Sit. Down. Climb. Come. Heel.

These five commands are the building blocks of the Calibrated K9 pet training program, and keeping things simple is one of our overarching philosophies.

Some people have asked "Is that ALL you'll train my dog to do?" Well yes. And no.

The thing is-these five commands, when coupled with the proper use of Motivation, Timing and Consistency, will allow us to get your dog through most any situation or behavior you may encounter.

It's just up to you and I to see what your dog is doing and respond with the right tool from our toolkit, and train through the issue.

"My dog bolts out the door as soon as I open it to take him on a walk." Cool. Let's put the dog in a sit in front of the closed door (which is just a big exciting distraction), and work through proofing the sit while opening and closing the door.

This teaches that thresholds are only to be crossed when given a "Free" or "Heel" command, and will get the dog in the right state of mind before starting a walk or otherwise letting them outside.

"Rex freaks out and will barely let me get his food into his bowl much less put the full bowl where it belongs, before he attacks it like a starved velociraptor."

Think Chris Pratt in Jurassic World. Sound familiar?

Once again, just a huge distraction to proof. (I'd be lying if I told you I didn't act in a similar way when someone is grilling a steak for me.) Let's put Rex on a climb and go through the bowl filling ritual, ready to offer a correction when the climb is broken.

Once again, proving one of the basic commands to work through an unrelated issue.

And on and on.

With a little repetition and consistency, you'll surprise yourself with how quickly the issue disappears and bad manners are replaced with good.

It's all about proofing the basic commands, using those commands as the bedrock upon which good behavior is built.

The world is one giant distraction for a dog, and as we encounter new parts of it we want to fall back on our carefully laid foundational obedience to help our dogs navigate that world.

By giving them structure and leadership in times when they would otherwise lose their cool, we provide a way for our dogs to work through new experiences and grow in those times of stress and excitement.

Ultimately, this leads to increased levels of stability, as well as new aspects in your relationship with your pup.

It's all about creating and experiencing an ever-growing bond between the two- and four-legged.

Happy Training!

Ben