Training Philosophy

"You can take the dog out of the pack but you will never be able to take the pack mentality out of your dog."

Balancing Both Ends of the Leash

When society sees something in perfect balance, it is beautiful... art, dance, music. When we see someone who can go anywhere with their canine companions, we see the same beauty in that perfect balance. Bringing your dog with you should be a pleasure, not a hassle. We believe that anyone can achieve this when you understand the science behind the balance.

Despite some ten thousands of years of domestication, dogs still actively use status-determining behavior. Dogs are very simple, all they want is to lead or be lead. Dogs genetically have a need to eat food and live in a den but another equally important thing they need is a leader as a source of rules, structures, and discipline. Dogs feel a tremendous release when humans take charge and establish rules in their household. Life becomes understandable and relatively stress-free like it was in their mom's pack. When the owner refuses to take charge, instinctively the dogs thinks he/she must.

Causes of Behavioral Issues

All behavior problems can be explained by three things:

Lack of discipline and structures in the dog's life.
Not meeting the dog's major needs
A frustrated and insecure dog.

Dog training comes down to two things: establishing a proper hierarchy with a human on top and establishing proper communication so the dog understands what you are saying. If you don't have authority over your dog you can't expect to communicate with him. We take dog training very seriously and teach dog owners to think ahead of their dog and always be in the position to prevent, correct, or praise. A dog's behavior can actually be very predictable, making it preventable because it is correctable. Our training system gives you a pet who RESPECTS you and not just LOVES you. That respect will create a pet that will be more eager to please and obey you.

On one end of the leash is your dog. To keep this end of the leash balanced we have to look at a few things:

Nutrition
Genetics (What your dog is bred to do)
Training and Adaptability

On the other end of the leash, we have you. To keep this end of the leash balanced we have to look at a few things:

Relationship
Dedication and Consistency
Expectations (What do you require of your dog)

When you achieve this balance, you and your dog are on the same page. The dog knows what is expected, the behaviors that you want are strong and reliable. You are going places and doing things with your dog! A true understanding of why dogs behave the way they do is the foundation for shaping behavior and building balance at both ends of the leash.

Changing the Dog, By Changing the Owner

You have to change your behavior to fulfill your dog's needs. While other high profile trainers and behaviorists focused on trying to fix the dog, our first order of business is to fulfill the dog's needs and change the people. In many cases, the dogs are not the major problem, so we help our clients help their dogs which in turn creates a healthy relationship.

It can be frustrating to get mixed signals, not knowing what is expected of you, or wanting to help, but not knowing how. We will teach you how to ease your dog's frustration by being crystal clear about what you want from them. Using "Doglish" to communicate with your dog, and our unique technique of reinforcement and praise called "correct & praise" you can calm your dog and provide him that security he needs. When your dog feels secure, your dog feels loved. Life becomes as understandable and predictable as it was with its pack because your dog now knows who the boss is, he understands the language, rules, and how to behave.

We know that some of our clients have busy and stressful lives, but that energy can easily transfer to your dog. We work with those clients to help relax when they train their pets to help create a calm and balanced environment. As our founder Vladae Roytapel says, "if you are emotional and stressed, you cannot be logical!" You must be an assertive pet owner, not an aggressive one. If you are stressed or angry you can not set the right tone to train your dog. Training necessitates giving praise as well as direction.