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shots@whatsupdogfl.com
850-724-4952 FAX
What’s Up Dog? has 2-locations:
Miramar Beach, FL &
Santa Rosa Beach, FL
850-420-2894 PHONE
Training at What’s Up Dog?
training OVERVIEW …
Our team of professional trainers is here to help. We have years of experience to help you fix common problems, including behavior modification for the toughest issues. The most important question we are asked is about our methods. It is also one of the most complex and misunderstood components of dog training. There are a lot of trainers who have not evolved, and continue to use the most archaic methods of dog training. There are others who have hyper-evolved, and believe that just using treats will provide the results you seek. Aversive training and “pure” positive treat based approaches tend to only last as long as the aversive or the food rewards are available – we prefer you live the “dog life”, which doesn’t mean managing your dog all the time, it means creating a thinking dog! Our **net-POSITIVE** system is proven, effective and is based in true science, psychology, and a common sense approach to building a relationship that lasts.
We are not an advocate for using e-collars for training obedience. We prefer to teach our dog owners how to build a good relationship based on trust and respect. Our training will not be based on using food to illicit behaviors, although we will use some food rewards to build a relationship with your dog, and to shape certain behaviors. A dog that only works for a treat quickly learns that it only has to listen when treats are being given so we eliminate the treats and transition to only using praise as a reward. We do not believe a relationship is forced or bribed into existence.
Interrupting your dog's inherent drives followed by proper praise yields the best results. Teaching proper interruption, and proper praise is part of the process. We call this **net-POSITIVE** training because we focus on the positive. It is when their drives outweigh their intellect, causing them to be impulsive, they appear to be bad dogs. Teaching a dog to control its impulse to chase, jump, hunt, or react negatively is what we do. You cannot forget the drives, because they still exist. We teach you how to satisfy those drives, as well. In short, we teach you how to become a good leader!
One key point to remember is that dogs are not human. Too many failures come when the pressure to "be human" is put on a dog. When you understand that dogs do not have nearly the neurons in the brain that humans have, and they have drives that control them, you can get to the core of the problems your dog is having much more effectively.
Meet Steve Kotowske
and Nico Von Herder Haus, Dutch Shepherd
Our training team is led by Steve Kotowske, who has experienced success in both showing and training German Shepherd Dogs, Dutch Shepherds. His experience in training law enforcement K9’s, and consulting K9 teams, adds a layer of knowledge that many trainers do not possess. Steve leads the Service Dog Training Program for What’s Up Dog?. His experience is unmatched in providing the right fit for Service Dogs to clients across North America. He previously served as the Training Advisor for Veteran’s Elite Canines in Ontario, Canada and Healing Paws for Warriors in Fort Walton Beach, FL - and is currently the Executive Director of Pawsitive Love Foundation right here in Santa Rosa Beach.
You can train with Steve in his exclusive Day Training Program at our Miramar Beach location. Steve often teaches the "First Step" session for our group classes because staying connected and teaching clients how to be a proper leader is his passion. He is also available for private instruction on a limited basis when he is not teaching our training staff, or working with Day Training clients.
The results you seek are absolutely affected by your commitment to training. Private Training Programs are designed to be completed in consecutive visits, weekly, to be most effective. Please note that missed weeks often result in a less effective program because you will be reviewing more and training new behaviors less. Private Training Programs DO EXPIRE – you have a limited time frame with which to complete each program. Missed appointments will be debited against your account, due to the demand for training appointments, and availability of training slots on the calendar.
Our Board n Train Programs are immersive programs in our professional training facility. We offer LIFETIME follow up training with our 5-week Board n Train Program! This ensures that you are communicating effectively based on our training methods and protocols. It is our way to help you along the journey, and to provide to you exactly what you expect in a well-behaved dog. Follow up training is scheduled as a private session, not additional boarding and training - most issues arise from the human not communicating properly, and are easily addressed. Training is perpetual. You will get out what you put in to training your dog, not just what we put into training your dog - and we will help!
