My Approach
My goal is to help you achieve harmony with your dog.
Dogs need to feel safe, before they can learn. San Francisco is an inherently unsafe city. So many dogs struggle with the ever changing environment.
They get labeled as reactive, aggressive, anxious, dominant, alpha or territorial.
I believe many dogs are suffering from TOO much social pressure.
What they need from their caretakers is a social buffer.
People often come to me, saying they tried positive reinforcement, and it didn’t work.
But they were told that food made all the problems better.
In my experience what your dog really needs is choice, control and predictability.
That could include food, games or toys. But some dogs just need less stress and more personal space.
If you want to learn how to support your dog, then I can help you.
Train with your dog, not against them.
Control the environment. Support your dog.
Adolescence in dogs is similar to the boundary pushing we see in teenagers.
Most people typically struggle when their dogs are between 1-3 years old.
Adolescent dogs are a HUGE challenge!
It’s critical to support them through this phase without corrections or punishment.
When something goes wrong with your dog- ask yourself:
Did my dog have choice, control and predictability?
Chances are, 1, 2 or all 3 were lacking.
We can control environments & situations- NOT our dogs.
It’s amazing what can happen when we collaborate with our dogs to meet their social & safety needs.
After watching the videos on this page, you will have a good idea if I’m the right dog trainer for you.
Adolescent Dogs
Adolescence is the time to learn 4 things:
How to stay safe, how to stay fed, how to make friends and how to find a mate.
Even though we are responsible for all 4 things- your dog’s software is running in the background 24/7.
Learn how I navigate this developmental period.
Recall
It’s very tempting to start teaching our dogs recall at the beach.
Learn how I begin the process and the steps I take to ensure it works.
Strangers & our dogs
Dogs deserve access to public space with anonymity.
Learn why I avoid interacting with the public when I am walking a dog.
Where dogs learn
It’s tempting to start reactivity training in your neighborhood.
But that’s like learning how to swim in the Pacific Ocean- way too complicated.
Learn where I begin the dog training process.
Meeting your dog where they are
We all have expectations that will not be met when we bring a dog into our lives.
Learn how I adjust the environment to help dogs be successful.
