The Doodle Pro®: Positive Dog Training for Calm Doodles

If you have ever scrolled a breeder's beautiful website and wondered what is really behind it, this episode is for you.
This conversation was recorded live at our Honor Society Book Club. Our members read Puppy Brain together, then brought their questions straight to the author, Kerry Nichols of Nicholberry Goldens. Kerry is a renowned Golden Retriever breeder and a former attorney turned canine educator. Her puppies are trusted by the therapy programs at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Phoenix Children's Hospital.
In Part 1, you'll learn:
What resilience really means for a puppy (bouncing back quickly, not never startling)
How layering experiences builds a confident dog, one safe step at a time
Why your dog's nose changes how they experience every room they walk into
What health testing actually means, and how to check a breeder's clearances yourself on the OFA database
Why a Doodle needs health clearances from both parent breeds
The questions to ask any breeder, and the social media red flags Kerry watches for
What to do when it is hard to leave a puppy behind
Join our next book club. This is what life inside The Doodle Pro® Honor Society looks like. You read along with fellow Doodle parents, then ask the author your own questions. Members always keep learning and never train alone, with monthly live Q&As with Corinne and the experts she trusts, translated for Doodle life. Save your spot at thedoodlepro.com/honorsociety.
Resources mentioned
Puppy Brain: How Our Dogs Learn, Think, and Love by Kerry Nichols: thedoodlepro.com/puppybrain
The Doodle Pro® Book Club Picks, the books I recommend, every one by an author I've interviewed on The Doodle Pro® Podcast: thedoodlepro.com/bookclub
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), the public health clearance database
Goldendoodle Association of North America (GANA) health testing standards
How do dogs "see" with their noses? by Alexandra Horowitz, author of Being a Dog
Kerry on Instagram and Substack
Part 2 is next week: "Did I miss the window?", teenage dogs, hugs, and why spay and neuter advice is changing.
Read the full episode notes at thedoodlepro.com/doodle-breeder-puppy-brain.
Bringing a Doodle puppy home? Your Doodle's Daily Schedule Blueprint™ is a #1 Amazon Best Seller in Dog Training: thedoodlepro.com/podbook
Send Corinne your Doodle win
Corinne Gearhart, M.A., CPDT-KA, is the founder of The Doodle Pro®, a science-based training platform helping Doodle parents raise calmer, well-mannered dogs using positive reinforcement. She is the host of The Doodle Pro® Podcast and author of Your Doodle’s Daily Schedule Blueprint™, a #1 Amazon Best Seller.
Get the Doodle Schedule Blueprint:
thedoodlepro.com/podbook
More episodes:
thedoodlepro.com/podcast

When your Doodle spots a squirrel, a bunny, or a deer, does it feel like the whole world switches off and only the chase is left? 🐿️ You are not alone, and your Doodle is not being "bad."

In this Steal the Spotlight episode, canine expert Simone Mueller, creator of Predation Substitute Training (PST), joins me from Southern Germany to share how to work WITH your Doodle's prey drive instead of fighting it.

I have been telling Doodle parents for years that the Poodle in your Doodle was bred to retrieve waterfowl alongside people. Simone shows how to turn that history into teamwork on your walks and hikes. Just a kind, science-based system that keeps all three parties safe: you, your Doodle, and the wildlife.

✨ In this episode:
What Predation Substitute Training is, and why suppressing a natural behavior is not the goal
Why Doodles come from two hunting backgrounds, and what that means on your walks
How to go from the person who always "spoils the fun" to your Doodle's hunting partner
Games that mimic parts of the hunt safely, with no animal harmed
How to become relevant to your Doodle outdoors, so your cues actually land
Calm "wildlife rituals," so everyone knows what to do when a deer appears
Simone's four-piece puzzle framework for predatory behavior
🐾 Resources mentioned:
Call Off the Chase, Simone's PST master course: thedoodlepro.com/chase (code DOODLE = 33% off). Self-paced, new modules each week for about 13 weeks, plus one year of Q and A sessions and community support.
Simone's complimentary Myth Buster webinar: Watch the Myth Buster webinar
Hunting Together, Simone's book: Hunting Together on Amazon or Hunting Together on Dogwise
For pet professionals: Simone's PST Instructor Course runs once a year. Doors close Sunday, October 25 at 11:59 PM Germany time (6:59 PM Eastern, 4:59 PM Mountain), and it begins Monday, October 26. Code ICDOODLE takes 29% off (a little over $900): thedoodlepro.com/pstinstructor. Listening later? Join the PST Instructor waitlist for next year.
Episode recap and full transcript: thedoodlepro.com/doodle-prey-drive
Disclosure: I am a proud partner of Simone's Call Off the Chase and PST Instructor courses and of Dogwise, so I earn a small commission (it pays for extra dog treats 🐾) when you join or buy through my links, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I only share programs and books I trust for Doodle families.

This is The Doodle Pro Podcast, where we celebrate how Doodles are different, wonderfully so. 🐾
Send Corinne your Doodle win
Corinne Gearhart, M.A., CPDT-KA, is the founder of The Doodle Pro®, a science-based training platform helping Doodle parents raise calmer, well-mannered dogs using positive reinforcement. She is the host of The Doodle Pro® Podcast and author of Your Doodle’s Daily Schedule Blueprint™, a #1 Amazon Best Seller.
Get the Doodle Schedule Blueprint:
thedoodlepro.com/podbook
More episodes:
thedoodlepro.com/podcast

