Introduction: Behav-n-Dogs certified professional dog trainer, Rachael Haddan not only trains dogs she also rehabilitates dogs with problem behaviors. Rachael Has over 15 years’ experience training and rehabilitating dogs, and over 10 years’ experience coaching dog owners on how to train their own dogs.
"I will teach dog owners first how to understand their dogs better, and then focus on basic obedience and correcting problem areas, followed by more advanced obedience. I teach up to competitive obedience if the owner desires coaching up to that level."
-Rachael Haddan.
Behav-n-Dogs offers a vast array of professional dog training and behavior modification services. This includes:
*In-home Puppy training and socialization course
*Private Basic obedience and behavior modification course
*Advanced off leash and distance training course
*Specialized behavior modification for extreme behavior problems course
*Public access training for future service dog(s) course
*Board and train service dog course (Service dog training has limitations on certain areas. Read more below)
*Board and train advanced obedience course.
The dog training courses are explained in further detail below. Each coarse can be personalized with five training and or coaching options. The options are discussed and agreed upon during the initial in-take consultation and changed if wanted and or needed during the individualized course.
OPTIONS
(1) Behav-n-Dogs professional dog trainer, Rachael Haddan comes to your home (as many times per a week as agreed upon for as many weeks/months as agreed upon. Usually once a week for 12 weeks) and trains your dog for you while you sit back and relax watching TV if you want. The last two weeks Rachael coaches all family members on how to command the dog to perform certain tasks (sit, down, stay, come, etc.,) This option excludes the board and train courses.
(2) As in the first option, professional dog trainer Rachael Haddan, will come to your home (as many times per a week as agreed upon for as many weeks/months as agreed upon. Usually once a week for 12 weeks) However, Instead of training your dog for you, Rachael will couch you and each family member on how to train your dog during each and every session. This option excludes the board and train courses.
(3) In this option your dog will receive the best of both worlds. As he will receive one-on-one time with Behav-n-Dogs professional dog trainer Rachael Haddan, and receive training from his owner. For the course (most clients opt for once a week for 12 weeks) Rachael will come to your house and work with your dog for half the lesson with you present and watching. The second half of each lesson Rachael will coach you on how to command and signal your pup or dog to do what he/she just learned. After each session Rachael will leave instructions on what to work on during the week before the next session. This option excludes the board and train courses.
(4) As in option three, the dog receives the best of both worlds. Everything is the same as in option three for the first three lessons. By the third lesson and throughout the rest of the course, Rachael will bring your dog with her for training throughout the day. This is great for socialization and advanced training. Once your dog is returned to you (on the same day of the lesson at a prearranged time) Rachael will give you instructions on what to work on (as well as where to bring your dog for outings) during the week before the next lesson. This option is only for dogs fully vaccinated and at least four months of age. This option excludes the board and train courses.
(5) This option is only for the 'board and train courses.' Behav-n-Dogs Certified Professional Dog Trainer Rachael Haddan, will come to your house upon request. The first meeting is usually the consultation with the dog owner and evaluation of what the dog already knows. During this meeting the owner is encouraged to ask questions and learn all about what Behav-n-Dogs has to offer. Rachael will also ask a lot of questions and learn what tasks the dog needs to learn to help the owner. Rachael will ask for a medical history on the dog and verify that the dog is up to date on vaccinations. There are limits on what Rachael will teach a dog to perform. She will refer a prospective client to another service dog trainer, if the dog training needs are outside of her expertise. The duration of the training will be scheduled based off of the training needs and the dog’s eagerness to learn new tasks. After the consultation Rachael will schedule a date to pick up the dog at the owner’s home. Rachael will provide periodic updates to the owner every few days, to explain how the dog is doing. Rachael will also provide video updates via email to the dog owner so the owner can see how the dog is progressing. If at any time the owner desires to see his/her dog that will be arranged. The dog will eat what the dog owner provides unless otherwise agreed upon. After the train and board course has been completed, Rachael will personally couch the dog owner on what the dog learned and how to command and or signal the dog to perform each task as needed. The commands and or signals taught to the dog will have been done with the dog owner’s disability in mind. So that the owner can easily signal the dog, to perform a task, without any undo physical discomfort. Please note that the service dog training tasks mentioned in this option is only for the service dog board and train course, and NOT the advanced obedience board and train course.
