R. I. Dog Guy teaches dog owners the latest, positive techniques for training and socializing their dogs through group classes and in-home instruction. R. I. Dog Guy also provides consultation and advice on common behavioral problems such as housetraining, chewing, excessive barking, digging or destruction of property. For serious issues such as aggression, resource guarding or separation anxiety, we assist families in management and behavior modification, working in conjunction with veterinarians and other animal professionals as required.
Our Vision
All of our dogs and people will have long, happy, healthy lives, characterized by mutual respect, joy and lifelong companionship.
All training at R. I. Dog Guy is “dog-friendly.”The APDT defines “dog-friendly” training as “training that utilizes primarily positive reinforcement; secondarily negative punishment, and only occasionally, rarely, and/or as a last resort includes positive punishment and/or negative reinforcement.”
The APDT definition is “dog nerd” talk for training in a humane and respectful way, and never deliberately abusing or injuring a dog.Translated into everyday language, this statement means that we train by relying on dogs’ natural tendency to seek rewards for their behavior.We train dogs to do the things we want by using positive rewards (tiny food treats or brief play sessions) to reinforce their actions.At R. I. Dog Guy, we don’t punish or correct dogs using “positive punishment” and “negative reinforcement” devices such as choke, pinch or electronic collars.Rather, we strengthen the behavior we want and if the dog engages in an unwanted behavior we use “negative punishment:” a gentle reminder or withholding of a reward, to get the appropriate action.
Dogs have emotional reactions to events in their worlds. This is what underlies many of the fears that dogs experience.In our training, we say, “Dogs make connections.”So we help our dogs become well-adjusted family members by making pleasant connections with people, places, objects and events.
Dogs, unlike people, rely mostly on their bodies to communicate with one another.Have you ever seen your dog “play bow,” by stretching forward on his front legs, or saying “I’m friendly” by wagging her tail?In teaching our dogs to perform behaviors such as “sit” or “down” we first use hand signals to communicate with the dogs in their native language, and later add human words as cues.We find that dogs learn more quickly when we talk to them in their own language.
Finally, we conduct all of our training step-by-step to ensure that dogs learn each behavior thoroughly before moving on to more complicated commands.Dogs need to learn first in low-distraction environments before they can perform in more challenging conditions.So we provide you with concise instructions for “proofing” your dog’s performance so that you will be able to take her into the world with confidence!
If you have questions about this approach, or would like to observe a class before registering, email info@ridogguy.com or call (401) 339-2398.
Positive Training for Lifelong Companionship info@ridogguy.com (401) 339-2398
