One of the most important things you can do before engaging a dog trainer is ask about their training philosophy. This isn't because there is only one sound and correct way to train - different trainers will have come from a variety of dog training backgrounds, and each will have their own unique perspective and canine world view. And good trainers, regardless of their preferred way of doing things, generally have a large and varied bag of tricks at their disposal. You, however, as your dog's owner and friend, need to feel comfortable with your trainer's perspective, and both you and your dog need to feel comfortable with what the trainer will ask you to do as you train. Only you can have responsibility for what you allow to happen with your canine companion.

The goal of my work is to increase or restore the harmony between dogs and their human families. I feel strongly that all interactions, training included, should enhance the relationship. It's not difficult to create an interest in the dog in doing the things that we humans find useful or necessary, and I find this to be a confidence-building, relationship-strengthening, essentially very healthy way to teach and learn. My focus is on building and preserving trust between owner and dog, teaching owners to be clear and effective in their communication, creating a clear understanding of the principles and practice of being a fair and reliable leader, and fostering respect for the dog, his needs, his individuality, as well as what he has to teach us. And, I believe in making the training process enjoyable, not daunting, for all parties, dogs and owners alike. My hope in every training effort is that the owners will develop an increased connectedness to their dog, and an understanding of how to recognise their dog's virtues and build upon them, which will take them long beyond our last lesson.

I feel very fortunate to be able to work in this field; I can honestly say that I learn from every human and canine client I work with. Everyone wins when the day-to-day lives of dogs and their families are improved, and I think the positive aspects of these changes follow through into other parts of our lives, continuing to enhance relationships, increase tolerance and understanding, and respect for differences.

My training focuses on using traditional obedience commands to teach good manners, improve self control, and develop a sound, working relationship between dog and owner. I use proven, motivational ("positive"), non-force methods that teach and build up, not intimidate and tear down, your dog.

My training methods are reward-based, incorporating scientifically established learning theories such as Operant and Classical Conditioning, and the Premack Principle. In Classical Conditioning, we use the dog's remarkable ability to create associations to teach new behaviors. It is a process of pairing something that has no meaning, or a negative meaning, with something that has a definite (generally positive) meaning, so that the two become associated. The result of the association is that the animal reacts to the previously meaningless or bad thing in a similar way as it did to the positive, meaningful thing. A dog's vociferous response to the sound of a doorbell, or the UPS truck, is an example of Classical Conditioning. Neither the doorbell ring nor the truck sound have particular significance until they become associated with the arrival of intruders. The salivation of Pavolv's dogs is another well-known example of Classical Conditioning (also known as Pavlovian Conditioning). The sound of the bell had no meaning to the dogs in the experiment, until it became associated with the presence of food, effectively signalling that food was on its way. In the experiment, Pavlov's dogs salivated for the sound of a bell, exactly as they would in the presence of food. Classical Conditioning is a powerful tool in behavior modification.

Operant Conditioning refers to learning that behavior has consequences. Behavior that has a pleasant consequence tends to get repeated. Behavior that has an unpleasant consequence - or is simply not rewarded - tends to happen less often. Simply put, we as trainers reward the dog for choosing the behaviors we want, when we want them. However, it's not always that easy. What is a reward, and what is not, isn't always clear-cut! For instance, if you shout at your dog and push him off, when he jumps up on you as you arrive home, but ignore him when he stays off, will your dog be more or less likely to continue jumping up? Shouting is certainly an unpleasant consequence, but touch and attention are highly rewarding. A dog who is praised and petted for keeping off, but ignored for jumping, is actually more likely to learn polite greeting behavior. Operant conditioning is the primary model for explaining how dogs learn.

The Premack Principle is another powerful training tool. This principle states that the opportunity to engage in a particularly enjoyable activity (say, your dog's evening walk at the park) can serve as a reinforcer (reward) to a less desirable or neutral activity (say, sit on command), and that pairing the enjoyable event with the other behavior actually increases the frequency of the less desirable or neutral behavior. In other words, by requiring that our dogs do something for us - sit, lie down, go to their bed, etc - before we do something for them that they really enjoy - take them for a walk, play ball or Frisbee, put their dinner bowl down - we actually make the "work" more enjoyable by association. And our dogs begin performing that behavior more easily and more often. This not only increases the dog's enjoyment of learning and working, as he associates obeying commands with activities he already enjoys, it helps develop a healthy relationship, it builds confidence as the dog realizes he has a measure of control over getting things he likes, and it gets him used to using that clever brain of his in a constructive fashion! And if that weren't enough, a nice by-product is that the dog learns impulse control in the process.

Ultimately, however, the most important aspect of my teaching methods is not any learning theory or principle, but the dogs themselves. Learning theories are an excellent foundation for training - when built upon experience, observation, and an openness to learn from and listen to our partners in the learning process: our dogs.