Training Philosophy
Bringing a new puppy home is an exciting time! Whether you are a seasoned dog owner or if this is your first puppy, we are here to assist you every step of the way. Our Tampa Bay puppy training programs are developed to teach your dog high-level obedience and manners, focusing on teaching you how to create long-lasting success after completing the training program. From taking your puppy to Tampa Bay’s dog-friendly restaurants, including Bartaco in Hyde Park, to strolling through Al Lopez Park, our training will help you enjoy it all. Our personalized in-home training programs focus on your specific training goals and address any behavioral challenges you’d like to work on.
Our Tampa Bay team is led by our Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, and our Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Sean Savage. Our personalized puppy training programs include one-on-one sessions with Sean Savage, who provides in-home training programs at your home, puppy board and training programs at this home, and training throughout the Tampa Bay area, depending on your specific training goals. We also provide Virtual Consultations with Dr. Echterling-Savage, who can implement a training plan for you and provide ongoing guidance. Our puppy training programs address problem behaviors like play-biting, chewing, and jumping while also focusing on potty training, crate training, and socializing your puppy. From leash training along the Tampa Riverwalk to greeting guests at your SoHo home, we will teach your puppy to be the ideal companion for all your Tampa Bay adventures!
Training Programs
Our 22-hour Training Program will teach your puppy essential commands, including sit, stay, come, down, place, wait, leashwalking, and more. This program will also address behavioral issues, including jumping, play biting, housebreaking, and chewing. Personalized to your specific training needs, this program can focus on a variety of goals, including:
Our 22-hour Puppy Obedience and Manners Training Program utilizes scientific training methods alongside our comprehensive experience to guide your puppy in achieving its full learning potential. Our Co-founders, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist Dr. Echterling-Savage and Certified Dog Behavior Consultant Sean Savage, develop our training programs. Our team ensures that our one-on-one sessions receive a consistent and personalized approach to address your puppy’s training goals.
At Beyond the Dog, we focus on functional behavior, meaning we aim to understand the underlying reasons for a puppy’s actions, like jumping, rather than just addressing the behavior itself. Once we know the root cause of a puppy’s behavior, we can create a personalized training plan to address the source of the problem behavior. Our training is based on the latest scientific research, including a 2022 study by Waite and Kodak, which shows that function-based puppy training reduces problem behaviors like puppy biting. Dr. Echterling-Savage explains, “When a puppy training plan is designed around functional consequences, puppy problem behavior such as biting can be significantly reduced in as little as three days, and in many cases, the problem behavior is completely gone within one month. That is the power of our science-based puppy training programs.”
Our 22-hour Puppy Obedience Training Program offers private sessions led by our behavior consultant, Sean Savage. Training takes place in various environments, such as learning “Stay” at Sparkman Wharf or crate training at home. This approach ensures your dog receives the highest level of training, even amidst real-life distractions. Each location is chosen to maximize your dog’s learning experience. While you are not required to attend most sessions, the final session of each week will focus specifically on you. During this lesson, you will learn how to reinforce the obedience commands and manners taught to your dog. Additionally, follow-up sessions will be scheduled after the training concludes to support your ongoing success.
The Board and Train program can be personalized to meet your training goals. Obedience commands managers we can teach include:
In our Board and Train Program, your dog will stay in our behavior consultant home, becoming part of the family. From training your puppy at home to loose-leash walking at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, practicing good manners at Ginger Beard Cafe, or even learning obedience commands at Lowe’s, we help your dog generalize their training in various places across Tampa Bay. Generalizing obedience across different situations can be challenging for dogs. Does your dog perform “sit” at home but won’t listen when out at a cafe? Can your dog perform “place” in a cafe but struggle out at a park? As highlighted in John O. Cooper’s “Applied Behavior Analysis,” research indicates that for obedience to truly generalize, it must be practiced in various environments. This is because different settings can influence a dog’s behavior. According to our Co-Founder Sean Savage, “The amount of time and attention your dog will receive during our Board and Train Program is truly unmatched. Because of this, your dog will experience a major behavior shift, which separates our program from our competitors.”
In our Puppy Board and Train Program, your puppy will stay in our behavior consultant, Sean Savage’s home for three to four weeks, becoming part of the family while receiving unmatched attention and training. After submitting your “Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior,” our pre-training team, led by our Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, alongside Sean Savage, will create a personalized training plan to meet your specific training goals. Your puppy will explore all Tampa Bay offers while learning crate training, high-level obedience, potty training, socialization, and appropriate manners. At the completion of the training program, we will teach you all your puppy’s learned behaviors and how to manage your puppy’s training for long-term success with 4.5 hours of follow-up lessons. The Board and Train Program is available for puppies who are 8 weeks and older.
Dr. Echterling-Savage will meet with you through two hours of private virtual consultations to teach your puppy high-level obedience and manners. This program includes virtual consultations, a personalized training plan, and ongoing support for long term success. Obedience skills that are addressed can include but are not limited to:
As one of the few Board Certified Behavior Analysts specializing in Applied Animal Behavior and among only about 50 CAABs nationwide, Dr. Echterling-Savage brings extensive knowledge to each session. Her comprehensive background includes a doctorate in the field, published research on canine behavior modification, and 25 years of hands-on training. Dr. Echterling-Savage will deliver expert guidance to help your puppy achieve high-level obedience and manners.
Set your puppy up for success with our Puppy Obedience and Manners Behavior Modification Package. In this program, you’ll meet with Dr. Echterling-Savage over two hours of private virtual sessions to develop a customized training program that will refine your puppy’s behavior and teach high-level obedience commands. Dr. Echterling-Savage will guide you through behavior scenarios to ensure ongoing progress while monitoring your puppy’s progress and adjusting the training plan to achieve your goals.
The Training Behavior Modification Package is priced at $750 and includes two hours of virtual consultations and ongoing guidance.