Training Philosophy
I believe it is important to give each dog and client individual attention which is why I primarily train by giving private lessons. I also believe it is critical to have the dog obey commands in any situation. Being able to have a dog obey commands regardless of distractions could mean the difference between life and death for the dog who chases a squirrel into the road in front of an oncoming car. My training methods include a balance of praise, motivation, and correction. I do not use treats as a reward system for the simple reason that at a critical time, you many not have any treats with you. My dogs learn that their reward is the praise they get from their owners and they work based on their desire to please them. Below is a description of all of the different types of training opportunities that I offer.
Basic Obedience
With basic obedience, you and your dog will learn to execute commands such as sit, come, down, and heel on leash only. The length of time it takes to complete this program depends on each dog and the amount of time spent working with the dog in between lessons. Generally, it will take the dog between 10 to 15 lesson to master those commands. Here are some pictures of me working with Gus and Payton on basic obedience.
Advanced Obedience
Advanced obedience builds on what the dog
learned in basic obedience by beginning off-leash training and introducing the
place command. In order to begin off-leash training, the dog must
demonstrate that they
have
mastered the commands with heavy emphasis on
working in distractions with the
training. When introducing off-leash training, I use a long-line (an
extended leash) to correct the dog if they break a command.
After using a long line a couple of time, the dog usually gets the idea that
they must obey commands even when they are not on a leash. From that
point, we can move on to suing only a tab for corrections. It is important
when beginning off-leash training to be in a closed off area for the sake of the
dog's safety. Again the length of time that this takes depends on the dog
and the owner's diligence, but mastery of advanced obedience typically takes an
additional 5 to 10 lessons.
Behavior Modification
Behavior modification is used for dogs who display behaviors such as separation anxiety, aggression towards people and/or other dogs and dogs who have an irrational fear of certain things. We use behavior modification along with basic obedience to try and change the dog's way of thinking and make them an acceptable member of society.
Puppy Development
This is typically called puppy pre-school. It is designed for puppies who are in the critical socialization window between 8 and 16 weeks of age. In puppy pre-school, puppies are introduced to common household items (stairs, vacuum cleaners, noisy toys, etc.) to help them gain confidence. The goal is to introduce them to these items early so as to prevent irrational fears of them later. The owners learn how to deal with annoying puppy behaviors, such as play-biting and housebreaking. They also learn how to properly care for their new puppies.
Utility
Utility is sometimes referred to as agility. This type of training is commonly used for dogs who plan to compete in AKC Agility Competitions. However, utility training is useful for dogs who plan to be used as police K-9 dogs or search and rescue dogs as it gets them used to navigating through all different types of obstacles.
Scent Detection
Scent detection is becoming a very common type of trainig for all breeds of dogs. There are currently many uses for dogs who are capable of discriminating various scents. Dogs have typically been associated with scent detection when used by police departments to locate drugs, but their use has now become even more widespread to include sniffing out illegal imported fruits (The Beagle Brigade), locating bombs, detecting gas leaks, and most recently, indicating skin cancer in humans.
Tracking
Tracking has historically been most common among dogs who are used in various types of hunting, but the uses for tracking dogs has also been expanded greatly in recent years. Dogs are now used for tracking and locating victims in collapsed buildings and avalanches. Tracking dogs are also being used by police agencies to locate escaped convicts and illegal immigrants. There are also some private agencies that use tracking dogs to locate missing children or family pets.
Retrieval
Retrieval is most widely used in sporting breeds to retrieve game. An important aspect of retrieval is not only to retrieve the game, but also to return it to the owner without destroying the game. To do this, a training method called forced soft-mouth retrieval is used. This method teaches the dog that they must retrieve the item when given the command, and also that they must do it gently. If you teach retrieval correctly, you can teach the dog to retrieve delicate items without putting any marks on them.
Assistance Dog
Assistance dogs have become an extremely important aid in allowing people with physical limitations become more independent. Assistance dogs can use all types of training to do various tasks that their owners are unable to do. They learn to open and close doors, turn lights on and off, retrieve keys and various times, inform the owners of unsafe conditions and to get help in emergency situations. An assistance dog can be vital to a person with physical limitations by helping them to gain self-confidence and allowing them to feel more in control of their life.