Training | DR Dog Care

Group Training

4 week level 1 basic obedience training class: €90
4 week level 2 advanced obedience training class: €100

Level 1 is suitable for puppies & newly adopted older dogs.

Level 2 is suitable for dogs that have completed level 1 or dogs who are already at a similar level of training.

One-to-One Training

(within 5kms radius of Ennis)

One-to-one house call for 1½ hours: €110
1 hour one-to-one training: €70
½ hour one-to-one training: €40

Outside a 5 km radius of Ennis there is a travel charge of €10 per 5km round trip. For example, Corofin is 14km from my house. Deduct 5km and that leaves 9km. An extra charge of €18 would apply.

You can easily check your distance from Ennis by using the EirCode Website.

Behaviour Consults

A behaviour consult involves modifying an already learned unwanted behaviour, such as barking for attention, guarding food or articles, or aggression towards people or dogs. It involves getting a detailed history of the dog, including vet records and a vet check-up may be advised in some cases to rule out pain as a motivation for behaviour. A minimum of two consults must be booked, 2 weeks apart. These may be in person or via zoom, depending on the issue. I may include a home visit or look for videos of the dog’s behaviour. A detailed look of the dog’s day to day life, including exercise, training, environment, intra household relationships and mental stimulation will help provide a potential motivation for the behaviour, and therefore a way forward to help re-educate the dog. You will be asked to potentially make changes to the dog’s routine, exercise, feeding and commit to basic obedience training as well as the personalised behavioural modification plan.
Prior to committing to this, a one-to-one training session must be booked to assess the dog and the relationship and to start the training exercises which will support the behaviour modification plan. In mild cases, small changes to the dog’s routine and management can be enough to solve an unwanted behaviour, making a full behaviour plan unnecessary. You can decide this after implementing the training and advice during the training/assessment one-to-one.

€300

per dog - (not including the cost of the initial one-to-one).

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New Training & Behaviour Options

Join the private Facebook group with 2 hours of video tutorials, lots of written content and links to you tube lectures. Find more information here

€25

lifetime access.

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Training Ethos

I place a strong emphasis on building a strong foundation with your dog, through an abundance of one-to-one quality training and playing with toys. Understanding your dog’s basic genetic traits will help you develop outlets for that behaviour through play. This is then a powerful motivator for your dog and getting your dog to play with you is the most powerful way to foster a lifetime bond. You can then use toys to reward good behaviour and encourage focus on walks and in public. Teaching your dog to focus on you when on walks will result in a well-trained dog that can enjoy off leash exercise whilst remaining under control.

Many training and behaviour issues can be resolved by examining the dog’s daily routine and what may be lacking in it. Boredom and lack of exercise are the root cause of many ‘problem’ behaviours I am consulted about. Regular exercise, opportunities to safely chew and opportunities to exhibit natural behaviours are essential to a dog’s happiness. If you expect your dog to relax on the couch with you after a hard day’s work, you must ensure his emotional and mental needs are met first.

Dogs must understand their place in the hierarchy of the home. Rules must be taught early and kindly to set your dog up for success. Commands such as ‘Off’, ‘Quiet’ and Leave it’ are invaluable in helping your dog to understand what you expect of him. Dogs don’t understand house rules or human language so it’s our duty to teach them kindly what we expect.

If you’re looking for a dominance/pack leadership type trainer, that’s not my style. I am a vocal opponent of any electrical shock training, choke chains or prong collars and any outdated painful aversive techniques such as alpha roles or physical punishment. Likewise, if you’re looking for a trainer who will refer to your dog as a fur baby, that’s not me either. If you’re looking for someone who respects and loves dogs for what they are and trains with understanding, compassion, fun and common sense, that’s my focus – so please call me!

A house call is suitable for puppy training and advice as well as for anyone who cannot commit to training classes. It is the only option when dealing with behaviour issues such as aggression, separation anxiety, attention seeking behavior, destruction, barking and guarding.

One-to-one training covers basic training such as sit, down, lead walking, recall, leave it, and some unwanted behavioral issues on lead such as lunging and growling at other dogs.

All clients receive a document outlining the training techniques used.

Training is offered with a strong focus on understanding the genetic traits of your dog and what makes him tick. Food and games with owner with toys are used to reward positive behavior and to increase bond with the owner. Learning how to use your emotions with your dog to increase and decrease behaviour is a powerful tool which I utilise and is highly effective. Mild sound aversions are sometimes used to influence and decrease more extreme behaviour, so they are lessened and then the calm relaxed behaviour can be rewarded. This is only undertaken with the full cooperation and understanding of the owner.

The aim is to have a respectful, fun, balanced and loving relationship with your dog, which should be enriching and satisfying for both the owner and the dog.