I am a Dog Trainer in Kingston, Ontario. I trained Border Collies for sheep herding and competed in sheep trials for over 8 years. Nothing drives obedience in dogs as much as a strong reinforcement.

I love dogs. They are loyal. What you see is what you get. They are good for us and they need to be good in public as well.

I use positive reinforcement for basic obedience behaviors. Positive reinforcement doesn’t always mean treats, and in fact most people don’t carry treats with them everywhere they go with their dog. Yes, many behaviors are easy to train with treats, but we can still fade out the treats in most cases and replace them with a rewarding touch, a release, or a kind word. And many behaviors have the reward built right in; for instance, the reward for waiting calmly to go out the door, is that they get to go for a walk.

I do not, and will not, use aversive methods.

I do not use e-Collars. There are effective and ethical e-Collar trainers but I personally won’t risk the chance of a dog associating pain or sensation with another dog or person.

Call me if you have behavior issues. Dogs are a product of their everyday environment. In most cases, tweaks to your approach result in changes in your dog’s behavior.