Frequently Asked Questions:

What does my dog do when he is at Performance Dogs?

If your dog is signed up for workouts, once he/she gets to the park we start the day with several pack walks to allow the dogs to meet and greet, and burn off some energy.  During the workout your dog will participate in numerous pack walks, if lure reactive he/she will run many laps around the park.  Some dogs are good at pulling the weight sled, this activity helps focus their attention on a task and works them out both mentally and physically.  Swimming is a big part of the workout, if the water is above 50 degrees we swim!  We get in the pool with the dog and will lead them around the pool, alternating from clockwise and counter-clockwise to work out both sides of the body.  Some dogs can just be held in place and they paddle away getting a low impact workout.  The agility obstacles are used to as exercise equipment.  Each dog depending on its capabilities will go over each obstacle 20+ times during a workout.  All the activities your dog participates are in a pack setting, so proper social skills and basic obedience commands are reinforced with each workout.

My dog is aggressive toward other dogs, can you help?

The simple answer is yes!  The first step is a behavioral evaluation, please email or call Sallie to set up an appointment.  Once we determine the type of aggression (fear based, unstable dominance, etc.) we are going to be correcting we will create a plan of action for the behavior modification.  In a controlled setting we set up the conditions which cause the unwanted behavior and make the correction in the moment.  Corrections are made human-to-dog or dog-to-dog.  Our trainers and pack dogs are trained in the art of behavior modification.  We put ourselves and our dogs in harms way when doing this type of work, the result is a modified dog that was spoken to in dog language. 

You say you are an "Anti-Humanizer", what does that mean?

It means that we believe in DOG.  Dogs are dogs, and humans are humans.  Humans are at the top of the food chain for a reason we evolved and developed speech, the ability to use tools, we developed alphabets for writing, the ability to domesticate wild animals, and the ability to use those domesticated animals as tools themselves.  All dogs were bred for a purpose of some kind, dachshunds are badger hunters, Rhodesian Ridgebacks were used to hunt lions, and Australian and German Shepherds were used to herd livestock.  Understanding the original purpose for each breed, and the behavioral characteristic that ingrained instinct can create is important when we work dogs of different breeds into our pack.  Because we celebrate the purposeful dogs we try and expose them to instinctively stimulating activities. Treating a dog as a dog, and not as you would a human, means you don't try to reason with a dog, you don't worry about hurting its feelings.