Dog Psychology & Training
We focus on the importance of dog psychology.
Do you dream of walking your dog calmly down the street on a loose leash with no reactions to distractions? Do you think it’s impossible for your dog to socialize with other dogs? Do you feel like your dog will always be nervous, anxious or afraid? Is your dog a nightmare in the house who refuses to listen to you?
What about being able to have 100% off leash reliability any place, any time? Do you wish your dog would stop biting people or other dogs? Has your dog become a crutch on your life causing you stress, frustration and embarrassment? Have you worked with other trainers with little to no results?
Have you been told that “this is just how he/she is” or that your dog is unable to be trained? Well then you are definitely in the right place.
We have have the solutions to all these problems and can help you achieve the balanced dog that you never thought was possible.
Puppy Enrichment Program
Puppy Enrichment Program: With the recent opening of our new ranch located on 8+ acres in West Milford, NJ we are now offering our new Puppy Enrichment Program! This program is exclusively tailored to puppies and helps to build a solid foundation for the future. With creating a solid foundation now, this helps in preventing any unwanted behaviors down the road. With this program your puppy would stay with us for a period of 2 – 4 weeks depending on age and behaviors. This program would include the following:
– Leash Walking
– Crate Training
– Housebreaking
– Place/Bed Command
– Treadmill Training and/or Bike Riding
– Puppy Nipping/Teething
– Obedience and Overall Good Manners
– Positive Interactions with Balanced Dogs
– 1 hour Weekly Training Session(s) During the Program (depending on length of program)
– 60-90 Minute Go Home Session at the End of the Program
– One 1 hour Follow Up Session 2 Weeks After Completion of the Program
– Unlimited Access to Our Sunday Pack Walks
Dog Psychology & Training
In our opinion, the “Dog Training” world is stuck in a cookie cutter, one size fits all, outdated training style. So many of our clients have worked with other “dog trainers” (in many cases more than one) where all the training is focused on obedience by bribing the dog to achieve a certain physical position (sit, down, stay, come, heel, etc.) without any focus on the state of mind of the dog or most importantly, the human! While we believe that obedience is an important part of training, understanding Dog Psychology MUST be understood by the human before attempting obedience.
One of our blogs titled Dog Psychology Before Dog Training goes into further detail on how important it is for the human to understand the psychology of a dog FIRST and then learn how to apply obedience commands.
Leadership, which is a huge principle of dog psychology, is rarely discussed in the “dog training” world, yet is so important to a dog. There’s a reason so many people have a dog that will only listen if there is food, a treat, a toy or something for them. It’s because the dog is in the leadership position and the human is in the follower position. We will teach you how to reclaim the role of leader and have the dog go back to their natural position as follower.
Once a puppy leaves its mother, it’s up to us to continue providing our dogs with leadership, structure, rules, boundaries, limitations, exercise, discipline and lastly affection. Unfortunately, in many instances, dogs stop receiving this guidance and develop behavioral problems. That’s where we come in. We have extensive experience dealing with all types of issues such as but not limited to, dog to dog aggression, dog to human aggression, resource guarding (growling or biting to guard food, toy or object), jumping, separation anxiety, excessive barking, leash pulling, leash reactivity, chewing, barking, begging, over-excitement, fear, and many other issues no matter how minor or severe they may be.
We Develop a Step-by-Step Training Plan
Every human, dog and situation are different which means they require different lengths and styles of rehabilitation. We will come up with a step by step training plan and suggest the best option to rehabilitate your dog and train you on how to deal with these issues in everyday real world situations. Regardless of the option, you and your dog will receive tested and proven effective education and training that will last a lifetime. With commitment and consistency from you combined with our customized training plans, you will achieve the balanced relationship with your dog that you’ve always dreamed of. Please check out Testimonials page to see how many lives we have changed!
*After speaking with us via phone or email, we will suggest one of the following options that will help your dog understand what we want from them and teach you step by step how to lead them in a calm and confident way for life lasting results!
Private Dog Psychology Training Sessions
Private Training Sessions
Steve will assess your dog in their everyday environment, discuss the situation with you, work hands on with you and your dog and lastly come up with a game plan for continued success moving forward. Steve will provide you with a wealth of invaluable information in Dog Psychology that will last a lifetime that can be applied to not only your dog but all the dogs you interact with throughout your life.
Our custom plan will be based on your dog’s specific behavioral issues, age, energy level and, most importantly, your individual personality and capabilities.
Learn Your Dog’s Perspective
Our unique approach to training is based on teaching from a Dog Psychology perspective where we will focus on your dog’s state of mind and not just obedience behaviors that are usually achieved through bribery and rarely sustain long-term or reliable results without understanding Dog Psychology.
