online-registry scams to avoid.
Read the guideHow to Potty Train a Dog
A schedule-first method that works for puppies, rescues, and adult dogs starting over indoors.
Read the guideHow to Crate Train a Dog
Turning the crate into a place your dog chooses, not a place your dog tolerates.
Read the guideHow to Leash Train a Dog
Why pulling is a reinforcement problem, and the drills that fix it without corrections.
Read the guideHow to Train a Dog to Stop Barking
Diagnose what the barking is for first — alert, demand, boredom, or anxiety — then treat that cause.
Read the guideSeparation Anxiety in Dogs
Panic or boredom? How to tell, and a gradual alone-time training plan matched to your dog's thinking style.
Read the guideWhy Do Dogs Eat Poop?
The five real reasons behind coprophagia, and a calm, step-by-step plan to stop it.
Read the guideWhy Does My Dog Lick My Feet?
Bonding, scent, attention or boredom — what the licking means and how to redirect it kindly.
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Bonding, personality & memory
Guides for the emotional side of life with a dog: building trust, understanding personality, and keeping memories alive.
How to Bond With Your Dog
Ten science-backed activities that strengthen trust and map to the cognitive dimensions Dognition measures.
Read the guideDog Memory Book
A living story that grows with your dog, built from real moments instead of a static photo album.
Read the guideDog Personality Quiz
The nine Dognition cognitive profiles explained — what your dog's play style actually reveals.
Read the guideHow to Read Dog Body Language
Tail, ears, eyes, posture and the play bow — what each signal means, and what it does not.
Read the guideDog Play Styles
Chaser, wrestler, tugger or solo problem-solver — what play reveals about how your dog thinks.
Read the guidePuppy Milestones Week by Week
The developmental and cognitive milestones of the first year, each paired with a moment worth capturing.
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Health, aging & records
Guides for keeping your dog healthy and their history organized: vaccine schedules, medical records, and the changes that come with age.
Canine Health: The Whole-Dog Guide
Body, mind, and behavior across a dog's life — how the pieces of canine health fit together, and what to watch at each stage.
Read the guideDog Symptoms: When to Call Your Veterinarian
Which changes are worth describing to your clinic, how to record them, and how to report them — a guide, not a symptom checker.
Read the guideDog Vaccine Schedule
Core and non-core vaccines, the puppy series week by week, and adult boosters — cited to AAHA and WSAVA guidelines.
Read the guideDog Vaccination Record Template
A free printable shot record you can fill in and hand to a boarder, groomer, or new vet.
Read the guidePuppy Shot Schedule (Printable)
A free branded tracker for your puppy's first-year vaccines and vet-visit questions.
Read the guidePet Sitter Checklist
One printable sheet with contacts, feeding, medications and routine for sitters and boarders.
Read the guideHow to Get Your Dog's Vaccination Records
Requesting records from a vet, clinic chain, or shelter — and your right to your pet's history.
Read the guideDog Dementia Signs
Canine cognitive dysfunction explained through the DISHAA signals — and why a baseline taken early matters.
Read the guideSigns of Aging in Dogs
Normal aging versus changes worth a vet visit, across physical, sensory, and cognitive domains.
Read the guideCanine Cognitive Aging
How empathy, memory, reasoning and communication change across a dog's life, charted from 25,463 assessments.
Read the guideSundowning in Dogs
Evening restlessness and night-time pacing in senior dogs — what to record, and what usually helps.
Read the guideDog Cognitive Aging Assessment
An interactive DISHAA-based screener that places your dog on the aging curve and recommends tracking activities.
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Resource hubs
Bigger collections that branch into dozens of individual guides, filtered by topic and skill level.
Dog Training Tips Hub
Every training guide we publish, filterable by topic and skill level, across seven categories.
Read the guideThe Science of Dog Intelligence Testing
How cognitive assessments are actually built, validated, and interpreted — and what a score does not mean.
Read the guidePet Influencer Guide
Growing a dog's audience without stressing the dog: content, agencies, and what the numbers really pay.
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Browse training by category
Jump straight to the stage or problem you're working on right now.
Puppy basics
Socialization windows, first cues, and bite inhibition.
Read the guidePotty training
Schedules, accidents, and regression in older dogs.
Read the guideAdult & rescue dogs
Decompression, trust building, and retraining history.
Read the guideBehavior problems
Barking, jumping, reactivity, counter surfing.
Read the guideCognition
Memory, inference, empathy, and self-control work.
Read the guideEnrichment
Games and puzzles that tire a dog out mentally.
Read the guideSenior dogs
Training around stiff joints, fading senses, and decline.
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In-depth guides from the blog
These long-form guides were published in the blog and stay there, but they belong in your reading list alongside everything above.
How to Test Your Dog's Intelligence: 7 Cognitive Games
Seven Duke-derived games you can run at home with a treat and a couple of cups, plus how to read the results.
Read the guideHow Smart Is Your Dog?
Why a single intelligence number is the wrong question, and what cognitive profiles measure instead.
Read the guideSenior Dog Cognitive Health Guide
Spotting early signs of canine cognitive dysfunction, and the daily habits that slow decline.
Read the guideHow to Choose a Vet: 10 Questions to Ask
A practical interview script for a first vet visit, including behavior and cognition questions most owners skip.
Read the guidePuppy Kindergarten at Home
The Duke Puppy Kindergarten curriculum, adapted for a living room and fifteen minutes a day.
Read the guideTop 10 Science-Backed Dog Training Tips
The ten findings with the strongest evidence behind them, and how to apply each one this week.
Read the guideIs My Dog Smart? A 5-Minute At-Home Test
The fastest cognitive check you can run today — three tasks, one treat, five minutes.
Read the guideWhat Is Puppy Kindergarten?
What the class actually teaches, what it costs, and how to tell a good program from a bad one.
Read the guideBrain Food for Senior Dogs
The ingredients with real cognitive evidence behind them — omega-3s, antioxidants, and MCTs.
Read the guideThe Most Popular Puppy Training Resources of 2026
Books, classes, apps, and programs owners actually stuck with this year.
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Can't find what you're looking for?
Our team can point you to the right guide, answer questions about the assessment, or help with account and partnership requests.
Contact Dognition supportStart with your dog's cognitive profile
Guides work better when you know how your dog thinks. The Dognition assessment maps empathy, memory, reasoning, and cunning in about an hour of games.