Training Zone
Whatever the age of your dog, the most important time in your dog's life to begin training is right now! Your dog's behavior is constantly changing and every moment that you are with your dog, one of you is training the other. Your relationship with your dog will be more harmonious if you are the trainer more often than the trainee; that is, you are manipulating your dog's behavior more than your dog is manipulating yours.
The key to preventing or treating behavior problems is to teach the dog to redirect his natural behavior to outlets that are acceptable in domestic settings. Training opens up a line of communication between you and your dog. Effective communication is necessary to teach your dog about what you want him to do. Obedience training is also an easy way to establish your role as leader in the social relationship between you and your dog.
Our training classes teach you how to positively attend to your dog's individual behaviors and how to be deliberate about reinforcing the behaviors that you want and not reinforcing those that you don't want. We explore various ways that you can reward your dog and explain the use of "no reward markers" that can be used to decrease a misbehavior. In our classes, you will find that training is a fun and rewarding activity for both you and your dog. It will enrich your relationship and make living together more enjoyable.
About Our Classes
At Waggie Pet Zone, we offer a variety of training classes along with private lessons to help you address behavioral issues and to develop a harmonious relationship with your dog. The curriculums for all of our training classes were designed and evaluated by Shannon Casto, our lead in-house trainer. As members of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) you can rest assured that we employ proven, safe and effective training techniques.
Training Zone