Training Philosophy

My methods are never painful or harmful to your dog. Positive reinforcement training is modern dog training. Advanced behavior professionals, current scientific research, and everyday experience support positive methods. Through our own human experience, we can agree that behavior is rooted in motivations and in emotions. It is vital to consider the emotional state of a being displaying a behavior we consider unpleasant. It is not enough for a training professional to merely target the behavior on display. We have a responsibility to address the emotions, motivations, and welfare of the animal in front of us.

Painful training tactics, while unethical, can create a very fearful and/or aggressive dog. Strangling your dog every time he pulls to see another dog can simply teach your dog that other dogs lead to pain, which can create a dog-aggressive dog. It is safer, more fun, and more effective to train using positives instead of pain.

Dogs are simply born without knowing how their human wants them to behave. They are born with wants and needs and the genetics they’ve inherited to acquire those wants and needs. Teaching dogs how we would prefer them to behave can give us peace and give dogs the ability to acquire peace for themselves.

When teaching simple behaviors (Sit, Come, Stay) using positive reinforcement, the first step is discovering what motivates your dog. This could be play, praise, treats, off-leash time or something else. We, then, teach your dog that offering behaviors we want to see will result in his motivator of choice. For example, we might teach your dog to sit before removing his leash for play time. Now sitting is the requirement for your dog to attain the freedom he so strongly desires.

Training with positive reinforcement is such a rewarding experience for you and your dog. It’s actually quite amazing that we share our lives so intimately with another species that doesn’t speak our language! Opening up an avenue of communication between you and your furry companion will be one of the best decisions you have made as a pet parent.