I have a strong belief about dog parks and why they are a place to avoid.  In my opinion dog parks are a great idea in a picture perfect world, but we all know that doesn’t exist.  First of all, anyone with a dog can show up regardless of if the dog is ill has an infection or is not up to date with it’s vaccinations.  All the different veterinarians I have spoke to regarding dog parks also advise to stay away, they simply are concerned with the diseases your dog can get.  Besides the potential health issues that are present I worry of irresponsible dog owners taking their aggressive dog to the dog park.  If you don’t think it happens wait ten minutes prior to going into the dog park and if there is more than ten dogs there you will see a dog fight.  The pathetic part is that the owners of the aggressor dog will not take their dog away they will stay at the dog park and continue to allow their dog to cause havoc.  If that is not bad enough I have seen individuals drop their dogs off at the dog park and treat it like a doggie day care and leave, those individuals do not deserve to have a dog.

Please don’t get the wrong idea I do strongly believe that dogs need to have interaction with other dogs however it should be with dogs that you already know and ones that you know aren’t going to cause any problems with your dog.  I feel as though the play should be supervised and structured.  Dog parks are a great idea and would be a great place if there were some sort of regulation in place.  I believe that dogs and their owners should have to receive a pass to go to the dog park and they only receive such a pass once they have been tested for temperament and proof of vaccinations.  I do have a group of clients that occasionally meet up so their dogs can play and get exercise and socialization.  The key is that they know the other dogs are reliable and the owners have control of their dogs.  I ask you to wait that ten minutes before entering the dog park and just observe also higher consider having your dog interact with dogs that you know are under control and balanced dogs.  We can assist you in finding such groups, please contact the office at 970-672-4454 for more information.

Off-Leash Dog Training – Northern Colorado wants to teach you to be able to enjoy your dog in any situation, even around severe distractions. Upon completing our programs, you will confidently:

• Walk your dog off leash around distractions.
• Understand your dog’s drives and behaviors to enhance your time spent together.
• Control common annoyances like pulling, barking, digging, or aggression. Include your dog in your daily life at home, the park, or the beautiful Colorado outdoors.

Off-Leash Dog Training – Northern Colorado takes great pride in training Colorado dogs and their families — our mission is to ensure complete satisfaction with our clients. We offer both private and group training in your home and out, to address your needs when the dogs are at their most distracted. As our commitment, we offer absolutely UNLIMITED training for the life of your dog. Your family’s commitment to your dog is an important decision. We will show you an immediate return on your investment that will improve the relationship between you and your dog and show results to last a lifetime.

Call us today at 970-672-4454 to schedule your totally FREE demonstration and consultation with a professional dog trainer and their own highly obedient dog!

I would like to discuss a controversial topic which I occasionally run into with various local agencies.  The topic of discussion is the leash law.  I have been stopped numerous times by various enforcement officials advising me that I need to have my dog on a leash.  For those of you that know me, you can imagine that I refuse to do so.  The reason why is that in my opinion the issue at hand should be CONTROL, not something that seems good in theory such as an uncontrollable dog on a leash.

Let’s consider this, if someone of small stature or someone that is not strong enough to control their dog is walking with their dog and the dog sees something and goes after it; if this is a big dog then most likely the dog will be able to pull the owner towards the distraction.  This does occur frequently,and in fact I have heard of people being pulled down by their dog.  In my opinion regardless on being on leash those, individuals do not have control and should be fined for lack of CONTROL.  The point is that even though someone may have a leash on a dog that does not equal control.

I am aware that there are some places in the country that a dog owner can receive an off leash permit.  This is a great idea and seems practical and rational in my opinion.  At some point I need to bring this issue to the judicial system and present my case.  After all, times change when trying to navigate, we once found our way via map now many individuals use a GPS system which is much easier and clearly more effective.  We consider ourselves the GPS system of dog training so if you are interested in training your dog smarter and not harder and would like OFF LEASH CONTROL in any environment contact us to arrange for your free consultation.

