Expert Doggie Playcare and Training

About Me

1. Where are you located?

   On Welch st. in North Vncouver.

2. Can you teach my dog to sit on command?

   I can teach you how to teach your dog to give the command to sit and your dog will sit.

3. What are your thoughts about Cesar Milan "the dog whisperer"?

   He is what I call a "media trainer", which falls in the same category as books, DVD’s and self-training systems readily available in the market.

   Cesar is a lovely man who has helped dogs and dog owners but Cesar himself admits that he is neither a dog trainer nor a dog psychologist.

   He charmed me in the beginning but I found that there were few flaws in his system. Don’t get me wrong, some of his concepts are somewhat correct. Many of his ideas and training tools seem to work and seem like that are the only system. That is what the Hollywood wants you to believe.

   His system works for quick fixes and in very few cases. Many of his techniques back fire and leave a long lasting effect on the dogs and their owners. They are not long lasting solutions.

   Many dog owners are also copying his style. This is because they don’t have a solid training method or background that really works and they are desperately looking for better result.

   For some dog owners, Cesar is the first thing that they come across and start mimicking his style. I do not recommend this due to lack of understanding the facts and reasons why certain behaviour are developed in dogs.

   For some other they follow the Cesar’s way in hopes of seeing results right away. Yes, some people see results right away and that is because they force the behaviour in the form of punishment rather than positive enforcement.

   That itself has caused confusion in dog owners, dog training society and of course the dogs themselves. In many cases dogs are the victims.

   As Cesar suggests in his show, contact a (reliable) professional in your area if you have problems with your dog.

   Just be realistic and work with a professional to solve the issues that you may have. Watching TV shows or reading books do not make you a knowledgeable dog handler in the real world.

4. How is your training method different than other trainers?

   I am realistic and I have patients. I don’t rush so; I build relationship rather than robots. I know that training dogs takes time. It is a lifelong process that gets introduced at young age and it continues, and gets improved throughout a dog’s life.

   I don’t use any tools, gadgets, force or domination techniques to train dogs. I use my and the dog’s intelligent to progress the training. I teach one thing at a time and improve that and then move to the next phase.

Dog Behaviour

1. Why do dogs hump?

   One of the reasons they hump is to test the other dogs ranking.

   The other is an invitation to a game.

    So before stopping a dog to hump, see what they mean first.

2. Why is my dog so aggressive with other dogs?

   There are few reasons why, but the main reasons will be due to lack of socialization, stressful life, lack of leadership, lack of proper and healthy exercises and of course lack of training.

3. How do I prevent my new puppy to develop bad behaviours?

   Play and socialization are the two most important part of a puppy’s behavioural structure development.

   Puppies need to be exposed to many things, people, dogs of all ages and sizes starting at very young age. They also need to learn to play and continue to play with other dogs. This period is from the day one and should continue up to 2 years of age.

Dog Training

1. How much time do I need to train my dog?

   As long as it needs. You can not limit yor training to time. Every dog is different and every dog handler is different.

2. When do I start training my dog?

   The best age to start training dogs is as soon as you get the dog, no matter what age.

   If you just got the dog from puppy age mainly you need to start with wording the daily words that your dog needs to learn. Do not have high expectations. When your puppy is about 4 to 6 months old, start an obedience training system, either in private or in group.

   If your dog is older and you just adopted or got your dog give yourself and the dog a month or so and then start obedience training. This will allow you to build a communication system between you and the dog.

3. How do you train dogs without treats?

   Well, not only I don’t use treats, I don’t use gadgets or behavioural manipulations to train dogs. It is not that I am against some of the training methods; it is just that I don’t see the need to use any of those because I know how to communicate to dogs in a manner that is more intelligent. That is what I teach people and therefore it is up to the owners to choose to follow up.

4. What do you think about dog training in general?

   The reality is that in our human society all dogs need to be trained in order to be able to live a healthy and balanced life. Training is a way of communication with dogs and it should be done in a healthy, non-threatening and fun way. This way you can have a healthier and happier dog in the future.

   Training a dog starts from obedience levels to whatever level you’d like to take your dog’s intelligence level.

   There are many styles and systems of dog training in the market and it is up to you to select the one that makes sense the most to you.

   Trainers and the training systems can be the results for a good dog and dog owner. They are so important that they can be one of the biggest parts of your dog’s life and it should not be granted.

   I highly suggest taking a private or group obedience class to learn and educate yourself so you can educate your dog for rest of its life. Don’t take a course just to say you took a course.

5. When should people start training their dogs?

   Formal dog training dogs should start as early as 4 months old. Some people think about starting to train their dog when they see that their dog is starting to misbehave or the behaviour changes from what it used to be. It is a bit late but anytime is better than never.

6. What happens when people take an inadequate dog-training course?

   They end up not gaining much of knowledge

   Waste their time.

   Stress out themselves and their dog during and after the course

   Their dog behaves almost the same or even worse

   They have wasted their money for nothing

7. How should people find a right dog trainer? How do people find you as a dog trainer?

   People need to educate themselves and know what they need first.

   A proper dog trainer is passionate, knowledgeable, patient, calm and realistic.

   People find me by word of mouth. Many dog owners who have worked with me have seen my style and notice results in few sessions so they comeback for more and they tell other dog owners about me.

8. What do you mean a dog trainer must be realistic?

   A trainer that guarantees your dog will be the best dog after taking their course is not realistic. It is not what the trainer can make your dog to be, is what you can do with your dog after you get the knowledge from the trainer.

   If you want your dog to be trained, you must put in the time and the effort to engage a strong and loving bond with your dog. And no one can guarantee that other than you.

9. What do you mean a dog trainer must be realistic?

   A trainer that guarantees your dog will be the best dog after taking their course is not realistic. It is not what the trainer can make your dog to be, is what you can do with your dog after you get the knowledge from the trainer.

   If you want your dog to be trained, you must put in the time and the effort to engage a strong and loving bond with your dog. And no one can guarantee that other than you.

The beagles

1. How did you train Jonah?

   I spent a lot of time on training Jonah from the first day he came home.

   We also did obedience and agility training.

2. How are you training Harvey at the moment?

   Since Harvey has been adopted few months ago, I started to train him slowly but surely. Everything that he does tells me a story about his past. Based on those I planned a training routine on daily basis. I started training him by first wording my commands and then actual and formal training. Soon I will start doing agility as well. He loves the agility equipment’s.