Our philosophy in a "nut-shell"
At Take the Lead, we believe that a happy partnership with your dog begins with you taking the leadership role. We encourage our clients to be aware of how their energy, body language, and actions are influencing their dog, and we seek to coach the human-canine team as a cohesive unit. We believe that YOU are the best person to train your dog, and we are committed to helping you do that! We utilize a dynamic approach that encourages and rewards positive behavior, while correcting and discouraging negative behavior. There is no magic or "quick-fix" in dog training, but with your time, patience, and consistency, you and your dog can develop a happy, healthy relationship that you will enjoy for years to come.
Leadership and teamwork
Learning to Take the Lead
Taking the leadership role means that you decide the rules and boundaries that will govern the relationship you have with your dog. It then becomes your job to fairly and consistently enforce those rules. Dogs do not come pre-programmed knowing what behaviors will please us, and what behaviors will annoy or frustrate us. They are simply just being dogs, and doing what dogs do naturally. Unfortunately, sometimes "natural" dog behaviors (like chewing up the furniture, marking their territory, or barking out the window etc) don't always fit into our human lifestyle, and can cause a lot of heartache in our daily lives, and even in our relationships with others.
Our goal is to help you teach your dog how to best fit into your lifestyle. It's important to remember that dogs don't know how to do this on their own… we need to teach them! It's not fair to be frustrated with a dog for just being themselves, when you haven't taught them any other way to be. When you embrace your role as their teacher, your dog will learn to trust and respect your leadership, and you and your dog will begin to work together as a cohesive team. Becoming a successful leader requires you to be calm and confident while working with your dog, even when their behavior is frustrating to you. When you master this skill, you will find that not only are you creating a mutually fulfilling relationship with your dog, but you may be improving other aspects of your life as well!
Working as a team
Like learning any new skill, training your dog takes a lot of time and practice. If you put in the time and effort, you WILL see results, but everyone's timeline will be different depending on what behaviors you are trying to change, and the current dynamic between you and your dog. The single best predictor of training success however, is how much time and effort you are willing to put in. Training your dog is a big commitment in both time and energy, and you will be expected to practice daily outside of class time. In fact, the time you spend outside of your dedicated training sessions is even more influential than the time you spend in class. There is a saying in the horse world: "you are always either training your horse, or un-training them". The same is true for dogs. Every interaction you have with your dog matters, and they are always learning from you! As you become more mindful about how you are interacting with your dog, the two of you will be forming a truly remarkable bond, and there are no limits to what you can accomplish together. We believe that dogs should be active and participatory members of the family, and that they deserve to go, do, and see all that the world has to offer. When you and your dog start working together as a team, everything you do with each other will become easier and more enjoyable.
The truth about "socialization"
The term “socialization” gets used frequently in the dog world, and we seek to dispel some myths and shed light on what it means for a dog to be truly socialized. A mistake we see very often is people who, with the best of intentions, turn their dog or puppy loose to “play” with other strange dogs and refer to this as socialization. We recommend that all dog owners be extremely mindful and deliberate about how and when their dog interacts with other dogs. This means never taking them to a dog park, or allowing them to be approached by a strange dog out on the trail. If someone approaches you and asks “can my dog come say hi to your dog” you owe it to your dog to politely decline. A great response is: “no, my dog is in training right now, but thank you for asking”. Inversely, it is also important that you never let YOUR dog approach other strange dogs while out and about. There is never a real world scenario where it is safe for your dog to interact with other strange dogs. It’s simply not worth the risk!
Dog Parks
For a number of reasons, we strongly encourage our students NOT to attend dog parks. Dog parks can cause otherwise mellow dogs to become fearful and reactive, and can severely exacerbate any dog reactivity you are already experiencing. It is a myth that all dogs will enjoy going to the dog park. This is simply not true. Not all dogs want to be approached by exuberant or pushy dogs, and dog parks can be extremely traumatic to fearful or shy animals. Even otherwise happy dogs can become fearful or reactive after just one traumatic experience at a dog park. As your dog’s leader, it is your job to keep them safe and provide experiences that nurture their trust. When you allow them to be approached (or even attacked) by a reactive or aggressive dog, you are undermining this trust, and teaching them that they are responsible for their own safety. This can cause your dog to become reactive or respond with aggression any time they encounter other dogs out on walks or excursions in the community.
Aside from the behavioral consequences of dog parks, they are simply NOT SAFE for you or your dog. Dog parks are a hot spot for contagious disease. It is also a tragic reality that dogs are injured and killed at dog parks ALL THE TIME. We also have personal experience with our human clients being attacked and seriously injured by dogs at the dog park.
So how does one “socialize” their dog?
