K9 Training Center

People generally stick to one way of life and defend it, at the time of defending their actions they tend not to think much about whether they are in the right or in the wrong. This is also true with fog training. As an example Many positive dog trainers condemn all different training methods and some go as far as calling all other methods barbaric. The same is true with other trainers using different methods. You will often here them calling positive training as baby training.

We do not use any single method for dog training. As a rule we believe that each individual breed will learn better by the use of certain methods which will vary fro breed to breed. We also know that dogs in each breed will differ from each other. Just like the fingers on a hand. They look the same but are different. We take every dog as a unique individual and will use methods that work with the dog rather then forcing the dog with set methods.

As a simple rule we balance between two categories being positive training and corrective training. As a definite rule we believe that physical or mental punishment does NOT work with any dog even if it seems to work.

We have had three different positive dog trainers condemn our work in the past all were from different countries. These positive trainers were what one would call a so called positive trainer or a wanna be dog trainer. All three insisted that they were training dogs for many years and two had internet sites supposedly giving people advice on how to train dogs. Not one of the three were true positive trainers and not one could be classed as a dog instructor.
Some facts. Positive dog training is very relatively new. Positive dog training means that you do not correct the dog in any manner. The word NO is NEVER used. The dog is rewarded each time it does what you want. The trick is to get the dog to do better each time. The truth is that true positive training is no easy matter, it requires very much time and considerable patience and knowledge. As for results they are superb. But, there is a catch!
You can train a dog positively for a Schutzhund competition even though many will call you mad, I know of an instructor who did and her dog became world sieger! However you maybe able to train a dog in a true positive manner for K9 work but a K9 dog on patrol isn't in a show it's now real life and positive training will be the fallback. The reason for this is that he won't be able to cope with stress as much he won't be able to handle a crook trying to escape with a bat as a properly trained dog would. The biggest catch is that I personally believe that a dog can only be trained positive if it's in the hands of a positive instructor. Imagine your dog eating your steak when your backs turned. Are you really going to sit there and say nothing at the attempt. Positive training will require you to do so. Lets take an example scenario. Lets say that you gave your dog to an instructor who trains your dog pure positive. Then you go home and your dog is back in the real world. Your dog hears the words no, bad boy, etc. Now who does your dog love and who is in your dogs black book? What about the stress he is now going through? So pure positive training will require a true positive instructor and a familly who appreciate and live by the rules of true possitive trianing. In such a case you would definately have an obedient and happy dog,

We use as much positive training as possible. We do not physically or mentally punish any dog for any action. We throw in corrective tanning and wala you have a dog that can cope with stress and doesn't get stressed up back home. As with protection work a bat a crook no problem.

So what is corrective training that we use. Well as for the three 'instructors' I mentioned above they automatically presumed and one even wrote about it in his web site blog that corrective training is bad because it means beating. Now I don't know why he presumed this but I can imagine. Corrective means a mistake has been made and you correct it. When you are teaching your child how to use a knife and fork do you stab him when he gets it wrong? Do you punch him? do you shout at him? Hopefully no. You correct him. You show him and were necessary you help him by holding his hands. The same applies to dogs. Correcting a mistake doesn't mean hitting it means moving your body using phrases and tones of gesture alike warmer, colder.. or by pushing or pulling etc. Corrective training means correcting not beating else it would have been called punishing!

When our training is broken down and examined you will see that %80 is of positive and %20 is as above corrective. Your dog will not be devastated when returning home and hearing the phrase No.

We do use choke collars in our training (except for certain breeds and dogs) and anyone opposing choke collars is a dumbo. One of the above mentioned wanna be dog trainers has a whole list of dangers of use of the choke collar and condemns its use (the barbaric stuff) then he has a picture of a muzzle restraining collar that he worships. The truth is all wannabe dog trainers worship these collars because a dog will try once, twice but not the third time. The restraint cranks the dogs head back and has caused dogs major injuries and deaths world wide. Dogs require to be able to open their mouth and put their tongue out to cool down (facts). His collar was one that held the dogs mouth shut. Choke collars do have their side affects but they are not designed for daily use. They are not designed for people to use without knowledge. A choke collar will pull tight and titer as a dog pulls. When used properly the collar teaches the dog many different things. Not knowing how to properly use a choke collar will mean that the dog will continue pulling even though the collar has tightened. A choke collar will cause harder breathing a choke collar will cause less blood flow BUT oh yes there is a but! Tests openly show when a choke collar is used on an un obedient dog who continually pulls actually breaths easier and has more blood flow then any standard collar! The reason for this is that a choke collar distributes force around the neck where a normal collar will be loosed at the back and all pressure is focused on the front of the neck where the throat and major blood veins are! So we do use choke collars and we do use their advantages but due to our training methods the trainee will not be pulling the leash in a very short period anyway. We know how to use the collar properly and we teach handlers how to use it too. A properly used choke collar isn't pulled tight it is jerked and the jerk is in such a fashion that it doesn't have time to pull tight. The trick is to show the dog that when doing right the collar will be so loose that it will look and feel like a necklace and not a collar which will be causing a certain degree of pressure at all times.