Off-Leash Dog Training – Northern Colorado wants to teach you to be able to enjoy your dog in any situation, even around severe distractions. Upon completing our programs, you will confidently:

• Walk your dog off leash around distractions.
• Understand your dog’s drives and behaviors to enhance your time spent together.
• Control common annoyances like pulling, barking, digging, or aggression. Include your dog in your daily life at home, the park, or the beautiful Colorado outdoors.

Off-Leash Dog Training – Northern Colorado takes great pride in training Colorado dogs and their families — our mission is to ensure complete satisfaction with our clients. We offer both private and group training in your home and out, to address your needs when the dogs are at their most distracted. As our commitment, we offer absolutely UNLIMITED training for the life of your dog. Your family’s commitment to your dog is an important decision. We will show you an immediate return on your investment that will improve the relationship between you and your dog and show results to last a lifetime.

Call us today at 970-672-4454 to schedule your totally FREE demonstration and consultation with a professional dog trainer and their own highly obedient dog!

By: Dr. Erin DeTurck, VMD
Windsor, CO

While going through my schooling to become a veterinarian, I learned one thing concerning electronic “shock” collars. Do not try them they are bad! Since then, I have learned that yes, certainly that can be the case with certain dogs when used improperly. I have personally seen this happen. But let’s face it. Electronic collars are being used everywhere on all kinds and sizes of dogs for a whole host of reasons. How many of you have or know someone using an underground fence to contain dogs? Do you think they are bad or wrong?

If you have tried an underground fence, then you understand there has to be some training of your dog involved. You just don’t place the wire, slap on the collar, and whoala! Your dog will now stay in your yard. You must make your dog understand the boundaries by placing flags and then he must associate the “shock”, which we will now call stimulus, with the boundary. This actually then becomes a form of negative reinforcement. If he/she crosses or goes near the boundary, there will be a negative stimulus.

Now, let’s talk about the stimulus. Let’s say, you are engrossed in a chore, like trying to sniff out what may have been in your yard while you were inside. When Mom calls and asks you to come, do you even hear her? No, you are concentrating on that scent. So you might need a tap on the shoulder or a stimulus like a shock to get your attention, but the shock is not severe or negative. After that, then you notice that Mom is calling. And because you always aim to please Mom, you go running.

This is the method of training used by Ryan Matthews. I personally have used this method w/ 3 of my dogs, one of which is a bloodhound, deemed to be one of the least trainable dogs once his nose is to the ground. I have had incredible success using the collar. I thought I would never be able to let him run free in a field, but now I have no worries about him taking off after a trail because I have something to get his attention other than my voice. I am truly astonished at the way he comes, heels, sits, and doesn’t pay attention to other dogs. He is completely happy and focused on obeying me when I ask.

I have also used the collar with amazing results on another dog I have. Jax is a very timid, submissive dog. Even a loud voice would make him hit the ground and roll over showing his belly. The collar worked great because there was no yelling trying to get his attention. Once he received a gentle stimulus, he was confident and precise in obeying any commands given. He learned what was expected of him in a non-threatening way.

I recommend Ryan Matthews to all of my clients seeking training advice and even to those who aren’t seeking advice but obviously are having trouble with their dog. Ryan is great with problem areas like inter-dog aggression, or even dogs which are aggressive toward strangers. One client could never enjoy walking her dog because he would bark and pull anytime another dog or person was around. After training with the collar, he no longer pays attention to the dogs or other people. My client is thrilled that they can now take their dog out for enjoyable, peaceful walks again.

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Off-Leash Dog Training – Northern Colorado wants to teach you to be able to enjoy your dog in any situation, even around severe distractions. Upon completing our programs, you will confidently:

• Walk your dog off leash around distractions.
• Understand your dog’s drives and behaviors to enhance your time spent together.
• Control common annoyances like pulling, barking, digging, or aggression. Include your dog in your daily life at home, the park, or the beautiful Colorado outdoors.

