Dog Training Denver, Colorado

The Canine Psychology Center of Colorado

 

 

 

 

 

"Savvik" & "T'Pol" helping MJ

BOARD AND TRAIN SEND-HOME LESSONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE ON WEEKENDS OR HOLIDAYS - SORRY!

Food/Supplements/Bones:

  1. While at CPC your dog will randomly receive frozen/raw and/or cooked bones - If your dog has a sensitive tummy the cooked bones will be used. Buffalo or beef is the meat of choice.

  2. Your dog's food will be sprinkled with NuproŽ - a Glucosamine / Chondroiton Sulfate powder for joint support during training. It is recommended that you continue its use once your dog returns home. Hero's PETS, located near Wadsworth and Bowles in Littleton, also carries NuproŽ. It comes 1lb, 30oz, 5lb or a 20lb sizes.

  3. Your dog's food may also be supplemented with Pet Essences (Flower Essences for Animals) "Animals are very responsive to the energetic healing properties of Flower Essences. These energetic bouquets are both dynamic and gentle in their transformational abilities". There are many formulas to choose from and they really do work for pain management, anxiety, fear, kidney problems or even just to settle into the new environment.

  4. Your dog's food will be supplemented with 'Grizzly Salmon Oil - The Ultimate Omega 3 Source'. This oil not only enhances the flavor of bland, dry dog food, but brings balance to your dog's intake of fatty acids by adding the correct long-chain Omega 3 fatty acids from salmon. With 100% accessible EPA and DHA. This supplement supports healthy skin and coat, supports the immune system, is heart healthy and has a rich flavor dogs and cats love.

  5. Your dog's food may be randomly supplemented with raw (frozen or freeze dried) food, such as chicken, venison, bison, turkey, duck, beef, etc. Please let CPC know if you do not wish your dog to have any raw food. There are soooo many different types of raw food and many places to purchase it - if you are interested in continuing to mix raw food with your dog's dry food, or switch your dog over to raw dog food completely, contact CPC for details on what was fed to your dog and some other suggestions on where to buy it. Click onto the 'DOGMA' link below to view some of their raw foods.

  6. Raw food - actual raw food, such as chicken or beef will not be fed to your dog while at CPC, as trainers do not wish to risk salmonella poisoning during handling. Bagged frozen or freeze dried raw food is a wonderful alternative to actual raw food. CPC feeds and recommends Stu's Beef Stew & AFS products - see photos below.

Click onto photos to view/order

    Flower Essences                 Nupro powder                Grizzly Salmon Oil

 

 

Stu's Beef Stew                 

 

AFS Frozen/Freeze Dried

 

DOGMA Evergreen, CO (raw food)  

 

Tuffy Dog Toys  Buster's Healthy Pet Supply Conifer (raw, dry food)

Notes:

  1. Please keep in mind that I am brutally honest with my reports and comments and there are times where you as a dog owner may feel offended by some comments. I don't ever mean to offend anyone, but it is critical that you hear what you need to hear, not what you want to hear when it comes to your dog's safety, state of mind and overall well being during training. So, please do your best to read your dog's email reports with an open mind.

  2. It takes anywhere from 3 to 5 days for your dog to settle in at CPC, becoming comfortable with the new rules and routine. Real training cannot 'sink in' until your dog has relaxed enough to take it all in. Some dogs do wonderfully and some dogs do awfully in those first few days and my comments may change abruptly as your dog becomes more comfortable here at CPC. Quite often, even the most aggressive dogs will not show the slightest signs of aggression until they become more comfortable with their new environment, so again, reports can change abruptly.

  3. Your dog will NOT be fed its regular food on its first day at CPC. It makes for a much less stressed out tummy and offers much less chance of diarrhea, which is very difficult to clean up in this setting. About 50% of dogs will not eat their first day anyway, even if offered food, and some dogs will not eat for a couple of days. It is perfectly normal.

  4. Please remember that 'your dog is who your dog is' and we simply cannot change a dog's personality. We would have to break the dog's spirit in order to do this. Some dogs have behaviors that are so engrained into their brains that it will take more than one month of formal training/rehabilitation in order to change the dog's reactions and thinking. If I feel your dog is not ready to return to the routine back at your home I will keep the dog another week or more at no extra charge to you. Even then, some dogs require months of follow up training with the owner to truly understand and accept the changes and new behaviors that are now required.

  5. CPC is working very hard to train/rehabilitate your dog to meet your specifications and the needs of your family, but makes no guarantees as to the results of any dog training program. Sometimes we just have to accept that there is only so far we can take a dog once it has become unstable {aggressive, fearful, anxious} A good way to explain this is that it's kind of like tasting chocolate - once you taste it, you can't 'untaste' it for the rest of your life. Dogs move on much more quickly than humans, but some simply require a lot more work than others. Please have patience!

  6. You will more than likely be required to change the way you interact with your dog at home, in one way or another, in order to maintain the level of training/rehabilitation that your dog has received while at CPC. Please remember that what happens with your dog inside your home will govern what happens with your dog outside of your home. Meaning, if you baby your dog, don't offer structure and don't practice commands inside your home you simply cannot expect your dog to do well outside in public.

  7. Finally, please do not hesitate to EMAIL CPC with questions or concerns regarding your dog's training! Please call if you prefer - 303-995-0132 (due to overwhelming amounts of 'spam' and the possibility of computer viruses sent via email, please do not change the subject line of emails, otherwise your email will be deleted)

Owners:

  1. Please take the time to read and re-read the training packet that CPC provided you with on the day your dog was enrolled in the Board & Train program. If you have lost yours or would like another copy of it or any of the training literature, please EMAIL HERE and just ask!

