Training
Methods
How we support you and your dog on your journey to more confidence and less stress
Fear-Free Dog Training
As a Fear-Free certified dog trainer, Ettel puts your dog's emotional well-being first. Instead of focusing on your dog "getting over" their worries, at Poodles to Pit Bulls, we prioritize addressing those big underlying feelings first. The more we can minimize your dog’s stress and focus on what makes them feel secure, the faster and better they will learn new skills. NYC is stressful enough, your dog’s training doesn’t have to be.
Our approach is all about building a trusting relationship between you and your dog built on communication in both directions. Rather than pushing them towards something scary or uncomfortable, we focus on gentle and effective methods. Our goal is to help your dog make good choices because they feel safe enough to practice their skills, not because they’re afraid of what will happen if they don’t. Whether we're working on something like loose-leash walking or delving into behavior modification for big feelings, every step is taken at your dog's pace, always keeping their emotional well-being in mind.
Have a dog who needs some reassurance?
Management, Training, and Behavior Modification
Every dog (and human!) is doing the best they can with the skills they have to navigate in their environment. When we want to change behavior, we have three main options - management, training, and behavior modification - each can be an important piece of the puzzle, but we don’t always need all of them!
Management
Management covers what we can do right now to change the environment and stop or significantly minimize the behavior from happening at all. It means setting up your dog’s world (as much as possible) so they can’t practice the behaviors we don’t want and can practice the ones we do. It’s often about prevention - using barriers, gear, enrichment, and predictable routines to make good choices easy. Management gives dogs (and humans) breathing room to learn without constant correction or frustration.
Training
Training teaches skills for a variety of reasons. Whether it’s to aide in communication like “sit”, or “down”; for safety, like “wait” or “come”; or for fun like “rollover” or “spin”, training behaviors is rewarding! We use positive reinforcement to teach these skills, and will make sure you know the basics so you can train any behaviors you dream up in the future. There are a few different ways to train behaviors, and we’ll figure out which one is best for you and your dog. All learners are different, and we’ll uncover what works best for you both.
Behavior Modification
Behavior modification addresses the big feelings behind behavior - especially when a dog’s emotions lead to spicy reactions that can be difficult to manage. For most of us, dogs and humans alike, when we’re scared or anxious or even extremely excited, it’s hard to learn new things. We work gently and systematically to change how a dog feels about the things that worry or excite them, using evidence-based methods such as desensitization and counterconditioning. The goal isn’t to suppress behavior, but to shift the underlying emotions so that your dog has enough clarity to learn new skills and how to navigate that scenario in the future.
Together, these three approaches create lasting change. Sometimes just adjusting the management situation is enough, sometimes teaching a few skills makes a big difference, and sometimes we embark on a behavior modification protocol that reframes your entire relationship with you dog - in the best way possible.
Have a dog who needs some clear direction?
Humanizing Dog Training
You, the human, are arguably the most important part of this relationship. And not for reasons you may think! Yes, how you live with, train, and manage your dog matters, but focusing on your emotional well-being is just as important as focusing on your dog’s. When we say this is a judgement-free company, we really mean it.
You’re learning as much, if not more, than your dog is. Just like we’re teaching new skills to your dog, we’re teaching them to you too. Leashes, and treats, and timing, and triggers - it can be a lot! We’ll always go at your pace. We encourage questions, and will always explain the whys and the hows. We will adjust protocols to fit you, you don’t have to fit the protocols. We believe our job is to give you options, and support you in your choices. Just like if your dog might learn a little differently, it’s OK if you do too.
Living with a spicy dog can take its toll, and we understand that. We’re here to listen and we’re here to help make it better.