FAQ'SWhen should I begin training my puppy?Puppies begin learning the moment they are born! Puppies also have a "critical socialization window" around 6-16 weeks where the more positive experiences they have, the better they are at adapting to change as an adult! However, we do want to be sure it is medically prudent to have your puppies in group class and require they have at least 2 of their 3 rounds of puppy shots and a kennel cough vaccine before coming to class. Most puppies have the necessary shots by 10-12 weeks of age. But don't wait until they are 12 weeks old to sign up for class as our classes routinely fill 3-4 weeks before they begin!
If your dog is older than this it is not too late! It just takes a little different training program. We will spend the majority of our time teaching a 10 week old puppy new behaviors while a program for an older puppy/dog will spend a lot of time UN-teaching already learned behaviors (ie. Jumping,barking,etc.) Can you train my dog not to ______________ (jump on people, dig in my flowers, chew up my stuff, bark all the time, etc.) Any dog can be taught anything. It is true, I promise. So why aren't all dogs perfectly behaved? Well, because you, the owner, must weigh two things. How hard will it be for YOUR dog to learn the specific task and how important it is to you. Notice, I said any dog can learn anything. I did not say it would be easy :). Take my Corgi as an example, if you have ever known a corgi then you know they like to….talk….a lot. Which makes it more difficult to teach her not to talk than it would be to teach a naturally quiet dog not to talk. So when she was very young,even though it would be difficult, I decided that it was very important to me that she not be as chatty as some of her corgi counterparts. I knew my desire for her not to bark outweighed her desire to bark. Why is all this important you ask? Well, it took A LOT of work to suppress her desire to bark and if I had not been committed from the very beginning to work on it until I saw results, I would have never succeeded. I would have said, "You can't teach a Corgi not to bark at everything!" and I would have lived with a barking dog for a LONG 12-15 years instead of enjoying her for a short 12-15 years. Because we all know the elapsing of time is directly related to how much fun we're having! :)
What is positive reinforcement training? Doesn't that mean they have to have a "cookie" to behave and that I can't discipline them for being bad? Unfortunately, positive reinforcement gets a bad rap many times for being too "treat dependant" and some trainers do fall into that category however, most do not. What we believe is that if you are going to ask a dog to do a job for you he should get something for it. I assume your boss gives you a paycheck for the job you do for him right? Now what this "reward" manifests itself as is where the confusion comes to play. The three biggest misconceptions of positive reinforcement dog training in my opinion are:1. You HAVE to use treats. 2. You can never get AWAY from the treats.3. You must ignore bad behavior. First, you do not have to use treats. It is what motivates most dogs and therefore is a powerful tool. For instance, many service dogs are trained from the time they open their eyes with no treats whatsoever with positive reinforcement techniques. I get some owners who say "my dog is not food motivated" , in that case we find a reward he cherishes whether it be playing tug, a pat on the head, or a cheerful "good dog". Secondly, if you cannot get away from the treats, you are using them incorrectly. As I have said in other areas of my site: Rewards are FOR what they do for us, not SO they will do something for us. If using treats, they should be used to shape behaviors, then the dog should be weaned to another, more convenient, reward. (Unless walking around with beggin' strips in your pocket all the time is convenient to you, in that case, more power to ya!) Notice, I did not say wean them from a reward, I don't think dogs should ever stop getting rewarded for doing what we ask of them. They may not receive a reward EVERY time they are asked to sit but should never reach a point where they NEVER get a "good boy" for sitting. Finally, many dog owners think that positive reinforcement training means we just reward the good and ignore the bad. This is NOT true. If an unwanted behavior is exhibited to gain attention (like jumping), we may choose to ignore it so we do not give them what they want but that is only part of the picture, as we are also actively working on an alternate behavior for them to give us (like sitting).However, if a behavior is self reinforcing (like chewing on your furniture) we will take measures to keep the behavior from happening in the first place, and give you ideas on what you should do when it does happen (which isn't ignore it!).