What is needed is a re-framing of the concept of socialization. A truly socialized dog is one who can be relaxed, respectful, and attentive in any situation, regardless of distractions. A socialized dog does not feel the need to approach everyone they see, and is happy to ignore the presence of other dogs nearby. Socialization is not just about how your dog behaves around other dogs, but about how they behave around all the sights, sounds, and smells of the human world (vehicles, crowds etc). When your dog becomes truly socialized, they can pay attention to you and follow your instruction no matter what environment you are in, or what distractions are present. You achieve this through consistent training and relationship building, and by teaching your dog to trust and respect your leadership. If you need a space for your dog to run and play, check out SniffSpot. It’s a fantastic alternative to dog parks if you are looking for a safe place for your dog to romp. Take the Lead will have it's own SniffSpot very soon!
Socialization at Take the Lead
At Take the Lead, we maintain a strict policy of no dog-to-dog contact during all of our classes. At no point will your dog be physically interacting with any other dog. This keeps everyone safe and teaches valuable socialization skills. Exuberant dogs will learn to have self control around other dogs, and fearful dogs will learn to relax and feel safe around other dogs. Its a win-win for everyone involved!
The dynamic "consequence and reward" system
Our training methods are based on the natural instincts of dogs, and decades of sound scientific research on animal behavior. We also have a deep understanding of how people learn, and we are skilled at modifying our teaching approach to suit the learning styles of our human clients as well as their dogs.
During training we will tap into your dog’s natural inclination to seek out positive experiences and avoid unpleasant experiences. Dogs are excellent at recognizing patterns and making connections between a given behavior and the result of that behavior. All living creatures are evolutionary programmed to do this, and we will teach you how to utilize the things that your dog enjoys most in order to reinforce the behaviors we want, and avoid the behaviors we don’t want. The reward system that we use at Take the Lead is dynamic and is catered to each dog individually. Rewards can be food, praise, toys, physical touch, etc. The best reward for your dog is one that accomplishes the following: gets your dog excited to work for you and motivated to do a good job, but doesn’t cause them to loose focus, or get so excited that they can no longer pay attention. An appropriate reward should also be easily utilized and convenient. In conjunction with highly motivating and appropriately timed rewards, we will also teach you to use leash pressure and your own calm energy to discourage any unwanted behaviors that you are currently struggling with. We will teach you how to use this system of rewards and consequences so that your dog receives clear and concise messages about what behaviors are desirable, and which ones are not. There is nothing more detrimental to a dog's learning process than receiving mixed messages from their handler.
Collars, leashes, and other training equipment
There is a seemingly endless variety of collars, harnesses, leashes, and other pieces of dog training equipment available in every size, color, and style imaginable. We are firm believers that having the right tool for the job is an essential component of a successful training program. As Taylor's great-grandfather used to say "The right tool for the job, and the job's half done". Well, we might not go that far, (you'll have to put in a lot of practice no matter which tool you're using) but having the right equipment is important!
Leashes:
We recommend that our students work their dogs on a 6 foot leash with a small snap on the end. Our personal preference is a 3/8” leather leash, but other options are acceptable, as long as the snap is small! We discourage the use of leashes with extra snaps, multiple handles, or "poop bag holders" hanging from them. We like our students to have ease of movement and dexterity with their equipment, so simpler is better. Retractable or “flexi" leashes are absolutely not appropriate for training. They put constant pressure on your dog's neck, and ruin your dog's sensitivity to leash pressure and input.
Collars:
After more than a decade of trial and error, and not being able to find the right tool elsewhere in the market, we have developed our own custom training collar. Our proprietary training collar is an adjustable, wrap around slip collar, that sits high on the dog's neck. We personally manufacture these collars, including machining all of the hardware ourselves. You can read more about our collars here. All students who are enrolled in a group classes will receive one of our collars for free. Our collars work for MOST dogs, but we believe in a dynamic approach to training, and some dogs and handlers may require a different solution depending on their particular situation. Other solutions can include: martingale collars, slip leads, harnesses, prong collars etc. There are very few pieces of equipment that we will never use, and we believe that used correctly, nearly every piece of training equipment has an appropriate application. Any equipment recommendation that we make will be discussed with you thoroughly, and finding the right tool for you and your dog is our ultimate goal!
Using your tools effectively
Your leash and collar will become vital components of how you communicate with your dog, and we will teach you how to "have a conversation" through the use of pressure and release. When you learn to use your leash and collar appropriately, even the tiniest bit of tension on the leash will be meaningful, and will convey information to your dog. Being mindful of your hands and how you are holding your leash is incredibly important, and we will help you develop sensitivity in this area. Time spent on leash is extremely important (especially for puppies) and most behavioral issues can be resolved (or avoided all together) by keeping your dog on leash and under direct supervision as much as possible while you work to teach them more appropriate behaviors.
Take the Lead Canine Coaching - Grass Valley, CA
(530) 913-7048 Taylor@taketheleadcanine.com