Once the pup or dog is fully vaccinated and at least four months old, Rachael encourages owners to bring their dog(s) out to places like PetSmart and Petco and for long walks (regardless of which course option the owners picked) for much needed exercise and socialization.
DOG TRAINING COURSES
In-Home puppy training and socialization course, is for puppies as young as 6 weeks, and includes:
*potty training
*What to chew vs. what not to chew
*sit
*down
*come when called
*wait
*exit rules (learning not to bolt out the front door until releases to exit)
*correcting problem areas (puppy biting, jumping up, digging, food aggression, etc,.)
Private Basic obedience and behavior modification course is for puppies and dogs four months and older, and includes:
*evaluating and correcting problem areas (fearfulness, fear aggression, dog aggression, food aggression, dog aggression, biting, humping, dog fighting, aggression towards people, excessive barking, separation anxiety, destroying things, overly hyper, overly shy, aggression towards other animals, killing other animals, pulling on the leash during walks, lunging on the leash when greeting people or other dogs, jumping all over guest etc,.)
*sit & down
*sit & down stays
*reliably coming when called off leash
*walking on a loose leash at left side
*ignoring other dogs and people during walks unless released to greet
*sitting for petting
*yard and house boundaries (learning not to bolt when door or gate is left open, only exiting when owner says)
Advanced off leash and distance training course is for dogs six months of age and older. This course includes all that is in the Private Basic obedience and behavior modification course, plus the following:
*extended sit & down stays (out of sight with distractions for u to 10 minutes)
*off leash heeling at left side with high level of distractions
*reliable recall even during play at dog park
*running at your side while you ride your bike, skateboard, run, hike, snowboard, ski, etc, (off leash)
Specialized behavior modification for extreme behavior problems course, is aimed at rehabilitating dogs that are a liability and could harm someone and or be euthanized. Thus, this course is very individualized for each dog, and since no two dogs are exactly alike no two courses will be the same. Please note this course is aimed at stopping unwanted behavior and redirection to new acceptable behavior. The new behavior may simply be sitting instead of jumping or as advanced as dropping into the down instead of chasing the cat. The main point of the course is to have a well behaved dog instead of a lawsuit waiting to happen. The way the dog is trained in this course is through correcting unwanted and harmful behaviors and or redirecting to an acceptable behavior and then rewarding to reinforce the positive behavior. The following behaviors have been successfully modified through this method:
*fear aggression
*food and item aggression
*dominance aggression
*dog fighting
*lunging and barking at other dogs and or people (only while on the leash)
*attacking and or killing other animals
*aggression towards people
*fear biting
*dominance biting
*dragging owners during walks
*overly fearful
*overly hyper
*excessive digging
*excessive barking
*destroying items when left home alone
*separation anxiety
*escape artist
*slipping out of the collar during walks
*bolting out of the house
*chasing the cat
*eating things not allowed or dangerous
*jumping and scratching and or play biting owners, kids, and or guest
*crazy behavior in the car (this can be anything that distracts the driver)
*not letting people come in and or leave the house/yard
*etc, etc, etc,.
Public access training for future service dog(s) course is for dog owners who are disabled and want to train their own dog to perform tasks to help them with activities of daily living. This is not a Service dog training program (see below for service dog training). This course is aimed at helping the dog learn to ignore all the distractions he/she will be (or already is, if already an owner trained service dog) during public outings. In this course the dog’s owner is couched on how to correct the dog from focusing or getting excited about other people or dogs around him/her. The owner learns how to keep the dog focused on (the owner) and to perform the needed service tasks even with high level distraction.
