Training Strategy
Balanced Theory
Our training is based on the Pavlovian Theory of classical conditioning. This includes developing conditioned responses (automatic reflexes) to commands..meaning when an owner says "sit", the dog sits automatically without thinking about it. This method ensures success regardless of the training challenge presented.
Benefits of Our Training
- Empowering owners to train their dog to obey at all times
- Personalized and Involved training for family and pet specific needs
- Customized Training to fit your schedule that requires less than 15 minutes a day reinforcement.
- Supportive Lifetime Investment as we want long term, lifelong success. We offer follow up and maintenance for the lifetime of your dog.
- Continued Training Opportunities
About our training
Obedience
Obedience is the foundation to all training.
- Puppy Kindergarten - foundation work, increasing focus and confidence
- Basic - You must start off on a leash for clear communication and consistency.
- Advanced - we build off basic obedience, increase time and distance, and add a few "look good" maneuvers while taking away leash prompts. We also increase distractions. 50 ft lead
- Off Leash -Builds off the prior to levels of obedience with the goal being consistent off leash obedience.
**Note not offering Off Leash at this time but will give free support to clients to self-train
Service
As defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs are individually trained to perform specific tasks and to work with people with disabilities. According to the ADA, disabilities can be “physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.” The work of the service dog must be directly related to the handler’s disability. The ADA mandates that service dogs have full public access rights, which means they are allowed to go places where animals are forbidden. They can be brought into restaurants, stores, libraries, and other public spaces. They must be permitted in housing, even if other pets are not allowed. Service dogs are also allowed on airplanes and other public transport.
- Guide
- Hearing
- Medical Alert
- Psychiatric
- Mobility Assist
- Allergy Detection
- Spectrum Disorders
Emotional Support
Emotional support dogs are not considered service dogs under the ADA. They may be trained for a specific owner, but they are not trained for specific tasks or duties to aid a person with a disability, and this is the main difference between ESAs and service dogs. This doesn’t minimize the support these dogs provide for people with a psychological disorder. They’re considered companion animals and ease anxiety, depression, some phobias, and loneliness.
ESA owners have only limited legal rights and those typically require a letter of diagnosis from the owner’s doctor or psychiatrist. While they don’t have unlimited access to public spaces, the Fair Housing Act mandates “reasonable accommodations” for emotional support animals even in buildings that don’t allow pets. As of January 2021, airlines are no longer required to accommodate emotional support animals. It is mandated that they have no reactivity issues and are manageable in public and under control of handlers .
Therapy
Therapy Dogs are trained to be comfortable in new environments and to interact with different people They are not handler specific like ESAs and Service Dogs. Although they are defined as comfort dogs and often used in therapeutic settings, therapy dogs are not considered service dogs under the ADA and don’t have the same legal right to access in public spaces. These dog (with their handle/owner)
volunteer in clinical settings
- hospitals
- mental health institutions
- hospices
- schools
- nursing homes
where they provide comfort, affection, and even love in the course of their work.
Protection
Three levels with each level building off the prior level
Pets with natural aggression and/or reactivity are not protection dogs.
Professionally trained dogs who legitimately have the job of protecting their owner/family are:
- social
- confident
- outgoing
- environmentally stable
They have the ability to:
- Safely and confidently interact with family and strangers
- Perceive REAL threats
- Understand when, how, and why to respond to a threat
Anything less than this is a pet who has a behavioral issue rooted in fear, anxiety, and/or territorial behavior.
Tracking/Trailing
Three levels with each level building off the prior level
- Scent work Foundation
- Scent work Advanced
Expert/Specialization
- Hunting
- Search and Rescue
- Mantrailing - Live Suspect
- Human Remains
- Explosion Detection
- Bedbugs and other environmental Detection
- Narcotic Detection
Sports
Teaching a skill that utilizes your dogs natural abilities
- Dock Diving
- Agility
- Fast CAT
- Dog Biking
- Herding
- Barn Hunt
- Flyball
- Lure Coursing
- Frisbee
- Fetch
I am sure I missed some..these are just examples
Behavioral Modification
We work on reactivity, bad habits, and concerning behaviors by helping your become a better leader with clear communication of expectations while pushing your pet's threshold.
