Quarterback K9 Training

Quarterback K9 Training Family dog training in Charlotte, NC; full obedience programs, behavior modification. Balanced dog training and behavior modification.

We love to help people live in harmony with their dogs!

Corrections and reinforcement: Whether you have a puppy who barks in his crate or a dog who growls when new people come ...
09/22/2024

Corrections and reinforcement: Whether you have a puppy who barks in his crate or a dog who growls when new people come into the house, it is not enough to just correct the behavior. Correct, yes - but spend most of your time teaching and reinforcing the behavior that you actually want!

For the puppy, this means progressively conditioning them to be in the crate and reinforcing when they are not barking. For the dog who growls when new people come over, this means progressively conditioning them that when new people come over, nothing bad happens so they don’t need to be growly and will be reinforced when they are quiet and neutral.

Progressive conditioning means starting at the spot where your dog is comfortable. For the puppy this may be walking into the crate and being quiet while you walk 5’ away. For the nervous dog this may mean being in their crate with the new person 20’ away or walking with them 8’ apart.

Then you systematically, over days and weeks, progressively increase the challenge by 1-5% each time. The best way to do this is to practice several short sessions every day.

For example, the puppy can walk into the crate and be quiet while you walk 5’ away. If you walk out of their sight at 6’ they start barking. So, you practice at 4’, 5’, reinforcing that. Then you try 5.2 feet for one second and they are quiet! Great - go back to the crate and they get a piece of food, reinforcing that. Then you try 5.3 feet, 5.4 feet both successful and reinforced - then give them a break and practice again later that day, trying for a bit further each time.

Continued in comments.

The best gift you can give your shy/ anxious/ fearful/ nervous dog?  DIRECTION. These dogs are the ones who capture our ...
09/02/2024

The best gift you can give your shy/ anxious/ fearful/ nervous dog? DIRECTION.

These dogs are the ones who capture our attention. They pull at our heart strings. We see them suffering and we want to help. In an effort to make them feel more comfortable, many people remove boundaries and what they see as pressure. Meaning, these dogs are allowed to have free roam of the house and yard, they are allowed unrestricted access to personal space like beds and couches, they are rarely crated and allowed to “choose” where they want to be at any given time.

I get called in as a trainer to help these dogs when they start displaying behaviors like reactivity, resource guarding, inability to settle, not wanting to eat or shutting down completely.

To the surprise of their people, these dogs often start turning around the very first session, with some simple and kind direction.

The command we usually start with is “place.” This is an easy way for dog and person to work together and have success speaking a shared language. Person shows dog how to do something new. Dog may not be sure about it at first, but is reinforced and rewarded for following the direction. When they achieve it, both dog and person are happy! Their confidence and mutual trust gows!

Then we work on walking together, in a manner where the person is leading the dog. The dog learns to follow this person who they are learning to trust. Dog feels relaxed, grateful that someone is taking the lead. Their confidence grows even more.

We also look at structure within the house. We go over how the crate is such a helpful and kind gift you can give your dog. Crating at night and when you are gone, as well as feeding the dog in their crate, can help a nervous dog feel reassurance that the crate is their safe spot within the home, and will always be there if they need it.

We also cover how the best acclimate the dog to new environments. You guessed it - baby steps of directed exposure, setting the dog up for success.

In the absence of direction. the majority of anxious dogs will progress very little, and many will regress. Direction and leadership provide dogs with immense comfort and confidence!

The most underrated technique in dog training? REINFORCEMENT. The second most underrated technique? Reinforcing BABY STE...
08/29/2024

The most underrated technique in dog training? REINFORCEMENT. The second most underrated technique? Reinforcing BABY STEPS and building progression towards your end goal.

Corrections absolutely have their place in shaping behavior but correcting a dog will only take you so far. They can quickly become desensitized to corrections if it is the ONLY thing we do to try and change their behavior.

If a dog isn’t behaving the way we want, they truly don’t know how!! If we think we have taught them and they still aren’t behaving the way we want, we have to do better. We have to do things differently.

The most effective method to teach your dog is to spend time clearly showing them what we expect and reinforcing that behavior. Which is why we spend a lot of time working on teaching and reinforcing baby steps towards the overall goal of everything from walking on a leash, how to sit still to put a collar on, how behave in the house, and how to behave around other dogs and in public.

Think about how many steps can you take towards your end goals. There is no limit!

