how GHK9 training works

Of course you want someone who is qualified to help you, but for dog training and behavior modification to work well, there has to be more than that: there has to be a “good fit”. finding the right fit for you and your dog can be overwhelming… we hope this article helps you.

We are not the right fit for everyone - and if we thing there is someone else who is a better fit, we will try to point you in the right direction.

approach

At GHK9, we adhere to the standards of practice held by our accrediting institution the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). These standards are shared by many other respected leaders in our field. We take ethics and high standards seriously. This doesn’t take away from focussing on our motivating goals: more joy and improved quality of life for you and your dog.

We value individuality

This means that you are our partner in determining what we work on, what our goals are, and how we train together. no dog is the same. no person is the same. that means we have to work together to find the best path for you and your dog. what is helpful and good for one dog may be terrible for another, and what some people (with good intentions) tell you is ‘the best way’ to live with your dog may not actually meet your needs. we want to help you figure out who your dog is, so you can love the dog in front of you. That really is the jackpot you have won: your dog is one of a kind and amazing. We truly believe this.

We build relationships of trust

You should be able to trust us with your learning journey as you figure out how to work with your dog, and we work hard to earn that trust with honest and kind communication, patient and expert teaching, and cooperative, responsive training plan designs. We also believe that you and your dog should be able to trust each other - and our hope is that as you build that trust, your relationship with your dog will rely less on your ability to be strict, forceful, or threatening consequences and instead you will see the power of cooperation, fair expectations, and setting up for success.

We use effective strategies

At GHK9, effective training is personalized to you and your dog. For behavior change to be effective, we want to look beyond quick-fix approaches that do not last, have unintended side effects, and miss the big picture. We want to help you figure out what is going to holistically work to improve things for you and your dog in an empowering and sustainable way. Our ongoing pursuit of cutting edge research in the field and collaboration with excellent colleagues and mentors allows us to share the best strategies we can with you.

logistics and practical questions

What?

What we do is:

1) coach you to work with your dog more effectively to achieve your goals

2) design a personalized plan based on our expert knowledge of dogs, taking into account canine needs and using ethical and effective learning strategies

3) support you and adjust the plan as we learn together

4) sometimes we work with your dog while you take care of other life stuff, boosting the learning trajectory for your dog

5) teach a variety of workshops and group classes online and in-person on training skills, nosework, and more

Where?

we work in-person in the Portland, OR area. Our home-base is in SE, but we service clients who live in other locations. In order to keep everyone safe and travel times reasonable, we may suggest a safe public location that is not your home.

we work online everywhere. Even if you are local, we may start working with you online, because this keeps everyone safe, comfortable and able to concentrate on learning new skills. This is particularly true for dogs that are uncomfortable with new people and for households with multiple dogs.

When?

we usually recommend starting out with meeting with us for a 60-minute session every two weeks, and in-between practicing with your dog 5 days a week for about 15 - 30 minutes each practice session. If you would like to get more frequent support, ask us about our homework tutoring service. Some training goals are better served if we meet once a month, and we are happy to discuss your schedule with you in person.

you should start to see improvement in your dog after the first few sessions. this improvement will likely be slight and may feel slow at first. usually, this is because you and your dog are building a lot of new habits and skills while the old ones are still stronger and more familiar. when a behavior has been practiced for a long time, it can take up to six months of consistent training to get a reliable and significant behavior change.

your training homework should only require 5-10 minutes of focused work on skills per day. most dogs need 1-3 hours of mental and physical activity per day. we will help you so training does not take over your life.

How?

you email us we read your registration material, learn about you and your personal goals, and begin a conversation with you and your dog to construct a plan that will help you find your way to more joyful and heathy communication and cooperation with your dog.

the first session with us is a lot of talking, less training the dog. this is because there are many different ways to get to a goal — we want to learn about you and your dog first and give you our best ideas about how you can get where you want to go instead of giving you a cookie-cutter answer.

between sessions, you should send us updates and we will adjust your training games and goals as we go. you will also have the opportunity to submit data on your dogs behavior and we will send you material that you can refer to - this way you do not have to rely on your memory of what we said in your session.

in follow-up sessions, we will check in with you and practice together. we will also build on your skills and have fun with your dog’s training!

I want to work with GHK9, what do I do first?

• look over the website to learn about us

• think about your goals (good job, you are doing that right now!)

• sign up for a new-client service starting with an email or scheduling a phone call

what do I need for my first appointment?

Just a willingness to learn and some basic supplies! We will send you a confirmation email with more specifics after you book.

what if the GHK9 suggestions feel too difficult for me or my dog?

Tell us! Let us know asap! We always want feedback and questions, especially the uncomfortable feedback will help us get to something that does work for you and your dog and we like that (even if it’s not working with us)!

how does training work?

the answer to that is too long and complicated for this blog entry - but here is a short discussion of one of the key elements of behavior that we use to change behavior.