About Training | Rowden Dog Training

MY FIRST STEPS INTO THE WORLD OF POSITIVE DOG TRAINING

When I was eight years old, my mother took me to our local shelter to adopt my first dog. We named her Duchess. She was a beautiful border collie/cocker spaniel mix - she and I instantly became the best of friends.

From the moment I met her, I knew I wanted to work with dogs for the rest of my life.

Duchess was inquisitive and energetic, and through working with her, I slowly began to discover how the dog mind worked. At the same time, I began to notice that more negative training methods - the kinds of methods I saw at friends homes, or even in my own extended family - didn't seem to work. Their dogs were timid, wild, completely untrained and sometimes even aggressive. Duchess wasn't like that at all! She listened to my every command without question, and even seemed to enjoy behaving for me. More than that, she trusted me. She felt safe with me. I realized the only difference was the method of training. I never yelled at Duchess, intimated her or used physical punishment to train her. Instead, I used treats and games and praise. That was the difference, and it was a powerful difference.

WHY CHOOSE IN-HOME TRAINING?

In-home training has a benefit group classes can’t hope to compete with; building positive associations where it matters most. One-on-one training without distractions and stress is essential to your dog’s learning process. Once they learn to behave in the home, we can begin to introduce distractions by working outside the home.

HUMANE, NON-PHYSICAL POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

No two dogs learn quite the same. They are individuals, with different needs, wants and motivations. Using positive, pain-free techniques, anything is possible for you and your dog. My methods will help you forge a powerful bond with your canine companion that will build a common language that is familiar to your dog, allowing you to communicate with your dog in and out of your home. No choke chains, no shock collars, no punishment, no fear. Just respect and understanding between you and your dog.

Reward-based positive reinforcement has been proven time and again to work better than any other training method. Some still use outdated “alpha dog” training techniques, which focus heavily on punishing bad behavior through intimidation and force. These methods have been proven ineffective and based on a bogus study, and can be frightening, confusing and damaging to our canine companions. In a best case scenario, your dog will fear and obey you. Worse case scenario, your dog becomes aggressive, short-tempered and anxious. In my experience, I’ve seen the latter happen too many times.

Using positive techniques, your dog will learn good behaviors in a fun, safe environment with various reinforcers. Undesirable behaviors are removed through a process called “extinction”, which works by gradually extinguishing said behaviors via removing reinforcers until we reach our desired outcome. By pairing positive stimuli with a good behavior, you can alter your dog’s behavior in any way possible. It’s really that easy!

BUT, DON'T I NEED TO BE THE "ALPHA DOG/PACK LEADER" FOR MY DOG TO BEHAVE?

Let me ask you a question. Your dog loves going for walks, right? Chances are they do! Your dog, like so many others, loves to walk as fast as possible on walks, and ends up pulling hard on the leash. It strains the leash and your arm and makes you unhappy. You seek out a trainer who can help, and the trainer explains that the best way to get your dog to stop pulling is to put a choke collar/prong collar around his neck so that when he pulls, he will experience discomfort. It makes sense, right? If your dog feels pain while doing a bad behavior, they will stop the behavior. It seems so simple!

Except it isn't. Your dog doesn't want to stop pulling! They want to go faster than your two silly human legs can take them, and no choke collar or prong collar is going to get in the way of their good time. So they pull, and they hurt, and maybe they slow down for a little while, but they'll see something exciting and pull again. And now that exciting thing is being associated with pain and discomfort, and soon the whole idea of going for a walk causes your dog stress and a disproportionate amount of manic excitement. Walks bring pain, and pain brings stress and fear. Before you know it, you've got a bigger problem then what you started out with.

Pain and punishment are not teaching methods. They are intimidation tactics, and who wouldn't get stressed out and fearful if every lesson they learned was through the promise of pain and discomfort? Positive reinforcement teaches your dog important skills and behaviors in a clear, stress-free way, so that they can unlearn bad behaviors, not be punished for them.

The "alpha dog" mentality is dangerous and frankly outdated. Certain celebrity trainers popularized this idea while simultaneously ignoring loads of evidence and research to prove its ineffectiveness, and the media clung to those ideas and spread them like a sickness. Domesticated dogs don't live in packs, nor do they follow the stricter hierarchy of their wolf ancestors. Dogs form loose associations with one another, and change "roles" constantly depending on a variety of factors and situations. Just because a dog has a stronger or more assertive personality does not make them an "alpha". That's just her personality! And when confronted with other dogs or people, you might find that your "alpha" dog suddenly seems much more "submissive". This is the nature of domesticated dogs. We can't be the "pack leader" if there's no pack!

MY GUARANTEE

Every class I offer is guaranteed to satisfy your training goals and expectations. I strive to ensure a lifetime partnership between you and your dog, and I am more than willing to continue working with you and your dog until we see the desired results.

Be aware that training is not an instant process, nor is it ever an exact science. Results may vary from dog to dog, household to household.