Dog Training

Modern dog training has evolved greatly in my lifetime. I use all four quadrants of operant conditioning to clearly train my own dogs as well as others. I find the purely positive approach to be unclear and confusing to both dogs as it is to children.  The Purely Positive Movement has made all trainers more cognizant of dogs as sentient, feeling beings. For that we should all be grateful. 

But life is not without repercussions.  We must prepare our dogs, just like our children, for stress and difficulty. The use of an “aversive” can be leash or spatial pressure or a spray to the face. Why? To break a pattern of unproductive or even harmful behavior.  I use “punishment,” in the classical sense, as the removal of a reward. The dog will momentarily lose the food, the toy or even attention for a length or time. 

Balanced training can be done very humanely with the goal being clear communication between human and dog.  That’s my aim at K9SOL. With that in mind, I use all tools:  buckle and martingale collars, starmark and prong collars, electric collars on very low stim.  The only time I use harnesses is when having dogs pull weights for conditioning; harnesses are for pulling, period.  And I want to see all clients using leather leashes because these cannot be ripped out of the hand.  

All sessions will require owners to buy the recommended training collar, a sturdy leash, a way to handle treats/kibble during training and a commitment to training time. 

Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.”
Dean Koontz