The way I ended up training dogs is very different than most. Most dog trainers chose to do what they do because they loved dogs and could get them to do things that others could not. If you read any books or articles on becoming a dog trainer, they go on to discuss that the reason many fail is their inability to teach people what they do to get their dogs to respond the same way for them as they do the trainer. My background is the opposite.
Early on, as a police officer, I knew I wanted to be a FTO or Field Training Officer as well as an instructor in various tactical subjects ranging from firearms to defensive tactics. During the late 90’s and early 2000’s, I was blessed with the opportunity to pursue that passion. My mindset from the very beginning was that if I could not teach a subject it meant that I did not fully understand it. At times, as a police officer and later running my own company teaching open hand combatives, edged weapons, impact weapons, and firearms to citizens, military, and police, I often found myself at odds with other instructors who continued to teach outdated concepts and principles in spite of being unrealistic and lacking positive results over time.
Over 20 years ago a friend of mine from then NYPD instructed me to “train them, don’t entertain them”. The point he was trying to make was that too many instructors attempt to show off to the people they are training instead of showing them what to do to achieve their level of proficiency. The same thing occurs with dog trainers. There are some people who just have a way with animals and can get them to do things that others can’t. They have a way of communicating with them in their own language. The problem is that many are not as well versed in communicating with their human owners. In order to teach at the police academy level and eventually as a Combat Skills Instructor for the Department of Defense not only did I have to understand the subject matter inside and out I also had to understand methods of instructions and adult learning concepts.
In military and police instructor circles, there is something called “hip pocket training”. Hip pocket training means knowing a subject area so well that you can break it down into digestible chunks and deliver effective training anywhere and anytime, with little to no support from things like power point, videos, or books. This also requires the ability to immediately take the pulse of who you are training and customize that training based on the persons experience in the particular subject, educational level, and interest. It is the opposite of one size fits all.
Like I mentioned earlier, I have taught everyone from soccer moms to special forces. My best estimate would be that since 2000 I have instructed in excess of 1400 people in various subjects. Being a one man show has allowed me to easily prune, remove, or replace principles and concepts that fail to produce consistant results across the board. The result has been the evolution of Focused Based Canine Training.
My goal when working with a family and their dog is that everyone involved understand why we do it, when we do it, and how to do it. My goal is to deliver the information in such a way that clients can share the simple concepts with friends and family and that the kids be able to use it with every dog they ever own.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I feel that it is important for you to know what makes us different and why we do what we do.