We look forward to working with you and Your Amazing Dog & joining you on your training journey!
Custom Reactivity Classes
Does your dog bark, pull, or lunge when you encounter any of the following on your walks?
Other dogs, strollers, specific types of people, skateboarders or bikes?
Reactivity classes are designed to help you improve the ability of your dog to walk on leash around these triggers and be able to maintain a calm demeanor and low stress level. We will work with leash handling techniques as well as teaching you to read your dog closely to be able to reward the behavior that we want… calm dog who is sure that we have his or her back and that we give him/her the tools to manage their emotions in these situations.
Classes are one-on-one for the time being and can either be held at your home, assuming that we can find a relatively distraction free outdoor space, or at my house in the front yard, where we have the room to increase and decrease distance to your dog’s comfort level.
Once we have the coping behaviors installed, we will take it on the road and make sure that we can teach your dog to use the same tools in different environments. I have a few good places to go for this purpose!
Reactivity Classes (Private)
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Customized Lessons
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In Person Practice with your Dog
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Homework Assignments to practice skills between sessions
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When you are ready, will take you and your dog's skills on the road
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Your Trainer is available by email, for a Zoom session, or by phone for a maximum of 1 Hour in between sessions to help problem solve any issues that you may be having.
Puppy Training Package
Private Puppy Training Sessions
This package will give you and your puppy a basic foundation for learning, we will also work on puppy management throughout the 7-sesssion course.-
We will create a management plan to deal with the exciting challenges of bringing a new puppy home to include housebreaking, crate training, creating a safe environment for your puppy, and more.
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We will work on foundational skills such as bite control, leave it, basic leash walking, sit, and drop, just to name a few skills!
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You will learn the basic principles of training so that you can teach your dog tricks and skills going as they get older.
In Home Basic Manners Class
The Basic Manners In- Home class can include all interested members of your family! This class takes about 7 weeks with 1 Hour weekly sessions. Skills Include:
Humans:
- Learning to use a clicker to mark behaviors.
- Learning to read your dog’s body language from big cues to subtle.
- Learning how to use your body to influence your dog’s behavior through leaning, moving away and towards your dog and more.
- Safe Leash Handling skills and how to effectively use the leash to control your dog.
Dogs:
- Settling on a mat.
- Sit, Down, Stay
- Recall
- Loose Leash Walking.
- Emergency Exit procedures from tricky situations.
- Polite Greetings
- Self-Control
- Advanced Leave It!
- Fun Learning Games for everyone to join in!
Private Basic Manners Class
In-Home Class with your family members-
In-Home Training with your family members and the distractions in your environment
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On-Line Coaching between classses
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Written Materials and Training Plans with Tracking Tables
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Access to the Trainer via email for 3 months after the class.
Training Walks
Training Walks are designed for Owners who would like to have more training sessions for their dog and do not have the time to be present for all of these sessions. Your Trainer will pick your dog up for a walk and train skills for the first third of the scheduled time, go for a walk the second third of the scheduled time, and then play a training game for the last third of the scheduled time.
You will be given a report for each walk and emailed a homework assignment. When the set of skills that you and your Trainer have decided to focus on are installed, then you and the Trainer will meet to do a skills transfer session in which you will be coached as to how to cue your dog to get the behavior. This may include going to settings that you select and testing the training and your comfort level before moving on to another set of skills.
This is also a great alternative to a training boot camp when you are on vacation! You can book an in-home Pet Sitter and then book a week of Training Walks during the day when you are away. When you come back, it will be to your dog who has new skills or improved behavior!
1 Hour Training Walk
This is the best length for time for a Training Walk and a good Learning to play ratio!-
15 Minute Skill Training at the Beginning of the Walk.
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30 Minute Walk for Exercise
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15 Minute Learning Game at the end of the Walk
Separation Anxiety Behavior Modification Program
Separation Anxiety is a very serious issue that many pet owners are having to deal with especially post Covid. While your dog may bark when you leave for a bit or be a bit sad when you leave, Separation Anxiety is marked by the dog going into a state of panic and not being able to recover on their own. Behaviors can range from pacing and drooling, shutting down and shaking, barking, frantically trying to escape, destroying property or even rise to the level of the dog inflicting self harm.
There is a process to help the dog get through this and develop the tools to be able to manage their emotions. It is slow and requires patience, diligence, and close work with your Trainer to guide you and your dog through.
Working with Seventh Heaven makes this process a little bit easier since we offer wrap around services such as pet sitting and dog walking for when you need a break from the protocol. Many of our Pet Care Specialists are Fear Free Certified and are familiar with the sensitivities of Anxiety prone dogs.
Please read the article on Separation Anxiety that I wrote with help from Dr. Amy Pike of the Animal Behavior Wellness Center in Fairfax for my blog to get more detailed information.
I look forward to working with you. Jenny Stevens, Head Trainer & Owner
Separation Anxiety Behavior Modification Program
This program is for pets experiencing Separation Anxiety and requires daily communication between the Client and the Trainer in addition to the ability to take and share video.-
Daily Check-Ins and Missions to gradually acclimate your dog to being alone.
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On line tracking of time and
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