Training Philosophy

Every one has a different goal when working with dogs. Some want to create a dog that is highly attentive to the owners needs – therapy/service dog. On high alert ready for action – police/military/search and rescue/guard/protection dogs. Highly excitable – agility dogs. These are all incredible and amazing things to see a dog do! However there are specific skills, goals, and mind sets to each one.

We don’t do any of those things…… Our goal is to create a low stress, calm relaxed family dog. A dog that is comfortable going for a walk, playing in the back yard, hanging out calmly during family bbq’s, calming interacting with friends and family members. Also a dog that is calm and well behaved during our every day activities around the house, cooking, cleaning, going in and out of the door, reading a book, watching tv, kids doing homework and playing with their friends, etc…..

Many people believe that training a dog is…… training a dog….. There IS a difference! If you come to me wanting a agility dog, a search and rescue dog, etc…. I will quickly let you know that we are not the right trainers for you. When searching for a dog trainer make sure you have your goals in mind. Are you wanting to create a “working dog” that excited, or a “family dog” that is a calm and relaxed and a pleasure to have around.

“People know that the gold is there, but they are too lazy to pick up the shovel and start digging” ~Jim Rohn~

Whether you are wanting to improve/change your life, your dog, your career or your future you have to be willing to put in the dedication and work. This is a must to be able to improve your current situation, if not then your life will stay the same.

It is so hard when you see something that you want to change or do and do not follow through with it disappear. There are some very simple things that are required to do this, yet they are often made out to be much harder than what they are. The want, hunger, and willingness to do what it takes to accomplish your goal is all that is required.

You have to want to change. You have to want to get something more or different. Without the want or desire to transform then it will never happen. If you are wanting to change your dog’s bad habits on the walk, then it is possible. It is available because the desire to move forward will be with in reach.

A deep hunger is a must. Without the deep yearning to better your current situation you will never succeed. Like many life goals you have to be so famished with such hunger that you are doing everything, absolutely everything possible to get to the top of where you want to go. With this hunger comes sacrifice. If you are wanting the dog that you desire, you have to be willing to sacrifice your time, and accept change.

These things all seem simple and easy, yet there are so many times that we hear the excuses that come with lack of one of these components. To get the dog, the relationship, or the behavior that you want you have to look at yourself and ask if you are willing to put in the work that is required to get there. If not then that lies on you and not anyone else. It is so easy to blame not taking your dog on a walk on your job keeping you late, you like to sleep in and are not a morning person, or that it is date night. However once we start holding ourselves accountable, we can then hold our dog accountable.

OVER A HALF DOZEN PEOPLE BITTEN BY THIS DOG…… YET I GET KISSES

When it comes to your dog are you being selfish? Are you putting your need of constant love and affection before your dogs need of structure/rules/guidance. So many of us try to “buy” our dogs love. We want them to love us so desperately that we will overlook their true needs and instead shower them with hugs/kisses/treats hoping that this will convince them that we are worth loving. When I work with ANY dog I ignore my needs and only focus on what the dog needs. Not what they want from me…… What they NEED from me. They need me to be a strong leader for them. They need me to give them rules. They need me to guide them. They need me to put their needs before my own and not be selfish. In this pic you see my gift from Louis!!! By putting his needs before my own I have not bought his love….. I earned it…..

When you have a dog that bites humans it’s a big deal! When you have dogs that bite human members of their own family you have a serious problem!!! These types of issues are usually relationship based. So what do we do with them? Do we hug and kiss them to convince them we are their friends? Do we dominate them to convince them that we are the “alpha”? Do we teach them a series of tricks so they they can go get their Canine Good Citizen? Do we teach them agility to build a good relationship and burn off extra energy? No…… We don’t do ANY of those things.
What we do is show (not trick) them into trusting our leadership. Respect them and demand that they respect us in return. We give them rules and communicate to them clearly what they are. Then we enforce them fairly. We fulfill their needs of structure and exercise. We guide and protect them.

In short we become their teacher. Their guardian. Their protector. We become their leader…… The word “leader” has gotten a bad rep in the world of dog training and in other places as well. Being a leader in not a bad thing…… Never be afraid to lead!!! Lead your coworkers! Lead your family! Lead you kids! Lead your dog……
Are you over protecting your dog from the stresses of life?

More often than not we overprotect our dogs from the daily stresses of life. This makes it very hard when “life” situations arise because they don’t have any coping skills or experience in how to handle the stress. By introducing stress in a controlled circumstances we are able to help the dog learn to handle it. This is why when something that may stress ( doorbell ringing, UPS or garbage truck, off leash dog, car back firing, kid bouncing a basketball, or even a simple bag blowing in the wind ) them out arises and they are use to it they know how to handle the situation.

