Having pets in our homes should be a wonderful experience. All too often however, behaviors that are natural to our pets can become out of control, making our lives, and theirs, miserable. Let me help you make life with your pets a little sweeter.
I also work with families adding a first or new pet to their lives. By bringing the right type of animal into your home and understanding how to properly train and care for your new pet, you can eliminate behavior problems before they start.
Preparing for a move and adjusting to the new home
Adjusting to a new baby or other family member
Adjusting to a new pet
Counter surfing
Dog behaviors I can help with include:
House training
Basic obedience
Inappropriate greeting behavior
Barking
Separation anxiety
Destructive behavior
Aggression
Door darting
Preparing for a move and adjusting to the new home
Adjusting to a new baby or other family member
Adjusting to a new pet
Begging and counter surfing
I am commited to using training and behavior modification techniques that do not involve force or fear. The methods that I use, and teach others to use, rely on science to develop a trusting relationship built on mutual respect. These methods can be used by any person, on any pet, regardless of size or physical limitations.
My old men, hanging out with me in the office.
Solo and Maxine, wearing each other out before class.
Puppy class is for dogs 5 months and younger. The focus of puppy class is proper socialization to people and other dogs, and an introduction to dealing with new situations. There will be time for supervised play and lessons on how to end off-leash play sessions. There will be discussions on housetraining, chewing, playing, mouthing, jumping, and other common puppy topics. We will also introduce puppies to very basic manners such as sit, down and walking nicely on leash. This class will give you the foundation to continue training your dog as he gets older and is capable of retaining more information and focusing for longer periods.
Adult class is for dogs over five months. Even though many of the dogs in this class are physiologically puppies, they are capable of focusing for slightly longer than younger puppies. While we still discuss common puppy and dog behaviors, the focus will be more on teaching you how to work with your dog. You will learn how to teach sit, down, stay, come, stand, and loose leash walking or heel. Depending on the personalities of the dogs in this class, there may be off leash play time.
Though there are specific goals in each class, there is also time to work on any individual behaviors or issues. Among other things, previous students have worked on aggression, mouthing, jumping, and working from a distance. We also spend time in both classes discussing games and tricks that you can teach to keep your dog mentally healthy. The goal at the end of the six weeks is for you to be on the way to having a well behaved canine citizen; I teach you, you teach your dog.
