Our Training Philosophy

At Sirius K9 Academy, our primary objective is to educate the dog owner. We believe once owners understand their dogs, they can help them become the kind of dogs they want them to be.

Unlike many other dog trainers, we treat every dog as an individual. One method may work well for one dog and its owner, but not necessarily for another. Our trainers are up-to-date on the latest training tools / equipment and are well-versed in a variety of training methods and techniques to help you and your dog succeed. Our trainers know how to deal with shy, timid, fearful dogs as well as the ones that are dominant, tough, or aggressive.

Just as it is important that dog owners understand what motivates and drives their dogs' behavior, it is important that they understand their personality and temperament as well. We feel once this is understood, and most importantly accepted, it becomes much easier to mold their dogs' behavior. We always explain every exercise in detail and make sure that our clients understand why we want them to do something a particular way... We are constantly TEACHING / EDUCATING our clients, not just telling them to do something without an explanation.

We believe that proper motivation is the key to training and when interacting with your dog. With proper motivation, your dog can learn what is and what is not acceptable behavior much more quickly. We incorporate a combination of positive consequences (toy play, treats / food, and verbal / physical praise) and negative consequences (using a leash and training collar) into our training. It is necessary for dogs to experience both consequences to help them become a well-adjusted, well-behaved, well-rounded, trust-worthy and balanced dog. If your dog never experiences a negative consequence for a bad behavior or even worse, a dangerous behavior such as aggression, then what motivation does it have to want to stop that behavior? Think about that for a moment. In the wild, every "pack" maintains order, peace, and structure by implementing both positive and negative consequences. Without that in place, their would be confusion, fighting, and choas. They couldnt be successful as a pack. Just as a pack of wild animals needs this to survive and thrive, so does your dog.

An important first step as a dog owner is to establish trust and respect. You can achieve this by being an assertive, fair, and patient pack leader. A big difference exists between respect and fear, which needs to be mentioned here. We are not talking about instilling fear (when a dog responds only because it is frightened) or domination (which is physically making a dog do something without giving it an opportunity to do it on its own and also not rewarding the dog for doing it.) Respect means that your dog wants to please you and wants to work for you because of the strong bond and working relationship you have developed together. Trust means that your dog believes that you will protect it from harm and that you will not abuse, neglect, or let it go hungry. Your dog should listen to you when you are using a calm, low tone or even just a whisper as apposed to listening to you only when you are upset, after a correction, or when you raise your voice. In fact, you shouldn't even be interacting with your dog if you are angry or frustrated because emotions have no place in dog training!

Dogs need both mental stimulation and physical exercise. We are firm believers that every dog needs a job and wants one. A dog needs a hobby to channel its natural instincts and drives. If you do not help your dog develop a job or hobby, it will inevitably create a "job" all on its own. Usually, this is an unpleasant behavior such as becoming overly protective, barking too much, digging, or chewing (on themselves or other things), etc. When a dog does not have a purpose or outlet, it becomes frustrated and bored. We can help you find your dog a job!

We also believe a dog should fully understand verbal commands and respond reliably, regardless of the situation. Whether it is looking at you or not, regardless of what you are doing with your body, and no matter what is or isn't in your hand, your dog should obey your command. The majority of dog owners that walk into our facility that have trained elsewhere and want to be evaluated believe that their dog understands verbal commands; when in fact, their dog is only responding to a visual cue. This can be movement of the leash, a treat in its owner's hand, or a body signal the owner is giving such as bending over, snapping or pointing at the ground... Which is a big problem because their dog will not obey their command without first observing one of these "cues". What happens when their dog is not looking at them? They dont respond. Which is why it is imperative to teach dogs VERBAL commands FIRST! Verbal commands are much more reliable then physical cues.

At Sirius K9 Academy, we teach both formal and informal commands. Formal commands (ideally in a different language) are used when you are in public or you have visitors at your home. Informal commands are used when you and your dog are relaxing and not in "work" mode. Your dog will learn that it must respond to your formal commands the first time, right away. By using the proper motivation, your dog will WANT to work for you and will consistently obey your commands.

If you want an honest and educated opinion or are in need of some professional advice or assistance, you will get it from our staff. We are straight-forward and matter-of-fact with all of our clients. Most importantly, we make training and learning fun for you and your dog!

This is what sets Sirius K9 Academy apart from everyone else!