For instance if you have a child that is overprotected and held back from doing activities to help them socialize when they eqnter the real world of school and life they don’t understand how to interact or have the proper coping skills to do so when they are scared or confused. Much like a child acting out when they are unsure a dog is the same. If they don’t understand a car backfiring or a skateboard rolling by their natural reaction may be to bite or take off running. However if we enter these things into their life and show that they can trust us not to let anything bad happen to them, this is when they don’t become stressed and anxious.

To some seeing a dog simply laying around the house rather then running around excited is a sad sight. Often times excitement is mistaken for happiness. A happy dog running and playing is healthy and awesome! But a dog that is living in an over excited state of mind the majority of the time is unhealthy and upsetting to the dog. So please pay close attention to your dogs state of mind. If they are constantly following you around looking super attentive. Constantly walking from room to room looking for something to do. Sitting in one spot staring at something. Running the fence line “having fun”. This just may not be the “happy” dog that you think you have.

Dovier is guilty of attacking several people, the most resent of which ended up in the emergency room! As well as attacking a few dogs, When working with human/dog aggressive dogs like this we aren’t concerned about getting the dog to like or even trust us. All we are concerned about is getting the dog to respect us. The trust/like shortly follows. We do this by giving them lots of information about what is expected from them. This helps them to understand what role we are going to play in our relationship (leader) and what role we expect them to play (follower). By doing this in the very beginning we pave the way for a balanced relationship.

Some dogs will never calm down unless they were asleep. By fulfilling their needs of structure, rules, and guidance we have been able to remove their stress and anxiety. Often times we mistake lots of energy as happiness. Sometimes that may be the case but more then likely the dog is stressed but we just can’t see it because it is covered up by constant movement. Once we remove the option of constantly running around we get to see the “real” dog that lies beneath. Same is true for most aggression. Once we remove the option of acting aggressively we often see a nervous scared dog. By being strong leaders to our dogs worth “following” we can see huge improvements in a short time with even the most severe of cases.

Is your dog misbehaving? Is your dog unable to sit still for longer then a few minutes at a time? Is your dog always running out of an open door? Constantly following you from room to room becoming more and more excited? Jumping on guest? Jumping on you? Jumping on counters? Chewing the furniture and shoes? Chasing the kids?

Simplify things for yourself and for your dog! Tell them what you’d rather them do…… The place command!!!!!

Annie came to us a nervous wreck because she just didn’t know what to do with herself. By telling her exactly what we expect from her she has learned how relax and become……. Calm~and~Content…..

Just because you are struggling it does not mean you are failing. The greatest success often comes from the struggles that you have to occur to get there.

Often times people feel if they don’t ” get it ” with their dog that they never will and give up. However this is far from the truth. Just like anything else we have to practice to get what we want. Think of when you were learning to walk… it took many stumbles and many attempts but after your struggle you had an amazing reward.

This is the same in dog training. We all struggle on a daily basis… but how you continue and refocus on your goal will make you successful. You are the one that dictates the relationship you have with your dog. If you have the desire to have the best possible dog than you most certainly can.

Don’t give up on yourself or dog. The relationship you have now can change into something amazing by tomorrow.

What is dog training? To many, it is teaching a series cool tricks followed by a lot of repetition of commands. To us, it is teaching dogs how to hang out with us calmly as we go about our day.

Our training isn’t the excited training that many think of with dogs. It’s not high pitch voices followed by lots of praise and rewards. Most of it is nonverbal and sharing calmness with the dogs. This help them learn how to be calm and relax in our crazy world. When dogs learn how to behave we can take them most anywhere with us and enjoy the time we spend with them.

What do you share with your dog… a calm state of mind or an excited crazy state of mind. Remember that dogs see your energy and your actions and who you are as the way the are supposed to act because that is what their leader is sharing with them. If you want a calm dog share calmness… if you want an excited dog share being excited. Watch the transformation when you decide.

It is very important to teach and enforce the rules of not door bolting, so they aren’t making bad choices. When dogs rush out of a door adrenalized they often tend not to think clearly. This is when dogs are hit by a car, get into fights with other dogs, and bite neighbors. By clearly letting them know that you have to go outside calmly, and wait until told to do so. It sets the tone that naughty business and bad antics will not be tolerated. When this is accomplished you are able to enjoy your canine companion with out the worry of anything bad happening.

Putting a dog in with a large dog pack where everyone respects the humans is a great way to help dogs learn to trust and respect human leadership.

Our Remote Collar training can be included in all board and train programs. These remote or electric collars are commonly known as an invisible leash.

It is important to know that while some trainers use this device in it’s full (high shock) capacity, we strictly prohibit using electric collars in any manner other than the lowest possible setting. In fact, the level that we use with most dogs is so low that it can barely be felt by humans.

When used properly this low level stimulation has great benefits and reinforces what we establish during the board and train period. It is used during our training programs as a gentle reminder to your dog. During off leash training it ensures the safety of your dog as it immediately responds to this gentle stimulation.

We highly recommend it to keep your dog feeling safe and calm. The end result is an ‘off leash’ trained dog that will always come back when called 100% of the time and will follow you when off the leash as well.