Welcome to Advantage Dog Training!
Have you been been struggling with behavior issues with your dog? Did you adopt her from a shelter and you were told that she would be slow to warm up to a new routine, but would come around? It's been three months (or more) since you brought her home, but she is still hiding in the bathroom and you don't know what to do.
Maybe you just got a puppy. You want to have a dog that can go places, do things with you. You want to have a dog that your friends and family enjoy having around and you know taking a training class might be helpful.
Or you run a pet rescue and your fosters keep asking for behavior help and you just don’t have the extra time to do training yourself.
At Advantage Dog Training, I show humans how to teach their dogs life skills using kindness; not shock collars, choke chains or forcing dogs to perform a behavior just because we asked them to do it. In my training sessions, we will start with the most basic skill; learning how to communicate with our canine companions and how they communicate with us and each other. From there we work on creating a training plan for you and your dog that uses games, treats and positive reinforcement to shape and teach important life skills.
While I very much enjoy helping parents of a new puppy get off to a great start, helping a rescue dog and her new guardians work through the challenges of her past is near and dear to my heart. I have been bringing home rescue dogs of all ages for the last 20 years and foster them as well. Dogs with baggage are just "different" and need time, room to unpack their bags. For more information on my history with rescue animals, keep scrolling to read my story.
Maybe you just got a puppy. You want to have a dog that can go places, do things with you. You want to have a dog that your friends and family enjoy having around and you know taking a training class might be helpful.
Or you run a pet rescue and your fosters keep asking for behavior help and you just don’t have the extra time to do training yourself.
At Advantage Dog Training, I show humans how to teach their dogs life skills using kindness; not shock collars, choke chains or forcing dogs to perform a behavior just because we asked them to do it. In my training sessions, we will start with the most basic skill; learning how to communicate with our canine companions and how they communicate with us and each other. From there we work on creating a training plan for you and your dog that uses games, treats and positive reinforcement to shape and teach important life skills.
While I very much enjoy helping parents of a new puppy get off to a great start, helping a rescue dog and her new guardians work through the challenges of her past is near and dear to my heart. I have been bringing home rescue dogs of all ages for the last 20 years and foster them as well. Dogs with baggage are just "different" and need time, room to unpack their bags. For more information on my history with rescue animals, keep scrolling to read my story.
Life Skills Training for Companion Dogs:
- Walking on a loose leash
- What to do when meeting a dog when out on a walk
- Stop chasing other animals
- House training
- Prevent the common puppy problem behaviors
- Trimming your dog's nails
- Stealing food off counters and tables
- Hiding from people
- Coming when called
- Socializing with other dogs
- Allowing examination by a veterinarian and much more!
Want to know about me before you get started? Check out Client Testimonials and my blog: Canines & Coffee for highlights on my favorite products, authors, tips and more!
- What to do when meeting a dog when out on a walk
- Stop chasing other animals
- House training
- Prevent the common puppy problem behaviors
- Trimming your dog's nails
- Stealing food off counters and tables
- Hiding from people
- Coming when called
- Socializing with other dogs
- Allowing examination by a veterinarian and much more!
Want to know about me before you get started? Check out Client Testimonials and my blog: Canines & Coffee for highlights on my favorite products, authors, tips and more!
About Me
Though Advantage Dog Training was only established in 2018, I have been working with dogs and other animal species for much longer then that! I spent almost 10 years at Paws to Play Dog Daycare in Pasco, Washington getting to know many dogs and their humans as I managed large packs of off leash dogs, helped teach training classes, and managed the boarding kennel. Now, I work as the Veterinary Assistant (also in Pasco, Washington) and have my own dog training business. I am not in anyway connected to any other businesses named Advantage Dog Training.
Something not many people know about me, is that I have been a parrot caretaker since I was a kid (around 9 years old). What does this have to do with dogs? Everything! Parrots are a prey animal. What that means is that most other animals want to eat them. With that in mind, they are afraid that your dog will eat them or that you will eat them. Everyone and everything is assumed a threat until proven otherwise over time and trust building. This takes lots of patience and learning to read what the bird is communicating through their body language. These subtle signs and signals they send you, help you learn if you can reach into the cage and have the bird step up on your hand, or if you will end up getting stitches because of a misread cue from the parrot.
