It all started with Chase.
My daughter adopted Chase as an adult dog. My family had some concerns about Chase. He was untrained, reactive and unsocialized. He was nearly impossible to walk on a leash, would lunge and bark at dogs and people and had other behavioral issues.
Through professional training and support, Chase has become a well balanced, family dog that goes hiking on local trails, enjoys walks around the neighborhood and joins us in public spaces comfortably and safely. He has reliable off-leash recall and remains neutral around other dogs and people.
Seeing his transformation ignited my interest in training family dogs.
You, too, can enjoy life with your dog.
Walk on trails, in local parks and
take your dog to town with peace of mind.
Trail Dogs K9 Training
Introductory Package
Basic Commands
Basic commands include recall, long leash and off leash, sit, down, place, heel and stop. I use a balanced method of E-Collars for off-leash recall, prong collars for on leash and rewards for reinforcement of positive behaviors.
Socialization
Dogs need to get out in the world to learn about life. During training your dog will visit public places, encounter other dogs in a safe controlled space, and learn to be calm around distractions. Included are visits to dog-friendly restaurants, large stores and public spaces.
Visits to dog parks are not included in the training.
Enrichment Training
Playing with your dog enriches their lives, and builds on training. Tugs, playing fetch, finding hidden treats all make for a happy dog. Finding the right rewarding activity will strengthen the bond between you and your dog.
Basic schedule of Introductory Package: One hour, twice a week for four weeks at a local public park or other public places. For a total of 8 sessions.
Day 1 of each week: I will work with your dog individually and introduce them to new training skills.
Day 2 of each week: I will introduce you to the training skills your dog has learned and teach you how to work with your dog. It is vital that the owner/handler learns with their dog so that training can be maintained.
If your dog is crate-trained, you will have the option of using our board-and-train services one weekend towards the end of training. (Friday evening through Sunday morning). This allows me to have more one-on-one training time with your dog and allows me to work with your dog in public settings such as stores and pedestrian areas. (Included in package price)
General requirements for dogs: All shots and vaccinations must be up-to-date and your dog must not have a bite history - human or animal.
Included in package: E-Collar, Prong Collar and a long training leash.
Package cost: $1,000
Important disclaimer: Dog behavior cannot be guaranteed nor can training. Much depends on the dog’s abilities and genetics, plus the amount of time a handler/owner spends working with their dog.
Trail Dog Alumni
Sadie
Sadie is an energetic German Shepherd Dog that loves to run and retrieve that has lived with her owner since she was a puppy. She goes nonstop, would rather work than sit and demands attention. She was difficult to manage without strong commands and presence by her owner or handler. She does best with tools to manage her behavior and drive. Before training she was nearly impossible to walk due to her pulling strength, had limited recall and was often unmanageable. However, Sadie did not present with any aggression issues towards dogs or people.
Through time and training Sadie is now fully capable of walking in heel, in front on a hands-free leash for trail walks, has perfect recall and will wait for door and car commands. She retrieves a ball, returning it to handler and responds to command to drop the ball and wait for it to be thrown again. She is perfectly calm in loud stores, around people and dogs and in new places. Sadie will down and relax until she’s called while at dog friendly public places.
For Sadie I used a combination of Ecollar, prong collar, food rewards and extensive amounts of exercise and ball retrieval to help her be a more well-rounded family dog.
Bella
Bella is Sadi’s full biological sister from a different litter. She is also in the same household as Sadie. Bella presented with a different set of training challenges than Sadie. Bella was adopted as an adult dog by the owner after she was rehomed for reactivity and low-level aggression. She had limited exposure to the world and was fearful of new situations. Bella needed to be slowly introduced to other dogs with abundant positive reinforcement and encouragement. Bella also needed to learn that the handler was there to protect her, she didn’t need to protect herself.
Bella made great progress and can be off leash (while closely supervised), has perfect recall and is a calm affectionate dog with her owner. She is fantastic on leash and walks in heel perfectly.
Harper
Harper was a puppy when she started training, a full energy nonstop puppy. She needed to learn all of her obedience skills, leash, sit, down, recall, place and curb the beginning of food aggression. She was also an affectionate playful puppy that loved to retrieve tennis balls for positive reinforcement. Harper was a fast learner who benefited from a balanced training program of prong collar, food, and play. She was too young to be training with an E-Collar, so recall training was done in a fenced area for safety.
Moose
Moose is an extra large German Shepherd Dog that spent most of his life in a kennel. He was well loved and cared for, but had little experience with the outside world. Moose is an unusually gentile and friendly dog that required time to learn about trails, woods and riding in cars. Through gradual exposure his confidence grew to where he is now a family pet who is excellent with children. He is not prong collar trained and had limited E-Collar training. His training was primarily positive re-enforcement and gradual exposure to the outside world.
Get in touch with us today.
Just fill out the form below. Tell us about your dog and any issues you'd like to address. We will be in touch to answer any questions you have.
Enjoy life with your dog.
Contact
Tail Dogs K9 Training, LLC
is located in Springfield, Virginia
Serving Northern Virginia/DC Area
Martin Garrison, Owner
703-927-8284