All my clients know that Canine Command training involves both the dogs and the owners. Dogs are trained for focus, obedience and manners while owners are trained for leadership. Owners that have not received training, whether consciously or unconsciously, still end up training their dogs. Left on their own, untrained owners may use a training spectrum from harsh compulsion to allowing all behaviors with no rules/no restrictions. Neither of these training extremes will result in your dog becoming a Canine Good Citizen.
Compulsion training uses positive punishment such as lease corrections and negative reinforcement such as electronic collars to extract behaviors from a dog. Punishment is given immediately during or after an unwanted behavior supposedly causing the animal to avoid performing the unwanted behavior in the future. Unfortunately, many studies including those done at the School for Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that punishment techniques tend to increase canine aggression in general and specifically towards the individual applying the punishment. Compulsive techniques can also cause a dog to shut down and stop learning out of fear. Therefore, training takes longer and your not reinforcing what you want your dog to do just what you don’t want him to do! Finally, compulsion techniques damage your bond and leadership status with your dog. Field studies demonstrate successful pack leaders never lose their cool or get physical with their subordinates!
On the opposite spectrum are owners who provide their dogs attention, rewards, and resources regardless of their behavior. Dogs, to the contrary, are hardwired to live in a hierarchical society with male and female leaders controlling resources and enforcing rules. A dog living in this “anything goes” family dynamic will invariably sense the leadership vacuum in his human pack and attempt to fill the position himself by making decisions on his own and attempting to obtain a dominant status in his human pack. Hence a dog that: only listens to the father and no one else in the family, who constantly elevates on beds and furniture, urinates/defecates throughout the house, barks at or jumps into humans incessantly demanding attention or food, resource guards food and toys, etc. The result of this dynamic is frustrated owners and out-of-control dogs many of whom end up being surrendered to the pound!
Canine Command offers canines and their owners a quick, safe and effective alternative to compulsive or “anything goes” training—cutting edge, science-based positive reinforcement and owner leadership training endorsed by Animal Behavior College and The Association of Professional Dog Trainers and refined by my 24 years of training all canine breeds at animal shelters and through private practice. This training results in a confident, calm, focused, well-mannered and obedient canine who doesn’t make decisions on his/her own but instead looks to his/her human family members for decision-making. Canine Command training also creates a strong, unshakable bond between you and your dog. The only regret owners ever voice after going through training is the fact they didn’t get it done earlier!
