Dogs Learning to Learn and Learning To Listen… under distraction, when overreacting or when misbehaving – and in real-life situations
Alpha Boarding School For Dogs is an effective dog training and behavioural rehabilitation solution for owners who are committed to the teaching processes once their dog returns home again. Ultimately it is you, the owner, who has to train or rehabilitate your dog, which will of course require some effort and dedication on your part to follow through with the training when your dog returns. The goal is to overwrite previous unacceptable behavioural patterns, over-reactions and general pushy and demanding attitudes, but at the same time teaching your dog to listen and behave instead. This requires the development of life-skills that are established primarily in the home environment first – not out on walks or at the park, even if this is where you think the problems exist. We will explain why when we discuss your dog’s issues with you over the phone!
Alpha Boarding School For Dogs IS NOT a quick-fix for those who are looking for someone else to do all the training for them and then do nothing themselves to help shape a new relationship based on clear and positive leadership with their dog. Your dog would simply return to its previous behavioural patterns because in this case the relationship has not changed at all even after the training has been completed. The methods covering obedience and manners are an integral part of establishing clear and positive leadership, but if the owner does little practice then the training will be of little help. The dog will not forget the training, they will just choose to ignore it.
Again, improved behaviour or rehabilitation actually starts in the home and is directly related to the relationship between the owner and their dog. Alpha Boarding School For Dogs gives you the methods, language and strategies to move behavioural change in the right direction. Training with us at the kennels is only one part of an overall process that helps establish new learning for the dog in a neutral, but stimulating environment with lots of graded challenges and distractions relevant to their learning and behavioural needs at different stages of their course. The facility is purpose-built to ensure that your dog has every opportunity to learn how to respond reliably under distraction, in both obedience and manners.
All our trainers have their own demonstration dogs who often join us in our lessons to provide additional ‘real life’ distraction for your dogs to work around. Whether its dog to dog aggression or dog to dog over excitement, you will be fully prepared to handle any situation you come across when out on a walk post boarding school.
This learning process is then further consolidated with the owners once the dog returns home again. This is a very important part of the education process for the owner as this is where they get to see their dog actively generalising the new learning away from the kennels, but around the familiar distractions and behavioural triggers of the home environment. Yes, they will try to go back to their old ways, but you will now know the techniques and strategies required to keep them on the new track. We will supply you with a proven practice strategy that will help you bed everything down in your home before going back out into the real world of even more triggering distractions. We will also be there as a valuable resource post training should you require extra help and advice.
All this training is to prepare them for the specialist, three hour handover session where you will then be taught important obedience and manners skills and strategies before you take them home again. It is now a chance for the owner to learn the new language and skills that have been taught to their dog whilst they were away. A professional trainer will teach you the new skills and language that will be relevant to adapting the manners and obedience training into your home environment and daily situations.
Once back at home after boarding school, you will have the skills and knowledge to help teach your dog new concepts that will greatly improve the family’s quality of life in ways that would’ve seemed impossible before.
Just like this young dog who’s showing a huge amount of self control by not charging through the door to play with the child or following the older dog into the house when they are invited.
As part of the handback lesson a trainer will help guide you through important manners training so you fully understand how to implement new rules and boundaries once back at home. This dog is holding a gate boundary under the guidance of his owner in their handback.
