Highland Canine Training, LLC » behavior modification http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog Tips and Advice on Dog Training and Behavior Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:46:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Benefits of Dog Training in Your Home http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2010/10/29/benefits-of-dog-training-in-your-home/ http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2010/10/29/benefits-of-dog-training-in-your-home/#comments Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:02:26 +0000 admin http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/?p=417 Continue reading →]]> Highland Canine offers both private lessons and in-home dog training for the convenience of keeping your dog at home. Clients that sign up for private lessons meet with our trainers once a week for about an hour. During this hour we put together a game plan for developing more structure in your house and each week our dog trainers teach you a new command and work on certain behaviors that may be disrupting your household. You as a client will be responsible for homework between your lessons! Our in-home dog training programs allow our busy clients the satisfaction of knowing their dog is learning in the pleasure of their own home. Even if the dog owner’s are at work or on vacation! This program works much like a pet-sitter, we schedule times and days to come by and work with your dog one on one. You have the flexibility to observe/participate at each lesson or wait towards the end of the training program to see your results and learn how to maintain your training. Our dog trainers make sure that you have all of the tools and knowledge you need to maintain the training of your dog. As with all of our dog training programs we offer free follow up training for the life of the dog, and we give advice by phone or email anytime!

In-kennel dog training is great, but sometimes we just don’t see the behaviors and behavior problems that you may see at home. This offers you and your family a custom training program to work on these behavioral issues. Examples of problem behaviors include: barking and/or lunging at visitors at the front door, nipping at children when they run around the house, fence fighting with the neighbor’s dogs; chewing up furniture/windows, aggression between multiple pets, leash aggression when walking in public or around your neighborhood, potty training/marking issues, moderate to severe shyness with visitors, digging or destroying the yard. These are just a few of the dog problems we see and work with to help you get your household back on track!

Our professional dog trainer’s here at Highland Canine Training have had extensive training and experience in the areas of problem solving and are prepared to handle any breed. We feel that the majority of problems that arise from dogs in their home environment come from an error or lack of communication from the pet owners. It is our job to assist you and get you and your family in the habit of learning to speak dog!

Another benefit of private lessons is that we are actually teaching you how to train your own dog. These dog training techniques can be applied to your next dog or pet, so the investment can last a lifetime! Highland Canine Training currently has trainers located in cities of North Carolina including; Lake Norman, Lake Wiley, Statesville, Troutman, Huntersville, Mooresville, Matthews, Newton, Conover, Lenoir, Granite Falls, and Lake Hickory. We also have contractors that cover areas in and around Atlanta, Georgia including Marietta and in and around Tampa, Florida. Call us today to set up your free evaluation!

]]> http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2010/10/29/benefits-of-dog-training-in-your-home/feed/ 0 Can I certify my dog at the end of my Canine Instructor School? http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2010/09/13/can-i-certify-my-dog-at-the-end-of-my-canine-instructor-school/ http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2010/09/13/can-i-certify-my-dog-at-the-end-of-my-canine-instructor-school/#comments Mon, 13 Sep 2010 19:10:28 +0000 admin http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2010/09/13/can-i-certify-my-dog-at-the-end-of-my-canine-instructor-school/ Continue reading →]]> Highland Canine Training offers a school and certification program that will teach you progressive and innovative methods of beginning your new dog training career. Whether you are interested in learning basic or advanced obedience training, behavior modification, police K-9 training, detection, search and rescue, competition obedience or sport dog training or even want to advance your skills for a dog related business that you already own, our courses are the best place to begin.

With this being said, many of our students in the past, whether the course is to learn how to test out and train protection dogs or our dection courses usually bring their on dog with the hopes that they can get their personal dogs trained and certified. The chances of getting a green dog completely certified by the end of say a 6 week course in not realistic. First off, it’s hard to say that your personal dog will have the proper drives that it takes to become a full service working dog. Please don’t take it personal if we tell you this, this course is not designed to just train your personal dog, it isdesigned to give you the tools to teach you how to choose the right working dog for the job, and to work with various canine/breeds in various stages of their training.

It seems in the past that some students only want to work their personal dogs and become irritated or offended if they are working other dogs/breeds. You must have an open mind when training dogs and many dogs have many different levels of drive and behavior just like people. If you only limit yourself to training one dog or one specific breed then your are missing so much education and are simply shorting yourself on building your skills as an instructor. For example if you are here to learn detection dogs, you can still learn so much about odor and behaviors of dogs in odor from search and rescue canines by running a track or observing the dogs work the rubble pile. So don’t limit your exposure it will make you a well rounder dog trainer!

There are many different ways to train both pet dogs and working dogs, even if you are not going to use some of the varios methods, that is fine, but it only benefits you to learn all the methods so you can understand how some dogs you may come across for brush up are trained. And who knows you may be able to take a little bit from each method and come up with a new method of training!

