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Positive Dog Training. Positive Results.

A Better Pet LLC strives to provide the tools you need to help enhance the human-animal bond.  Wherever you are in the journey — there is a service for that.  Don’t see what interests you?  Living immersed in the world of animals, we might be able to help steer you in the right direction. Have questions? Contact us.

Selecting and using the right training equipment to help guide your dog in positive ways can be daunting with all the directionless options out there.  Many are downright mean and counterproductive to developing a trusting relationship with your pet. Here we have gathered the tried and true. And we teach you how to use them the right way, and as positive aids in training.

Check back frequently or consider subscribing as we’re constantly trying to update to meet the disparate needs of dog owners locally and beyond.

PRIVATE CLIENT SERVICES

For detailed information, visit our Private Client Services page. We offer:

• Private Training In-Home Single Sessions (All services usually begin but always include a private, 4 hour intensive session)
• Service Dog Training
• Refresher Sessions
• Aggression Cases
• Unlimited Email/Text/IM Support
• Distance Learning (includes both pet and working dog training)

SERVICE DOG TRAINING

A service dog is a dog trained to mitigate the disability of his or her owner. The disability could be visible or invisible, medical, emotional or psychiatric in origin. Disabilities often fit into more than one category. Some of what we offer are:

• Help acquiring a suitable puppy or dog candidate for adolescent and/or adult clients.
•Evaluating an existing dog for suitability for service dog training.
•Guidance in various forms in teaching you how to raise & train your dog for service.
•Support, coaching, linking to appropriate additional resources, etc.
•Advocate if/when necessary with systems including mental health, schools (IEP), PT, OT, etc.
•Public Access Guidance
Service Dog Training comes with a variety of levels of intensity and support depending on your needs. This is not a cookie cutter approach to the process but rather partnering a person with a dog for the purpose of providing a defined function based on need. Costs for services based on a mutually agreed upon plan. No obligation phone consult available by appointment.

DAY TRAINING

Stumped on how to achieve your goals in basic manners? Want your dog to learn and exercise both mind and body while at work? Day Training may be just the service for you. Your dog(s) can receive direct training whether you’re home or not. Day training can be a short or longer term solution to getting through those “sticky wickets”. Prerequisite: Private Training In Home Session. East Side Location ONLY.

DIP [Drop in Play]

Think of Drop in Play as A Really Cool Dog Park With Lifeguards.  Join others in an enriched environment in a safely fenced in yard with lots of things to do. Sniff, race, play, wade/swim (seasonal), cavort, learn, relax. Dogs go home tired. Owners learn about the value of Calming Signals, appropriate versus inappropriate dog play, the working value of The Six Pillars of Dog Training Wisdom and so much more.  FREE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP (prerequisite is Private In home Training) but requires RSVP’s.
To participate in Drop in Play, you’ll need to sign this waiver.

Dip – Drop in Play from Rachel Friedman on Vimeo.

 

Here at A Better Pet LLC we cannot emphasize enough the importance of off leash dog/dog play. Young, middle aged or old, large, medium or small, dogs need the opportunity to be with their own kind — it is from their own species they best learn. The learned become teachers. Young dogs develop social skills in a safe, structured & dog friendly environment. Check our calendar for schedules. And see the trailer below for examples of play activity.

BOARD & TRAIN

Intensive 3, 7 or 14 day Board & Train services. Additional days available on a per diem rate. Whether you’re going away on a trip and would be boarding anyway, or you want intensive focus on specific issues and/or goals. Contact us for or pricing. Individualized for your needs and price INCLUDES reintegration session of up to 1 hour. Private Clients Only. Advance reservations required. BOARD & TRAIN CONTRACT

 

 

BOARDING ONLY   

Boarding is available by partial days, full days, overnights at flat rates as shown in contract. This service is for dogs who have gone through private in home training and who have basic manners. It is NOT a training experience, simply a housing in a loving house with other dogs (and possibly cats) where your dog will be cared for. Private Clients Only. Advance reservations required. BOARD ONLY CONTRACT

ONLINE LEARNING: THE SIX PILLARS OF DOG TRAINING WISDOM 

An online course by Rachel Friedman, founder and owner of A Better Pet, LLC, The Six Pillars of Dog Training Wisdom is a helpful, easy-to-understand introduction to the no-force training method Rachel has developed and used successfully for over 20 years and with hundreds of dogs, all of whom go on to be better pets, service dogs or therapy dogs. Part I, The Foundation, now available on Vimeo, demystifies the dog training process and shows viewers how training can easy and fun for people of all ages and abilities. 

Here are a few or the topics covered in The Six Pillars of Dog Training Wisdom, Part I:

•The 6 Things all Dogs Should Know
•Your dog’s learning style — and your own
•How does no-force training work?
•What causes dogs to “misbehave”?
•How to get your dog’s attention anywhere, any time
•Three factors which make learning a challenge for your dog
•Three tools which make it easier for your dog to learn

Part I: The Foundation consists of 19 short videos which you can watch repeatedly and/or download for the introductory price of $37.  Rachel is currently at work on Part II of the series, The Six Things All Dogs Should Know. 

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TRAINING TRAINERS

Learn more about the exciting opportunities and cutting edge information available in the virtual world of animal training. All you need to dip your toe into considering dog training as a profession or avocation is a computer and online access. Check our Training Trainers page [COMING SOON] for more details.

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CAT CONCERNS

Cat behavioral problems are common and very often fixable. Felines end up losing their home, and often their lives, for “crimes” that frustrate their owners. Problems addressed in Cat Consults include, but are not limited to:

Aggressive behavior
Destructive behavior
Spraying
Abandoning litter box
Disturbing your sleep
Hiding
Integrating with new cat/dog/baby/home.

GROUP TRAINING

On hiatus! Consider Drop in Play (DIP).

RESCUE

We offer through the courtesy of PETFINDER, a forum to help great animals find great homes. To learn more about how to REHOME or ADOPT please go HERE. See our Rescue page for detailed info (coming soon).

THERAPY/AAT TRAINING

Therapy Dogs, by formal definition, are dogs used by professionals in a work environment to help or aid in a therapeutic way. Best behavior and good manners are a must for dogs used in public settings.  Often a single session creates the perfect framework with which to guide your dog in a work environment. Additional support available. To learn more, contact us.

Animal Assisted Activities, or AAT, is the use of a dog trained to go with an owner/handler into a nursing home, hospital, hospice or other facility to spread good cheer. The Six Pillars of Dog  Training Wisdom is the perfect program for identifying if your dog is a good candidate and where he or she might be be suited as well as helping guide towards great success even if there is a rocky start!

Details about Therapy/ATT dogs and their training can be found HERE.