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 Your
dog or puppy is learning all the time.
Every interaction with you, your family, the
physical environment, strangers, the veterinarian, neighborhood
children, other dogs, etc., is shaping your dog or puppyís
perceptions, reactions, and experiences for better or worse.
Our customized in-home training programs can
teach you and your family easy, fun, and effective
ways to turn every interaction and experience in
your dog or puppyís life into a positive training opportunity.
Integrating training seamlessly into your daily routine benefits
your dog or puppy by teaching him how to respond appropriately to
the real-world situations that are part of your particular lifestyle
and activities. This will help him blend more successfully and
harmoniously into your family.
Every Dog Canís
training and behavior specialist is a
Certified Pet Dog Trainer
and a professional member of the
Association of Pet Dog
Trainers. She has proven experience in teaching people and
their dogs how to build loving and respectful relationships through
the use of positive reinforcement training.
____________________________________________________________
 How
Behavior Is Shaped
When a behavior is reinforced with something pleasant, that behavior
tends to increase in frequency. When itís not, it tends to fade
away.
This is a core principle of how behavior is shaped.
Dogs do what works for them. To say it more scientifically, dogs
tend to repeat behaviors that are reinforcing to them.
The key to effective dog training is to find ways to make the good
behavior you want from your dog ìpay offî for him so he eagerly
repeats it. When you shape behavior in this way, your dog doesnít
even realize that heís being trained to do specific things or to act
in appropriate ways. Itís all just fun and games as far as heís
concerned!
Every Dog Can shows you how to use the many things that your dog or
puppy lovesó play, affection, treats, praise, walks, toys, romps in
the park, or whateveróas reinforcers that strengthen the good
behaviors you want until those behaviors become good, solid habits.
We show you how to integrate this training into every facet of your
dogís life. Training doesnít just occur at odd moments or once in a
while. Every interaction throughout the day becomes an opportunity
for shaping your dog or puppyís behavior into positive channels.
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____________________________________________________________
 Teaching
a Common Language
Most dogs really donít know what people want them to do. When dogs
donít know, they ìguessîóand usually their guess is wrong. Thatís
where the problems begin.
When misunderstandings occur, finding a common language is essential
in reestablishing clear communication. Every Dog Can teaches you a
fun, easy, and effective system of signals to ìmarkî your dogís
behavior so he knows exactly when heís done the right thingóor not.
We teach two signals: a ìreward markerî and a ìno reward marker.î
The ìreward markerî is a special word or sound like ìYes!î or ìGoodî
or the ìclickî of a clicker. It will tell your dog that heís done
absolutely the right thing and that his correct choice is going to
earn him reinforcementóa reward thatís meaningful to him. You will
also teach your dog a simple sound or word that tells him that he
didnít do the right thing and made an incorrect choiceóa ìno reward
markerîóand that heís going to earn nothingÖ nadaÖ zip. Words like
ìWrong!î or ìOops!î or a sound like ìEh!î or the noticeable absence
of a ìclickî from the clicker work well.
Every Dog Can teaches you and your dog or puppy how to use this
system for training all the great behaviors you want him to do, from
the basics like Sit, Down, Stand, Stay, Wait, Leave It, Come, Walk
Nicely, etc., to advanced off-leash behaviors, tricks, and anything
else you want to teach.
Try using a reward marker to ìcatchî your dog or puppy in the act of
doing something right for a change, and then reinforce that
right behavior in a meaningful way! Dogs are just like us when it
comes to learningótheyíd much rather be ìtoldî that theyíre doing
the right thing than constantly being nagged and punished for making
choices they may not even know are wrong.
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____________________________________________________________
 Setting
Up for Success
ìAn ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.î
This old adage is one of the ìtruthsî of dog training. The more
things your dog or puppy learns correctly from the outset, the fewer
things he will have to unlearn later on. Itís so much easier
to prevent behavior problems from developing than to cure them.
Every Dog Can shows you how to arrange your dog or puppyís world so
he can make only correct choices. This is how we set up both
you and your dog or puppy for long-term success.
What weíre talking about is also called ìhousehold managementî or
ìerrorless learning.î You prepare and manage your dog or puppyís
physical environment in such a way that he canít make incorrect
choices. Itís important to understand that allowing a dog or puppy
to practice and repeat negative behavior reinforces and
strengthens that negative behavior. The first and best line of
defense is to work consistently to make it impossible for your dog
or puppy to do anything other than the right thing.
