How to Talk Dog™

Bill Matney has always been a teacher of sorts, training people how to do just about anything for over 25 years. He owns and manages a professional consulting and training business, and personally conducts over 100 seminars and classes each year. For years Bill focused on loss prevention for commercial operations and fire and emergency services, specializing in technical rope rescue and confined space and swift water rescue training.

In 1997, Bill realized that he needed an assistant to do what no human could do in common rescue situations. He trained a dog named Hydro to pull ropes through small openings so trapped people could pull in food and water. The training worked so well, he trained the rest of his dogs to rescue people from the water and to retrieve and carry rescue equipment. Soon his colleagues realized that training dogs, even puppies, was as easy as breathing for Bill and wanted to know how he did it. The How to Talk Dog™ method was born.

Thousands of dogs and puppies later, Bill has appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and Pet Stars in California. He is also a favorite speaker at outdoor, wildlife and boat shows all across the United States. His seminars are always standing room only! In fact, he was in such high demand that Bill decided to create a How to Talk Dog™ series of products just to keep up.

At the center of the line is the How to Talk Dog™ DVD. In the DVD, Bill takes you on a journey into the mind of your dog to help you better understand how they learn. No lofty ideas — just plain, simple, straight-forward discussion on how to “talk dog”. Bill shows you step-by-step how to communicate with your dog through practical principles, positive displacement and tried-and-true trademarked procedures that teach you how to teach your dog to behave... and a few neat tricks!

In 2004, Bill and his son Matt realized that not everyone has the time or the patience to work with their puppy or dog. Partnering with a local canine daycare, the first How to Talk Dog™ Training Center was established. Today, there are How to Talk Dog™ training centers all over the southern United States. All of the training centers are certified in Bill’s pioneering method and will work with your dog from day one trough to the final training session with the whole family.

Spend a few moments on the site to learn more about How to Talk Dog™ seminars, DVDs, training centers and the House Calls service.