Every trainer has a different approach to dog training, with their own philosophy and beliefs on what is good and bad training. Their are many ways to train a dog, and it is important that you choose a trainer with a philosophy that you agree with.

I am a balanced dog trainer, meaning I use reinforcement as well as aversives in training. I use positive reinforcement in the form of treats, praise, and play to teach and strengthen commands. I also use aversives in the form of leash corrections (on a flat collar, martingale, or prong collar), e-collars, spray bottle, and noise and taste deterrents. This is used to stop unwanted behavior, or to reinforce a command that a dog knows but chooses to ignore. When using aversives, the least amount of force is used to get a behavior change. I do not yell, hit, or try to physically dominant the dog.

The connection and trust between the owner and dog is crucial, so it is important not to overdue it with the aversive side of training, as that could damage the relationship.

An important thing to note is that hiring a trainer is not a quick fix. Dog trainers really don’t train your dog; we teach you how to train your dog. To get results, training has to be done frequently and consistently by the owners.

If you have any questions about my training style please reach out.

The ways animals learn things is divided into four quadrants:

Positive Reinforcement -adding something the animal likes, to make a behavior more likely to occur again (giving a treat to your dog when they sit)

Negative Reinforcement - removing something the animal does not like, to make a behavior more likely to occur again (dog ignores sit command, owner pulls up on leash causing discomfort to the dog, when the dog sits the leash is loosened)

Positive Punishment - adding something the animal does not likes, to make a behavior less likely to occur again. (dog lunges at another dog, owner gives a leash correction)

Negative Punishment - taking away something the animal likes, to make a behavior less likely (dog jumps up on owner, owners turns away and ignores the dog)

I use all the quadrants at times, depending on the dog and situation, with most of the training taking place in the positive reinforcement section.