It seems more than ever there are a million different options available for training your dog. Some of them I wouldn't trust to train a goldfish. Some of them I would very much like to work with and learn from. However, there is a big difference in the dog training that's available in general and in Barrie and the area of Simcoe county and the training that Real Life Canines provides.
If you are familiar I don't want to go on and on to bore you. And if you are new and reading this, we prioritize the dog (Afterall, this is DOG training.) as the individual, the behaviour and owner's personal goals first. All it means is that if you come to us for training and for example, you have a 3-year-old Cane Corso, who has bitten several people and put stitches in one person. It is my opinion that trying to train a dog in that mindset to do things like "sit", "down", "heel" and recall is dumb and a waste of everyone's time and the money you spent.
We absolutely teach obedience and we do a hell of a job with it. However, if a dog is in a very defensive or fearful mindset, they are NOT GOING TO LEARN ANYTHING!
Try and think how you would behave if someone to held a gun to your head while someone else was trying to teach you to speak a new language. Would it be helpful if you could speak Arabic or Mandarin or Spanish? Sure! But how is it even possible for you to focus on that when you are so stressed and afraid?
It is absolutely necessary to do the work of getting the dog out of that mindset before any other training can effectively and fairly begin. Could we just slap an e-collar on or smash and bang the dog with a prong or a choke? Absolutely. Anyone can do that, that takes ZERO effort, skill, patience and understanding.
And what good does it do?
It's not fair to the dog and it is actually counterproductive to actual learning and trying to build a genuine relationship where there is mutual trust, respect and understanding.
Who would have thought that just lighting a dog up with an electric collar or slamming them with a leash and collar would damage their trust? Huh?! Interesting...
The other big difference between Real Life Canines and all the other dog trainers throughout Barrie and Simcoe county is that in conjunction with training behavior and obedience, we are also doing environmental work (exposure to different environments and sensory stimulation like sound, smells, different and unusual surfaces to walk on etc.), stress inoculation and building their confidence, understanding and trust in us to be a guide to them. We are doing physical manipulations to emulate going to the vet and learning to accept being handled in a way that isn't affection and isn't harsh. We are also grooming- I don't just mean running a brush through them before they go home; on the regular, our own personal dogs and dogs that come here for a Board and Train are brushed regularly, nails trimmed, ears cleaned, bathed if necessary.
Here's the Real difference:
One of our board and trains had a bunch of urine and other residue, literally caked on his fur around his penis. So we trimmed all the caked fur- safely and thoughtfully cut it off and then washed and cleaned around it. Find another dog trainer who even considers and cares for dogs in that way, to that level?
We also consider a dog's physical health- their weight, fitness level, food and everything else like the condition of their skin and coat. If a dog very rough and dry coat or dryness or irritation anywhere on the skin, we take that into consideration and will make appropriate dietary changes to help improve that. They aren't complicated or costly changes to make either. It can be as simple as adding a bit of fish oil to their food.
If a dog comes here and is overweight, we will immediately work on weight management. We are thinking of the dogs long-term health. We don't want to put excess weight on them when they don't have muscle mass to support that frame and as they age it will become more difficult and harder on their body. Not even mentioning cardiovascular complications, diabetes, kidney disease, hip dysplasia and more. Again, small, simple adjustments like not using treats for training but their daily food and likely cutting back on the total amount they eat in a day, most of the time it's a significant cut😅
We will also assess your dog and if we see fit (pun intended) and there are no issues like recovering from an injury, existing medical conditions or other risks to their health and well-being, we will put together a complete and well-rounded conditioning program while they're with us that covers cardio, building muscle, flexibility, coordination, balance so that the muscles can grow, become stronger and adequately support the rest of the dog's frame.
Our training and overall philosophy is a lifestyle approach to ownership that goes beyond a private lesson or two week board and train.
So when we say we are the best, that we are different, that we are big picture and long-term trainers and that our goals are for longevity and sustainability, we aren't just talking about training "sit" "down" "place" "heel" and recall.
Our standards and ethics demand we do more than five basic commands.
Your dog deserves more than five basic commands.
And when people ask us the difference?
This is what we tell them...
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