Welcome To my dog Blog!
This blog with by Savoir Faire Dog Training LLC!
First Off, Who Am I?
My name is Renee, I am certified dog trainer and behaviorist with about 5+ years of experience. I’ve always loved dogs and have grown up with dogs all my life, but my passion for dog training began when I started taking my own dogs to group training classes. I loved the feeling I had working with them, and seeing how excited they were to train and learn new things. Seeing their little wheels turning to figure things out is cuteness overload for me!
My two furbabies,
Lily (little lady on the left)
Ragnar (stud muffin on the right)
Over the years, I have been fortunate to work with a variety of breeds, and multiple behavior and obedience issues. I also had the opportunity to train service dogs for individuals with both physical and mental disabilities. During that period I also became a certified Service Dog Coach! I wanted to help people experience that same feeling, and create a strong bond with their dogs like I did.
My Training Philosophy
I am a force free trainer, so I do not like to use aversive methods or equipment in my training. Lots or treats, play, and rewards! I believe it is important to allow our dogs to make choices, even if they may be the “wrong” ones to us. Our dogs are learning how to live in our world, with our rules and expectations, and they are experiencing everything for the first time, just like us. Our job as their advocate, guardian, and caregiver is to show them how to live in our world the best we can and in the most positive way we can. When we allow them to make choices, wrong and right, we can reward those good choices and keep building those good choices up!
What You Can Expect From This Blog
In this blog you will find:
Training Tips and Techniques: Tip and information on basic obedience, advanced obedience and trick training!
Behavioral Insight: Help you understand your dogs behavior, and give you tips to positively work through it.
Health and Wellness: Advice on proper care, nutrition, and overall dog wellness.
Product Recommendations: Reviews of the best training tools, toys, and other products to improve your training efforts!
Heartwarming Stories: Success stories from my training sessions, and owners who have transformed their pets behavior
Lets Start With A Few Basic Commands
Here are a few beginner commands you can start with your dog! These are easy commands you can build on to help you with your training journey.
When you are training these make sure you are doing them at home to start, it is less distrating and will help you and your dog be successful.
#1 Sit
Purpose: Get your dog to plant their butt on the ground. This is a staple in basic obedience, and can be used later on for lots of different things, including stay.
Train it:
With your dog standing, take a treat and hold it right up to their nose.
Next you’re going to slowly move the treat slightly over and behind their head. Your dog should naturally but their butt on the ground as they follow the treat.
If they don’t make sure the treat is right next to their nose, and you are moving it slowly. Think of the treat like a magnet!
Once their butt hits the ground (all the way, no cheating), mark with “yes” and reward your dog with the treat.
Repeat this multiple times, when your dog is doing this consistently with the lure, you can add your verbal command “sit”.
Make sure you say “sit” BEFORE you begin your lure to help your dog create that connection between the word “sit” and the behavior your having them do.
#2 Focus
Purpose: Get your dog to focus on you, especially in distracting environments! This is an easy, fun way to introduce this command.
Train it:
With your dog in front of you drop a treat on the floor in front of them.
When they finish the treat, they should start to look up toward you. When they do this mark the behavior with “yes”, then drop their reward (treat) on the floor in the front of them like you did before.
Repeat this until the dog is looking up at you consistently with each repetition, think 9 out of 10 times.
When they are doing this consistently then you can start adding your verbal cue.
I like “look” but some people prefer “watch me” or “focus”. It is completely up to you, just be consistent with it.
Say your cue AS they are starting to look up at you.
#3 Come
Purpose: Also called a recall, train your dog to come to you on cue around low to high distractions.
Train it:
With your dog in front of you, take a treat and hold it in front of your dog.
Start to back up and your dog should follow you.
When they do, after a few steps mark with “yes” and reward with a treat.
Repeat this, when the dog is following you consistently you and add your verbal cue.
I use “come” some people prefer “here”.
Add this cue BEFORE your start to back up.
There are lots of ways to train a recall, check out my other post for more Recall Training Games
Final Tips
Avoid repeating a verbal cue too much. Say it once, let them try for a few seconds, then repeat if they still aren’t getting it.
Have a happy tone, especially when training “come”, get excited.
Use treats your dog will work for. Your dog decides what they find valuable, not us.
In Closing
Thank you for joining me on this journey to better understand and train your dog. I am excited to share my expertise and help you build a positive relationship with your furry companion. Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog for regular updates, tips, and stories. Feel free to leave comments nad questions below - I would love to hear from you!
Happy training!
Subscribe & Follow!
