I offer private lessons to help dog owners learn how to understand their dog’s needs and manage their behavior. For part of the lesson I am working with your dog, and the other part of the lesson I am teaching you how to train your dog. If owners do not implement the tools that I teach them, the dog’s behavior does not change. I love working with rescue and foster dogs in an effort to help alleviate overcrowding in shelters and euthanasia. I partner with rescues and their fosters to facilitate appropriate handling and care for their animals. I am most passionate about helping dogs that are labeled “aggressive” and “reactive.” If your dog has bitten a person or another dog, I want to work with them. The more difficult a dog’s behavior is, the more deeply you will bond with them while overcoming the challenge. My role is to help guide the process of bringing you and your dog to a better understanding of one another and as a result of that understanding, positive change takes place.
I use a structured, researched, and trusted approach to helping your best friend.
Structure is how an owner communicates boundaries with their dog. It provides your dog with a clear understanding of what is and is not okay and what is expected of them in your home. Structure and consistency increase your dog’s trust in your leadership abilities and helps them feel safe. It sets the tone for them to find their calm, submissive energy. I use a combination of crates, elevated place boards, basic obedience, games, driveway drills, routines and boundaries to create the ideal environment for a dog to feel secure.
How we speak to our dogs matters deeply. Dogs are incredibly sensitive, and when we are struggling with a negative behavior it is easy to fall into the pattern of constantly saying to our dog, “No,” “Stop it,” “Get down,” “Let go” etc. When a dog only receives negative feedback, the negative behaviors typically increase because their self-esteem is going down. Any time a corrective command is given, it immediately needs to be followed by what we want the dog to do instead. Once the dog complies with the new behavior we have an opportunity to shower them with praise and positivity, increasing self-esteem and building your bond. I utilize praise and treats heavily in early stages of training in order to create positive patterns of behavior. Over time the use of treats can decrease, but praise should always be consistently given when our dog is making good decisions.
I believe in showing more than telling. Dogs need to be shown what we are asking them to do over and over again in order to create an effective association with a command. Dogs respond far more quickly to body language than command words. My goal is for you to learn to communicate with your dog without ever having to say a word.
Dogs have a system of communication that is equally as complex as humans, their system just looks different than ours. Dogs are always communicating with us, but humans rarely take the time to learn their system. I educate my clients on understanding dog behavior so that they can understand why their dog is behaving a certain way and take the appropriate steps to address any problematic behaviors.
Obedience cannot be the goal when training dogs. The goal needs to be building trust, love and respect. This is done by taking the time to understand how dogs learn and communicate. Taking the time to understand our dogs is the deepest form of respect and love that we can show them. I use their system of communication to demonstrate that I am trustworthy and worthy of their respect, which in turn inspires their desire to follow my leadership and live within my boundaries. Just like with humans, respect cannot be demanded, it must be earned.
A lot of people don’t realize how their physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic condition impact their dog(s). Dogs are sensitive to energy and they will take on what their owners are putting out energetically. I help owners become aware of the energy they are emitting so that they can create an emotionally stable environment for their dogs.
The e-collar is an incredible tool that offers sound, vibration and stimulation options. The e-collar is the ultimate way to communicate with your dog without having to be right next to them. Once a dog is e-collar trained it opens up an entire world of freedom. It is one of the most effective tools to mitigate negative behaviors because it allows you to immediately and consistently address them. This is also used to train dogs off leash.
Dogs desire mental stimulation in order to release energy, build self-esteem, feel fulfilled and have fun. Dogs enjoy being given a challenge and working to overcome it. There is a reason why service dogs, police dogs, and dogs with jobs are some of the happiest dogs out there.
I specialize in working with reactive dogs. This behavior needs to be addressed on many different levels. The implementation of structure and consistency increases the dog’s feeling of safety. Maintaining boundaries in and outside the home increases a dog’s trust in their owner as a leader. E-collar work and direction changes are used to break the dog’s fixation and draw their focus back onto their owner. Field trips and exposure to many different environments increases a dog’s confidence and reduces their fear response. Regular obedience work builds a dog’s self-esteem and increases connection to their owner, establishing trust that is relied upon in a triggering situation. Lastly, controlled, gradual and consistent exposure over time – seeking to work through the reactive trigger rather than avoiding it while utilizing all of these tools. Each time the dog walks safely through the trigger, the reactive behavior slightly decreases.
