FORCE FREE
No pain, violence, fear, or unpleasant punishments necessary. You do not have to hurt your dog to teach your dog
POSITIVE
Instead of “traditional”, outdated methods that rely on fear and control, Positive Reinforcement teaches your dog to enjoy behaving the way you enjoy them behaving
ENRICHMENT
Broadening your dog’s experiences and interactions (and opportunities for fun!) can be the fastest way to a better relationship with your dog
TRAINING/BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
Positive reinforcement training is the fastest way to create a strong, positive emotional bond with your pet, change, modify, or replace an undesired behavior, Or create new habits or behaviors
What do I do and why do I do it that way?
Positive reinforcement training. This method is based entirely upon the powerful, strong emotions your dog already feels about interactions and environments. By rewarding positive interaction and foregoing negative punishments, this training method has been shown to unequivocally teach animals (of any kind) much faster than punishment based methods, and has the added benefit of making your dog like you even more the more you do it
Think about it like this: remember the teacher that taught you the most in your life? Was it the teacher that was strict, mean, and punished you at every opportunity? I would wager it was not.
What Do I Do?
TRAINING
- “Puppy” Behaviors (they don’t grow out of it)
- Potty Training
- Leash Walking
- Jumping up/other “rude” behavior
- etc.
ENRICHMENT
- Destructiveness (boredom related)
- “Effective” excercise (get the most “tired dog” from your walk)
- Excessive barking (boredom related)
- etc.
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
- Reactivity
- Fear issues
- Anxiety
- Destructiveness (anxiety related)
- Human/Dog interaction issues (specific and general)
- Excessive barking (anxiety related)
- Acclimating new dogs (especially rescues)
Why do I do this, and how did I learn to do it?
I do this because I love dogs, and they cannot speak up. Most behavioral issues are very simple at their core, and too many go un-adressed, leaving dogs and people worse off than they could be. I train with this method because if nothing else, it is the one that does not require me to cause pain to something that loves, relies on, and trusts me.
It also has the benefit of being the method that works the best and is the most sustainable, and is the most successful way to teach an animal to make better future decisions. I learned my skills working as a manager of a dog boarding facility for several years, where I learned a lot about enrichment and dog to dog interactions. After that, I got hands on and worked in the animal care department of a large animal shelter for a few years, specializing in working with the behaviorally difficult dogs.
At the shelter, I honed my low-stress, friendly approach to dog interactions, my positive attitude and reinforcement techniques, and in dealing with dogs in their most stressed state, learned how vitally important their emotional state is to their learning ability
Since those experiences, I’ve continued my education on the subject of positive reinforcement dog training and behavior modification
What’s in it for you and your dog?
Your dog will understand you better, and you will understand your dog better. Facilitating mutual communication means that you and your dog will be able to solve future issues together
