Helping dogs become agreeable and happy
My Debt to Dogs
For nearly five decades, Eran Shine has helped family dogs, working dogs, rescue dogs, service dogs, and dogs facing challenges ranging from separation anxiety and fear to aggression and other complex behavioral problems.
Much of what he knows today emerged through participation, trial and error, and a willingness to let the dogs prove him wrong whenever they revealed a better way.
Eran never fell in love with his own theories. He fell in love with helping dogs improve their well-being.
Eran studied the practicality of humans and dogs behavioral motivation.
The Family Dog book offer a clear simple way to improve dogs and human’s relationships.
Does your dog suffers from:
- Separation anxiety?
- Leash pulling?
- Fear, reactivity?
- Aggression?
- Excessive barking, jumping, chowing, or digging?
If yes, then The Family Dog Book is for you.
Whether you raise a new puppy, welcome a rescue dog, or think to better understand your dog?
The Family Dog book, would suggest a few gentle tweaks that could change everything.
The Family Dog
Coming soon
Purchase link available when the Amazon listing is live.
Leave an honest review:
Reviews will open after publication.
Q & A
Does my dog need to play with other dogs?
Dogs have not read books or watched movies about harmonious wolf packs under the moon. When an unfamiliar dog enters another dog’s personal space without invitation, stress is the most common response. Encouraging dogs to greet, sniff, and touch random dogs is the canine equivalent of walking down the street with your child and inviting strangers to touch him. Even if no harm is intended, the situation is invasive—and it can provoke fear or aggression.
In a healthy world, we choose who we touch.
Should I teach my new dog basic obedience?
Training a new dog to sit, lie down, or stay has its place, but it is not the foundation of behavior. If introduced too early, obedience can become pressure. It places both the dog and the person in each other’s space, creating a dynamic where one must control and the other must comply. For some dogs, this invites resistance rather than understanding.
Later, when the dog already looks up to you, structure becomes something else entirely. It becomes play, dialogue, learning. It becomes like a child asking, “Can you teach me the rules?”
Rules, at the right time, create freedom.
Should I show my dog who is the boss?
Always be nice to your dog, especially when they do something you don’t like. That may sounds crazy. But for dogs, harshness is often an invitation—to react, to resist, to escalate. What we think of as correction can become a challenge. An invitation to conflict.
While teaching your dog to do the right things, be engaging, not confrontational. Confrontation invites confrontation.
Should I use treats to make my dog do what I want?
Training with food is often quick, humane, and easy to implement. Nevertheless, holding a treat in front of a dog will create a subtle tension. The dog becomes fixed on the food—alert, focused, sometimes trembling. The relationship shifts. The food becomes the center. The person fades.
In that moment, the dog is not relating. The dog is pursuing.
What makes my dog behave in a curtain way?
Both dogs and humans act according to relationship and circumstance. No two relationships are the same.
The rest of the dog’s behavior is built on experience and memory. Unlike us, dogs live almost entirely in the present. What we repeat becomes their reality.
A dog’s greatest need, after air, food, and water, is to relate, ideally, to a person—someone kind, stable, clear, and consistent.
The Loyalty of Dogs
Dogs are quick to fall in love with humans, and have extraordinary attachment needs. Around the world there are countless stories of dogs demonstrating remarkable loyalty to the people in their lives. Their devotion can be so powerful that they often remain deeply attached even to people who mistreat them.
Dogs subjected to experiments in laboratories, or that are moments away from being euthanized by an animal control worker, are often still loving toward the scientist—or even the executioner.
Methods matter
Choosing a trainer can be challenging. Different trainers use different methods. You can send a child to a strict military school, or to a creative school where they play violin and write poems. Both are legitimate.
But the methods—and the outcomes—are very different. Just because something works, does it mean it is right? Many trainers rely on control. Some use intimidation. Some rely heavily on food. Some focus on compliance above all else.
It is unnecessary for many dogs to live medicated and subdued when small changes in the relationship can create real change.
