Philosophy

Our mission at Cosmic Canine is to create lasting bonds and harmonious relationships between humans and their canine companions through respect, knowledge and integrity.

Our clients often arrive to us when their bond with their dog is broken or in danger of breaking. The relationship is often dysfunctional or damaged and they are not able to enjoy the company of their dog, or the relationship is hindered by any number of behavioral problems. The dogs, through lack of understanding of what is expected of them, have often developed behaviors and habits that make it difficult or impossible to enjoy their company. 

It’s Not Just About The Sit

While formal obedience commands such as “sit,” “down,” and “come” are important, learning these commands are just the tip of the iceberg. Our dog training philosophy is that good dog training creates harmonious relationships between humans and dogs more than just commands. A well-trained dog knows how to make choices and offer behaviors even when not told what to do. A well-trained dog also knows to comply when the formal commands are given under all types of distraction. Formal obedience commands are of limited value if your dog only listens in the house when nobody is around. Finally, none of this training has any value if YOU, the owner, does not also learn.

A Comprehensive Approach

The founder of Cosmic Canine started this business out of a love of dogs and passion for training as well as a first hand understanding of what people need when they seek training help. To be successful, a board and train program has to have these three parts:

Many board and train programs only focus on the first part, training the dog. Only training the dog will not bring lasting success and harmony to your home. Both the dog and owner must be trained and a management plan created to manage any problem behaviors and issues.

Over twenty years ago, our founder had a first-hand experience with board and train programs that shaped how we approach the training programs today. She learned, the hard way, that board and train programs that just train the dog comply with obedience commands does nothing to help the real problems at home.

Training the Dog

At Cosmic Canine, our training is customized to your dog and your needs. When your dog arrives at Cosmic Canine, we immediately start to get to know your dog and learn their personality. Shyer dogs have a settling in period where we focus on confidence building and making them comfortable. Outgoing pups, their skill training starts right away! It is customized to your dogs, your needs and all depends on how your dog adjusts to being in a new place and working with new people. No two dogs are alike, therefore we take the dog's personality into account when forming their training plan.

Training means teaching the dog important skills to help it them understand human communication and successfully adapt to the human world. Depending on the dog’s issues and needs, training could range from confidence building, to teaching positive skills to replace problematic behaviors, to advanced obedience to give highly active dogs productive and positive “jobs” to do.

 

Our customized training programs encourage dogs to think and offer behaviors, teaching them to make good choices! Dogs going through our behavioral program learn to respond to what was previously negative stimuli in a new, positive way. Dogs in our basic and advanced obedience programs learn obedience skills which translate to positive alternative behaviors, more freedom to have fun, and more rewarding interactions.

Training the Owners

Teaching the humans is always the hardest part! When you come to pick up your dog, your dog is trained and understands many new things. Now it is your turn to learn! We teach you

How to maintain your formal obedience training

We teach you to be your dog's trainer for life! We teach you how to continue to maintain your dog's training and even move forward on your own. 

How to properly interact with your dog when not doing formal obedience

You are constantly communicating and training your dog whether you like it or not. Formal obedience has it place, but you must also learn how to communicate with your dog and understand your dog the rest of the day. This is where the real world training comes into play.  You will learn simple techniques and concepts that will help you and your dog live together successfully!

How to properly use the training tools you are given

Training tools are as good or as bad as the person using them. Leashes, clickers, and training collars all must be used properly. We show you in step-by-step lessons how to correctly use the tools your dog understands.

Proper Management

Learning proper management for your dog is extremely important and key to lasting success in our dog training philosophy. We explain to you what is fair and reasonable to expect from your dog based on your dog's breed, temperament, and energy levels, and how to manage your dog's day to set them and you up for success.

After your dog's training, we develop a management plan based on your specific challenges and your dog's specific temperament, energy level and needs. When you pick-up your dog at the end of the program, we give a management plan and instructions for you and your dog.