The Tool-Box and the BIG FOUR!  

I work with all kinds of people, with all kinds of dogs.

It doesn’t matter to me what the behavioral problem is. Everyone who works with me starts with the “toolbox” and then works toward the BIG FOUR.

The toolbox has three components: Education, management and training.

The education part addresses dogs as a canine species and specifically about how they experience the world.  The management part addresses how your dog lives on a daily basis. The training part of the toolbox is made up of 8 simple foundation behaviors that you will be teaching your dog during our time together.

By the end of Dog Trainer One you will have a clear understanding of the mechanics of clicker training and you will have started the basics of the BIG FOUR.

The four behaviors that most pet dog people want from their dogs are:

Recall – Come when I call you.

Stay – Stay where I put you.

Go to place – Go to a specific place like a bed, mat or crate and stay there until I release you.

Leave that alone – To leave a tempting thing, person, dog, critter on a verbal cue and return to me.  This is impulse control.

As you move into Dog Trainer Two, we really begin focusing on building strong cues for these important behaviors.  Is it easy?  No, it is not.  Is it doable?  Absolutely.  You get from your dog what you put into them and that’s the truth. 

Dogs learn by repetition. If you get in the repetitions, then dogs learn.  Their cues get stronger and stronger.  Each time you train your dog it is like a bank deposit.

We want to build deep reward histories to the behaviors that we want most from our dogs. Strong cues actually begin to work like clicks.  They become predictors of reward.

So, that’s the toolbox and the BIG FOUR. Get in touch and let’s get started!