All our dogs work through a 4-step process
Adjustment period – KEY STEP (and one most miss) This is where you are ‘holding the space’ for the dog. You’ve invited them into your world, but in order to set up a solid foundation it’s imperative for them to watch and not interact. By doing this, you’re allowing them to learn the routine without walking in with old patterns and behaviors. Dogs absorb a lot by watching. Give them the chance to see how things work; how the other dogs interact with you and most importantly it gives them a chance to let their defenses down.
Identify & Evaluate – Once the dog has settled in (typically after 3-5 days) it’s here you identify what issues are at play; what type of dog you’re dealing with and therefore the best training approach to take. It is also where you identify any problem behaviors. In this step we develop our training plan including milestones, timelines and goals.
Problem Solving – this is where we work through household and people manners, including jumping, barking, doorways, house training, cat interactions, greeting appropriately, dog reactivity, counter surfing, etc.
Training – perhaps it seems odd that training is the last step but we’ve found that this is also the easiest step – and one that’s technically built throughout their stay.
After working with dogs for decades we’ve found this simple formula that works. It’s not rocket science but it does take effort to implement successfully; to hold routines while also realizing we need to be flexible, because dogs, like us, are all different – and there’s never going to be one answer for everyone.
By utilizing this formula along with factoring in the Type of Dog we’re dealing with, we’ve had success with hundreds of dogs.