Calm, Confident, Balanced.
Since 2016, A Balanced Dog has offered obedience training and behavior modification to create a calm and balanced pet. This includes training the humans to become calm, confident, and balanced pack leaders. Here we will get both human and dog into the right state of mind together.
Our Philosophy
We do not believe there is any one specific method to dog training that works for every dog. Training here at A Balanced Dog is custom tailored to each individual dog. We know that every dog is different, and what works for one dog may work differently for another. We call ourselves “A Balanced Dog” because that is what we believe dog training is all about- balance.
What does Balanced mean? We believe in using both positive reinforcement (yes) and consequences (no). While we use reward based methods to teach the behaviors we want, we believe in the dog also understanding consequences for non-compliance. If we only reward the good and ignore the bad, the dog will choose what best suits them and if there is no consequence that is valuable enough for the dog to want to stop the poor behavior they will continue to do it! For example: if we teach a jumping dog they should sit instead of jump to get rewarded but we never teach the dog that there’s a consequence for jumping, the dog will continue to jump because he is rewarding himself. With including all sides of the equation, we are able to reach balance. Balanced dog, Balanced home, balanced owners.
There is no one method or tool that works to help every dog. So we like to have every option in the tool kit available to help dogs be the best they can be. We often rely on our most universal and adaptable tools like the prong collar and e-collar as it allows effective and clear communication. These tools give the owner the power to feel confident and in control.
We also often use the help from our own pack of dogs (and extended pack of past clients that frequently visit) with the belief that there is no easier way for a dog to learn, than learning by example. With that help, we are able to show that there is a leader of the pack which all the other balanced dogs follow- the human.
Here at A Balanced Dog we are very transparent about our work. We document and show everything that we do through photos and videos that get posted up on primarily our Instagram. We also post on our Facebook and YouTube. We want people to not only see what we are doing along with how and why it works, but to also take this content and learn how to help their own dogs succeed!
“Shannon took our English Cream Retriever Gwendolyn who was 9 months old for 2 weeks of training and somehow managed to get her to learn how to respond to various commands and to walk alongside of me without pulling me all over the place. She sits on command, looks at me and doesn't go out until I say OK! She is much easier to live with since she has learned these manners! I couldn't be more pleased as she had been behaving very badly and now I feel like she is much more controllable! Shannon did a great job with her!” — Sunny C.
