This seminar is a great opportunity for dog owners, veterinarians, rescue volunteers, petsitters, groomers and others to learn about canine communication, canine cognition as well as answers to some common myths and questions about dog behavior. The seminar will last for about 3 hours and will include a question and answer session with our training staff.

The seminar will include:
How Dogs Learn
Canine Body Language
Behavior Problems
How to be a Better Dog Owner
Bite Prevention
Working with Dogs and Children
…and much, much more!

This seminar is free of charge and is open to anyone who would like to attend. Space is limited and registration for the seminar is required. If you would like to attend the seminar, please email us at training@highlandcanine.com. Please include your name and phone number in your email. If you have questions about the seminar, feel free to call us at 704.728.9494.

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So, I am sure you are asking, “Where do I start?” You should start by looking at what you did and didn’t do with your pup last year, and what you can do to improve upon it. It’s imperative that you understand that your dog’s happiness directly correlates with the activities you do together. When is the last time you guys went on a walk together? Did you bring him to the park with your family at all? Invite him to a BBQ and let him run around with friends? Did you even have a nice catch with him in the house? If you did, ask yourself how often. If you didn’t…you have to ask yourself, why not?

Many times we are involved with dogs because the owner is not comfortable with the dog out in public. So they don’t bring him out in public. Often this will lead to destructive behavior inside the house, i.e. chewing on the furniture, counter surfing, chewing through walls and doors, non stop barking. It is common to see these behaviors purely because the dog is bored and makes games by himself to keep his mind stimulated.

If your dog is good in public with people and other dogs there is no reason not to get him out more often. This will decrease his energy, destructiveness and increase his behavior when he is home. If your dog is not good in public you need to address these issues. Does he bark or growl at strangers, or dogs? Has he bitten someone? Does he tend to pull on the leash and is hard to control when distracted? Do you have to repeat commands in order for him to pay attention to you? Does he jump on people? Is he easily startled or scared? Does he growl when he has a toy or food?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above you came to the right spot…because your dog needs your help. If these issues are not dealt with they could become serious, potentially dangerous for family members, neighbors, even strangers. Although these issues are common and can be fixed, you should consult with a professional dog trainer in order to make sure you don’t try to fix it and accidently make it worse.

We have many different training options, including group lessons, private lessons, in home training and in kennel training. We are committed to helping you and your dog succeed at this New Years Resolution so that you and your dog can live happier, healthier lives. Not to mention, we guarantee our training for the life of the dog. Contact us today to take the first step towards a new year both of you.

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Herding dog training builds a special relationship between dog and handler and also has many other benefits. Herding will help to build good communication and teaches the dog and handler to work well as a team to accomplish particular goals. Herding helps to build cinfidence in dogs as well as challenging them mentally. Herding dog training also challenges dogs physically; good herding dogs are true canine athletes.

Highland Canine Training offers herding dog classes and private lessons for those who would like to do herding work with their dogs, even if just for fun. Herding is a great way to spend quality time with your dog and is something you both will enjoy. We offer free evaluations to anyone wishing to do herding work with their dog. If you are interested in herding training or if you would like to schedule a free evaluation, please feel free to give us a call at 866.200.2208 or email us.

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Our schedule for 2010 is listed below:

January 4th, 2010
April 5th, 2010
July 5th, 2010
October 4th, 2010

We are also offering discounted pricing for all of our courses for the Winter semester beginning on January 4th, 2010. Offers are available to those who register before December 1 , 2009. You can fill out our Dog Trainer Course Application here. For more information on our programs or our discounted prices, email us at training@highlandcanine.com or call toll free at 866.200.2207.

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There are many breeds that are conducive to different lifestyles and can adapt to either an active/ or laid back style of life. All dog breeds need attention and companionship, some just require less/more than others. Most of your Poodles, Boston Terriers, Some Labrador retrievers, some Golden Retrievers, Great Danes, Rottweiler’s, Yorkshire Terriers, Bulldogs, Mastiff, Shih Tzu’s, and Bloodhounds, etc. often do well, in homes with less structure and planned activities. These breeds are usually content with a daily walk or play time in the back yard with lots of love. However, you may experience problems with some of these breeds in an apartment type setting where they can’t get outside on a regular basis.

