FAQs

When you are teaching your dog new commands and skills, you should be practicing a minimum of 20 minutes per day. Additionally, you should be using commands throughout your daily life. For example, have your dog sit while pouring their food and then use your release word to let them know they are done with their command and can go eat.

In order to stay consistent, I highly recommend that everyone is involved with the training. We need to be fair to your dog and everyone needs to be following the same set of rules. If there is more than one person working the dog per day, each handler can do a 20 minute session. Try to keep an hour between formal training sessions.

For children, it depends on their age, willingness to participate, and the size/strength of your dog. They should understand the rules and expectations for your dog. During private lessons I can work one-on-one with your family and your dog, and show your child(ren) how to work with the dog. I can evaluate what skills the child can practice and show them how to be successful. Please note that all children should be supervised when training your dog.

This will vary, depending on what your wants and needs are. While group classes are very structured (see below for specifics on those), private lessons and board and train programs can be catered specifically to your dog. I like to keep things simple and easy to remember. Basic obedience commands that I teach are: HEEL, SIT, DOWN, STAY, RECALL (COME, FRONT, etc), FREE WALK, STAY (holding a command/position more than 2 minutes), PLACE, STAND, DOWN IN MOTION, and SIT IN MOTION. I also offer specialty training which includes a variety of different command options.

This is a beginner's level class, focused on on-leash obedience, solving common behavioral problems, controlled socialization (not playtime), and basic animal care tips (nail trimming, nutritional caused behavioral problems, grooming, and proper toys and games). The commands that will be taught are free-walk, heel with Automatic-sit, Sit, and Down. We also work on controlled greetings with each owner approaching another dog and owner.

This is an intermediate level class, focused on finishing up the on-leash obedience commands in order to begin the transition to off-leash work. All of the commands from Level One will continue to be worked on with more distraction work and challenges. The commands that will be taught are place (stay on their bed, but they can do what they want), stay (for both sit and down, holding the position 2+ minutes), down from the front, sit from the front, recall (come), and square off 90/finish.

This is an advanced level class, focused on the transition to off-leash obedience. All of the commands from Level One and Two will continue to be worked on, both on-leash and off-leash. The new commands that will be taught are: DOWN IN MOTION, SIT IN MOTION, and STAND.

YES! I am certified to train service dogs, retrieval, personal protection, utility and tracking. Reach out to Zabrina directly for more information and pricing.

In formal obedience training the reward that your dog will receive is both verbal and touch praise. Zabrina typically only use treats when trying to work on object desensitization. For example: your dog is afraid of the vacuum cleaner. She will request that you leave the vacuum cleaner out in the room (not running to begin with) and have you place treats on it that your dog will have to be brave enough to go grab.

A release word is how you maintain control of the command your dog is in. For example, if you tell your dog to "SIT", they need to hold that position until you use your special release word OR until you give them another command such as "HEEL". The choice of word is up to you, but please choose wisely! Common release words are "FREE", "RELEASE", "BREAK", and "OKAY". The release word is one that your dog will learn very quickly!

Yes! We are currently accepting new students in private lessons and group classes. Weekend board and train programs are booked out until February 2023. If you'd like to get on the wait list, reach out to Zabrina. There will still be a limited amount of one day intensive training options available, contact Zabrina directly for more information or to schedule. Reservations for board and train starting in November will be on a first come/first serve basis starting in October (with required deposit).