Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What age can I start training my dog?
A: Basic obedience training can start as early as 8 weeks of age. Before that time puppies learn very important manner and life skills from their mom, reason why is critical to hold puppies from going to their new home before 8 weeks of age.
Q: How important is socialization?
A: Socialization is a critical developmental stage that only lasts the first 3 months of age, during which puppies are introduced to new experiences, people, other dogs and animals in a controlled manner on a daily basis. Proper socialization helps your dog remain friendly, more confident, adaptable, less fearful and aggressive. Poor socialized dogs may develop fear, anxiety and aggression issues. Those behaviors may be difficult to fix once the 3 month socialization time window ends.
Q: How important is bite inhibition?
A: Dr. Ian Dunbar refers to bite inhibition as the single most important lesson dog must learn and the most pressing reason to enroll a puppy in dog training classes . The fact is that all dogs might bite, but a bite inhibition trained dog will develop a bite threshold and control the power exerted on bites so no injury is inflicted. The narrow time window to developing a “soft mouth” begins to close at around four months of age, which is about the time the adult canine teeth starts showing.
Q: What is it to speak dog?
A: Dogs use body language, vocalization, scent and social behavior to communicate. By learning the meaning of each of these canine communication mechanisms and applying them to our daily interaction with our dog, we can tell we’re “speaking dog” to the best of our abilities, but we can benefit from it to encourage producing the behaviors we want.
Q: Can I train my dog on my own?
A: Yes, by all means! I believe best results are produced when dog owners and other handlers are invested in training hands on. Dogs response best to people that give them guidance and structure directly while reaching behavior generalization.
Q: What training methods do you apply ?
A: I only use 100% humane training methods, based on proven scientific methods developed by renowned behaviorists and psychologists. I believe in humane behavior corrections when strictly needed, but I never use emotional or physical punishment. The best way to teach a behavior is to constantly associate its execution with a positive outcome for the dog.
Q: My dog doesn’t bite. Why do I need bite prevention education ?
A: It hear too frequently people say “my dog doesn’t bite”, but the reality is that any dog regardless its breed, size and age can bite. Let’s accept it, that’s what dogs do. That’s their way to communicate to others once they go beyond certain emotional and physical thresholds. Your dog might have not bitten anyone ever, but one fine day it only took one chance to bite for a reason we might not understand. It’s our responsibility to know why he did bite, and what to do to prevent from that to happen ever again, particularly to children. Children, by nature are likely to unintentionally provoke dog bites. Safety comes first.
Q: My dog is not food driven, how can I motivate him?
A: No animal works for free. Most dogs an get easily lured and rewarded with food, but if our pooch is not too motivated by food, there’s always something that sparks interest and serves as a reward. It might a particular stuffed toy, a ball, a bone o even better, one of her favorite activities such as tugging, fetching, etc.
Q: What should I do if my dog is not responding to training ?
A: There might be multiple reasons behind lack of training response. Luckily, those reasons can be addressed and in many cases are easy to resolve. Motivation is key in dog training. A not sufficiently motivated dog can be hard to give you the results you expect, but by changing to a different motivation approach, with patience, respect and consistency, almost always pay better results. Not all dogs are equal. Some breeds are more trainable that others, and their personality also plays a role as well. Health issues might be a reason to consider. Always consult with your vet.
Q: I have a long working schedule. Do I have to be present at training time?
A: No, you don’t. I can train your dog while your at work, even if your working from home. Then we can schedule knowledge transfer session together so you know what’s been done, and know how to do practice yourself.
Q: What support methods you provide?
A: You can request support via eMail, SMS or Whatsapp messages as much as you need during your training program and 10 days after program conclusion to help you transition off. My reply turnaround is typically around 24 hours, except for truly emergency messages, which I respond within 1 hour. I don’t provide support via phone or video calls, but you can attached video to your messages to show the problem, or exemplify what you need.
Q: What payment methods do you take?
A: We take Zelle, Paypal, Venmo, Personal Checks. Sorry, no cash or credit cards.
Q: What’s your reschedule policy?
A: Reschedule sessions require a 24 hours notification.
Q: What’s your cancellation policy?
A: Training sessions can be cancelled up to 7 days after training starts for a 75% full refund. Cancellations after 14 days from start day will be 50% refunded. No refund applies after 14 day cancellations.
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