My dog already knows a few things, do they need to take Puppy/Level 1 Manners? In order to "test out" of Level One Manners, your dog needs to have a basic understanding of the following skills and be able to perform them in a group setting:
Focus Sit Touch Matwork Sit for Petting Stay Down Take and Drop Leave it Wait for your Food Bowl Focused Leash Walking Whiplash Game (name response) Wait at Doorways Down/Stay Go Greet Cue Doorbell Conditioning Come When Called Walking with Leave it Calming signals Red Light Green Light Greetings Come with Sit and Leash Front Door Etiquette, put it all together! Teach a trick Stay games- food lure distractions "Why do I need a professional trainer when there are books/dvd's/t.v. shows/etc. out there? Can't I just do it myself?" While there are many great resources out there to learn about dogs, many times those alone are not enough. They are a great supplement to hands on learning but definitely do not replace it. The main reason is because those types of outlets are just simply too generic. They mostly speak in generalities about dogs and training methods which is all great information but not specific enough to apply to your dog. Suppose you had a 2008 Chevy Suburban that needed the transmission worked on. Do you suppose buying a book called "General Auto Mechanizing" would tell you what you need to know? It might tell you how engines, drive trains, and exhaust work but it would not tell you the specifics of your vehicle. Now take that one step further, not only do you have to work on a certain "breed" of vehicle but every vehicle within that "breed" has its own characteristics and personality (and I have driven a few vehicles with a LOT of character). Wouldn't that make the job of finding a book that told you EXACTLY what to do to fix your transmission, next to impossible? That's where an experienced mechanic comes in, who can use not only his general knowledge of mechanics but also his problem solving skills from years of experience working on thousands of different vehicles to help diagnose the issue and do what repairs it takes to fix it. It may sound silly but your dog is no different. There is NO book,tv show, or dvd on the market that can, by itself, create a great relationship between you and your dog. A trainer can help you down that path and, when you hit a roadblock, they can steer you around it. When was the last time you asked a book a follow-up question and it gave you an answer?
Why should I spend as much or more on training as I did buying the dog? Just like humans, there has been a long Nature vs. Nurture debate. We may never know which plays a bigger role in how "best" best friend turns out to be. However, I believe it is safe to assume until we learn differently that it is a 50/50 relationship between genes and raising. It is for this reason that it surprises me that many dog owners are willing to spend hundreds, even thousands, to get a dog that looks a certain way but are not willing to spend the same amount to get a dog that behaves a certain way.
So maybe you didn’t pay big bucks at a breeder, you went down to your local shelter and found a "whoknowswhat" kind of dog. First let me say thank you for adopting. There are many wonderful dogs sitting in shelters awaiting their "fur"-ever home. However, in many cases, training is even more important when getting a shelter dog because that may be the very reason they ended up in the shelter. Some studies have shown that more than 85% of the dogs that are in shelters are there as a result of lack of training. Many people believe that the solution to our shelter problems is spaying and neutering because they think overpopulation is the culprit. However, the truth is most dogs in shelters had a home at one time and did not get the training they needed to keep that home. Imagine how empty our shelters could be if more owners were willing to invest in training their dogs! |
Customer Comments "I liked that she corrected me so I was a more effective trainer/owner."
"Kelli was very knowledgeable & helpful even with things not directly covered in the lessons." "Kelli did a good job of explaining other ways of doing things when they didn't respond to the original way of doing it." "Kelli is awesome and wonderfully patient. Everything was fabulous!" "Kelli was specifically recommended to me by another trainer not currently giving puppy lessons." "I liked learning the variety of tricks & behaviors. Kelli is very knowledgeable and helpful." "I would highly recommend Kelli as a very knowledgeable and good instructor." "Awesome trainer, made it very personal to my dog." "Kelli is great at adapting to different learning styles. Thanks for everything! "Kelli is a great coach to the handlers and make each of us feel successful." "Enjoyed the positive behavior resulting from the lessons." "Kelli is great with the dogs!" "She was very patient and presented information so it was easy to understand." "Loved the extra time she spent with our questions and all the hands on practice." "Kelli is excellent and very knowledgeable. She obviously enjoys what she does." "I have already recommended Kelli to some of my friends who have dogs." "She was always happy and helpful with any questions and concerns, she seemed very knowledgeable about dogs." "Kelli was wonderful and helped us tremendously with our problem areas. Thank you Kelli!" "Kelli was really helpful to get our dog the way we want her to behave." "Our dog is much better with behavior. Potty training is worlds better. Thank you, Kelli!" "My 7 year old son took the lessons also and Kelli was very patient in letting him work with our dog." "Kelli was great at taking her time and helping us to make sure we knew how to work with our dog." "My dog and I got a whole lot closer, understood each ether so much better, and are having lots of fun together." "Kelli did a very good job showing us how we should teach our puppies. I would definitely recommend her to other dog owners." "Kelli is an excellent trainer. Obviously knows how to train and work well with dogs (and people)." "We liked the tips she gave to help keep him calm." "All our dogs love Kelli! And she spent extra time to help my dog with his 'heel'." "We loved the knowledge that we got and the support." "I highly recommend Kelli to anyone with a dog!" "We loved your class! Chloe is a different dog!" "I am so glad I took the class. It was either this or find him a new home- now he's definitely not leaving!" "The instructor was very smart and explained why we learned what we did." "Kelli is a great trainer and she helps teach the master how to train." "Liked everything, especially addressing challenges such as greetings and barking." "I feel I know how to keep working with her and keep improving which is what I wanted to learn." "She has a talent at getting me to understand how my behavior influences my pet." "Kelli is a very good teacher and willing to work with and answer all questions." |