All of our staff are certified through the CCPDT, and adhere strictly to the humane hierarchy. Many people call us "positive reinforcement" trainers, which is an accurate approximation. We tend to recommend the use of rewards to create behavior patterns we like, versus focusing on the behaviors we don't like. Due to the very high risk of unintended learning associated with certain tools, we are very unlikely to recommend the use of prong collars, e-collars, or similar.

For specific equipment recommendations, check out this page.

Free Dog Trainers' philosophy focuses on setting you and your dog up for daily success. We want training to be something that happens throughout your dog's life and is built into your daily life. We work with you to design a training plan that feels doable for you, and help you understand what options are available for you and your dog. When it's not working, we're here to help troubleshoot and make adjustments as needed.

Dogs aren't machines that can be taken to a technician to have their behavior problem "fixed." 

Our main goal is to identify what the dog's current emotional response is, and focus on changing that emotional response. When we change the emotion, we change the behavior.

The most common behaviors we work with are leash reactivity, general fear or anxiety, jumping/mouthing, and puppy-related challenges.