Our Philosophy

It's not just about what the dog literally does...

... It's about what's in their head, how they think about or view their environment. Similarly, it's not just about going through the motions like a machine and doing the repetitions. It's about HOW the motion and repetitions are done. It's about what the dog is taking away and learning from your effort. 

We believe that there is more to training than just learning commands. We create solid lines of communication between you and your pet that will be relevant in any situation. Any dog from Chihuahuas to Danes, bouncy puppy to cranky old man, with behavioral challenges from shy and skittish to fearful and aggressive can benefit from creating a foundation of understanding.   

We take a two pronged approach to adjusting our client dogs' behavior. First is all about the structure of your home. Structure is basically how you go about doing daily rituals and the messages those rituals send. Once we have a solid structure at home, the real work begins in "the classroom". We teach basic obedience commands (typically sit, down, place, heel and a recall), but the end goal is not necessarily that they have a solid sit or down, the goal is that they understand four distinct sounds: "Yes", "Goood", "Ah-Ah", and "No". The commands are nice to use in a pinch but asking your dog to sit is not going to teach them that jumping up on guests is rude. The four sounds, or The Communication as we call it, are what we use to have "conversations" with our dogs about how they should interact with their world. So, instead of asking them to sit, we can give them guidance when they greet people to make them understand that jumping up is not ok, but approaching and standing politely for pets is the way to go. If you'd like more information on this, we go into detail about both structure and The Communication in our free Foundation Mini-Course, check that out HERE. 

Having a problem dog is SO stressful and you deserve better! Our old man stinky, Riley (RIP), is our poster child of how amazing changes can happen no matter the age of the dog or severity of the problem. Granted, sometimes issues don’t go away 100% and there still is a level of management, but the stress can go away and your relationship with your dog CAN improve drastically. 

You will be a good fit for our program if: 

• You are ready to make a change. Some people are not ready to adjust yet and that’s ok. But before you make that call and schedule the consultation, really think about what you are willing to change about your perspective for the sake of your dog. Since you are the human in this relationship, it is your responsibility to do what you have to do to make the changes. Your dog won’t change unless you do. 
• You’re willing to put in the work. Dog training is not magic. It is a systematic program that requires effort. If you’re not willing to make changes to your lifestyle and put in the time to see the change, then honestly you’re wasting your money. Even doing a board & train program does not guarantee you a robot in return, not by a longshot. Dogs are unique characters who have specific needs. What we do is identify where you and your dog are now, and then make recommendations of how to get to where you want to go. From there, it is up to you to make it happen.
• You are strong enough to make mistakes and learn from them. What we teach takes time and practice to understand and do correctly. You’re not going to be perfect right off the bat, and that’s ok! No one is on point at anything when they’re first starting out. But if you stick with it, we promise we can help you become great for your dog. Mistakes are a part of the process, but so long as you can recognize and learn from them, you will be as awesome as you can be (which is more awesome than you realize).