  2. Suzi is taking the time to work very hard to train/rehabilitate your dog to meet your specifications and you will need to know what to do, and what not to do, BEFORE your dog returns home. You are required to actively memorize 2 pages in your training packet: Step 1 of the 'Wolf Pack Theory', and the 'Board and Train Follow Up Rules'.

  3. The 'List of Training Rules' and the 'List of Commands' are also very important and should be memorized if possible. If you fail to learn these few pages, your dog will quickly realize that you do not do things the way Suzi has done them during training/rehab. If this occurs your dog will quickly begin to regress due to the inconsistency of training methods, as well as a lack of viewing you and other family members as authority figures. Regression at this critical point in the training can cause your dog to go back to its old ways, potentially becoming worse than before the training started. With aggression issues this can become quite dangerous!

  4. Keep in mind that 1/3 of the cost of the Board & Train program is for YOUR training. Please, do your dog and your family a huge favor and memorize the above pages of the training packet - it will make your dog's transfer back into your home much less stressful for everyone involved. Also, if you have other dogs at home please practice these things with them, so you will already be in the habit of being a good pack leader BEFORE your dog in training returns home.

Owners:

  1. As you read the following paragraph, please keep in mind that I dearly love all dogs. My actions are to provide for their safety, mental and physical well being and my own sanity! I am an advocate for dogs, not dog owners!

  2. Again, please remember that what happens inside your home governs what happens outside your home. Your dog must EARN affection at home!!! Every single dog I've ever had in my Board & Train program seems to be under the impression that the human race revolves around him/her. Not only do I simply not have time to focus on just one dog, but I don't offer affection to a dog just because its cute and cuddly. This is a very difficult concept for many dogs in my training program to wrap their head around, and even more difficult for the owners. Most dogs are not used to having to earn affection at home, they are used to simply getting it anytime they demand it or worst yet, for doing absolutely nothing. Please remember that dogs do not follow loveable, spiritual or emotional leaders - they follow dominant leaders. This rule of thumb is critical with aggressive dogs, especially dogs that have already started to show aggression toward family (pack) members.

  3. In order to maintain even a low level of alpha status with your dog he/she must not be given affection just for the heck of it. It is up to you as a pack leader to offer rules, boundaries, structure, limitations, discipline (not punishment) and exercise ..... and THEN affection. Whether you formally train your dog or not he/she learns habits and behaviors to live by from you, your family and friends that enter your home. Every time you praise your dog it thinks "this behavior must be acceptable and even desired by the humans, so I am going to continue this behavior". It will be up to you to tell your dog which behaviors are acceptable and which are not.

  4. Timing is of utmost importance - as an example, if you offer even just eye contact to a dog that is going nuts when you walk through the door at the end of the day you are literally telling the dog, "good dog, be more of a nut next time I come through the door". I know this is a very difficult issue for some of you, since you specifically got your dog as a companion and you truly enjoy being 'loved' that much, but please remember that dogs are dogs, not furry, little humans and in the wild (or even a dog pack) they are not given affection until they are calm. Simply have a little patience and wait a few minutes until the dog is calm and THEN share affection. When it is time to cuddle and play with your dog, just be sure that it's done at the right time.... after the dog has earned it and when the dog is in a calm state of mind.

  5. A difficult fact - if you were a wolf out in the wild you would grow up knowing that if you are not attacked by the pack leader then everything is okay and you must be doing something right. In the human home we take that to an opposite extreme and offer affection and praise without the slightest thought of what we are communicating to our dogs. Most of the time we are telling our dogs that we are a weak pack leader!

  6. We are communicating SOMETHING to our dogs literally 24/7, but most of us have no clue what we are telling our dogs at any given moment. Please try to be hyper-aware of your body language, eye contact, tone of voice and constant energy that you are giving off while around dogs. All of those clues tell dogs something about who you are, what you're thinking and what you're going to do. What do you want to tell YOUR dog?

Owners:

  1. CPC uses and recommends Tri-Tronics remote collars for a reason. Well, several reasons.....

  2. They are extremely reliable and will work even through inanimate objects like your house, car, kennel, etc., since they utilize an FM signal. Many 'cheaper' remote collars (the kind you can get at PetsMart, etc.) will not work through something as simple as a metal cage, because they utilize the less effective AM signal and you must be able to correct your dog even when its outside and you're not.

  3. Tri-Tronics are never hit or miss, unless the collar is not on the dog's neck tight enough, the dog's fur is in the way or the battery is dead. The Tri-Tronics model's contact points (the part the touches your dog's neck and does the work) are thinner and longer, not so round and short, and it is extremely rare that the dog does not feel the stimulation. Again, this only occurs when the collar is not properly fitted on your dog's neck. It is often necessary to trim a 2" x 2" area under your long/thick haired dog's neck to insure an effective contact with the skin.

  4. Tri-Tronics collars (receivers) are 100% waterproof  , as are the newer remotes (transmitters), unlike other brands that are only water 'resistant'. Your dog can go swimming and the collar will still work. You can drop your remote in the lake and it will still work.

  5. Tri-Tronics are the least expensive, yet the highest possible quality collars on the market today. Do yourself, your dog and your pocket book a huge favor and don't try to save money by purchasing less expensive or lower quality remote or anti-bark collars. It is up to you to provide true safety for your dog and with a Tri-Tronics your dog is guaranteed to feel the stimulation every time if the battery is properly charged and the collar is properly fitted on your dog's neck. Don't learn the hard way that you've purchased the wrong remote collar when a car is coming and your dog is somehow in the middle of the street - buy the best, buy Tri-Tronics! Click onto the Tri-Tronics logo to view/order.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Suzi Schaefers

SORRY, NO SEND-HOME LESSONS ON WEEKENDS OR HOLIDAYS