Problems often arise when pet owner’s take in dog breeds that they cannot handle or control. Although most of your terrier breeds (Jack Russell terrier, West Highland Terriers, Scottish Terriers), are small in size, they are highly intelligent with big egos in a lot of cases. If dog owners do not have the time or patience to stimulate these types of dogs, the result is often bad dog behavior (people aggression, dog on dog aggression, resource guarding). Dog breeds such as Border Collies, German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Heelers; some Spaniels, Miniature Pinchers, Dachshunds, American Bull Dogs and Papillion’s require a lot of attention and dedication. These breeds often do well with active pet owners who run, attend dog parks, bike, or participate in group class for agility dog training, therapy dog training, Rally-O, SAR training, or Protection work.

So a word to the wise, evaluate your lifestyle, your free time, your activities and your hobbies to see which breed or breed mix fits into your environment. Who knows maybe your dog can change your lifestyle for you; nothing like getting out and about with your dog and having a little fun at the same time!

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The first step is to decide which area of dog training is most interesting for you; is simply pet dog training (basic obedience and advanced obedience), behavior modification, agility, rally sports, herding, puppy training, therapy dog training, working dogs (police, detection, protection, Search and Rescue). The second area you should work on is deciding how you want to work your schedule or run your business. If you are the person who wants a little more freedom, then private lessons and group classes would be the area to focus on. However if you want the consistency of an everyday schedule, in-kennel training may be a better choice for you as a dog trainer.

Next you should narrow down a few schools that interest you, and go personally visit the site. You can get more out of personal visit than a telephone call; meeting the people you would be working and learning from can help you decide if you are a good fit for that particular school or environment. After a quick visit you can decide how much time you want to put into your career. For example, you could choose a 6 week program or tough it out and sign up for the 12 week program (which will allow you more experience by putting your hands on different breeds of dogs with different behaviors).

At Highland Canine Training we offer teaching for all the above areas of dog training. Students are able to combine classes and learn as much about as many areas of dog training as they can obsorb. Students who are just starting out,often sign up for obedience courses, but are also interested in protection courses; as a student you are able to take the both courses parallel for the length of time you wish to attend (6-12 weeks). Highland Canine also offers custom classes to fit your lifestyle. Many of our students also work full or part-time, have families, layed-off, or simply live out of state; we are able accomadate their schedules to help them earn the certification they are striving for!

Many students ask how they can gain experience after their school is finished and they are building their book of business? The answer is simple, pro-bono work with local shelter and rescue groups is the easiest way to gain experience and give back to your communities and the animals. Now more than ever, family pets are suffering because; people are surrendering their family pets at rescue groups or pounds because they are moving (leaving animals behind), have no time for the dog, or simply don’t like the dogs and will not take the time to place them in a proper home or work on fixing behaivor issues. Rescue groups will return the favor and referr business to you so everyone wins!

Finally, many people want to become dog trainer’s so they don’t have to work with people. That is not the case, the wonderful dogs usually belong to people and you must be able to communicate effectively with the owners to first off, diagnose the problem (if any), then teach dog owner’s how to work with their dogs! At Highland Canine Training we involve our students in the initial drop off of client dogs, what questions to ask the oweners, how to perform at both private lessons and group class settings, and how to teach the pet owner’s to work with their dogs and complete the “Go Home.”

If you think becoming a dog trainer may be in your near future, please give us a call or better yet stop by for a visit ,and we would be happy to introduce you to the wonderful world of dogs!

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Well, we are going to continue to post new articles and even try to put back some of the old dog training posts that many of you liked.  We appreciate your patience while we rebuild our dog training blog.  As always, we welcome you comments on our articles as well as article suggestions.

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