Does your Doodle bark at you until you give in? Kristi Benson, barking specialist and Academy for Dog Trainers instructor, joins me to explain why “demand barking” is really “demand working,” how we accidentally train it with textbook positive reinforcement, and why both bark collars and “just ignore it” make things worse.
You’ll learn how to tell an upset bark from an asking bark, why Doodles are especially quick to learn this job, and Kristi’s three-part plan: run an enrichment audit, teach a well-practiced sit as the new way to ask, and use a long down-stay or a calm 30-second timeout when the answer has to be no. No fear, no pain, no shame.
🐾 Is your Doodle barking because they’re unemployed? Take the complimentary Doodle Job Quiz: thedoodlepro.com/podquiz
📝 Full show notes and transcript: thedoodlepro.com/goldendoodle-demand-barking
🐕 Kristi’s Peace and Quiet barking course: kristibenson.com
📚 Grab the book: thedoodlepro.com/podbook
Send Corinne your Doodle win
Corinne Gearhart, M.A., CPDT-KA, is the founder of The Doodle Pro®, a science-based training platform helping Doodle parents raise calmer, well-mannered dogs using positive reinforcement. She is the host of The Doodle Pro® Podcast and author of Your Doodle’s Daily Schedule Blueprint™, a #1 Amazon Best Seller.
Get the Doodle Schedule Blueprint:
thedoodlepro.com/podbook
More episodes:
thedoodlepro.com/podcast

Part 2 with Dominika of Dog Meets Baby is the how-to half. We start with the first meeting between your Doodle and your baby, including the step most families skip: greeting your Doodle without the baby first.
From there, Dominika covers why jumping and barking are the two behaviors to work on now, what changes the day your baby starts crawling, how to tell a happy lick from a "please give me space" lick, the bubble trick that finally makes sense to a two year old, and the signs it's time to call a certified professional.
No baby at home? Every how-to still applies. Grandkids, nieces and nephews, and the neighborhood kid asking to pet your Doodle all count. 🐾
In this episode
Where your Doodle stays during the birth, and how to choose
The first meeting, step by step (no dangling feet!)
Why jumping quietly pushes families toward rehoming, and why it's fixable
What changes the day your baby starts crawling
The kiss-to-dismiss lick, plus the happy-lick snapshot test
The bubble trick from Dominika's book, Lola and the Bubble Mission
When to call a professional, and why a growl is a warning to thank
Links 
🍼 Dominika's courses, her book Lola and the Bubble Mission, and her complimentary prep checklist: thedoodlepro.com/dogmeetsbaby (use code DOODLEPRO). I'm a proud affiliate and may earn a commission. 
🛋️ Build the skill underneath almost every tip, a Doodle who can safely park it: The Settled Doodle™, thedoodlepro.com/settleddoodle
📝 Episode page and full transcript: thedoodlepro.com/introduce-doodle-to-baby 
🎧 Missed Part 1? thedoodlepro.com/prepare-doodle-for-baby
 📸 Dominika on Instagram: @dogmeets_baby
The Doodle Pro Podcast, where we celebrate how Doodles are different, wonderfully so.
Send Corinne your Doodle win
Corinne Gearhart, M.A., CPDT-KA, is the founder of The Doodle Pro®, a science-based training platform helping Doodle parents raise calmer, well-mannered dogs using positive reinforcement. She is the host of The Doodle Pro® Podcast and author of Your Doodle’s Daily Schedule Blueprint™, a #1 Amazon Best Seller.
Get the Doodle Schedule Blueprint:
thedoodlepro.com/podbook
More episodes:
thedoodlepro.com/podcast

How do you prepare your Doodle for a baby? Dominika of Dog Meets Baby was eight years into her career as a certified trainer when she brought newborn twins home to a dog every trainer friend trusted. What happened in the first few seconds is why she now helps families prepare their dogs for life with little ones.
In Part 1, we talk about what really changes for your Doodle when the family's attention shifts, why "cute" behaviors suddenly feel like too much, the guilt nobody says out loud, and when to jump in on preparing (your due date is not a deadline). Then we bust three myths, including the hospital blanket trick.
Not expecting? Stay anyway. Grandkids, nieces, nephews, and the neighborhood kid asking to pet your Doodle all count. 🐾
🛋️ Teach your Doodle to safely park it while life happens around them. The Settled Doodle™ is self-paced, five minutes at a time, with no live calls: thedoodlepro.com/settleddoodle
CHAPTERS
 0:00 Kids are everywhere in a Doodle's life
 2:13 Lola and the newborn twins
 7:36 What changes when the family's attention shifts
 11:16 Is it jealousy? What your Doodle is actually saying
 14:58 The guilt and grief nobody says out loud
 19:12 Velcro Doodles: a feature to plan around
 21:17 When to start preparing
 23:26 Sleep arrangements
 27:17 Car safety with a baby on board
 28:49 Your due date is not a deadline
 30:08 Myth: the hospital blanket
 33:56 Myth: the car seat meet and greet
 36:04 Myth: dogs are naturally great with kids
 39:26 What's coming in Part 2
RESOURCES
 🍼 Dominika's courses and complimentary prep checklist: thedoodlepro.com/dogmeetsbaby (code DOODLEPRO). I'm a proud affiliate and may earn a commission.
📸 Dominika on Instagram: @dogmeets_baby
🛋️ Teach your Doodle to safely park it, The Settled Doodle™
📝 Full show notes and transcript  
📖 Your Doodle's Daily Schedule Blueprint™
🎧 All episodes
Doodles are different, wonderfully so. 🐾
Send Corinne your Doodle win
Corinne Gearhart, M.A., CPDT-KA, is the founder of The Doodle Pro®, a science-based training platform helping Doodle parents raise calmer, well-mannered dogs using positive reinforcement. She is the host of The Doodle Pro® Podcast and author of Your Doodle’s Daily Schedule Blueprint™, a #1 Amazon Best Seller.
Get the Doodle Schedule Blueprint:
thedoodlepro.com/podbook
More episodes:
thedoodlepro.com/podcast