 'Cena' and my nephew Warren  'Tru' and my nephew Warren  Happy Halloween!  'Stitch' playing ball with Darren and his Dad  'Cena' as a pup  Yes, dogs and cats CAN get along! |
We feel dogs deserve to be rewarded FOR what they do for us, not SO they will do something for us.Here at Camo Cross, we are what the industry considers "positive reinforcement" trainers, However, don't read the previous sentence to mean "treats, treats, treats…treats for the rest of their life!". We do use rewards to help shape behaviors and form them into lasting habits, however, rewards come in many forms. They may be treats, play time, a pat on the head, belly rub, or simply a "Good Job, Buddy". Positive reinforcement based training is not only the most ethical way to communicate with your dog, its methods are also based in scientific research that has helped us understand our canine counterparts better!
An Article by Dr. Stanley Coren We feel dogs deserve to be rewarded FOR what they do for us, not SO they will do something for us. In other words, the reward is used as a prize after the behavior, not as an incentive to perform the behavior. This allows you to reward the dog when you want or can, not force you to use rewards to get behavior. When we begin training, we will often use food as a "lure" to communicate what is expected of the dog, however, we are also taking measures to eventually replace that lure with a reliable cue for the behavior, allowing the food to be a reward for a job well done! We also utilize a training method called shaping. Shaping sets the dog up to be successful at guessing a correct behavior. This behavior can then be "shaped" or sculpted into further behaviors. We LOVE this method as it rewards initiative, has the most active participation from the dog in the learning process, and creates a "thinking" dog! We believe the best reward a dog can have is a meaningful relationship with his owner. This is great news because it is a win-win situation for both parties involved. Your dog behaves because it values its relationship with you. Your rewarding your dog by giving it a meaningful relationship with you. Now that is simplifying the process, but it does encompass our goals as your instructor. To help you and your dog develop a lasting partnership of mutual respect, trust us it is SO rewarding! Speaking of partnerships, as your trainer, we become a member of that partnership and will help you to achieve whatever your goals are with your dog. It is not our job to tell you what your dog should be. It is our job to help you decide what you want your dog to be and build a road map to success (within reason of course). To Learn More about our beliefs check out our blog! |