Strumsky K9 Services (2025)

27/05/2024

DO WHATS RIGHT FOR THE DOG

"I just want what's best for my dog" - Every dog owner, although few actually mean it. Truth is, most owners want what is best for themselves, not the dog. And the sadder truth, most dog owners do not even understand what is best for their dog and need to be educated. Some get it, some dont, especially if it complicates their lifestyle. This also means that most owners settle for the closest, cheapest or most convenient dog trainer and rarely get what is best for the dog.

"I can do that for you, no problem" - Almost every dog trainer, especially if they think you're going to pay them. They will say they can do whatever you want done and majority will never consider if the owners goals line up with what is right for the dog. They will jump right in using various manipulation tactics to create behaviors all while neglecting the emotional well-being of the animal. I truly believe that many dog trainers don't see dogs, they see dollars and what is right for the dog goes out the window as long as the money goes in the pocket.

Approximately 60% of the training inquiries I receive I do not take on. This is never because of the dog or their issues but always because of the owner. I can spot trouble from miles away and I have no problem letting people know that we are not a good match and should seek out another trainer. Some say this is a bad business move. I find it is an excellent move because I only want to work with the owners who truly want to learn and do what is best for the dog. The owners who put their dog first. The owners who want to learn how to create the best possible relationship with their dog without depriving the dog of basic needs and living as a micromanaging control freak.

Doing what is right will change with every individual dog, so cookie cutter techniques don't fly around here. Every dog is motivated and reinforced differently. Unless of course you deprive the dog of food and force their biggest reinforcement to be something you control. One of my favorite quotes from my mentor, Ivan Balabanov, is this

"As a trainer, you are not the one who gets to decide what is reinforcing to the dog..."

See, many trainers will avoid anything the dog truly enjoys or that arouses them for training in fear of losing control of the dog. They will always be kept "under threshold" and forced into training interactions through manipulation tactics, normally withholding food, and will only be interested in the training because they know that is how they can eat their meals. Putting a dog into survival mode is never a good place for them to be when you're trying to teach them something you want them to retain and it is definitely not what is right for the dog.

I get so many calls with the same story. The dogs know behaviors in the home or back yard but as soon as they get into the real world everything is out the window. There's a very simple explanation for this - the reinforcement YOU have chosen for the dog is not reinforcing TO THE DOG in these situations. When something more interesting comes along, you lose control. Then what becomes most of the advice out there? Make them hungrier, use higher value treats, correct them harder, just more manipulation tactics that never end. Never is there a thought of changing the relationship and dogs perception of the world and how to interact with it. I like to think that maybe these trainers don't know how to achieve this rather than they just don't care, but that's a big hope.

At the end of the day, every dog owner and every dog trainer has a choice to be better or to continue doing the same things that don't work for so many dogs. Dog training and ownership should never be about manipulation tactics basing your relationship on what you can control. Relationships should be based on interactions, activities and experiences that both sides love, enjoy and are more valuable to the dog than anything else. This is so possible with every dog. It just takes some time, attention and understanding that your dog has real feelings and isn't just a simple minded creature scavenging through life looking to earn their food.

Learn to build a beautiful, healthy relationship with your dog. Not a toxic and controlling one. Your dog will appreciate you so much more for allowing them to do what they love to do instead of just giving them their food. Take your training and relationship to a new level!

Pictured: Board and train, Lola, showing what she finds more interesting out of the ball and her treats 😉

19/01/2024

Snow day fun! Halia vs The Snowman

10/01/2024

"All those tools...won't make any difference if you don't understand the basics..."

That was something the lead mechanic said to me when I was an HVAC apprentice 17 years ago. Before I trained dogs professionally, I spent many years in the HVAC field as a service technician- troubleshooting, diagnosing and repairing.

When I started out, I spent time learning from 2 different mechanics. One, had 22 years experience...and all the latest and most advanced tools with all the bells and whistles, a fancy toolbag with tools that always looked brand new. His van was always nice and neat.

The other mechanic, 8 years experience, his toolbag was a 5 gallon bucket with a few tools that had seen better days and his van looked like a bomb went off 💣

It didn't take me long to figure out who was playing the part and who was the real deal, though. And it wasn't the guy with all the fancy tools.

Actually it became very clear, pretty quickly, that this guy didn't know that much. He knew just enough to get by for a long time. And all these fancy tools that were suppose to help diagnose problems were just compensating for what he didn't know how to do. He could identify problems, but rarely the cause. He, sometimes, could provide band-aid fixes, but because he did not have a real understanding of the systems and their basic principles of how they work, finding the actual cause and a real solution didn't happen often. In fact, most times as soon as he wasn't there, the systems were not working again.

