Dog Training Frequently Asked Questions

For adult dogs with behavior, dog fear, or dog aggression challenges, we recommend checking out our pages on fearful dogs and aggressive dogs, 

How frequently you will meet with your dog trainer varies from case to case. We suggest aiming to meet with your dog trainer every 2 to 4 weeks for fearful dogs, anxious dogs, stressed dogs, and aggression behavior modification for dogs.

Length of time for helping a fearful dog or an aggressive dog depends upon you, your dog, and your goals. 

If your dog suffers from fear or aggression, he or she may require ongoing support and dedication from you. Some dog behavior challenges have biological components that may never fully resolve, and dogs may be suffering from issues that never fully resolve, though we can work with you to provide customized support.

Our dog trainers come to your home so that we can see the exact situations and triggers that need to be addressed for the dog behavior modification plan.

When your dog is lunging, barking, and carrying on, it can be annoying, frustrating, or even scary. We just want it to stop, and we want our dogs to feel better. 

Your dog’s aggressive behavior is potentially a signal that he is having a really hard time. We work with you to help change their reaction to environmental triggers, or whatever sets them off. We teach you how to do it. 

This type of change, a change to his emotional reactions, can take days, weeks, months, or longer. We exclusively use behavior modification and not behavior suppression. 

Suppression of behavior will stop your dog’s naughty reactions, but that will not change the underlying reaction. Instead, your dog is still highly uncomfortable, but will not tell you, until it’s too late. 

We focus on safety and management, behavioral health, and then we follow up with training!

Our dog training packages are designed to get you started toward your dog training goals.

After one of our new client dog training packages, your trainer will discuss options for regular refresher or ongoing training.  This includes dog training lessons or day training.

Based on your dog training intake form, we may send you dog training videos and literature to review in advance of our first lesson, leaving us much more time for your specific training questions.

If you would like, you can learn more about our dog training approach and why it is embraced by veterinarians and leading professionals specifically to address behavior challenges.  

In the event that, during our first dog training lesson, we cannot find a way to get your dog under threshold, we may suggest that you seek veterinary oversight in conjunction with our dog training. If so, we’ll set an additional replacement appointment afterwards, at no additional charge. 

A veterinary behaviorist is a veterinarian who has been licensed by the state who also has a board certification in behavior.

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has published position statements on a variety of topics related to the field of animal behavior. These include:

Positive Vet Visit Position Statement
Dominance Position Statement
Punishment Position Statement
Puppy Socialization Position Statement
How to Choose a Trainer Handout
Breed Specific Legislation Position Statement
AVSAB Response Statement to Cesar 911