Training Philosophy
Does your puppy become scared of everything the second they step outside the house? Do they ever flatten to the ground on walks or frantically try to go back home? When fear-based behavior is left untreated as a puppy, it can turn into aggression as your puppy matures. The good news is that fear-based puppy behavior can be easily addressed in one of our Kansas City Puppy Training programs! The main goal of our science-based puppy training programs is to help your puppy gain confidence and eliminate the fear and anxiety from their daily life. We will teach your puppy relevant obedience commands such as leash training, come when called, and down-stay to name a few to promote calm, obedient behavior around stimuli that previously caused fear. We want your puppy to approach new situations and environments with confidence!
Is your puppy scared of other dogs or people? Our in-home puppy training programs can be completely customized to take place wherever your puppy is experiencing fear. We will take your puppy to a variety of different environments like busy shopping centers, parks, and anywhere else around Kansas City so we can treat your puppy’s fear directly at the source. Using our unique treatment that combines classical conditioning and positive reinforcement, we can eliminate all fearful puppy behavior. Over the past two decades, we have worked with thousands of fearful puppies and know exactly how to customize our training to fit your puppy’s exact needs. Led by our Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, our pre-training team will work with you to create a step-by-step treatment plan to make lasting changes to your puppy’s fearful behavior. Our goal is for your puppy to be calm and confident and accompany you to all of Kansas City’s dog-friendly restaurants, patios, and parks!
Training Programs
Our goal is to help your puppy gain confidence, reach socialization goals, learn advanced obedience, and treat all fearful behavior including but not limited to:
Fearful behavior in puppies can start when puppies are only 8-12 weeks old and typically worsens as a puppy matures. Oftentimes when a puppy refuses to leave the house or move on walks, it is not because the puppy is tired but rather because they are experiencing higher-than-average levels of fear. When the fear-based behavior is left untreated past six months, puppies need more intensive training. The good news is that puppy fearful behavior can be treated with classical conditioning and positive reinforcement. Our Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior will help our pre-training team identify your puppy’s triggers as well as a customized training plan before your Kansas City puppy training program even starts. Our unique treatment method goes beyond typical obedience training and is supported by the latest scientific research in dog behavior. Research by Riemer supports classical conditioning as the most effective method in treating fear-based behavior in dogs. According to our Co-Founder Sean Savage, “Early intervention is critical in treating any fear-based behavior in puppies. When we catch the problem behavior early on, we can prevent severe aggression from developing in adulthood.”
The All-Inclusive Program for Fearful Puppies encompasses 20 training sessions across 5 intensive weeks with 2 follow-up sessions spanning a total of 22 training sessions over 8 weeks! After you submit your training contract and Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, our pre-training team, led by Dr. Echterling-Savage, uses the information provided to craft your personalized dog training program. Then, your trainer will put your training plan into action! Your trainer will work with your dog one-on-one for three (1) hour sessions during the week. The fourth session each week is dedicated to your training! This structure is designed to produce seamless learning and long-term behavior change. After the 5-week-long training, there are 2 follow-up sessions to support your progress. Please note that our indirect behavior assessments will confirm the severity of your dog’s behavior and if deemed severe you may incur a small additional fee.
If you are a pet parent with an insurance policy covering behavior modification, our fearful puppy behavior modification is likely covered. When behavior training is under the direction of a CAAB or a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, most companies with behavior policies such as Trupanion will cover behavioral training.
We reduce your puppy’s mild fearful behavior directly where it occurs. We address fearful puppy behavior including but not limited to:
Our one-of-a-kind, science-based training methods allow us to treat all types of fear-based puppy behavior. Our unique treatment involves classical counterconditioning, also known as Pavlovian conditioning. This incredibly effective training method allows us to create new, positive associations with the stimuli that were previously eliciting fear. Over time, your puppy’s fearful behavior will transform into confidence. Our Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior culminates years of experience treating thousands of fearful puppies and will help us create a step-by-step treatment plan to eliminate your puppy’s fearful behavior. Research by Hall et al. supports that classical counterconditioning is highly effective in treating fearful behavior in dogs. According to our resident CAAB Dr. Echterling-Savage, “Treating fearful behavior while puppies are still young can benefit you in the long run as you can prevent severe aggression from fully developing.”
Our Executive Training Program for Puppy Anxiety consists of 12 hours of training across four weeks. After you submit your training contract and Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, our pre-training team, led by Dr. Echterling-Savage, uses the information provided to craft your personalized dog training program. Your trainer will then work directly with your puppy for (2) 1-hour sessions and with you for (1) 1-hour session per week for four weeks. Please note that our indirect behavior assessments will confirm the severity of your puppy’s behavior and if deemed severe you may incur a small additional fee.
If you are a pet parent with an insurance policy covering behavior modification, our fearful puppy behavior modification is likely covered. When behavior training is under the direction of a CAAB or a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, most companies with behavior policies such as Trupanion will cover behavioral training.
Want expert advice on how to treat your puppy’s fearful behavior but don’t live in Kansas City? In our 1-hour virtual consultations, we will give you expert training advice on specific steps to take to help your puppy gain confidence and practice calm behavior. After completing the Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, we will recommend one or multiple sessions with Dr. Echterling-Savage or with one of our other behavior consultants under her direct supervision depending on the severity of your puppy’s fearful behavior. Pricing for a 1-hour virtual consultation with Dr. Ectherling-Savage is $375. Pricing for a 1-hour virtual consultation with one of our Kansas City trainers is $150.
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