(Classes in Maywood are suspended and will resume in the Fall. Please contact me for a referral or private session.) You’re frustrated that your dog doesn’t seem to listen to you. You’ve tried countless different ways to train him, all highly recommended by experts, but nothing seems to work. You’re getting pretty fed up.
You’ve heard that dog training classes could help, but you’ve also heard a few things that give you pause, such as:
- Dog training classes will change your dog’s personality entirely, turning him into a robo-dog that doesn’t remotely resemble the loving, adorable creature you brought home with you originally
- Dog training classes always use treats to train dogs, making you forever dependent on them. Your dog will expect treats for every simple behavior, and if you don’t deliver, she’ll stop behaving.
- Dog training classes are about intimidating your dog and showing him “who’s boss.” You’ll have to act differently toward your dog all the time, and if you stop, all the training is for nothing.
These are legitimate concerns, and there are certainly dog training schools out there in the world that are guilty of every one. We take a different approach at Dog Spelled Forward – wildly different, in fact.
We know that the reason you brought this dog home is that you fell in love with him. You don’t want his personality changed; you just want him to listen when you speak.
We know that you don’t want to bribe your dog to behave. You want to reinforce good behavior positively, just as you would with any human being, but you want to be able to rely on your dog to behave well because it pleases both of you and makes your relationship easier and happier.
We know you don’t want to intimidate your dog. You just want to communicate with him – to make him understand why it’s better to do this rather than that.
We get it. Even better – your dog will get it too.
Our basic dog training classes in Maywood, NJ are all about communication. They’re about teaching you how to tell your dog what makes you happy in this relationship – and it is a relationship, no question.
Your dog wants you to be happy more than anything. She adores you. She just doesn’t have the faintest idea what you want because you’re not speaking her language.
Not yet, anyway.
That’s what we offer: at our basic dog training classes, you’ll learn how to communicate with your dog in a way he understands – and your dog will learn that listening to you makes for a happier, more loving, and more enjoyable relationship every single day.
Which is what you both want, after all.
One of our previous clients once said that our classes aren’t just about dog training – they’re also about people training. We thought that was a pretty good way of describing what goes down, so here, in order, is what your dog and you can expect to learn from our basic dog training classes.
Your Dog Will Learn
Basic commands: By the end of training, your dog will obey the commands “sit,” “down,” “stay,” and “come.” We begin with rewards, but by the end of training, your dog will obey your commands regardless of whether she sees a treat in the offing.
Basic manners: Your dog will learn to wait politely for permission before proceeding through a door or taking food that’s within his reach. He’ll learn to check with you first to be sure that’s what you want him to do.
Basic walking: Especially with larger dogs, being pulled down the street is an all-too-familiar hazard. This part of the dog training course shows your dog how to walk politely on-leash.
Basic greetings: Your dog will learn to meet complete strangers and guests to your home politely, without jumping up on them or barking. We’ve found many of our clients’ anxieties are deeply relieved by this part of the dog training course.
You’ll Learn
What Your Dog is Thinking: You may not realize it, but some of the ways you try to direct your dog to behave properly are actually confusing to them. We show you how to be clear and consistent so your dog always understands what you want.
When to Use Treats for Training: Many of our clients have resisted taking dog training classes in the past because they don’t want to become reliant on giving treats to get good behavior. You’ll learn when treats are useful, and how to avoid reliance on them.
How to Take a Leadership Role: While your dog needs to see you as “in charge,” it doesn’t mean you need to dominate with force. We’ll show you how to be fair and firm with your dog, so he knows your leadership comes with love.
Why The Whole Family Should Be Involved: We encourage you to bring your whole family to training, but if that’s not possible, it’s best to take home and share what you’ve learned. We’ll help you communicate what you’ve learned so that your entire family can give your dog consistent feedback and training when she’s not in class.
The Logistics
Basic obedience training is for dogs who are five months of age or older.
Our classes in Maywood, NJ are held at:
Maywood Veterinary Clinic
125 E. Passaic St.
Maywood, NJ 07607
Our Maywood dog training sessions meet once a week for 6 weeks. Each session is one hour long. Tuition is $229.
Our Guarantee
Dog training classes are difficult to guarantee, since it requires an almost equal degree of participation from you, your dog, and the trainer (that’s me). Since I can only control my own devotion to the training process, I can’t guarantee that your dog’s behavior problems will be completely eliminated.
Here’s what I can – and do – guarantee:
I consider your satisfaction to be my measure of progress. If you’re happy, we made great progress. If you’re not satisfied, then even if I brought all my skills, my dedication, and my commitment to the process, we still haven’t made the progress I hoped for.
If that happens, then I will either take new steps to fix the problem to your satisfaction, or offer you a full refund.
Your Choice
It’s pretty rare that anyone shows up to our classes in Maywood, NJ without questions.
Most of those questions are something along the lines of, “Why doesn’t my dog get it?”
The answer is pretty simple: he doesn’t get it because you’re speaking a different language. It’d be a bit like you going to a foreign country where you had no idea how to speak the language, and having the guy at your hotel rattle off instructions to you.
You’d probably have every intention of following his instructions, because you want to find your room and figure out how to find the pool and all the rest. You understand that he’s trying to help you have a better experience.
But you have no clue what he’s saying.
Your dog is in more or less the same boat. He wants so badly to behave in a way that makes you happy. But he doesn’t understand you at all.
We can teach you how to speak “dog.” And since dog is a pretty simple language, we can do it in just six short weeks – for just an hour a week.
That’s all it takes to unleash a dog who can’t wait to give you everything you want.
