FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

At What Age Should My Dog Start Training?

It is never to late to teach an old dog new tricks, and training starts the moment you bring your puppy home. Of course the younger and the older a dog is the more effort you must put in so tailor expectations to your own dog's age.

For example, a new puppy is more than capable of learning simple rules such as where they should go potty, and basic commands like sit and down. However, expecting them to walk perfectly on the leash or hold a long down stay when they are at that age is setting everyone up for failure.

We are always training our dogs (or they are training us!) whether we know it or not, so approach it like you would any valuable relationship; attend to it, nurture it, and enjoy it! Training begins the moment you bring your puppy home and requires constancy and consistency for the life of your dog.

What Types of Training Tools Do You Use?

Our goal is to teach your dog to work with you using a method that is balanced and relationship driven. While our primary tools are based on positive reinforcement, we do put a strong focus on real world dog training and believe that there is a time and a place for correcting unwanted behaviors.

Our external tools are of the highest quality and may include gentle leaders, Cana collars, martingale collars, prong collars, remote collars, food, toys, flirt pole, crates and/or place mats. Our internal tools include praise, affection, compassion/empathy, patience, verbal tone, body language, a calm demeanor and a sense of humor. We believe that the essence of balanced training is approaching each dog with love, patience and an open mind while always promoting a calm state of mind.

What is a Herm-Sprenger Prong?

A prong collar is a dynamic training collar that allows communication with your dog using evenly distributed light pressure around their neck. As opposed to flat collars (that don’t evenly distribute leash and collar pressure and may damage the trachia) and harnesses (which lack in the way of precise communication), a properly introduced and appropriately used Herm-Sprenger collar provides an effective and safe way to communicate with your dog.

What Are Remote or Electronic Collars?

Remote collars, or electronic collars, give you the ability to communicate with your dog from a distance using vibrations (like a cell phone going off) and low levels of electronic stimulation. Quality remote collars are based on medical grade trans-cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) machines used in physical therapy and chiropractic.

Don’t compare modern remote collars with outdated or current low quality models! The remote collars we use provide lots of flexibility. Often the levels we use with our training dogs are imperceptible to human touch or at most feel like a strange tickle. Like any tool, we take the time to introduce e-collars fairly and so that it makes sense to the dog.

What Remote Collar Do You Use?

We use the Mini Educator by E-Collar Technologies, exclusively.

What Vaccinations Does My Dog Need?

We require proof of Rabies, Distemper, and Parvovirus, (also known as DAAP or DAAPL) vaccines, as well as current use of flea/tick and heart worm preventative.

Do You Offer Any Sort of Guarantee?

It would be unethical of us to guarantee that your dog will act in a certain way regardless of who they are with or what situations they are placed in. However, we absolutely guarantee that your dog will be proficient in the protocols we commit to teaching them, and to be a committed source of advice, coaching, and encouragement for the lifetime of your dog! We do in fact guarantee that you will see positive results!

Once you and your dog work with us you are part of the Off The Hook Training pack. We know that training is an ongoing process, and we want to work with people that are committed to making positive changes in their dog’s lives.