So, yes we have certified some personal dogs that come through with variuos students enrolled in our canine instructor’s course, but it is not a gaurentee. This course is designed to benefit those who may start up a SAR team, supervise police canine unit, or simply want to train working dogs for a living. Please feel free to give us a call or check us out on the web for various courses offered for canine working dogs!

]]> http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2010/09/13/can-i-certify-my-dog-at-the-end-of-my-canine-instructor-school/feed/ 0 The Pursuit..Dog Training as a Career! http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/08/17/the-pursuitdog-training-as-a-career/ http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/08/17/the-pursuitdog-training-as-a-career/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:11:58 +0000 admin http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/08/17/the-pursuitdog-training-as-a-career/ Continue reading →]]> There is no time like the present to get started on a new career , start your own business, or simply do what you love everyday. Many people adore our four-legged friends and are intersted in pursuing a career in the dog training industry. My advice, is to go for it, there is plenty of business for everyone!

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!

]]> http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/08/17/the-pursuitdog-training-as-a-career/feed/ 0 Success Program of Shelter dog http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/07/23/success-program-of-shelter-dog/ http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/07/23/success-program-of-shelter-dog/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:14:36 +0000 admin http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/07/23/success-program-of-shelter-dog/ Continue reading →]]> Highland Canine Training and Forever Home Canine Rescue, teamed up through our Second Chance Program for Shelter/Rescue dogs and found Scout a forever loving home!

Scout is a beautiful full blooded black lab that had issues with manners and mild dog aggression. Scout was rescued by Kelly Ratcliff who volunteers with Forever Home Canine Rescue to find Scout a new home. Kelly worked on basic obedience for Scout and then followed up with an in-kennel stay here at Highland Canine Training to work on the dog aggression issues. Scout made tremendous progress and his new owners are doing a great job maintaining his training and exposing him to new things gradually to keep control of the aggression issues. Here is what Scout’s new family had to say about him!

He is such a great dog! He has just melted right into our family. He is house trained, sleeps all night on his bed. He’s wonderful with my son and the kids in the neighborhood. And we couldn’t believe how fast he is! We took him to Fisher Farm in Davidson, there is about 5 acres of open field there. He can flat out fly after a tennis ball!
He heels off leash with me now (in controlled environment only for now), sits, stays, goes to his place when told, still loves to shake paw. We’ve taught him to sit and wait for the ‘ok’ command before eating, getting into the car or going in/out of the house. We found that he was just so excited that he often knocked into our son but he got the command after the first day of training.
He goes to work with me everyday and has a bed in my office. He is doing great with the socialization training. Rarely now do I have to leash correct him, he seems to respond better to verbal commands now. When he gets “that look” we give him his verbal cue, he relaxes and we praise him for relaxing. Afterwards he seems to be ok. It’s almost like he’s just really insecure and needs to be told that other dogs are ok (after he’s correct for the inappropriate response).
Anyway,,,, probably more than you wanted to know but we are just so happy with him. What a GREAT dog he is!
I’ll attach a couple pictures for you guys.
Thanks again for taking care of him all that time so he could get to us.
-Aimee

We are so excited to hear about the great outcomes of our Second Chance Program through the hard work of our Shelter/Rescue groups…Keep up the good work guys!

]]> http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/07/23/success-program-of-shelter-dog/feed/ 0 That Barking Dog Is Driving Me Crazy http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/07/08/that-barking-dog-is-driving-me-crazy/ http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/07/08/that-barking-dog-is-driving-me-crazy/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:35:22 +0000 Ltaylor http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/07/08/that-barking-dog-is-driving-me-crazy/ Continue reading →]]> We don’t understand all of the reasons dogs bark, we just know it is irritating and we want them to “BE QUIET.” We get angry and yell at them and sometimes we resort to punishing them. Instead of behaving this way we need to take the time to understand what they are trying to tell us.

Like us, dogs have a language and barking is part of that language. With a little understanding and proper training we can solve the barking problem.

Barking can be classified as follows:
1. Excitement Barking
2. Warning Barking
3. Fear Barking
4. Guard Barking
5. Frustration Barking
6. Learned Barking

We have heard all 6 of these barks, but probably didn’t pay much attention to the differences.

Excitement barking is usually a series of high pitched barks and a lot of body movement. The warning bark is a quick low sounding bark. It sounds like the word “woof.” Fear barking is high pitched and like excitement barking it comes in a long series of barks. Unlike excitement barking which sounds happy, fear barking sounds like the dog is becoming hysterical.

Guard barking is easy to recognize. The dog will growl then bark. The barking may be one or two or even three times followed by another growl. We have all heard frustration barking. That’s the one that drives us crazy. It is the endless bark bark bark bark bark bark that seems to go on forever. And of course, learned barking is the bark that your dog does to get your attention. The dog will bark and then turn to look at you knowing that some type action will take place. Most of us have reinforced that behavior unknowingly.

