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Having a dog can provide you and your family with many years of fun, love & enjoyment. However, as you may have already discovered, a dog can try your patience and instead you may find yourself dealing with anger and frustration. It's not as difficult as you might be thinking to stop unwanted behaviors and have your dog listen to you. Having a dog should be a positive and rewarding experience,for both you and your dog, and if it's not, I can help.

With so many dog trainers and behaviorists, how do you decide which is best for you and your dog? That's a good question and it deserves an answer. There is plenty of evidence that supports using training techniques which focus on positive reinforcement to shape behaviors we like. This newer approach to dog training, which is often refered to as "Clicker Training", is not really new at all. Exotic animal trainers and movie animal trainers have been using these techniques for more than 40 years to train the animals you see at places such as Sea World or in the movies. Results are achieved without coercion or forcing our will upon the animal. This type of training only began being used by family dog trainers in the early 1990's.

Plenty of evidence also supports traditional methods of training, which primarily use punishment to teach compliance and stop behaviors we don't like. These traditional methods, which are often refered to as "The Koehler Method of Dog Training" have been around for more than 40 years as well. Many dogs have achieved their AKC obedience title, schutzhund title, etc. using these methods.

In addition, there is another method of training that is becoming more and more popular. It is refered to as "Remote E-collar Training". This method uses negative reinforcement in the form of a static electrical shock to teach behaviors to the animal being trained. The shock is very similar to the machine used in physical therapy to rehabilitate muscles. The levels used are generally very mild, sometimes to the point of being imperceptible to you or me. This method of training has also been around for over 40 years. Remote E-collar Training was originally used primarily by field dog trainers to communicate with dogs that were sometimes a great distance away from the trainer, until the 1990's, when their effectiveness and versatility crossed over into other areas of dog training.

The truth is that all of these training methodologies work because they all have merit in reference to how dogs learn. As you can see there are many ways to train a dog and virtually all of them work on most dogs. Is there one "best way" to train every dog? I don't believe there is because there are too many factors at play that differ from home to home. For instance, how quickly you expect to see results, the age of your dog, the history behind your dog's behaviors, your family members and their attitude towards the dog and training, your training goals, etc. can all have an influence on which approach might be best for you and your dog. Secondly, different dogs respect different things, are interested in different things and find different things important. For these reasons, I believe a trainer that has at there disposal many different ways to achieve the same end result is more likely to be successful than a trainer that uses only one method of training.

Some trainers believe that being a leader in your dogs eyes is a key contributing factor in having a well behaved dog. However, I have been to plenty of homes where the dog looked at their owner(s) as the leader before I arrived and the family was still having major problems. On the flip side, I have seen owners whose personalities could only be described as meek or non-dominant with great relationships with their dogs. This concept of being the "alpha" in the relationship has becoming a topic of great controversy amongst professional dog trainers. I personally believe that it is much more important to understand the way dogs communicate than it is to prove to them that you are the boss. By understanding the way they communicate and learn you will be better equiped to control, direct or inhibit their behavior.

Your dog should be having fun while they're learning to listen and behave well, and you should be too. Working with a great trainer, you'll discover the things that matter the most to your dog, the things that drive their behavior, and learn ways to train your dog that will work for both of you.

Great training shouldn't take a long time to get results either. I have personally trained over 6,000 dogs and their owners and can assure you that in as little as one lesson you can see a remarkable improvement in your dog's behavior. Having that special dog that brings love and enjoyment into yours and your families life is closer than you may think. So relax. Don't put up with the problem behaviors any longer. Programs are available in north Los Angeles & south Ventura Counties including the San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley/Moorpark, Conejo Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills & Bel Air.

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