FAQ
1. When do I begin dog training?
Many dog owners believe that they can handle crate acclamation, potty training, adjusted bite inhibition and leash acclimation before the dog is actually ready to start training when the dog is three and a half to 4 months old. The mistakes that most people make hinder the process and when we come in later we have to reverse-engineer many things. It is important to have a trainer come in when the dog is brought home typically at eight weeks old so that we could set up some structure and rules.
2. How do I get my dog to listen to my children? Goes Here
Perhaps one of the greatest struggles is to acclimate children to dogs and dogs to children. There are several mistakes that families make when it comes to setting up rules of play and how children should engage the dog. The reason why dogs don’t respond to children as well as adults it’s because they see them as littermates. Littermates challenge each other for position in the pack. With our training, we clearly layout the do’s and don’ts for children as we begin to domesticate your animal.
3. Why should I do my dog training in my home and not at a traditional brick-and-mortar?
In-home training is the most optimal, impactful and functional model. The reasons are because we need the dog handlers to be a part of the process as dogs respond differently to different handlers. In addition, a brick-and-mortar cannot teach you what you need to know in the context of your home, such as bolting out the door, jumping on guests, violating your space, getting overprotective about the door and staying out of your places that you want them to in your home. These are space and territorial issues that a brick-and-mortar is not set up to address but is vital in your training needs. In addition, dogs that go to Brick and Motors typically come back okay but guess what happens in six months to a year? All the training is lost because the owner was not acclimated nor equipped which strategy, structure and interventions. Consequently, thousands of dollars are spent to be lost within a year. Lastly, we are a fraction of the cost because we don’t have the overhead and are more lasting and effective.
4. Do you do off-leash training?
We do off leash training. However, it is a huge mistake to play Russian roulette with your dog without first established some reliable principles. We firmly believe the dogs should have a reliable formal recall and are well socialized with children, dogs and people before we experiment with off-leash exercises. We have seen too many cavalier and overconfident dog owners make the mistake and then their dog gets into a fight or gets hurt or runs off.
5. How can we be sure training works?
At Save The Mailmen In-Home Dog Training, we firmly believe in a collaborative spirit and effort. We do not sell Illusions to people or over promise delivery of results. What we do share is a very realistic approach to dog training. One of the main reasons we do dog training in your home, it’s because we must have the handlers know what they’re doing. Consequently, you will never need another dog trainer the rest of your life. Because you will know what you’re doing and you have manageability in your home and it will feel like a human dominated home. In 37 years of doing dog training, the only way it doesn’t work is if the Handler does not practice the instructions and exercises between sessions. We can surely get your dog to respond to us no problem. But the goal is to have the owners and the family members understand the dogs needs, body language, love language and be able to set up rules and structure and the domestication of a wild animal. Bottom line, if you work with us you will get a great result.
6. My dog is so reactive. How do you handle that?
One of the main staple crops in dog training is to teach people how to ward off reactivity and or manage it. It continues to surprise us how many brick-and-mortar programs don’t talk too much or do formal training to address leash reactivity. Yet, it is so highly prevalent in 95% plus of all the dogs we see. We make it a significant point to address in our training to help you manage reactivity and in a better case ward it off as a puppy.
7. Why should I not hit my dog?
Many people erroneously believe that I must show my dog that I am dominant. To the extent of bonking the dog or hitting the dog or smacking it. We are not proponents of this at all! We believe that your hand should never be associated with something negative coming at a dog. Imagine over the first six months of a puppy’s life constantly getting bombarded by a hand and a negative fashion. What do you think the dogs experience will be if it has a nervous disposition with a stranger that reaches out for it eight months later? You are creating a propensity for a bite. There are ways to address your dog’s behavior that does not associate your hand in the negative fashion. Allow us to show you how to engage your dog and ingrain real learning.