In the Board and train service dog course, the dog is trained one of two ways. Either through the ‘board and train service dog course,’ about to be explained I further detail, or owner trained with some professional coaching. If you need some professional coaching on how to train service tasks to your dog (that are personalized just for you) please contact Rachael this is not currently a formal course but has been requested a few times.
The board and train service dog course, is as mentioned above for the owner’s own dog. Behav-n-Dogs trainer does not breed and raise service dogs. If you need assistance in finding an even tempered shelter dog to train to become your personal service dog Behav-n-Dogs animal behavior exert Rachael Haddan will be glad to help. Additionally, if you already own a dog and want him/her to become your very own service dog Rachael will be glad to perform a temperament test and thorough evaluation on your dog. If Rachael deems the dog to be healthy in both body and mind then she will accept him/her into her service dog training program. The steps are broken down as follows:
*dog is found to be of ideal temperament, is healthy, and up to date on all vaccinations.
*owner presents a real need to have a service dog.
*discussion of what the owner needs the dog to learn
*payment options
*contract agreement (agreement of how long the dog will undergo training and what the dog is projected to learn)
*setting a date and time to pick up the dog
*picking up the dog for boarding and training
*returning the dog to owner
*agreed upon coaching lessons provided to the owner once the dog is returned
Reminder Behav-n-Dogs professional dog trainer Rachael Haddan will refer any prospective clients to other service dog trainers if the training needs are outside of her expertise.
The board and train advanced obedience course, is for dog owners who want a fully trained dog in a short amount of time. All dogs who partake in this program must be fully vaccinated (see what that means below). The dog will be learning all of the basic and advanced training from in-home training only in about half the time. For example, it may take up to 12 weeks of in-home dog training for the average dog to learn the basics (sit, down, stay come, heel reliably off leash with high level distractions). However it will only take about 2 weeks to (for the same dog to learn the some things) through Behav-n-Dogs board and train course. The full list of what the dog will learn in 60 days at Behav-n-Dogs is as follows:
*sit & down (with high level of distractions, other dogs playing & barking nearby etc,)
*sit & down stays ( up to 10 minutes out of sight with distractions)
*reliably coming when called off leash (even during paly at the dog park)
*walking on a loose leash at left side (no matter what distractions are around)
*ignoring other dogs and people during walks unless released to greet
*sitting for petting
*yard and house boundaries (learning not to bolt when door or gate is left open, only exiting when owner says)
*running at your side or following behind you, while you ride your bike, skateboard, run, hike, horseback ride, snowboard, ski, etc, (off leash)
INFO ON VACCINATIONS
Note FULLY VACCINATED MEANS the dog or puppy has had all of the following shots and or nasal sprays and is up to date.
*Distemper
*Adenovirus
*Parvo
*Rabies
*Bordetella
Most Veterinarians recommend the 3-in-1 shot for Distemper, Adenovirus and Parvo to be giving at the following puppy age, then once a year from the last round.
8 weeks - first round
11 weeks - second round
14 weeks - third round
Then there is the Kennel Cough Vaccination or intranasal mist. The kennel cough vaccination also known as, the Bordetella vaccination will usually be given once a year. However, if it is given in the form of a nasal mist then it is usually given every six months. The Bordetella intranasal mist is usually given at the same time as the rabies vaccination at 4 months of age and then every six months.
Finally, there is the rabies vaccination, which is mandatory to give your dog in most states including Colorado. The first injection can be administered when the pup is 16 weeks old, then once a year. Some animal clinics and or vets offer three year rabies vaccination, which is convent for those owners who buy the three year city license for their pet.
"I enjoy teaching others what I love most; which includes, dog behavior and dog obedience. My over-all goal for dog owners, is that they end up with a happy and balanced owner-dog pack."
-Rachael Haddan
