​So maybe your dog is a little skiddish, unsocialized, or generally shows symptoms of anxiety or uneasiness in certain situations. Or maybe he doesn’t show any of these, but you just want to give a little boost to your furry best friend. But how do you build confidence in your dog? Here are seven ideas to get you started!

       Your dog clearly loves you and your snuggles after work, your routine of giving her treats when you leave for the day, or playing with his favorite toy in the yard. You two are obviously BFFs, but you seem to find yourself frustrated at that same pooch when he wont come back to you at the dog park, jumps on your friends when they get to the house, or barks incessantly every time the wind blows or you see another dog. If these scenarios sound familiar, maybe your relationship could use a little TLC. 

The dog training industry is very polarized. You have pure positive trainers teaching dogs using food, minimal consequences, and some will not even use the word “no.” On the other hand, you have balanced trainers using positive methods, but also providing consequences so that dogs can learn both sides of the coin, what we want from them (rewarded) and what behaviors are not acceptable (punished). Both prong collars and e collars are subject to debate from these two opposite ends of the industry. 

Before I first got my hands on an E-collar, I was convinced that this contraption would do nothing positive for me, my dog, or our lifestyle. I was terrified that it would be painful and cause my sweet, silly puppy to turn into a robot dog, who was afraid to make any decisions on her own. Boy, was I WRONG!

Check out what E-collar training can do for your dog, I promise you, it will change your relationship in the absolute BEST way possible!

​ Getting training for your dog doesn’t just mean that a trainer works with your dog and just like that, all problems are fixed. Even if you were to take your dog to a board and train program, issues would be sure to resurface if the same standards were not held once he got home. Imagine sending your kids to school, where they learn math. But once they got home they were taught that 2+2=7. They would be confused. Since your dog is learning during every interaction with your family, that would be like doing math all night until bedtime. Imagine trying to take a math test after that!
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Dogs that suffer from inconsistent commands at home cannot pass the test either. Training is about helping dogs to realize what the right choice is, and helping them consistently making that choice. So, although dog owners do not need to become dog trainers, being a great handler will make the training process much easier for both you and your dog!

​Many balanced trainers focus on teaching the “place” command fairly early in the training process, but often when researching what you should be training your dog, this does not come up as one of the top contenders such as “sit” and “come.” As a balanced trainer and dog owner, I have learned that the “place” command is one of the most valuable commands that you can arm your dog with to allow him to lead a calm and well-balanced life.