What is Included in Dog Courses at Kim’s K-9?
Dog training can be difficult. It may seem like you can get to know dogs well enough from watching videos online or following dog accounts on social media, but at the end of the day, each dog and each owner is entirely unique. Training is not one-size-fits-all! And only an experienced dog trainer will know what to watch out for and how to adapt a training program to perfectly fit your dog, your family, and your training goals. This is why it can be difficult to define “what’s included” in the training programs here at Kim’s K-9, because each program is custom-built to the dog (and people) we’ll be training.
At Kim’s K-9, skills taught in our custom-created training programs can include: loose-leash walking; holding concrete commands like “sit,” “down,” and “wait” until released; a “heel” walk; multiple forms of recall (such as “come”); and other commands such as “place” and “leave it,” among other skills.
That said, at Kim’s K-9, we offer various levels of training that vary by the level of involvement that each owner has the time and energy to dedicate to training their furry friend. Come along with us for a tour of our various programs and just a sample of the skills we are ready to teach you and your canine companion.
Private Lessons
90% owner, 10% Kim’s K-9 Trainers
Dog owners who have lots of time and energy available to dedicate to training their dogs would do well in private lessons. These are once-weekly lessons in which the Kim’s K-9 trainer meets one-on-one with the dog and their owner to teach skills which the pair will spend the next week working on. The success of this program hinges on the time and energy spent training the dog between sessions. The standard skills listed above are taught, but each program is entirely unique to the goals the owner has for their canine companion.
Day Training
50% owner, 50% Kim’s K-9 Trainers
Day training is a unique partnership between the trainers and the dog owners to help get dogs trained on the basic skills listed above efficiently. Day training utilizes our daycare program, and dogs will need to be dropped off and picked up daily by owners. In their time at the kennel, dogs will be trained one-on-one by our training staff, and will also receive shaping from other staff members during pickup, drop-off, and play time. Pet owners are responsible to maintain the skills their furry friend is learning at night and over the weekends. Through a team effort, the dogs can exit the day training program in excellent shape.
Bootcamp Training
10% owner, 90% Kim’s K-9 Trainers
Bootcamp is an excellent option for owners who don’t have as much time or energy to dedicate to training, who want a training head start, or who want their dog to spend as much time as possible around highly educated training staff. The boarding program uses the Kim’s K-9 boarding services to give trainers as much time with your pet as possible. Daily, the trainers work with the dogs to ensure they are picking up the skills listed above, tailored to each dog and their owner’s goals for them. The entire staff will shape the dog while they are in our care, practicing their newly learned skills. When a dog exits bootcamp, they are at their highest possible level of behavior. Owners are responsible for maintaining the training given to their beloved pet as their dog graduates from the training program.
How to Make Training Stick
When dogs are trained by our training staff, they are learning new skills and new rules that shape their behavior and increase the communication available to the dog and their humans. When dogs leave training, pet owners and their families are responsible for maintaining the new rules their pet has learned. If the trainer trained the dog to “sit” and remain seated until released using the word “free,” the owners, their kids, and any other caretakers of the dog must use those same phrases to make sure the dog doesn’t get confused or lax on the rules. If you relax on the new rules, your dog will, too, and pretty soon you’re back to saying “sit... sit... SIT!” instead of the well-trained “sit” rule that your pet learned at Kim’s. With discipline in maintaining your pet’s new rules, new skills can continue to be trained and you can totally change the relationship between yourself and your dog!
What Happens After Training?
At Kim’s K-9, we are proud to offer continuing education courses for the dogs in our care. Dogs who have graduated from one of our standard obedience training programs, and who can pass a Good Canine Citizen test, will be eligible for our advanced off-leash training program, an e-collar-based program for teaching dogs to walk safely off leash. Other options include a “continuing education” add-on during your pet’s boarding or daycare stay, which includes private training to brush up on old skills or learn new ones with one of our trainers. In the summer months, we offer group classes which help dogs to brush up on skills and allow some short one-on-one sessions after class with trainers. Kim’s offers free follow-ups for dogs who are struggling with any of the skills taught in the obedience training programs.
Can You Train My Kids and Husband?
We get this one a lot! 😉 And while the answer is technically “no, we can’t train your husband to put down the toilet seat,” we do highly encourage family members to attend training sessions! Anyone in contact with your dog will benefit from being at our sessions. A crucial part of creating new rules for your pet to follow includes all parties involved using the same language and the same set of rules to train your pet.
We shape dogs and train humans. We have a passion for helping you to grow a safe, healthy, and happy relationship with your furry best friend so you can keep loving them and giving them their highest quality of life. If you have questions that weren’t answered in this article, or want to sign up for training, contact us to get your questions answered or a custom training quote today!
