FORMAL
TRAINING
Want to know what's best for you and your dog? Complete the New Client Form so we can understand your goals and we'll contact you with some options!
Formal Training
FOR DOGS AT LEAST 20 WEEKS (5 MONTHS) OLD
Perhaps you’ve wondered if there was a way that your dog could learn to behave. Maybe you have even tried some dog obedience training on your own with mixed results. Imagine a world where you never had to yell at your dog or get mad and frustrated with them. Picture a day where your dog just did what they were told, without having to raise your voice, spray them, clap your hands to get their attention or worse, hit them!
All dogs would prefer to follow their leader. They love direction! If they do not have appropriate leadership communicated fairly and consistently, all dogs will become their own leader. It is our mission to train dog owners to provide the proper care, love, and leadership to ensure a stable pack in a happy home.
We understand that all people and dogs have different needs, wants, and personalities, and our training methods take these factors into account. All of our programs have the flexibility to meet any of your desires.
Private Lessons
Every dog and every person needs training. And every dog is trainable! Training the dog is easy, but 90% of the time we’re spending with you and your dog, we’re actually training YOU how to manage your dog! Dogs are simple, but you first have to understand how they work. That’s why we’re here to teach you!
During private lessons, we are training you how to train your dog. And then each day, during the time you are away from us, you are doing lessons and training your dog before we come back the following week to teach you more.
These One-On-One dog training programs are great for working in every day, real world situations. With this training, we introduce a command each week to your dog and teach you how to communicate it to your dog. These commands are designed to teach your dog proper manners in every day and public situations. Like all Happy Tails training, private lessons are customized and catered to your specific needs and desires for your dog!
Private, One-On-One Programs take place at our training center.
FOUR QUESTIONS WE ASK IF YOU WANT TO CONSIDER PRIVATE LESSONS:
Resident Training Programs
Resident training programs tend to give dogs and their owners the most superior results because our professional trainers do all the work! Whether you are going away on vacation, you’re too busy to train your dog, or maybe you just don’t want to do the work… resident programs are for you. If you’re looking for superior results, resident programs are your best option.
Your trainer will customize a program for you based on your needs, which could range from staying with us for a few days to a few weeks. You’ll arrange a time to drop your dog off at our training center, we will do the work for you and upon graduation, we send home a happy, well-behaved dog that knows his or her manners in every possible scenario. We will work with your dog to perfect their manners in real-life situations, such as greeting people without jumping or acting “crazy”. We set your dog up in everyday scenarios to ensure you (and your dog!) can handle every situation and every distraction.
While you will have one primary personal trainer teaching your dog how to behave, your dog will be exposed to all trainers to ensure he maintains his newly learned manners no matter who they are with.
After your dog completes his training course, you and your family will be trained how to use and enjoy the results of training. You will learn all the commands, training tools & techniques so you can maintain your new dog’s manners for the rest of your life!
Since each program is customized for your specific needs and budget, you will start with a consultation with a trainer to determine what is best for your situation. All prices include boarding, play time and exercise, as well as private lessons to learn how to maintain your new dog’s behaviors.
BENEFITS OF RESIDENT TRAINING PROGRAMS
BETTER RESULTS
If we do private lessons with you and your dog, we have approximately 1 hour to teach you how to be a Happy Tails dog trainer. With private lessons that is what we are doing… We are training you to be your dog’s trainer. If you had 1 hour per week to train US to do what YOU do for a living, would we be as good as you? Most likely not. It’s nothing personal! Each trainer has more than 5 years experience as a trainer – and you’ll have one hour after your first lesson. With resident programs, we take all the guess work out and the room for human error. We do the tough work for you and then we teach you how to simply maintain what your dog has learned.
QUICKER RESULTS
As an example, it would take 12-15 private lessons over 4-6 months to work toward the same goals you’d receive in a 19-Day Resident Training Program. If you chose private lessons over a resident training program, results would depend on your skill level as a dog trainer and the time and commitment you put into training your dog.
MORE FAIR TO YOUR DOG
Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re more likely to make a lot more mistakes with your dog if we are training you how to train them — simply for the fact that you’re not a dog trainer. You aren’t going to have any idea what you’re doing until we spend time teaching you and you gain experience. During resident programs, every handler of the leash knows how to fairly and effectively communicate with your dog.
EASIER ON YOUR PUP
With private lessons, we are forced to push your dog harder to get results because we have about an hour to get them. During resident programs, we can take our time and work with your dog’s learning curve.
MORE THAN “COMMAND” TRAINING
During resident programs, ALL dogs get work on socialization and desensitization with people, objects, noises, etc. We incorporate a lot of confidence building exercises. We set up unique situations and work them through exercises that help build confidence and have fun while doing them.
FAQs ABOUT RESIDENT TRAINING PROGRAMS:
IF HAPPY TAILS TRAINS MY DOG, WILL THEY LISTEN TO ME WHEN THEY COME HOME?
It’s a great question. The quick answer is no. They will not choose to do all that they learned UNTIL you learn how to communicate the way that we do. The day you pick your dog up, you will spend approximately two hours with your trainer to start learning how to become your dog’s new leader. During their stay, you’ll have direct contact with your trainer and you’ll be able to watch their progress on Instagram @happytailsrule. You’ll also receive a “study guide” to begin learning what your dog is learning during their stay at Happy Tails. Then, there are a series of follow-up appointments afterward to continue teaching your family how to master your maintenance skills with your dogs. After your follow-up lessons, you’re then invited to Advanced Group Classes to challenge your dog in tougher environments with huge distractions!
WILL MY DOG FORGET ME WHILE THEY ARE WITH YOU?
Goodness, NO! Dogs lose their minds with excitement when owners come to get them! It’s always heartwarming for us to see!
WILL TRAINING CHANGE MY DOG’S PERSONALITY?
We wish we could change personalities for many cases but unfortunately we can’t. Many of the personalities that we work with are insecure, fearful, shy and aggressive. Owners ask if we can change that about them because they WANT us to change that personality. Sadly, we can’t change those personalities, we an only build confidence in these dogs and teach owners how to continue to do this at home so that hopefully overtime, their dog will develop into a confident happy-go-lucky dog. We use commands to manage and control their personality to help them deal with their stress in a constructive way. On the flip-side, we get a lot of cuddly, lovable, happy-go-lucky, playful dogs and people fear that training will change them. Again, we don’t have the power to change personalities. We use training to manage and control the parts of these personalities that challenge or frustrate us.
Combination Programs
This is where we combine a shorter residency program with private lessons. This option is most beneficial for those who need/want don’t have time to invest as much time required for private lessons but want to have a bigger part in the process. Our trainers will begin your dog’s training at our facility through a short residency program. After completion of a residency program you will then begin to participate in your dog’s additional training through a series of private lessons until you accomplish your goals. During you consultation, one of our certified trainers will be able to answer your questions and suggest if this approach is best for you and your dog.
Consultation
Regardless of which program you choose our goal is that all will have a sense of satisfaction and an improved life with a wonderful pet who understands what acceptable and unacceptable behavior is. We also expect there to be an improved relationship filled with mutual trust, respect, and love. Not sure what program best fits your needs? Our staff can arrange a dog training consultation with you.