Dog training

[borris]

Has anyone had any experience with either Sound Animal dog training or AHIMSA dog training? Do elaborate if you have.

Share This

[hopey]

I’ve been to both. I also have some formal background in dog training myself, though I am not currently using it with clients, just with my own dogs.

Jeff Tinsley at Sound Animals is a decent trainer. Not the best I’ve seen, but far from the worst. If you attend one of Jeff’s classes, you’ll get a better-than-average experience out of it. Where Jeff really excels is one-on-one client training. I have heard from lots of folks who rave about his home visits. He is a very traditional style trainer: positive, rewards-based, but not aggressive (no “dominate your dog” Cesar Millan type stuff).

I have less experience with Ahimsa Dog Training. What you will want to understand about them is that they are 100% “positive training”. That means no leash popping, no aversive “correction” techniques at all. They train with completely “positive” reinforcement methods. To most people this means clicker training: using a tiny hand-held box which makes a clicking sound. You teach your dog to associate the click with good things (i.e., treats), and when they do something right, you click and the dog gets a treat. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with this kind of training, but it seems hard for many people to grasp. It requires an excellent sense of timing, good observation skills, and a quick hand. I also do not know how they manage training with a dog who is not food motivated. That said, I have also heard that Ahimsa is particularly skilled with rehabilitating aggressive or “growly” dogs.

Bottom line: neither place is bad. They both have stellar reputations, and you’ll get decent training advice from either. It just depends on what training style you are looking for.

Share This

[hammerhead]

I use puppy perfectors. She works out of Seattle Dog Accademy. I have taken both of my dogs and dogs that I rescue. I am able to use it now with out going to her. I just do the basics. Ahimsa, is a bit pricey. There is nothing wrong with snapping a leash. Most people who know my dogs now how well behaved they are.

Share This

[Lena]

A second for Puppy Perfectors. Nancy is who I send my clients to and she is local to West Seattle.

Share This

[beachdrivegirl]

I have used Puppy Perfectors (per Hammerheads recommendation)and Ahisma’s. For the price, convenience, and skill sets learned I would defin. recommend Puppy Perfectors over Ahisma.

Share This

[JoB]

borris…

Are you an experienced dog owner?

are you interested in training a pup or a problem dog?

if the dog has a problem, how large is the problem?

If you are a new owner with a new pup.. sound animals is a great place to take your dog to learn how to train them and to socialize. Jeff has a huge heart and his dog attends most training sessions and may be the better trainer for puppy socialization:)

If you are an owner of a dog with a moderate problem.. Jeff’s home visits are well worth the price. He connects personally to both you and your dog and dogs love him.

Jeff’s style is pretty casual.. which i liked and he is also local.. he lives in West Seattle.

They only experience i had with AHIMSA was a phone interview in which they declined to meet my dog. His problems were severe enough that we considered euthanizing him… so i don’t hold that against them.

If you have a much larger problem, i recommend packworks in Madison. It’s a long drive.. it’s not cheap… She is not much of a people person… Gretchen is all business… but they do truly understand dogs with severe problems and they teach you some truly useful tools.

Packworks literally made a life and death difference for my dog. My little shiba boy gets sweeter every day.. and one of these days he may even figure out how to use that sweetness to get the attention he wants from people he doesn’t know.

I will agree with hopey… using only positive reinforcement training such as clicking does require a fairly large time commitment… and

i am honestly not sure which style of training delivers the best trained dogs… and i am not certain how important anything but fairly basic training is for most dogs…

i suspect that dog training is much like raising children.. a never ending juggling act balancing discipline and spoiling.. with spoiling so much more fun when your dog behaves well enough to accompany you:)

talk to the trainers, follow your heart and you won’t go wrong. the best trainer for your dog is one you believe in… and good luck to you and your pet.

Share This

[Lucile 2]

I like what JoB has to say :)

I hear wonderful things about Jeff, and would probably take my next dog there.

My little guy was trained at Ahimsa, and I was very pleased with the results. My dog has no aggression issues, but a little bit of “guarding” issues with other dogs and the cat (of course, the cat–he was found scrounging around for food on a farm, maybe that is where the behavior came from, who knows). He is getting better, and we have used clicker training and positive reinforcement, but I think dog training is a lot of work if you really want the results. A class a week won’t help unless you work on it at home! I think the positive reinforcement is the best method, possibly because my job consists of doing similar training in the human world.

Share This

[borris]

Thank you all! Our dog was a shelter dog and is an older puppy, maybe 9-10 months. So, background unknown. We’ve been through a basic training class and need to continue to work with him a little at a time.

I asked my question about the two places because I think he (and us) would benefit from some more training and pack exposure. We try to have him meet new dogs whenever possible. He gets plenty of exercise — several walks a day (he’s a retriever/shepard mix? or maybe some pointer — medium/large).

One-on-one training may be the best to deal with our specific issues since we could focus on our routine and neighborhood.

My main concern right now is that, while he is a sweet dog, he has become a bit aggressive when meeting some other dogs (he is neutered), and we want to correct this before it goes any farther. The initial “sniff” is ok, but then our dog — sometimes — tries to dominate the other one and starts growling (this seems to happen with larger dogs for some reason… he seems fine with smaller dogs but wants to take on the bigger ones!). So, I’ll give Jeff a call and thanks for the puppy perfectors lead. Sounds like Ahimsa might not be the right fit, but may check them out anyway.

Share This

[hopey]

Thanks for providing more info, borris. Your older puppy is almost certainly going through was is commonly referred to as the “fear phase”. Think of it the same way as a small child experiencing separation anxiety: the puppy is starting to understand that there are people other than their family and things/places other than their home, and sometimes those other things and other people might be scary!

You are absolutely right that this is the time to nip the behavior in the bud before it becomes a habit. It sounds to me like Jeff would be the right choice for you. He’ll be able to give you a lot of solid advice on how help your dog through this completely normal developmental phase.

Regarding clicker training: the comment above about the time commitment of “100% positive training” is the most common complaint I’ve heard. With “normal” middle-of-the-road training (not afraid to give corrections, but not overboard on the aggression/dominance theory either), it should be enough to do two 15-minute training sessions with your dog every day. From what I have heard — though not personally experienced — about clicker training is that while it can be very effective, it is a much MUCH higher time commitment and requires much more vigilance on the owner’s part. I would guess that many people give up on it far easier than traditional training, but that is purely conjecture from me.

Share This

[Lucile 2]

it is a time commitment, for sure :) However, I am childless and a behaviorist by trade, so it came pretty natural for me to work it in as much as possible. I agree with hopey, I think that some traditional methods may work as well, just not the aggression/major dominance based. Good luck! And a general thank you to everyone who trains their dogs and are responsible dog owners!

Share This

[hopey]

Thanks, Lucile2. I saw far too many average families during my dog training apprenticeship who struggled to work in even 15 minutes of traditional training every day. It seems like it would take an extra-dedicated person or family to make clicker training really work.

Share This

[j]

We have been to four of Jeff’s various classes and would go back in a heartbeat….that is if there was a class that we haven’t taken. His head trainer, Kendra, is AWESOME.

Share This

[Author]

Posts