What's Your Training Philosophy?
Here at K9 AdvantEdge we believe that every dog learns the same way but with slight modifications. Every dog has quirks, struggles, and things that they excel at. Through our bonding with your pup we will be able to effectively determine the best and most efficient way in which they learn and show you how to build on that.
That sounds great, but how do you train?
We use a method that is referred to as, "Balanced Training". What this means is that we use both praise and correction when communicating with our dogs. Now before you write us off as some dog hating enemies of PETA please allow us to explain. In our experience teaching a dog through all positive methods have resulted in so many issues for dogs and their owners. We have received many calls over the last several years of people who have listened to various trainers who use all positive training methods and have hired us to come and fix the issues that all positive training could not address. Do not get me wrong, there are plenty of great trainers out there who use different methods than us, however we stick to the tried and true methods that have helped hundreds of dogs and their owners. We love dogs, and we love what we do, let us show you why the Balanced Method, is the best method.
How Does it Work?
Beginning - Build Bond/Basics
Middle - Proofing/Advanced
End - Proofing Completed
Bond Building
When we first work with a dog two things are incredibly important, we must first establish a strong working bond between everyone (Owner/Dog/Trainer). The reason this is important is if we want the pup to trust what we are teaching them and to excel with it, they must first trust us.
Basic Obedience
A great way to build up the bond and to establish the working bond is through obedience. Our five basics for training are as follows : Sit/Down/Heel/Place/Recall. These may be modified dependent on the needs of the family, however these are always great commands for your pup to know.
Proofing
Proofing is arguably the most important aspect of training. To boil it down simply, proofing means the dog doing what we are asking them to do, even when they do not want to. Every dog owner understands this well, little Fido does all his sits and stays so well in the home, but when somebody knocks on the door, or when you go outside it all goes straight out the window! Proofing is the method by which we prepare every dog to perform all obedience regardless of other stimulants.
Advanced is similar to basic obedience only more... Advanced (I know right?) When we say advanced obedience we mean sits, but sits in the middle of a field at a park without going anywhere. We mean the place command, but staying on place while people come in the front door or while you drop food on the ground. We mean Recall, but off of the leash at a park. Advanced obedience is simple to describe but more difficult to achieve, that is why proofing is a necessary step to achieve more advanced obedience.
Proofing Finished
This is the part that every dog owner wants, the point at which you can well and truly say that you no longer need us. And as sad as it sounds, we want this too! Our goal is not for you to need our guidance forever, we want to show you how to achieve the ideal dog and how to maintain that level of obedience forever! This is the culmination of hard work and dedication, knowing your pup will listen regardless of the distractions around them, and knowing you've put in the work to get them there!