This past Monday we returned to our trainer’s rural property, replete with a video monitored kennel set up, to bring King Kai home. He was happy to see us and the transformation was incredible.
Professional trainers are a Godsend to strong willed and intelligent dogs. Tommy Connell, from Republic eats, lives and breathes all things dog. He is associated with K-9 Hideaway, under the tutelage of renowned trainer James Craigmyle, another dog whisperer.
First, good dogs have good masters, a quote from another generation of dog trainers. This training was as beneficial to us as it was to Kai. I long ago bit into the philosophy that pinch (prong) collars and “shock” collars were terrible training aids. It turns out they are, in the wrong hands. When properly used, especially collars that deliver a tone, vibration and mild electric correction are wonderful tools. The pinch collars need to have very short prongs and must be used in conjunction with a traditional flat collar. Tommy introduced Kai and the Johnsons to both tools and Kai has responded wonderfully. This week we have not used the electric or vibrate function once, as Kai responds immediately to the tone, knowing our intent gets a little more demanding if he is reticent in his response. At the end of your pup’s training regimen, Tommy presents you with the 3 function collar and transmitter that was used on your pup, state of the art stuff and a perfect way to continue your reinforcement.
Among the many skills we were taught is K-9 vocabulary. After all, we are dealing with a canine and not an English major. We have limited our commands to about 6 and Kai clearly knows what is expected with each command. We also learned to master the dog in a walking scenario, relying on gentile corrections, barely perceptible, through the pinch collars. He walks like a pup at the Westminster Dog show, intent on zero pulling and rapt attention to turns. We are light years ahead in controlling Kai when he greets other dogs and people, sitting politely when we close.
As trainers go, I whole heartedly indorse Tommy, who has only 4 dogs in training at a time. He is a 24 hour trainer who takes your pup to various retail outlets on a regular basis, thus relying on real life scenarios to reinforce his teaching. We also strongly indorse the board and training concept where your pup is exposed to interval training from 7A to 10P, walked regularly, fed and cared for as if he was home. Tommy is in demand, with a waiting list, meaning you need to hook up as soon as you select this route. As a plus, Tommy is a prior LEO and is involved with police K-9’s as well. Dogs are his passion…..
SR