Dogs are not much different. Sure, a big difference is that dogs are predators. However, nervous and fearful dogs view themselves as prey. Training methods that use prong collars, pressure harnesses, electronic collars and even noises intended to correct negative behavior can add to the fear the dog is already experiencing. Most dogs respond best to simple, quiet and clear directions. Have you ever watched a service dog and his/her handler while they are working? A well trained team send each other subtle signals to communicate direction, need and reward. Any dog-human team can achieve this as well with the right tools and guidance.
Every dog trainer has their own tricks, theories, methods that work for them and the dogs they work with. One thing that often seems to be missing is helping people learn how to build confidence in their dogs while teaching manners and life skills. Many dogs become nervous in new buildings, around other dogs, strange people and those with a nervous personality type get lost in a large group class setting. Private training sessions usually put too much focus on the nervous pup and end up making the situation uncomfortable for the dog and their human. It also ends up creating many setbacks for the nervous dog when we the humans become frustrated because Ozzie is just standing there and refusing to do anything. After hearing pet owners talk about this unfortunate problem over and over, I decided it was time to change things up a bit in the Tri-Cities.
If you are thinking "this sounds great, but I don't have a nervous or fearful dog." Some dogs cover up their fear or uncertainty by being overly excited or behaving as though they are completely ignoring you. Many unwanted behaviors you see your dog displaying stem from your dog choosing to do something they know out of not being confident.
We all believe that learning should be fun for children, so why can't it be fun for dogs and their people too? It can be! Through positive reinforcement (treats, toys, praise, anything that makes your dog happy) we will play games and have fun building confidence and learn how to proceed with the information your dog is giving you, as well as how dogs learn.
Something not many people know about me, is that I have been a parrot caretaker since I was a kid (around 9 years old). What does this have to do with dogs? Everything! Parrots are a prey animal. What that means is that most other animals want to eat them. With that in mind, they are afraid that your dog will eat them or that you will eat them. Everyone and everything is assumed a threat until proven otherwise over time and trust building. This takes lots of patience and learning to read what the bird is communicating through their body language. These subtle signs and signals they send you, help you learn if you can reach into the cage and have the bird step up on your hand, or if you will end up getting stitches because of a misread cue from the parrot.
Dogs are not much different. Sure, a big difference is that dogs are predators. However, nervous and fearful dogs view themselves as prey. Training methods that use prong collars, pressure harnesses, electronic collars and even noises intended to correct negative behavior can add to the fear the dog is already experiencing. Most dogs respond best to simple, quiet and clear directions. Have you ever watched a service dog and his/her handler while they are working? A well trained team send each other subtle signals to communicate direction, need and reward. Any dog-human team can achieve this as well with the right tools and guidance.
Every dog trainer has their own tricks, theories, methods that work for them and the dogs they work with. One thing that often seems to be missing is helping people learn how to build confidence in their dogs while teaching manners and life skills. Many dogs become nervous in new buildings, around other dogs, strange people and those with a nervous personality type get lost in a large group class setting. Private training sessions usually put too much focus on the nervous pup and end up making the situation uncomfortable for the dog and their human. It also ends up creating many setbacks for the nervous dog when we the humans become frustrated because Ozzie is just standing there and refusing to do anything. After hearing pet owners talk about this unfortunate problem over and over, I decided it was time to change things up a bit in the Tri-Cities.
If you are thinking "this sounds great, but I don't have a nervous or fearful dog." Some dogs cover up their fear or uncertainty by being overly excited or behaving as though they are completely ignoring you. Many unwanted behaviors you see your dog displaying stem from your dog choosing to do something they know out of not being confident.
We all believe that learning should be fun for children, so why can't it be fun for dogs and their people too? It can be! Through positive reinforcement (treats, toys, praise, anything that makes your dog happy) we will play games and have fun building confidence and learn how to proceed with the information your dog is giving you, as well as how dogs learn.
Want to know how you can get started? Go check out the Dog Training Services page
Do you have more questions? Contact me here!
Learn more about me, tips, favorite dog related gear by checking out my Blog: Canines & Coffee
Do you have more questions? Contact me here!
Learn more about me, tips, favorite dog related gear by checking out my Blog: Canines & Coffee