Working with Eran Shine
“As a psychiatrist, I thought I’d have the tools to help my own anxious dogs, but nothing worked until Eran changed who we were for them, and in a single afternoon, years of fear and separation anxiety simply lifted. Ours were the dogs everyone had given up on, and they aren’t those dogs anymore. “
“I have referred many challenging behavior cases to Eran for 30 years. His approach helped restore these dogs to a happy and rewarding life.”
“Eran is remarkable. He was to our two dogs what Annie Sullivan was to Helen Keller. His interventions uplift and dignify dogs and humans alike. After one session, the tension and enmity between us and our dogs, who would pull so hard as to strain our shoulders, dissipated and transformed into a bond of equanimity, calm, and harmony. “
More…
I have been a veterinarian for over 42 years. Throughout my career, behavior disorders in my canine patients have been some of the most frustrating problems faced by my clients with their dogs. This has been mirrored by the fact in North America, more dogs are euthanized in the first year of life due to behavior challenges rather because of any infectious disease.
I have always treated behavior problems in my patients with as much vigor as any disease. Unfortunately, I have not always had success. Several years ago I met Eran when he brought in one of my patients under his care at the time for an office visit. I was impressed by the way the dog responded to Eran—not with fear but with confidence and recognition that Eran was the leader.
Since that chance meeting, I have referred behavioral cases to Eran and the feedback from clients has been impressive. Consistently, he figures out the problem, provides the solution and the result is a happy client and a dog that is at ease because confusion of the past is no longer present.
“Eran Shine is not a dog trainer, he is a dog relator. He knows the language of dogs, the desire of dogs, and the best way for any dog owner to relate to any dog”
“I have been part of Westside German Shepherd Rescue for many years. I see it again and again how Eran has helped countless adopters with issues with their adopted dogs. Some call us for a trainer referral, some actually show up ready to return the dog they adopted because of various problems. After spending some time with Eran, many end up keeping their dogs by using the tools they learned from him. He has a gentle approach unlike some other trainers who try to control dogs by force or rough handling. Your dog should respect you, not fear you, and that’s what we see with Eran.”
“Eran had our German Shepherd walking loose leash and following our every move in under an hour. We had worked with other treat based trainers with no success.”
“I had never met someone with the same philosophy on dogs. I’d always been uncomfortable by the dominance / power struggle dynamic a lot of trainers preach. In the past, instead of dominance, we had worked with trainers that were trick/treat based. The issue with this is my dog would not listen to me when I didn’t have a treat! He would also steal food, go through the trash, etc.
Eran’s approach is like a loving parent. It helps me create structure for Lando and make him feel safe while also getting to enjoy him, play with him, be loving with him, etc. I’m so grateful we got a chance to work with Eran. “
“The moment Eran walked in the door, there was a feeling of calm. My German shepherd felt it, my 4 cats felt it, and after months of frustration using the wrong (albeit well meaning) types of training I felt it too.
Eran has an uncanny sense of how the dog’s mind works, and his expertise is phenomenal. He completely changed my approach and understanding of dog training. By the end of my first lesson I was able to shed 2 leashes, a dog harness, a fanny pack with carabiners and a treat pouch for one collar and one leash. Thanks to Eran’s teaching, he literally lightened my load both physically and emotionally. “
“What a beautiful book. Absolutely spot on—clear, simple, and not condescending.
Everything is perfect.
In a clear and simple way, Eran helped us transform our relationship with our two dogs—shifting from a struggle over who is the boss into a simple, pleasant friendship.
Thank you so much. “
“Eran is kind, compassionate, loving and respectful to your dog’s emotions. I volunteer at a rescue specifically concentrating on dogs who are incredibly frightened, shy, protective, and/or have dogs and people aggression. Eran has helped me work with these dogs and I’ve seen a quick and dramatic result in literally minutes. No gimmicks, no treats, no punishment. When you meet Eran, you will come to see that he has a true love for dogs. He understands each and every one of them with his entire soul. I truly believe if you give Eran’s training principals a chance, you will see great improvement and your dog will be mentally healthy and happy life long.”
Media
KABC 790 AM with veterinarian Dr. Karen Halligan, February 3, 2024. Eran joins at 10:42.