Working with a dog trainer is a 2 way street.  When your dog comes home from training, it will have skills—there’s no doubt about it!

The KEY to your success is that you MUST hold your dog accountable to structure, rules, boundaries, AND, most importantly, you have to correct bad behavior.

I had a client recently tell me she didn’t think she would ever have to correct her dog after training. Let’s think  about this for a second: if your teenager crashes the car, you punish him by taking away the keys and possibly making him pay for the damage.  If you show up late for work too many times, you get written up (consequence).  If you run a resdlight, you get a ticket.  I think you get the idea—there has to be a correction when your dig does something you don’t want, because then the behavior stops.  

Of course you will need to correct your dog. They will test you because of their relationship with you prior to training. Dogs know what they can get away it.  It’s up to you to step into a leadership role and make clear to them that there is a consequence to their behavior.  If you don’t do this piece, you will forever have a dog who tests you at every turn, runs the household and has you stressed beyond words.

The point of embarking on this journey with me is 1.) for your dog to become a solid canine citizen, 2.) for you to have the knowledge and skills to keep up the maintenance, and 3.) to have more freedom, and less stress in your (and your dog’s) life.