Dog Training at Home: teaches you to train your dog, in your own home, at your own pace. This home-based service offers dog owners who have limited time an opportunity to improve their relationship with their pet dogs. Training at home is especially appropriate for dog owners who find travel to classes difficult. We also offer face-to-face private instruction.

Together we can identify problem behaviors and training solutions. We can also train skills that may transform your dog from a rambunctious or destructive pet into calm and easily managed companion. Your dog might even become your willing and able assistant in tasks of daily living.

You will learn gentle and positive training methods that incorporate praise, food and toys as reinforcement for positive behaviors.

Problem Behaviors We Can Change With Training:

• Jumping up on people during a friendly greeting
• Puppies guarding toys or food
• Poor bowel or bladder control
  • submissive urination
  • soiling in the house, car, or crate
• Pulling when on leash
• Running away
• Resource Guarding
• Excessive barking
• Destructive chewing
• Counter surfing (stealing food)
• Barging through doors
• Jumping out of a car without permission

Skills Your Dog Can Learn

• Walking on a loose leash
• Sit when greeting people
• Come when called
• Play retrieve (chasing a ball or frisbee and returning the toy to you)
• Taking food gently from your hand
• Relinquishing favorite toys or treats without a fuss
• A directed retrieve (pick up dropped items like car keys)
• Pick up his own toys or children's toys and drop them in a basket
• Stand calmly for grooming or veterinary care (including toenail cutting)
• Settle down on a dog bed or go in a crate for a period of time when directed to do so
• Wait at doorways in the house or car

ON-LINE CONTRACTED CONSULTATION

Free Initial Consultation:

• Twenty minute, telephone consultation or real-time* on-line consultation to assess your needs and determine whether your skills and your dog’s issues are appropriate for this type of training program. If we determine that my services are not appropriate for your and your dog's needs, I will try help you identify appropriate resources in your community.

*Real-time on-line session: refers to a private on-line chat using the free Instant Messenger program offered by America On-Line.

Behavioral Assessment: All training begins with a fifty-minute real-time on-line session during which we assess your needs and decide which behavior or skill to train first.

• Prioritize training needs
• Define training goals

Knowing your goals helps me to design a personalized lesson plan for you.

Training contract: You may contract with me to learn how to train a single behavior, or we can design a longer-term training package that supports your training a set of behaviors or skills with your dog.

• Weekly, twenty minute real-time consultation contact on-line, to review progress, discuss obstacles to training, answer questions, and set new goals
• One e-mail question and answer exchange (approximately 5 minutes), per week, in addition to the scheduled weekly, twenty-minute, real-time consultation

The Plan: I will send you a detailed, written training plan for each behavior you contract to learn and teach to your dog.

• You will receive a training journal that you will fill out and send to me at specified intervals during the training process.
• I will use your training journals to assess progress and as a basis for determining the next step in training the chosen behavior.
• If you have access to a video camera, you may send a video along with your written journal for me to review as a tool for assessing your progress.
• I will use your videoed progress as a basis for determining the next step in your training plan.

Fees:

• Free Initial twenty- minute telephone or on-line consultation.
• All rates are based on $100 per hour fee for on-line or in-person private training instruction.
• Sessions shorter than one hour will be pro-rated in twenty-minute increments ($35 per twenty-minutes or less).
  
  

On-Line Services:

• $200 Behavioral Assessment (review and interpretation of your completed questionnaire) and forty-minute real-time on-line discussion of the training plan.
  • Includes: a written training plan which defines training in detailed incremental steps with criteria for progress.

• $35 Per twenty-minute follow-up session, and one short email question and response at another time.

• $130 Package price includes:
  • Four weekly twenty-minute follow-up sessions, and four short email questions and responses.

• $240 Package price includes:
  • Eight weekly twenty-minute follow-up sessions, and four short email questions and responses.

• $50 Optional short (approximately five - ten minute) customized video demonstrations.
  

If, during our training work together, previously unidentified aggressive behavior towards humans becomes evident in your dog's behavior, we will need to reconsider whether this form of training is suitable for your needs. You may need to find someone in your local area to evaluate your dog's temperament in light of the emerging signs of aggression. I will help you identify appropriate resources to assess and address your dog's aggression towards people.

In the event that our work together is terminated by me, prior to the completion of any pre-paid training agreement, you may be eligible for a prorated refund.

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