So the next time you think a barking dog is aggressive, dominant, or is just being a pain in the neck don’t get angry, instead take a moment to listen.

]]> http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/07/08/that-barking-dog-is-driving-me-crazy/feed/ 0 Socialization from Puppies to Adult Dogs! http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/05/18/socialization-from-puppies-to-adult-dogs/ http://www.highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/05/18/socialization-from-puppies-to-adult-dogs/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 15:42:58 +0000 admin http://highlandcanine.com/blog/2009/05/18/socialization-from-puppies-to-adult-dogs/ Continue reading →]]> Many of you have heard from multiple dog trainers and veterinarians how  important socialization is for puppies and adult dogs.  Puppies need to be around different dogs and people of all shapes and sizes to get over any fear of the unknown.  Even your working dogs for both Police and Search and Rescue need to be socialized to people, dogs, animals, slick floors, riding in different vehicles, blue lights, sirens, and terrain changes.  Many unwanted behaviors in dogs may be contributed to lack of socialization for example, shyness, barking excessively, dog on dog aggression, people aggression, and simply shutting down in public situations due to lack of exposure.  The problems can arise more severely when dogs are kept from the world for years at a time, until dog owners are tired of tip toeing around the dog and changing their lifestyle to avoid confrontation that the unsocialized dog may cause, this is normally when a professional trainer would step in and assist dog owners with rehabilitation. 

However, it’s best to start at an early age if at all possible but if you decide to adopt or rescue and older dog, you can teach an old dog new tricks!  Let me give you a few examples of some experiences we have have personally encountered that has had a happy ending! I recieved a phone call from a client in Huntersville, NC who had explained to me that his dog was agressive and growled at any dog and most new people.  It was to the point where the owners were very paranoid to have take the dog out in public and mostly hid him from the outside world.  The straw that broke the camels back was that he had Max out in the yard on leash, but Max had gotten away from him by accident and ran over to a neighbors house and “loaded up” on the neighbor barking and growling…very scary for this dog owner.

After speaking with Max’s owner, we decided that our in-kennel training, or Boot Camp would be the best program for Max.  This would give us 6 weeks of diagnosing and rehabilitation with Max.  The day Max dropped off at our facility we didn’t quite know why Max was growling at anyone that made eye contact with him, he also growled at our 12 year old German Shepherd, Cyrus that wouldn’t harm a mouse! Max’s owners were very helpful and honest, which is huge in helping us understand what’s going on with their dog.  The owner’s admitted that Max was not socialized very well as a puppy and as his behaviors grew more cumbersome they began hiding him from the outside world, which is a typical method in these situations, since liability is a big factor in today’s society.

The first week with Max was very difficult for both the dog and our trainers, Max was terrified of everything and everyone.  His aggression grew worse as we were slowly putting more pressure on him to interact with us.  We actually had to feed him the first few days with a bite sleeve for our protection.  Slowly Max began to come around and trust us, everyday he got better it was even emotional for our trainers to see him actually start enjoying life again and trusting his surroundings!

By the time Max was ready to go home, he was interacting with strangers and new dogs, was he a social butterfly yet?  No, but the foundation was laid for his family to continue working with him and for Max to get better everyday.  Max is very fortunate to have such dedicated parents, after we gave them advice and steered them in the right direction for his continued success with rehabiliation, we recieve emails that Max is still improving! In fact the last email I recieved from his owners, was that they had began taking Max to a dog park and cutting him off leash with other dogs and people with no incident!  We are very proud of Max and his owners!

With that said, professional intervention with puppies may also be helpful for socialization issues.  We recently had a 4 month old puppy named Ginger that was highly food aggressive, and had no manners when it came to meeting new dogs at such a young age. Ginger’s owner also saw this to be a little too much and brought her to our in-kennel training program for obedience, socialization, and behavior modification.  Ginger would bark and growl at new dogs she met no matter how big or small they were, we worried about the safety of Ginger just as much as the safety  of other dogs that encountered her!

Our trainer Bobbie, worked with Ginger very consistently and by the end of her training session had Ginger learning to greet and play with new dogs of all shapes and sizes!  It’s crucial to understand how much to expose  a dog that has not been socialized properly, for what ever reason, and not shut them down.  Ginger is a very sweet puppy and will be a nice dog as long as the owner continues to expose her to new things and has a structured lifestyle!

Highland Canine Training offers several different dog training programs to help out with any issues you may be experiencing with your dog.  Our pograms include; inkennel training, private lessons, in-home training, group classes, and custom training.  Please contact one our trainers to see which program best fits the needs of you, your family, and of course your dog!

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