Balancing the relationship between leadership/rules, and affection is where the magic is at!
It's A Lifestyle, Not A Band-aid
Why would this same dog do fantastic right after his training, but a month or year later, backslide right back into the behaviors that brought him to me in the 1st place?
What Are You Feeding Your Dog?
A dog that begets a doting owners constant affection all weekend, will later, when left alone during the work week, be left frustrated and hungry for his emotional food.
Leveraging Respect
Setting the tone for your walk with your dog before you ever step out of the house is your way of leveraging respect and cultivating the heel position.
The Rescue Dog's Transition
How do you introduce a new dog to his new home, dog-brothers and sisters, and home dynamic? Very delicately.
Compounded Focus
So many dog owners get stuck trying to correct that big explosive moment with their dog in the heat of the moment rather than stacking all of the little permission based exercises in order to prevent the reaction from ever happening.
Conditioning For Stress
For any dog that has successfully avoided pushing through a stressful situation, and reacts with aggression, barking, growling, or flight, the reward is to either scare the threat away by growling, or to run from it.
Capping Intensification
One of the best ways to prevent an ugly situation from ever occurring with your dog is by addressing any shift in behavior at its lowest level of interest, (ears perked forward, closed mouth, crinkled forehead, a glance away from you), before it has chance to escalate into something that cannot be reversed.
"NO" is not Abuse.
If there isn’t a “NO” in your conversation with your badly misbehaved dog, then you are reinforcing whatever behavior she is currently exhibiting.
Human Negligence
Human negligence is causing the euthanasia epidemic we are seeing in our country. Dogs fall victim to human ignorance, thoughtlessness, and poor management on a daily basis. A lack of realizing the importance of discipline, order, and obedience training can turn a remarkable dog with an immense capacity for companionship into a destructive, aggressive, or hyper annoyance the next.
Where Does the Barbarity Lie?
Dog training tools, such as the Prong Collar or E-Collar, are not evil or inhumane. Only the energy and intent behind the tool can be labeled as such.
Keeping Your Cool
One of the hardest skills to master, at least for myself, was keeping my cool when things get hairy with my dogs.
What's More Dangerous?
Punishment is not abuse. It’s feedback or little bits of information that help steer your dog in the right direction. We reward 95% of the time for the behavior we want, and correct for the 5% that shouldn’t be allowed. Consequences prevent a dog from acting on impulse.
A Dog Trainer’s Dilemma
When finally reunited with your dog after a board an train, you can expect to see that nothing has changed in regards to his behavior and the relationship he remembers with you.
When Abuse Becomes Our Excuse
Feeling sorry for your dog should not be the reason to withhold structure because “he’s been through so much already.” Your dog needs a healthy future filled with accountability, rules, and boundaries that convince him that he no longer needs to make all of the decisions on his own.
Your Dog is Your Mirror
If your dog is exhibiting any behavioral issues, chances are you may want to take a good look in the mirror.
The Story of the Rescue
Our Story of the Rescue: While animal abuse is seen on a daily basis and unfortunately cannot be denied, it is far less a cause of it’s current behavioral problems than most dog owners think. We need to move from a place of feeling sorry for, or making excuses for our rescues, to leading, training, and guiding. This is they only way to move your dog forward to a healthy state of mind. Holding on to your dog’s past can be more harmful than the actual abuse itself.
Calm On Command
So why so much focus on creating CALM with our dogs? Aren’t they supposed to have fun and run around like little maniacs? Creating Calm On Command can have a major impact on arousal and anxiety issues.