Con­sis­tency and rep­e­ti­tion is imper­a­tive if you want a con­sis­tently and RELIABLY well-behaved, civ­i­lized dog.

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Recent News

  • Dog Training with Sheri Venza – Part One

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  • Princeton Community Television Interview

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  • The Three ‘F’s’ of Dog Training: Fun, Fair and Firm

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Did You Know?

  • A dog CAN and SHOULD be trained WITHOUT the use of food, clickers, and/or other gadgets? Did you ever see a dog or wolf pack leader hand-out “gifts” to get the pack to respond? Using these items teaches your dog to respond only to an external stimuli and not out of his natural, instinctive need to please its pack leader. You also end up with an overweight, unhealthy dog. IT IS NOT NECESSARY!
  • Dogs have a heightened sense of hearing and when you repeat your command even two (2) times, you are teaching your dog it does not have to listen the first time?
  • A dog jumping on you or others is dominance and is NOT a sign that he is happy or excited (even though he may be feeling some of those emotions at the time)?
  • When you touch your dog, even if you are correcting him, you are really PRAISING him for the behavior you are trying to stop? Dogs are simple: touch = praise. And, during a correction – including one with a stern tone and similarly stern body language – coupling any action with touch (even if that “touch” is pushing the dog away), you end up confusing the dog and reinforcing the behavior you want to stop.
  • “Cute” puppy behaviors turn into adult dog behaviors which dogs do not “grow out of”?
  • A growl is a bite that did not connect? If a growl is not addressed, it WILL escalate. It’s a matter of time.
  • You should not use your dog’s name when you are correcting or commanding him or he will learn a negative association with it?
  • A wagging tail DOES NOT ALWAYS mean a happy or friendly dog? A tail is an indication of the dog’s state of emotion, and sometimes “wagging” is an indication of “excitement” – excitement before a bite.
  • Touching a dog when he is acting fearful or uncertain praises him for acting fearful – sending the message to the dog that its behavior is appropriate? Even though an owner may be trying to console the dog (as one would with a person), a dog interprets touch as praise – no matter what.
  • Hitting a dog only invokes mistrust towards people and can sometimes trigger a defense reaction?