After Bubba, our dog of 16 years, died early last year, I was haunted by the fact that she seemed to
understand what we said to her but she rarely behaved accordingly. What were we missing? For weeks I
stood in bookstores trying to discover the 'secret' to dog training. During that time I happened upon Karen
Pryor's "Don't shoot the Dog," a concise, easy to understand introduction to the scientific principles of
learning theory. Convinced of the soundness of the mechanics of clicker training, I read several books on the
subject in preparation for the arrival of our new puppy, Grace, at the end of the summer. Confident that this
time I was going into a relationship with a new canine equipped with training know-how. Trouble was,
Grace didn't follow her part as scripted in the training examples detailed in the books I had read.
The spiral of failed attempts culminated into a frantic search for a trainer using the clicker method of dog
training in the Brooklyn area. Luckily, Dawn was the first person I contacted. She came for a private lesson at
our home and suddenly Grace began to recognize her 'lines' in the training scenario. Using Dawn's
feedback and recommendations Grace and I began our first steps toward understanding one another.
We attended Dawn's Puppy Class and Training Fundamentals during the winter months. As in any group
class each participant and his or her dog were at different development levels. Unlike other situations where
the instructor aims somewhere in the middle, missing everyone, Dawn skillfully worked with each handler
and dog at where they were in their leaning curve. For example, she would demonstrate how to shape the
dog's behavior for the sit command. After her demonstration using one of the dogs in the class, she went to
each human and dog team one-on-one, observed their progress and then demonstrated with that dog
what adjustments that human could do to increase the dog's likelihood of success. This method of instruction
eliminated the distinction of one dog being the best and allowed each human and dog team to reach
their personal best.
Dawn's role as trainer in our lives did not stop after a class ended. Both after each weekly class and after the
course ended, she was available either by phone or email to help with problems that occurred in our world
outside of the classroom. Not only did she return phone calls and emails in a timely fashion, but she was
generous with the time she spent in explaining her suggestions, demonstrating her commitment to our
success.
As I am learning training is not a set of discrete events but a relationship building process between Grace
and me. Sometimes we take two steps forward and four backwards. But whatever our progress knowing that
Dawn is our trainer/coach for the long haul, keeps me moving down the, sometimes exhilirating, sometimes
disappointing path of learning.
- Katie and Grace, Brooklyn, NY
understand what we said to her but she rarely behaved accordingly. What were we missing? For weeks I
stood in bookstores trying to discover the 'secret' to dog training. During that time I happened upon Karen
Pryor's "Don't shoot the Dog," a concise, easy to understand introduction to the scientific principles of
learning theory. Convinced of the soundness of the mechanics of clicker training, I read several books on the
subject in preparation for the arrival of our new puppy, Grace, at the end of the summer. Confident that this
time I was going into a relationship with a new canine equipped with training know-how. Trouble was,
Grace didn't follow her part as scripted in the training examples detailed in the books I had read.
The spiral of failed attempts culminated into a frantic search for a trainer using the clicker method of dog
training in the Brooklyn area. Luckily, Dawn was the first person I contacted. She came for a private lesson at
our home and suddenly Grace began to recognize her 'lines' in the training scenario. Using Dawn's
feedback and recommendations Grace and I began our first steps toward understanding one another.
We attended Dawn's Puppy Class and Training Fundamentals during the winter months. As in any group
class each participant and his or her dog were at different development levels. Unlike other situations where
the instructor aims somewhere in the middle, missing everyone, Dawn skillfully worked with each handler
and dog at where they were in their leaning curve. For example, she would demonstrate how to shape the
dog's behavior for the sit command. After her demonstration using one of the dogs in the class, she went to
each human and dog team one-on-one, observed their progress and then demonstrated with that dog
what adjustments that human could do to increase the dog's likelihood of success. This method of instruction
eliminated the distinction of one dog being the best and allowed each human and dog team to reach
their personal best.
Dawn's role as trainer in our lives did not stop after a class ended. Both after each weekly class and after the
course ended, she was available either by phone or email to help with problems that occurred in our world
outside of the classroom. Not only did she return phone calls and emails in a timely fashion, but she was
generous with the time she spent in explaining her suggestions, demonstrating her commitment to our
success.
As I am learning training is not a set of discrete events but a relationship building process between Grace
and me. Sometimes we take two steps forward and four backwards. But whatever our progress knowing that
Dawn is our trainer/coach for the long haul, keeps me moving down the, sometimes exhilirating, sometimes
disappointing path of learning.
- Katie and Grace, Brooklyn, NY
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