Communicating with your dog is the foundation of your relationship and no amount of whispering is going to help. Knowing what your dog needs and being able to provide while communicating in very clear direct terms, that remain consistent over time, is the true key to Handling our dogs properly.

Leash Mechanics with the proper collar and lead is the first step in perfecting your Handler Skills. Knowing when and how to move and when to stop moving we will start to develop the leadership required to have a calm, non reactive dog. We teach you how to hold the leash, when to tug, when to release, how to turn and how to shape positions with our simplest and most basic tool. Starting with our leash mechanics will give you the confidence to go anywhere with your dog.

Body Mechanics are a wonderful and often underutilized skill in dog training. Moving closer or further away from your dog is surely going to have an impact on his or her immediate mindset. Personal space violations can create pressure that can support your objective or undermine your objectives. Physical cues outweigh verbal cues when your dog is learning. Being aware of all intentional and unintentional physical cues will help you communicate more clearly and help your dog respond with confidence.

Reward Mechanics is all about positive reinforcement and the foundation of marker training. A marker is a sound that tells your dog he is doing good, or he is doing bad. Dogs need reinforcement within a second of offering a behavior if they are going to make the connection between behavior and reward. Marking a behavior with a clicker or verbal marker is one of the most important ways to communicate to our pets that we like what they are doing and it is going to pay off for them. A high value reward is an essential and artful way to communicate what we want to see more of.