🐾 The easier the small step is to teach and learn, the more you and your dog’s confidence will grow; you will start working better together and you will reach your goals more quickly. 🐾

Take the time to clearly show your dog the direction, one small behavior at a time, reinforcing and repeating that step and then pausing between practice sessions to let the dog absorb what was learned. This is absolutely the most effective time way to teach your dog new behavior in a way they will understand.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions! Always happy to help you & your dog reach your goals. QBK9.com

Crate training: is it really a part of our dogs living their best life?The concept sounds odd, right?  Put your dog in a...
07/31/2024

Crate training: is it really a part of our dogs living their best life?

The concept sounds odd, right? Put your dog in a cage when you leave the house and at night to sleep. Your trainer may also suggest that you put the dog in the cage even if you are home and can’t supervise the dog.

How can this be helpful to our dog? They are active, living beings. How can training them to willingly go into a cage be part of a good life for them?

Imagine you have just moved and will be staying with a family member while you look for your own place. They warmly welcome you, but never really show you where you can sleep, where to put your stuff, etc.. They are on call for work so you also never know when they will be there on not. And they have two roommates that come and go as well. How would you feel?

Yes, you could just ask them but can your dog really ask you when they are unsure? If they can, do we all pick up on it?

When we bring a new dog into our home, the dog will feel much more comfortable if we orient them to where they will be able to safely rest, eat and sleep. Unlike humans, the majority of dogs prefer a small den instead of an actual room. This is why we will often find a dog laying under the table!

Likewise, dogs who are not crate trained and always have full run of the house when left alone, may also feel unsettled, even if they have been in the household for a while. This is especially true if the dog has developed behavioral issues.

When done the right way (incremental conditioning with positive reinforcement), crate training helps your dog settle easily and feel much less anxious about life overall. All good things happen in the crate! They are fed in there. It is their individual space. Your dog will feel safe and appreciate the consistency.

By training our dogs to use and enjoy their crate, we add to the construct where our dogs absolutely can live their best lives. Of course, a balanced day including exercise and play is essential as well.

We all know the safety reasons behind crate training. The added bonus is a well adjusted state of mind that carries over into all other aspects of behavior and everyday life!

Gracie and her mom absolutely crushed it on their field trip lesson today!! Gracie has always been a happy go lucky pup ...
06/28/2024

Gracie and her mom absolutely crushed it on their field trip lesson today!! Gracie has always been a happy go lucky pup but after being attacked by another dog (while out walking on leash) she has understandably been a bit fearful and reactive when she sees other dogs on her walks.

We put together a home program with lots of things that Gracie’s owner can do with her daily to rebuild her confidence and trust in their partnership.

Slowly over time we worked up to going for field trips like this, at first practicing in controlled environments and making sure that Gracie and her mom were communicating very well. This foundation leads to better navigation in more distracting environments like today.

I am so super proud of them for putting in all the daily work!! 🤩

Our foster dog Marlowe has come so far from being a scared little pup in a busy shelter to being a fun loving dog playin...
06/08/2024

Our foster dog Marlowe has come so far from being a scared little pup in a busy shelter to being a fun loving dog playing with Lemon & Durango! She is ready for her forever home! Please share this post - she is available for adoption through Billies Buddies Animal Rescue ❤️

The young pup and the old pro… foster pup Marlowe  and our Durango. Catching these two soaking up the sun yesterday and ...
03/14/2024

The young pup and the old pro… foster pup Marlowe and our Durango.

Catching these two soaking up the sun yesterday and it hits me.. 12 years between these two… there are years of beach trips, mountain hikes, car rides, games of tug, chase, playing fetch, trails explored, sticks carried, socks carried, greetings when you come home, holidays and birthdays unwrapping chew toys and tennis balls, kisses right across your face, snuggles, sweet moments and so much love.

I’m already preparing myself for when Marlowe finds her forever family.. This is the bittersweet and hard part of fostering and it never gets easier no matter how long you’ve been doing it. We love her so much! She has a beautiful lifetime ahead of her and we are just helping her get ready! ⛰️🐾🩷🌻

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from our  family to yours! ✨❄️🎄🩷 We have so much to be grateful for this year, includin...
12/25/2023

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from our family to yours! ✨❄️🎄🩷 We have so much to be grateful for this year, including all of you, our friends & QBK9 family! Here’s to a wonderful 2024!

Address

Charlotte, NC
28216

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17042199453

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