Positive Reinforcement Dog Training

Serving the South Jersey area, including Camden County, Gloucester County and Burlington County as well as Cumberland County and some sections of Atlantic County (Hammonton & Mays Landing). I frequently train in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Voorhees, Marlton, Medford, Mt. Laurel, Moorestown, Sewell, and Mullica Hill, just to mention a few.

Is Your Dog Always in the Doghouse?

Does he jump up on people? Does he chew your shoes and steal your undies? Does he even have "selective hearing" Guess what? Your dog is behaving just like ... a dog ! He doesn't know he's doing anything wrong. It's up to you to teach him what behaviors you want him to do, rather than allowing him to do what he wants to do. So, how do you teach him that?

Train Your Dog to Do What You Want Him to Do!

Hi, I'm the Jersey Dog Trainer Renee Premaza, and I train dogs with positive reinforcement.

I would love the opportunity to teach you how to effectively train your dog to pay attention and to want to learn appropriate behaviors both in your home and in public. By motivating your dog with positive, reward-based training you will create a wonderful relationship with your companion dog based on trust and good communications.

 I Train Without Pain

When you reward good behaviors, those behaviors increase. When people punish their dogs or use harsh methods of training, relationships deteriorate. If your dog is barking excessively, chewing on furniture, or digging up your garden, you and I can teach him more appropriate behaviors to choose. If we punish him by jerking on his collar, hollering or hitting him he will only learn to choose avoidance behaviors. We don’t want our dogs to be afraid of us! There is no quick fix for serious behavior problems! You must take the time to train and you must be patient, consistent and understanding of your dog’s needs.

I am vehemently opposed to the indiscriminate use of shock collars! You would never hear the Veterinary Behaviorists at the University of Pennsylvania advise anyone to use these collars and you certainly wouldn't hear any good trainer tell you to shock your dog to teach him how to behave appropriately. Please understand that the basics of any good training program requires that your dog trust you. You want to prevent your dog from associating you with pain and discomfort. A good trainer understands the Laws of Learning. Anytime I've been asked to work with a dog that has been harshly trained or shocked, I have found them to be very slow and hesitant to learn new behaviors. The answer for this apparent slowness is not stupidity! The answer is, these dogs are afraid to make any mistake for fear of having to experience more punishment and inappropriate handling!

Dogs that are handled and trained with positive methods are eager to learn, and to voluntarily offer desirable behaviors simply for the opportunity to get rewarded. Those dogs are happy dogs, not stressed out, neurotic animals.    

The so-called "trainers" who use this device (aka "remote collar " or "e-collar") are depending on the use of an electronic piece of equipment to do their job for them rather than using creative skills and talent to teach dogs. Don't let someone convince you that you're only going to use the collar to get your dog's attention. If your dog sees you as being a valuable and trustworthy leader in his life, he will pay attention to you. Dog training should not be a shocking experience! If you hire a trainer and your gut feeling tells you something doesn't feel quite right about how they're treating your dog, listen to your gut feelings! Don't allow anyone to cause physical pain to your dog! Physical pain results in emotional distress! Don't hesitate to instruct this person to stop handling your dog immediately. You would never allow a person to cause physical harm to your children or other family members, right? Your dog is a member of your family. Let him know you will always keep him out of harm's way. Think    if someone says, "I can train your dog in only one visit." Training doesn't happen overnight. No animal or human can learn everything they need to know in one session!

Whenever I've attended outdoor functions, like shelter fund raisers, I watch the shock trainers stroll around the grounds with their German Shepherds who walk offleash in heel position. I've observed that the dogs look very dull, they have no facial expressions, their heads are held low, they don't appear to be unhappy and they don't appear to be happy.  The seem almost robotic, not like a normal, happy, playful, fun loving companion pet.

Listen to one of my radio broadcasts that discusses the use of shock collars and electronic invisible fences.  Click on the "About Renee" page, and then click on "Renee's Radio Show."  You'll see a podcast showing this subject.  It's a 30 minute talk about the ramifications of using electronic equipment on our dogs.

Dogs who have no structure and know no boundaries in their lives are also not happy — they’re stressed and anxious. Dogs who are unhappy develop behavioral problems. For example, they can become unruly and out-of-control, they can become destructive of your home and possessions. Dogs can develop housetraining problems, even after they've had a good history of not soiling inside. Unhappy dogs very often develop neurotic behaviors, such as tail-chasing, fly-snapping and self-injurious behaviors. If you see that these behaviors have developed in your dog, know that he/she is screaming for your help.

I'd like to introduce you to my little guy.  His name is "Hoffman."  He was adopted in January 2007 from the Cumberland County SPCA. If you look at his picture, you might agree with me that his name actually fits him.  He's a cute and cuddly little Heinz 57 Variety dog. He loves to take long walks and sniff everything he can stick his nose into.  He isn't phased in the least about squirrels or deer, but just let a rabbit walk in his line of sight and he becomes Mr. Huntmeister!  So we've been working on lots of self-control so he can watch the rabbit and just walk by calmly.  He's a pleasure to live with and my hubby and I agree that he's a sheer joy to have in our lives.  So, without further ado, here's Hoffman.
                         

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