My Training Philosophy

There are always ongoing debates about how to train your dog. There is positive reinforcement, give your dog commands, don't talk to your dogs, show them who is boss, and then there is the psychics that try to "speak to your dog" to understand how they want to be trained.

I have spent 17 years working with dogs and have tried a bit of everything. To sum of my experience on what works for training your puppy, rescue dog, or an old dog some new tricks is..... do what works for YOUR dog. 

I have had 5 dogs of my own and each one has had a different history, different personality, and all have responded differently to training. Each of my crew had strengths and weakness, some were fabulous healers, others were agility gurus, and some has special tricks that they just picked up. Sasha my first Rottweiler could turn a Doritos bag inside out with out tearing it, you can't learn that in puppy class :)

What I do believe though is whatever school  of thought you use, the core fundamentals of training are universal,

a) BE CONSISTENT (for gods sake don't confuse the little bugger)

b) BE FAIR (don't train when your angry and frustrated)

c) BE CLEAR (what  are you are trying to communicate to your dog)

d) FIND WHAT MOTIVATES THEM AND USE IT (whether it be treats, praise, a toy)

e) and HAVE FUN (there are so many ways to get the message across- do it so they don't know they are learning)

......and my golden rule when training puppies "if it's not a cute behavior when they are fully grown, don't let them do it because they are a puppy".

All of my dogs picked up commands at different rates, and old dogs can learn new tricks (the key in Rottweilers though is if THEY want to learn it- stubborn little black and tans). Each one of them all had skills they were fabulous at- and other skills they down right suck at (Rugby I swear I won't tell them you you are the worst fetcher of sticks - Labrador Retriever my ass). 

Bottom line- dogs like people, they are individuals. When training your dog teach them lots, love them lots, and be forgiving to them; If you want a robot dog- get a border collie!!!