Dog training
My work consists of two distinct but strongly complementary and inseparable parts:
- The first part consists in teaching you the essential bases of ethology and canine behavior which are essential to communicate correctly with your dog. From this teaching stems a certain number of rules of life which are to be put in place at home, they are essential to obtain a balanced dog and allow a harmonious relationship with him.This part also determines the level of obedience and prepares it.
- The second part is to teach you how to make your dog obey you. The teaching serves above all to be able to have an obedient dog in all the circumstances of the daily life so that it can accompany you everywhere and remain calm and to obey you extremely well when you need it. I don’t use treats for the training.
The commands that will be taught are :
Walking correctly and obediently next to you.
Returns to you immediately when he/she is untied whatever the situation.
Lie down/sit and stay wherever you need and for time you need.
Go to his place and stay there.
It is also possible to teach your dog more advanced commands such as lying down at a distance, walking on foot without the leash...
I am specialized in dogs behavior issues so I can work on : Aggressivity, fears, anxiety, destructive dog at home, barking or unclean when alone, dog that is not clean in the presence of the master.
I only give private lessons, each master having neither the same expectations, nor the same needs, nor the same learning difficulties. I put at your disposal my 23 years of professional experience
I give dog training lessons all over United Stated and worldwide.
Prices on request
Why I don’t use treats in my work ?
This is fundamentally inefficient for two reasons:
First of all, when a dog is interested in something more attractive than the food offered to him, he will not listen. If he is about to cross a road to meet a dog he has just spotted and the treat does not attract him enough to turn around… I let you imagine the result.
The second reason is behavioral. When we want to make a dog obey, it is necessary that he perceives us as an individual of higher hierarchical rank, this for the sake of overall consistency and efficiency. In a pack, only a dominant can approach a subordinate to take his food. From dog behavioral point of view we adopt a submissive position by letting him approach our hand and take the food there.
In recent years, some pseudo-scientists have been claiming that dogs no longer function according to a strict hierarchical world, and even less in a hierarchical relationship with humans, because we are another species. The most recognized behavioral ethologists and veterinarians in Europe such as Monique Bourdin, Pierre Jouventin and Patrick Pageat are unanimous in saying that the dog must be dominated for its balance. “The notion of hierarchy contributes to well-being and dog's balance. It is up to the master to take responsibility for dominance and only then will he make his animal happy. An animal that does not have to lead the pack will feel secure since its needs will be taken care of. To be dominated does not mean to be humiliated, but rather to be protected by the group, to feel safe» says Patrick Pageat (veterinary doctor and doctor in natural science specializing in veterinary behavioral medicine for French pets. Founder and Scientific Director of IRSEA and the Institute for Research in Semiochemistry and Applied Ethology. He created the clinical teaching "behavioral medicine and consultation" at the veterinary school of Alfort).
When I studied to learn my profession, 25 years ago, I read all the books I could find in canine ethology and behavior. I met different dog trainers to see the different methods that existed to train a dog. I then lived for 6 years with my 10 dogs to which were added 10 dogs that I kept when the owners could not take care of them. They did not live in boxes outside but with me in my house. I was able to observe their mode of operation on a daily basis. I was able to discern what was relevant to retain in their social organization and sort through the books I had read.
For people who doubt that the dog has a social hierarchical relationship system, I have at their disposal images that I have shot and which show it very clearly.
The dog maintains a hierarchical relationship even with humans because he rubbed shoulders with us during the period of social impregnation which lasts from 3 to 12 weeks old.
Who has never heard of a dog sitting on a sofa that threatened to bite anyone who wanted to dislodge him ? Who has never heard of a dog that bit to defend his food ? Or a dog that wants to prevent a husband from approaching his wife ? All this common exemples talk about hierarchy…
To dominate a dog is to appease him. Dominating absolutely does not prevent you from giving a lot of affection to your animal, on the contrary, you can pet him or play with him all day long !
To love a dog is to take him for what he is and not for what we would like him to be. To love a dog is to respect its fundamental needs and its deep nature. It is to offer him a structuring living environment that respects his social codes.
There are training methods that are much more effective and respectful of the nature of the dog than those that use treats, it is time to look into them for a harmonious cohabitation with this formidable animal.
