I focus on training that uses rewards as positive reinforcement. Rewards can include food treats, pets and scratches, verbal praise, and play. These are proven to be effective means to produce reliable behaviors.

Effective training can only come from a strong partnership between you and your dog. As little as 10-15 minutes a day can produce results. It is more of a lifestyle change, practicing and reinforcing the training at times when you are normally interacting with your dog such as at feeding, going outside, or even during a commercial break while watching TV.

The primary behavior is your dog's response to your gentle leadership. Once you and your dog learn how to communicate with each other, the "magic" happens. Beginning with "watch and focus," your dog can learn how to wait at doors without jumping, sit or down and stay, wait for dinner, loose leash walking, and many other wonderful skills. Each of these can improve the health and safety of your dog, you, your family, and your guests.

Yes, older dogs can still learn with positive reinforcement. But even newly learned behaviors deteoriate over time without practice. I will teach you how to maintain what you and your dog have learned.

I follow more the philosophy of Paul Owens, who first used the term "dog whisperer" in 1999. Dog training shows such as the "Dog Whisperer" and Victoria Stillwell's "It's Me or the Dog" have done much to illustrate the value of dog training. The APDT has a good article about dog training shows - Reality TV Versus Real Life.