Off-Leash Dog Training – Northern Colorado takes great pride in training Colorado dogs and their families — our mission is to ensure complete satisfaction with our clients. We offer both private and group training in your home and out, to address your needs when the dogs are at their most distracted. As our commitment, we offer absolutely UNLIMITED training for the life of your dog. Your family’s commitment to your dog is an important decision. We will show you an immediate return on your investment that will improve the relationship between you and your dog and show results to last a lifetime.

Call us today at 970-672-4454 to schedule your totally FREE demonstration and consultation with a professional dog trainer and their own highly obedient dog!

Recently I had a few of my clients inform me of an interesting article in the Coloradoan. I was surprised to read some of the ridiculous words/comments by the writer. As a professional dog trainer who is a subject matter expert in remote collar training, I will shed some light and set the record straight on the use of “shock collars” while training your dog. Let’s be realistic and understand that you cannot “zap a dog into obedience”, it is vital they learn the command by you conveying to them in a way that they can understand what you want them to do. No training tool out there can make a dog magically learn obedience on his/her own. I can ensure everyone that there is no “electrocution” going on in my training program. I can surely understand why some may have a negative conception with remote collars, many others have felt the same way… until they felt the collar. Times and technology have changed and remote collars have also advanced. In the past many individuals who used the collars would shock the dogs at an extremely high level or use it as making a correction, once again I can assure you that my dogs and my client’s dogs are feeling the collar at the lowest level possible. Think of it as an attention getter, or me tapping you on the shoulder to get your attention. That’s how we use it with our dogs.

I completely agree with the writer and that dogs must acknowledge you as the pack leader. However, in reality there are distractions in life and sometimes a dog’s natural instinct to chase prey will kick in even though you may be screaming at the top of your lungs, or have tempting food in your hand – You have no control. The remote collar gives you control around severe distractions, thus breaking your dogs focus on the distraction and onto you.

If anyone is using a remote collar and it is causing pain to a dog, they are using is improperly. Pain should not be a motivator. For those of you who think the collar is abusive, hurtful, or inhumane, I encourage you to take me up on the offer of a Free demonstration so I can educate and show you a successful way to use the collar. I will even allow you to feel the collar and you will most likely say what most other people say when the feel the collar: “That’s it?”

Let me make another thing clear – there is more than one way to train a dog. I have tried food, leash/collar, and now remote collars and they all work, however they are not all equally as effective especially around distractions. If getting your dogs attention with a gentle tap rather than a quick collar correction isn’t common sense then I guess I don’t know what common sense is.

We feel talk is cheap that’s why we offer a free demonstration with our highly obedient dog who has been though the training. You will notice a few things at the demo my dog is OFF LEASH, I do not say STAY, I never yell at my dog, and she is HAPPY. In fact, we will even demo your dog so you can see for your own eyes how a dog should respond to the collar if used properly.

Off-Leash Dog Training – Northern Colorado wants to teach you to be able to enjoy your dog in any situation, even around severe distractions. Upon completing our programs, you will confidently:

• Walk your dog off leash around distractions.
• Understand your dog’s drives and behaviors to enhance your time spent together.
• Control common annoyances like pulling, barking, digging, or aggression. Include your dog in your daily life at home, the park, or the beautiful Colorado outdoors.

Off-Leash Dog Training – Northern Colorado takes great pride in training Colorado dogs and their families — our mission is to ensure complete satisfaction with our clients. We offer both private and group training in your home and out, to address your needs when the dogs are at their most distracted. As our commitment, we offer absolutely UNLIMITED training for the life of your dog. Your family’s commitment to your dog is an important decision. We will show you an immediate return on your investment that will improve the relationship between you and your dog and show results to last a lifetime.

Call us today at 970-672-4454 to schedule your totally FREE demonstration and consultation with a professional dog trainer and their own highly obedient dog!