Training Philosophy

One of my friends lent me a book called "Kinship with All Life" by J. Allen Boone which I read in one day & highly recommend to anyone who loves animals. There is a passage in it (I wish I wrote down the direct quote!) where they talk about dog trainers vs. dog educators. They talk about how a dog trainer makes the dog do a desired behavior through force & punishment (mind you, this book was published in 1954...) while a dog educator teaches the dog to think. Training methods have improved exponentially since then but I still understand where that statement stems from. While I call myself a dog trainer, I consider myself a dog educator.

Each dog is an individual & needs to be treated as such. While some methods work well for one they may not work at all for another. This is why I have spent a huge amount of my time learning several different methods. Yes, I do prefer the clicker. But for some people, the amount of coordination & good timing required to use it effectively is a turn off. 
 This was the problem I had while at Triple Crown Academy. My hand eye coordination was awful & I was a bit slow. Imagine! But I stuck to it & now it's second nature to me - people say "You make it look so easy!" Really, it is. Like all things in life it takes practice & patience. If you are interested in using it but would like tips on how/why it works please ask me about it. I periodically give seminars with fun games for you & your dog.
However, if the clicker isn't for you or your dog, no worries! There are plenty of ways to get your point across. Mostly I use positive, reward based training but there are times when a correction is needed. This can be a sound deterrent, collar correction or time out. There is balance in nature & there can be balance in dog training, again, it depends on the dog & the desired behavior.
A big part of what I do is not only teaching commands, sit, down stay etc. but educating owners how to communicate with their dogs. On almost a daily basis I hear people say, "I wish I knew what my dog was thinking!" You can! As long as you know what to look for & how to interpret what your seeing you can figure out what your dog has been trying to tell you.
 
I also believe it's beyond important for pet parents to understand how dogs learn. Knowing not only what  works but also why it works can be tremendously helpful. 
Our dogs are our family. They crave attention & thrive with structure. It's my job to open the lines of communication between you & your dog to make sure all are happy & safe in their forever home.