About the Trainer....
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“There’s a story behind every good dog trainer, 50% of what you get paid for is to train the dog. The other 50% is to give the client an expert assessment on who their dog is, what they're up against, and how to best live with, and improve their dog and life together."
Our story started back with the adoption of our first shelter dog in 2005. “Why is this dog biting us?!” This question was heard repeatedly in our household. We contacted several dog trainers with no one willing to work with a biting dog. “She needs to be euthanized” was the answer. After several cancelled appointments for euthanasia, we figured we had nothing to lose with this dog. We started providing a lot of structure after sufficient exercise and we were surprised that she responded well and stopped biting us. We figured it all out…or so we thought.
In 2013, we adopted our second shelter dog with hyperactivity, dog aggression and severe leash reactivity. This dog proved to be a bigger challenge than our first problem dog. He also came with a euthanasia recommendation from two trainers. This particular dog came with more challenges than we could ever dream of. He was strong, powerful, and very pushy with an arrogance about him. We tried to train him with food, but he’s intentions were far louder in his mind than a simple treat. How was I going to save this dog’s life and get him to listen to me??? After much research, I realized we were not providing any consequences for his behavior. What consequence is appropriate? With this boy, it was an air horn. Yes, an air horn… The horn was “louder”, both literally and figuratively, but it effectively deescalated his brain to a level where he could tune in to me. This brought a whole new level of understanding of dog behavior. The labeling of dog’s behavior does NOT define the dog. Beneath the explosive behavior is the true dog. He was a nervous, excited dog under the disguise of a leash reactive, completely out-of-control dog. He is now the ambassador of hope and a true gentleman.
In early 2013, I began volunteering an animal shelter where I learn to study dog behavior in a pack environment. I was intrigued and incredibly observant and studied how they interacted and communicated. The shelter also had a fair amount of problem dogs that tested boundaries routinely. I began to use my own energy to protect myself and to communicate with the dogs. My state of mind became extremely influential as to how the dogs responded. My goal is to teach owners about balance dog training, state of mind and the power behind using your own body language and energy to control your dog. Please do not give up hope. There is help available. Check out our services that we offer.
“There’s a story behind every good dog trainer, 50% of what you get paid for is to train the dog. The other 50% is to give the client an expert assessment on who their dog is, what they're up against, and how to best live with, and improve their dog and life together."
Our story started back with the adoption of our first shelter dog in 2005. “Why is this dog biting us?!” This question was heard repeatedly in our household. We contacted several dog trainers with no one willing to work with a biting dog. “She needs to be euthanized” was the answer. After several cancelled appointments for euthanasia, we figured we had nothing to lose with this dog. We started providing a lot of structure after sufficient exercise and we were surprised that she responded well and stopped biting us. We figured it all out…or so we thought.
In 2013, we adopted our second shelter dog with hyperactivity, dog aggression and severe leash reactivity. This dog proved to be a bigger challenge than our first problem dog. He also came with a euthanasia recommendation from two trainers. This particular dog came with more challenges than we could ever dream of. He was strong, powerful, and very pushy with an arrogance about him. We tried to train him with food, but he’s intentions were far louder in his mind than a simple treat. How was I going to save this dog’s life and get him to listen to me??? After much research, I realized we were not providing any consequences for his behavior. What consequence is appropriate? With this boy, it was an air horn. Yes, an air horn… The horn was “louder”, both literally and figuratively, but it effectively deescalated his brain to a level where he could tune in to me. This brought a whole new level of understanding of dog behavior. The labeling of dog’s behavior does NOT define the dog. Beneath the explosive behavior is the true dog. He was a nervous, excited dog under the disguise of a leash reactive, completely out-of-control dog. He is now the ambassador of hope and a true gentleman.
In early 2013, I began volunteering an animal shelter where I learn to study dog behavior in a pack environment. I was intrigued and incredibly observant and studied how they interacted and communicated. The shelter also had a fair amount of problem dogs that tested boundaries routinely. I began to use my own energy to protect myself and to communicate with the dogs. My state of mind became extremely influential as to how the dogs responded. My goal is to teach owners about balance dog training, state of mind and the power behind using your own body language and energy to control your dog. Please do not give up hope. There is help available. Check out our services that we offer.
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