"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." unknown

• Debunking the Dominance Myth
  

• Dog Behavior Modification-How to stop a jumping dog

The key is training and it will make the difference between your dog becoming a positive member of your family or, sadly, just another dog that is out of control. Basic obedience training is beneficial for all dogs.

• Understanding-Learn to understand your dog
  

• Empowerment

 

Do you really want your dog to listen to you because they fear you? Click on "How to Choose a Trainer" Be empowered in your relationship with your dog. With Coddled Creatures humane techniques your dog will listen to you because they want to and not because they fear you. Our opinion is that fear is what is created with the outdated traditional methods of fear based dominance training.

 

• Humane Methods

At Coddled Creatures we use only humane positive reinforcement behavior modification methods. We don't use aversion methods or choke collars. In fact we use the word "cue" as opposed to the dominance based word "command". You may have heard of such techniques as jerking on the leash to stop pulling or spraying a bitter spray in a dog's mouth for jumping. These methods are harsh and yes they may work temporarily, but our methods are humane and will make you feel good about training your dog and its fun! Our methods are based on the learngin theory of operant conditioning. This theory is based on the fact that if a dog or a human is rewarded, for a behavior, they are more likely to repeat the behavior again then if they are punished (with a choke or e collar for instance) for not doing a behavior or doing it incorrectly.

 

We do not use choke collars and, as you will discover, they are not necessary. There is also a common misconception that if you use food to train your dog that you will always have to use food to capture their attention to perform the requested behavior. This is untrue as food will not always be necessary. Food will only be used initially and then a variable rate of reinforcement will be instituted.

 

• Low Distraction Environment

 

We offer private lessons with fewer distractions than a group training course. While its important that your dog focus on you with distractions, initially, you need a low distraction environment for training. With private lessons there is no set curriculum and the whole family can be involved. Having the whole family involved is key because, for the training to work, it must be reinforced consistently by everyone in the family.

 

• Quick and Simple

 

Coddled Creatures techniques are simple and easier to apply than you might think…just two 15 minute sessions a day, with your dog, is all that is required. Below is a list of just some of the behavior issues we work with in addition to basic obedience.

 

• Housebreaking
• Barking
• Pulling on the leash
• Jumping
• Charging the front door
• Fearfulness
• Creating a reliable recall
• Submissive urination
• Attention and focus
• Many other problem behaviors

 

Call today for an appointment!! Day, evening and weekend appointments available.

 

Click to read about our Trainer's impressive biography and her many accomplishments in the field of Animal Training and Behavior.

 

"Lou, a wonderful but headstrong miniature dachshund was our first pup, and we had problems from the start..."click for more...

"We wanted to let you know how pleased we have been with Marsha!"...click for more...

Please click here for an interesting article focused on how to choose a dog trainer.

• Start of attention and focus
• Eye contact
• Follow me,
• Sit, down, stand, the basics of stay, come, and loose leash walking. 
• Also includes work on typical behaviors and issues including house training, nipping, jumping, and getting your puppy to love his crate.  All taught with positive methods.
  

• Laying on a mat
• Targeting objects to teach a go out, and working on the reliable recall. 
• You will decide which behaviors you want to work on. 
• Once you learn the principles of operant behavior, you will be able to continue to teach your dog on your own.

• Accepting a friendly stranger
• Sitting politely for petting
• Grooming and appearance
• Loose leash walking
• Sit, down and stays
• Teaching of some Pet Tricks also included at the client's request such as wave, bow, hi-five, and twirl.