Our Training Philosophy

We, as well as our clients, view our dogs as companions that are invited into our home to share our lives with, for better or worse. To this end, it is the goal of our program to shape your dog to fit into your lifestyle, as well as your world.

Dogs are dogs, and the things they do are mainly based on their genetic programming. Unfortunately, what they deem perfectly normal (digging, chewing, barking, etc) does not typically work well in a human's environment (living room, bedroom, and so on). So this is where we can help.

DOGS ARE PACK ANIMALS! Which means that back in their ancestry they used to live in packs. In order for a pack to survive there must be order, structure, harmony, rules, and consequences. We understand this and use it to our advantage when reshaping your dog. We put emphasis on being the pack leader, in both a physical and psychological way. We train or rehabilitate dogs by use of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, aversion, marking, shaping, and both physical and psychological tools that are adjusted to suit the unique needs of each dog's personality, temperament, and behavioral problem. But in no way does this require the use of pain, punishment, fear, or inhumane means to accomplish our goals. Doing so could cause behavioral problems to become more severe as well as create the wrong relationship with your dog. And creating a bad relationship is no way to achieve success.

Since there are many ways to successfully train or rehabilitate a dog (or puppy) we are able to adjust our approach according to the specific case we are working with. Training a 12 week old Labrador puppy requires a different approach than rehabilitating an Akita who just attacked his owner. Understanding a dog's, or better yet, a specific breed's inherent biological and genetic needs is the pathway to solving problems or teaching (and rewarding) a new skill. It is through this understanding that we are able to convey our needs to the dog and make the changes that are sought by the owner. Most of which only want a dog they can happily live with.

The techniques we utilize to train your dog will never harm them or make them worse! 

We created this Boarding School program for people who need help training their dog(s). Most of our clients have tried group or private lessons which yielded limited results for them, while many just want to make use of a long boarding stay to have their dog trained while they go on vacation. Whatever the reason, we believe that our boarding school can be just as successful or even more successful than the other training options out there.