So, if you haven't connected the dots by now, here you go. The guy with the 5 gallon bucket was a far better mechanic and teacher. Why? Because the tools didn't matter as much, he had a much better understanding of the basic principles of how these systems fundamentally operated. Even if there were some differences from system to system, the basic principles, or concepts, of how they functioned always remained the same.

Now, I'm NOT saying he didn't own or use certain tools for certain jobs. What I am saying is, the tools were never the basis of solving problems. Understanding the system was and THEN tools were used where, when and how they were needed.

So what does any of this have to do with dog training!? Maybe you've realized...maybe not.

But my point is this. Find yourself a 5 gallon bucket dog trainer. Someone that understands the basic principles and concepts of training dogs. Someone that does what is needed, when it is needed and not just because its easier that way. Someone that can explain why and how things happen for you and your dog in a way that you understand and isnt just using the tools to make things appear in a way they are not and in a way that won't last when they aren't around.

Don't get caught up on how many tools are in a toolbox or how nice things look on the surface. Dont get caught up on the size of a facility or all the cool training accessories they can offer. Dont get caught up on the fancy terminology and lingo. Because as the 5 gallon bucket mechanic told me, and I will tell you..

"All those nice tools look good and all but they won't make any difference if you don't understand the basics of what you're working on. No matter how advanced your tools are you will never solve complex problems if you don't know the basic fundamentals and why the problems are happening in the first place. Otherwise, you'll be addressing the same problem for this thing's whole life."

Not every professional is a professional. And that goes for any type of work. There are always people claiming they can do jobs they cannot. Dog training is no different. Choose wisely.

07/01/2024

Working on guarding, or the 'bark & hold' exercise in IGP, with Halia Ot Vitosha

31/12/2023

Lately I have been seeing alot of talking from trainers, both in the force free and balanced camps, that are trying to sell this idea that "a hungry dog is a good dog". There is always the analogy of humans must earn their paycheck, so the dog must earn their paycheck as well. And this is an extremely flawed way of approaching dogs and training. They might as well just say "keep your dog on the brink of starvation", because that's exactly what happens.

This is almost the norm for many trainers. They do this because, especially for behavioral cases, they do not know how to address the underlying and core causes of these problem behaviors, IF they can even identify them, SO they rely on a hungry dog that will choose treats, or their daily meals, over everything else. And when that doesn't work, what happens?

You guessed it. Make them hungrier. Skip more meals. Train them shorter. Use less food.

These dogs are no longer earning their "paycheck". These dogs are now earning their life through a means of survival. Never getting the opportunities to experience any sense of freedom to do activities that they may truly enjoy. And why does this matter?

How many people go to their 9 to 5 to earn their paycheck and still hate their job? But that same person can leave work and go do another activity, where they're not earning a paycheck, and possibly even paying a price, to do something that they truly enjoy doing and not because they must.

I hate to be the one to say it, but most dogs that are "earning their paycheck" or working for their meals do not enjoy that "job" and would much rather be doing something else with you that is intrinsically satisfying to them.

And some may argue how happy the dogs look in training. And I bet they do also, when they are getting their only food of the day to do what you ask. But how do those dogs feel during the other 23.5 hours of the day? Do you consider if they actually enjoy the life you are giving them, to be in a constant state of survival mode when you say go? And that is the basis of the entire relationship. It doesn't matter if you then play with them sometimes. They still know.

Hate to be the one to tell you this too, but all of that controlling resources and earning a paycheck nonsense is going to get alot of people hurt. Because it only works until it doesn't. And maybe for some dogs it does but it doesn't change the fact that this does nothing for the core problems. Don't address them and some dogs will say, at some point, F THAT PAYCHECK.

After years of working with extreme behavior cases and taking on dogs that other trainers had refused to work with, or had failed with, one thing has become very clear. Real, healthy and meaningful relationships are not built over food (ice cream, maybe) and having success with those dogs would not have happened without that type of relationship and everything that comes along with it.

There are much better ways to build a relationship and interactions with dogs than by making their most valuable time with you a time that they must feel the need to survive. It's extremely unfair that you get to decide what they should enjoy and is also totally not necessary for any type of behavioral modification or basic training to be successful. This is not REAL control. Constantly controlling resources is a very unhealthy and manipulative relationship. And dogs are smart enough to know it. And some of them will teach hard lessons when they get sick of it.

I hope in 2024 people can start to move away from some of these ideas that dogs are happy this way or that this is "the way" and realize that just like you probably hate your job, so does your dog.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!! SEE YOU IN 2024!!

Strumsky K9 Services

27/05/2024

19/01/2024

10/01/2024

07/01/2024

31/12/2023

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