Behavior Modification

About The Service

Our behavior modification board and train program is designed to rehabilitate dogs displaying aggression, reactivity, severe anxiety, and other acute behavioral issues. This course follows a similar structure to our adult dog training course while addressing the abovementioned behaviors.

Program Structure

1. Building Trust. Our behavior modification course can be between 4 and 8 weeks long, depending on the severity of each dog’s behavior. Training progresses at a safe pace and is respectful of the dog’s needs. When dogs first come to us, we give them time to decompress in our training environment and build a relationship with us before we begin formal training.
2. Behavior Modification. The most crucial step in the training process is correcting problematic behaviors before teaching obedience. Preventing aggression or reactivity episodes through compliance (i.e., telling your dog to sit when it starts growling at another dog) can simply suppress the underlying issues without fully addressing them. This is why we teach dogs that aggression and reactivity are unacceptable before introducing obedience training.‍
3. Obedience Training. Once behavioral issues are corrected and there is a clear understanding that aggression and reactivity are unacceptable responses to any situation, we build the dog’s confidence through food games, train it in basic on- and off-leash obedience, and give it as many positive experiences as possible around old triggers to ensure success beyond graduation. This includes field trips to highly distracting environments to generalize expectations. In other words, field trips allow us to teach dogs that the obedience and behavioral expectations established throughout the training process apply to any situation.
4. Graduation & Follow-Up Support. Once your dog is ready to graduate, we will teach you everything you need to know to maintain and continue behavioral and obedience training during our graduation send-home session. You’ll have access to three follow-up sessions with our trainers within the first year of graduation, unlimited phone and email follow-up support, and access to our alumni exclusive boarding services.

What Your Dog Will Learn

After completing our behavior modification program, your dog will be capable of the following obedience skills on- and off-leash:

• Sit down & stay
• Recall (come when called)
• Leash manners
• Heel (walk next to your right side without pulling or lagging)
• Bed stay (we use this skill a lot during eating meals and when guests come over)
• Crate & potty training
• Proper etiquette with people & appropriate interactions with other dogs. Depending on your dog’s behavioral issues before training, we will never recommend unsupervised interactions around previous triggers.
• Waiting at doors & respectfully going through doorways
• Improved confidence in new environments
• Impulse control & focus around any distraction

Common Behaviors That We Work With

Some common behaviors we regularly work with in our behavior modification program include dog reactivity, dog aggression, human reactivity, human aggression, littermate syndrome, housemate fighting, leash reactivity, fence fighting, severe anxiety, and resource guarding. If your dog is experiencing other behavioral issues, contact us to schedule a consultation.

What To Expect From Us

• Regular text, picture, and video updates on your dog’s training
• Real-life training scenarios to ensure success after graduation
• Training field trips to public parks, pet-friendly stores, and other highly distracting environments
• Daily exercise, mental stimulation, and supervised play sessions with other dogs

What’s Included

Our behavior modification program includes all of the tools that your dog will need to continue training at home:

• E-collar, slip leash & elevated place bed.
• Graduation send-home class (around 1.5 hours) and three free follow-up sessions within one year post-graduation
• Access to our alumni-exclusive boarding and refresher training services to protect your training investment
• 1-year-long graduate follow-up process where we proactively reach out to you after training is complete
• Lifetime email and phone support. We are fully committed to your dog’s success in training.

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