Things you might be wondering about!
Below are some of the questions people most frequently ask us:
How Will My Dog Benefit from This Training?
Dogs get into all kinds of mischief when we cannot communicate with them effectively. Training is the way to improve communication, and training dogs is our passion and livelihood. Our training teaches your dog that all good and fun things in the world come through listening to YOU and that not listening to you simply does not work.
Will the Training Be Effective If My Dog Is an Adult and Has No Prior Training?
It will absolutely, prior training is no prerequisite for us! It is worth mentioning, however, that if certain ways of behaving has become habitual for your dog it will most likely take more time to modify than if your dog was a completely clean slate.
Can All Dogs Be Trained?
Yes. All dogs can be trained. Can we make your Alaskan Malamute into the next World Obedience Winner or your Cane Corso love on the mailman? No. But with the right training and empathy for the dog's needs we can modify behaviours extremely effectively and achieve amazing results!
I've Been to Many Trainers before and Not Gotten the Desired Results. Why Should I Give You the Time of Day?
We have pretty unique backgrounds and have trained dogs and handlers for real life tasks for a long time. Chances are that whatever you are struggling with I have either struggled with and solved for myself and my own dogs or I have trained owner or trainer to solve it.
How Much Time Must I Spend on Training My Dog Every Day?
You never have to make time for specific training sessions, BUT in order to maintain the training level your dog is at you have to be consistent in every day life. So any time you interact with your dog is actually training because your dog learns something every time. What they learn is up to you! We will teach you how to incorporate the necessary training into your daily routine so your dog's skills are always sharp!
Are you sceptical or worried about sending your dog away for boarding and training?
Will he/she be okay? How is the training done? What method is used? Who does the actual training? Where/how will the dog live? We totally understand where you're coming from as we would never send our own dogs away without being confident they'd be well looked after! We hope the below points will ease your mind a little:
- Your dog will be okay, although it normally takes a day or two for them to adjust to the new place, the people and the new routines. Some dogs are a little out of their comfort zone for he first few days, but with the daily activities and fun training most dogs adjust and normalise very quickly.
- Training is done in several short sessions throughout every day and in several different environments. We typically get good basic skills going in "home environment' first and then expand as the dog gets more skilled and the training gets more advanced.
- Whatever dog we train, be it for police, military, or civilians, training always starts out with teaching the dog fundamental, basic exercises. This is most efficiently done with purely positive techniques and we keep this up throughout the training. Only when the dog demonstrates solid skills in different environments do we introduce "consequences for the wrong behaviour". We do NOT use suppression in any way, shape or form. We do NOT promise that you can walk your dog off leash everywhere after two weeks of training simply because we don't make your dog afraid to leave your side with e-collar stimulation. Our training is geared towards your dog being happy, confident and wanting & willing to listen to you with it's spirit intact and thriving, and not walking by your side looking and feeling like his best friend died.
- The dog is trained by either Tazzie or Armin. We don't farm the training out to high-school students that have been through a weekend course and is now "dog trainers". This ensures that we won't become millionaires like the big franchise owners in the industry, but your dog will get quality training and we will sleep well at night.
- The dog will live either in our house or in our little private, cosy kennel. Younger dogs will typically live in the house for crate training, learning to behave around the house and to introduce and reinforce general structure to their young lives. Older dogs will live in the kennel when not being actively trained as the "boot camp" structure can be very beneficial to their overall training experience. The training is mentally and physically challenging for the dogs and we want them in an environment with very little stimuli in which they can completely turn off in between sessions. The dog will be walked to do it's business three times a day in addition to the training sessions, either on leash, off leash in our massive, fenced in yard or off leash anywhere once the level of training allows that.