FAQ

It definitely can and often will do so. Commonly, those behaviors are the result of the dog not understanding who is in charge and lacking structure. Those issues can also be addressed directly one by one.

Quite the opposite. Again, structure is essential for a dog to live a happy life. Knowing that you are in charge and that she can count on you to be the leader will put her at ease and increase her joy of life.

I no longer offer Board and Train and only do private lessons. The reason is that owners often mistake Board and Train as a stand alone process to train your dog. The dog goes away for two or three weeks and comes back and the owner believes they will never have to do anything themselves. That is not the case.

Board and Train can give you a good head start on training but, if you don’t continue the training on your own, your dog will probably soon regress back to where you started. That is why I do private lessons where I am training you to train your dog. When the lessons have been completed, you will have all the tools you need to continue training. Dog training is a journey, not a destination.

You do need to be able to completely trust anyone who is going to be spending time with your dog. Requiring that your trainer be insured is one way to help insure that trust.

There are many different things to consider to make sure you find the best match. What is your daily schedule like? If you are very busy then a breed that needs a lot of exercise would not be a great fit. Do you, or are you planning to have small children in the household? If so, a working dog may not be the best fit. A professional trainer can work with you to find the best match for your particular needs.

Yes, there is a method of slowly introducing a dog into a household that already contains a cat or cats. That is something that a professional trainer can help you with to avoid harm to either animal.

Even if you don’t plan to ever have your dog crated at home, it is a good idea to crate train your dog. This is because emergencies happen and you don’t want to have suddenly crate your dog when he has never been crated. It can also be of great help when it comes to traveling or going to the groomer or vet.

While pit bulls may have stronger prey drive than some other breeds, properly trained, a pit bull, like any other dog, can be a wonderful companion. They are very loyal dogs. You just need to keep in mind that, due to the public perception of them, fair or unfair, pit bull owners have an extra level of responsibility concerning their dog’s behavior.

Yes, isolation anxiety can often be resolved by just making sure the dog is not alone. Another person, dog or even cat can help resolve that issue. Separation anxiety on the other hand, is usually the result of the dog’s owner leaving him behind, no matter who else remains in the household. Separation anxiety ranges from mild to severe and, if not treated, can be very harmful to your dog

I never use the term shock collar because that is not the point of the tool. It is also why I never want someone to use an e-collar unless they have been properly trained to do so. It is through improper use of the tool that they have gotten a bad rap in some cases and become referred to as shock collars.

My older dog is e-collar trained and that means even when she is far enough away that she can’t see or hear me, she knows to instantly come to me as soon as she feels a light electrical stimulation or “stim”. The collar I use has 100 levels and the setting for her is 7. It is so low that you would just barely feel it. As soon as she gets to me and Sits, she gets Praise and a treat. For that reason, she is actually happy to feel that “stim” as it is a positive association and not “a shock”.

I do not offer group classes as I find that the dogs get too distracted when trying to learn something new with other dogs around. Once they know the commands, I am happy to use other dogs around to see if they will still obey when there are distractions but not when the dog is first trying to learn. In much the same way that it is easier for a human to learn something new from a tutor rather than in a class with a bunch of other people who are all at different levels of understanding, the same is true for dogs.