The world is littered with BS & Fairy Dust ideas used to sell products to take your money. Pet products are no different. If you walked into a pet store 30 years ago chances, are you would not be able to find a harness. When the industry figured out people would pay $20-$30 for a collar with a sports team logo printed onto it they realized they were on to something. So, they started producing harnesses with the logo but those would fetch $30-$60. They cost more money; but your dog was not choking anymore. The harness allowed the dog to pull harder than ever and lead their owner around.
From my experience as an officer survival & combat skills instructor I know one thing for sure, and that is you cannot fix a training issue with equipment.
Over the past five years and after training well over 3000 dogs with of every age, breed, background, and behaviors I have a pretty good handle on what works and does not work with dogs. Working with a dog is like going to the gym, it is not about how much time you spend there but rather it is about what you do. The industry wants you to feel about your dog the same way you feel about a new car when you pop the hood. They want you to be overwhelmed and believe you cannot even change the oil by yourself. When there is a problem there is a vast interweb full of contradictions as to what products you can try for a “cheap fix” and when that does not work you need to break down and take it to a specialist to fix the problem for you. If you don’t understand the problem, you cannot fix it and the cycle continues every time there is an issue. Dog training is the same way. The industry wants you to believe that dogs are complicated, so you submit to paying for hours and hours of training without any real measure of effectiveness. Just like the mechanic, the average trainer is not concerned about teaching you the principles and concepts behind what they do, they just show/tell you how to do it.
As I have said before, I don’t train dogs, I train people, but MCS People Training just sounds weird. You need only two things to work with your dog; time and a principle- based program based on Canine Behavior Theory. Communicating with people is hard, with dogs it is easy. As the teacher I first have to understand and respect their language and culture. Through the constant refining of Focused Based Training and avoiding traditional talk and treat training I have been able to cut training time by 95%. That is bold statement that is backed up by hundreds of reviews. An amazing 85% of our clients only need one 1-hour session. If they do call us back show them what I taught them again. Every issue with any dog comes down to one thing, the owner has not identified themselves as a higher-ranking dog. Once you do you just need to enforce consistent rules, boundaries, and limitations. Talking and treats only get in the way.
The truth is that even though we have clients fill out a form all about their dog, their age, breed, size, sex, and name it has nothing to do with the way that I train them. Your dog is not a special snowflake, I train a Chihuahua the same as a would a Rottweiler. I work with all dogs like I just walked up to them on the street. I am a dog, a higher- ranking dog, I am confident, command respect, and am completely calm. Every person they have met up to that point engaged them like a person meeting a dog. Dogs like most people don’t want to be in charge but have no choice unless there is a higher- ranking dog to follow. This is how I am able to work with aggressive dogs. How can a dog have any respect for someone that upon meeting them lowers their head and attempts to give them food? Both of these things are appeasing behaviors in dogs and tell the dog you are a follower, not a leader. Their world is full of followers. Although I consider myself a leader, there have a been a handful of men in my life that I have and would follow. Just like with people, you cannot bluff it with a dog. The more you talk about being a leader the less you are. It has nothing to do with what you say and everything with what you do. Being able to walk your dog on one finger is empowering and give you real confidence in yourself and your dog’s eyes. People being walking like they are ten feet tall and bullet proof. That is the confidence in the pack.
About halfway through the appointment people usually ask, “will I be able to do this when you leave”. My answer is that I am here to train you, not entertain you. I always have to owners do everything in front of me before I leave.
It is all about your relationship with your dog. The foundation of that is walking with them holding hands…I mean paw..I mean holding the lead on one fingertip. The same way you would walk with a significant other or a child. Both of you relaxed without tension. The hardest thing I deal with is getting people to relax. The dog cannot relax if you are not relaxed. The Immediate Correction & Traffic Leads are used for safety & communications, not control. If you need a lead to control your dog, you have no control over your dog.
Until you can walk a dog on one finger with a loose lead you do not have their focus. It is relationship then training, it’s the only way it works.
My goal is that you never need me again but rather that you tell 10 people about me. There are so many dogs and people not living their best lives together, I want to get to as many as I can.
Stop buying equipment that you don’t know how to use or sending your dog away for classes or attending ongoing classes with them learning things that are never pressure tested under real world conditions. Let us show you how to lead your dog anywhere. Schedule today.