By understanding a dog’s state of mind and psychology, it gives us the opportunity to tap into the dog’s instinctual side making learning much easier. Using Dog Psychology we will show your dog how to trust and respect you as a leader which will create a calm, happy, obedient and balanced dog.
What’s Included in a Private Training Session?
Initial training sessions are 2-hours in length and include a consultation, assessment, hands-on training and game plan moving forward. You will begin to experience dramatic results within your first session with us. Follow up sessions are at the owner’s discretion but always recommended. During any follow ups we will continue to work hands-on with you and your dog on any behavior issues until we achieve the goal of a happy, healthy and balanced relationship between you and your dog. Remember, working with your dog is supposed to be fun so be prepared for a fun filled, educational experience that you will never forget!
*Greater distances may require an additional travel fee.
Dog Behavior Modification, Training & Psychology Camp
Sometimes things happen in life that make training your dog a difficult endeavor.
Does your busy schedule make it almost impossible to put in the necessary time and repetitions to work with your dog? Do you have a dog that is expressing severe behaviors that you are left feeling helpless and hopeless?
Whether your dog has minor issues (jumping, barking, pulling, overexcited, overall doesn’t listen) or major issues (dog aggression, fear, separation anxiety, etc.) this program is perfect for you and your dog.
For dog owners seeking in-depth training.
Our highly regarded Behavior Modification, Training & Psychology Camp is tailored for owners looking for more involved and in-depth training for themselves and their dog.
Our program is unlike any other program available because we focus on bringing your dogs state of mind back to balance FIRST by correcting unwanted behaviors and then teach your dog obedience, commands and good manners through positive reinforcement. We consistently provide outstanding REAL WORLD results time and time again.
How it Works
Our 4-8 week rehabilitation program.
With this option your dog will stay with us for a duration of 4 – 8 weeks (depending on the case) where they will receive continuous, highly structured training as well as love and affection at the correct time.
Steve has rehabilitated so many dogs with bite histories (human and dog), dogs that have been recommended for euthanasia and dogs that were deemed “un-trainable” by other professional trainers, veterinarians and behaviorists. He is a firm believer that no dog is beyond rehabilitation.
A plan customized to your dog’s specific needs.
No two dogs are the same which is why we will customize a plan based on your dog’s specific behavioral issues, individual traits, and your training needs and goals. Along with correcting all unwanted behaviors, this program also covers things such as crate training, treadmill, loose leash walking, waiting at thresholds (doorways, entrances, etc.) waiting calmly for food, place command (staying on a bed, mat or other object until allowed off), socialization with dogs, socialization with people and most importantly everyday real world training with the sights, sounds and smells of a busy city environment.
We bring your dog 95% of the way.
We’ve found that to ensure the highest success rate possible, we bring your dog 95% of the way through the rehabilitation process and then work with you step by step to complete the last 5%. We require private training sessions once a week throughout your dogs stay with us where you the owner are included in the rehabilitation process along with an elaborate go-home session. We’ve found that this provides owners with a clear understanding of what the dog has learned, is learning, their progress and how to reinforce the dog’s new balanced behavior through consistency and structure. By doing this it let’s the dog associate it’s owner with it’s new structured and balanced lifestyle.
We address all forms of behavior problems such as, but not limited to:
- Dog to dog aggression
- Food or toy aggression
- Anxiety
- Hyper/Over-excited
- Crate training
- Nuisance barking
- House breaking
- Separation anxiety
- Fearful, nervous, unsure
- Leash reactivity
- Leash pulling
- Not coming when called
- Jumping (people/furniture)
- Excessive barking
- Digging
- Counter surfing
- Chewing
- Growling
Our Lifetime Follow-Up Guarantee
All of our Behavior Modification, Training & Psychology programs come with a lifetime follow-up guarantee.
We want our dogs and families to be happy and successful throughout the lifetime of their dog. That means we’re available to assist you by phone, text or email with advice when needed.
If you need to see us again, our guaranteed program allows you to schedule a visit at our location and work on anything you may not have clearly understood or are still having some issues with. Truthfully, our training works so well that our clients very rarely require follow-ups but those who do will always receive whatever they need to be happy and achieve their goals.
We’ve had so many life changing success stories and have gained so many amazing relationships with our clients over the years. We’d love to have you join our pack and become our next success story! What are you waiting for?! Contact us today!
What our customers are saying…
“My suggestion would be to not even waste anymore time reading this review and call Steve right now! I honestly do not know where we would be today if we did not find Pack Leader Dogs. Steve has transformed our dog into the balanced, happy, and confident companion I always knew he could be. These guys are absolutely the best in the area for any of your dogs needs.”