The Three Methods of Dog Training in NYC

There are three approaches to dog training in NYC. 1) Pack-leader methods, which are based on dominance, 2) "positive reinforcement,"* which is based on the behaviors of laboratory animals, and 3) Natural Dog Training, which is based on the way police dogs, drug-detection dogs, and search-and-rescue dogs are trained—through their prey drive.

 

This is not "instinct training." Instincts are inflexible and can't be used to teach new behaviors. So instinct training is an oxymoron. Drive training, on the other hand, is infinitely flexible and enables a dog to override his most basic instincts in favor of the canine-human bond.

 

There are two ways I teach Natural Dog Training in NYC.

 

1) Obedience Instruction

I come to your home or meet up with you in a local park, and show you how to train your dog, using games specifically designed for each basic command. Some owners will want to skip some of the exercises except the ones they feel are most important. That’s up to you. But they're designed with one major goal in mind: to make your dog instantly and happily obey all commands under any and all conditions and circumstances, and to be free from all behavioral problems.

 

Basic dog training in NYC involves 7 commands: the Sit, the Heel, the Down, the Sit-Stay, the Down-Stay, Go to Place, and the Recall (also known as coming when called). We also teach "Eyes," "Quiet," "Say Hello," "Shake"  (aka, Give Paw), "Easy," and "Leave It," among many others.

 

The most important command is the recall. In fact, all other dog training commands (except "go to place") are specifically designed as preparation for teaching your dog to come when called no matter what. That's because the ultimate goal of Natural Dog Training in NYC is a hypothetical situation—one we hope never happens—where your dog gets loose and runs off after a squirrel, headed straight for traffic. If she's been trained via NDT you'll be able to call her name and she’ll immediately turn on a dime and come running back even harder and faster than before!

 

2) Dog Training.

Instead of teaching you how to train your dog, I’ll work personally with the pooch on a regular basis until he or she is fully trained to obey the 7 basic commands listed above as well as any other commands you’d like the dog to learn, or until whatever behavioral issues the dog was having are resolved, or both. If there are severe behavioral issues, this can take a little more time than it would to simply train your dog.

 

Of course I’ll also have to teach you how to use the commands I’ve taught the dog. But the advantage is that the pup will have learned them directly from me. There is no set time limit. My fee is usually only slightly more than what you’d pay a dog walker, though it would increase slightly depending on your location and how many days a week you want me to work with your dog; fewer days per week mean higher fees per day.

 

I also offer free telephone consultations. In some cases just that one phone call can solve an owner's problems with their dog.

 

*(Note: the "positive" in positive training doesn't mean a dog is having a positive experience; it just means something has been added which increases the probability that a behavior will be repeated.)