The principle here is simple enough, but itís not always easy to do
because it requires knowledge, commitment, and consistency. Let
Every Dog Can help provide you with the knowledge you need so you
can provide the commitment and the consistency. The sooner you start
setting up your dog or puppy for success, the closer you will be to
having the companion of your dreams.
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____________________________________________________________
 Early
Education for Puppies
Early and appropriate training is the key in preventing behavior
problems from developing in the first place. There is a very short
window in the physical and emotional development of young puppies in
which they most easily learn to cope with the everyday reality and
unpredictability of living in a very human world.
Most canine experts agree this golden opportunity ends when a puppy
is around 16 ñ 18 weeks of age. This doesnít mean an older
puppy or adolescent or adult dog canít learn after this age; of
course they can, but the job is going to require much more dedicated
effort. The earlier you start working with a puppy, the more success
you can expect.
Every Dog Can is here to help you get your puppy off to the right
start. We come to your home and help you set up your puppyís living
environment to ensure he learns proper toilet etiquette, good chew
habits, and the appropriate use of his teeth around humans (bite
inhibition). We also instruct you how to get started socializing
your puppy to the big wide world, with puppy head start training
customized to your individual needs. All training is done at your
convenience and we encourage the participation of every member of
your family in your puppyís education.
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____________________________________________________________
 Training
for Adolescent Dogs
Just when you think youíve survived puppyhood, your dog is a
teenager! Most dogs enter adolescence at around 20 weeks of age and
over the succeeding months go through many of the same physical and
emotional upheavals as do human teens: hormones rage, adult bodies
controlled by ìpuppy brainsî run amok, and the adolescent dog often
shows an alarming sense of independence from the family. Studies
show that this is the time of life when a dog is at highest risk of
being given up on by the family.
Every Dog Canís training specialist will help give you a solid
understanding of whatís driving your adolescent dogís ill-mannered
behavior as a first step in turning things around. If you didnít
invest in training when your dog was a young puppyóor you have
recently adopted or rescued an adolescent dogóitís imperative that
you start training now in order to prevent a further
deterioration in behavior. It wonít get better on its own!
Even for dogs that experienced the benefits of early puppy training,
continued training during this often challenging time can help make
daily life go more smoothly for everyone. Weíd be happy to design a
training program to meet your adolescent dogís special needs.
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____________________________________________________________
 New
ìTricksî for Adult Dogs of Any Age
Lifelong learning helps keep dogs mentally stimulated, well-focused
and happy (a dogís mind is a terrible thing to waste!). Training
games are a powerful way to enhance and strengthen your relationship
with your dog. Adulthood can be an especially good time to work on
off-leash skills and advanced training because dogs tend to be more
focused and settled at this time in their lives. Every Dog Can would
be pleased to tailor-make a fun and unique positive reinforcement
training program to build teamwork and enhance the relationship
between you and your best buddy!
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Rates for Training Programs
In-home training sessions are billed at an affordable flat rate of
$40 per hour, with time over the first hour billed at quarter-hour
increments ($10 for each additional 15 minutes). Travel to your home
is normally included (see Free Travel Area below). Our time spent
responding by phone or email to questions you may have between
training sessions is included in our training fee at no additional
cost to you.
You may also purchase a package of three (3) one-hour training
sessions for a total of $90, a savings of 25%. To receive this
special price, advance payment in full ($90) must be received at the
first session. Please Note: If a refund is requested for any unused
package session(s), completed sessions will be prorated at the
regular rate of $40 per hour and the remainder refunded to you.
Please ask about our special discounts for puppies and dogs adopted
from a shelter or rescue group within the past 6 months.
Free Travel Area
We are committed to providing leading-edge dog training and
behavior services to Northwest Arkansas. If you live in or near the
following communities in Benton and Washington Counties, we will
travel to your home at no extra charge:
Avoca
Bella Vista
Bentonville
Bethel Heights
Cave Springs
Centerton
Decatur
Elm Springs
Farmington
Fayetteville
Garfield
Gateway
Gentry
Gravette
Healing Springs |
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Highfill
Hiwasse
Johnson
Little Flock
Lowell
Monte Ne
Pea Ridge
Prairie Creek
Rogers
Siloam Springs
Springdale
Springtown
Tontitown
Vaughn
War Eagle |
If you live outside of our free travel area, please call us! We are
very happy to come to your home to help you and your dog, but weíll
add a reasonable charge to compensate for the additional time and
expense of travel. If travel to your area isnít feasible, we will do
our best to help you find someone in your local area who may be able
to assist you with training.
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