My Philosophy on Dog Training
I train dog owners, not dogs. The first thing you should know about me and my approach is that I am completely self-taught. I didn’t learn anything I will show you from a book, a video, or another trainer. I developed ALL of my own techniques! I don’t think about how to interact with dogs. I have the ability to look at your dog and tell you what you need to do to change any behavior your dog has. I’m pretty lucky I found this as a career! You won’t see anything I show you in a book, a video or from another trainer. I know this for a fact because I developed it! Some of the techniques may look similar, but when you look closely at the details that’s where you’ll find the differences. And success lies in the very fine details! This is why I have so many clients that have been to multiple trainers before me that were unable to solve their problems. Understanding and changing dog behavior is complicated! Most dog trainers don’t even get it right.
Dogs live in the moment. They simply react to what is going on around them. It’s only when a dog’s reactions don’t align with the owner’s expectations that there is a problem. Two conditions need to be met in order to ensure that your dog will ALWAYS do what you tell him/her to do.
- YOUR DOG HAS TO BE RECEPTIVE – your dog must take direction from you AND be calm-submissive
- YOU HAVE TO CLEARLY COMMUNICATE YOUR EXPECTATIONS TO YOUR DOG
If these two items are present, your dog will always obey when you give a command. This may sound too easy, but believe me there are lots of things that you need to do as an owner to make sure these conditions are present. Small things that don’t mean much to us as humans can send clear messages to your dog about who is in control. If you aren’t doing ALL of these things correctly, then you’re sending your dog mixed messages. Because dogs require clear leadership in all situations, this can be very stressful for your dog. This stress can reveal itself in the form of behavioral problems including separation anxiety, fear, aggression, “accidents” in the house, and much more.
Many dog owners find it hard to believe that letting their dog sniff and pee when it wants during walks can be the cause of the behavioral problems they are experiencing, but it is much more common than you might think. Not having clear leadership in all situations puts a lot of stress on your dog. Like people, every dog responds to stress differently.
