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METHODS







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A dog does not have to play to stay alive. That being said, healthy, secure dog whose needs are met - will always play. Positive reinforcement training with food can sometimes create false positives for owners dealing with behavioral issues. Why is this? Because a dog might lie to me about how he is feeling to get a food item, where he will not pretend to play if he doesn't like or trust me. This is why we use play, not only as a training tool, but also as a barometer to see where your dog falls on the layered stress model, to identify their triggers, belief system, level of trust, and the depth of their trauma.
 
Play is the universal language between all animals, so you can deeply impact your own dog by learning "The Language of Play." There are a few universal "games" that dogs enjoy, and there are a few extremely important elements within those games that make them reinforcing to the dog. Wrestling, tag, fetch, tug, and hide and seek are a few of these games that we leverage not only develop cooperation, but also to teach a clear communication system on which we can create the foundations for obedience. 
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I do use plenty of food in my training if a dog is having trouble trusting enough to play at first. But I use food in a way that is fun and looks like play. If you go to my YouTube channel, search "The Yoyo Game," and you'll see what I am talking about. There is something in these games that involves the elements of prey, competition, possession, and mystery. They allow the dog to channel arousal, vent off aggression, and develop a clear and consistent framework for communicating the "yes" and "no" coding that allows me to build and extinct behavior.
 
Every once in a while, we will do some undeniable, inevitable "work," or dog obedience, but we will make it fun. This is the stuff that other trainers will do ten lessons with you on, and you'll learn how to force your dog into submission instead of cooperating with their biology. My mindset is, "If it's not fun, it's not forever."
 
MISSION

My Mission and my passion is to introduce you and your dog to the best version of themselves and to invite you into a level of freedom that is rarely seen in the dog owning community. ​​My passion lies in creating prediction errors for the dog and their owner so that your belief system about that dog, and their perception of self, handler, and environment all change dramatically. Most all of my clients are dealing with dogs with whom they have deeply seated trust issues because of their own past traumas. 
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Most people would assume that I am helping humans with dog issues. 90% of my job is actually helping dogs with human issues. The dog will tell me everything I need to know about you as the handler, and we will work together to rebuild the partnership with clarity, consistency, cooperation, and communication.
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MOTTO

Now that I have conveyed to you how extremely different we are from other balanced trainers who would be more willing to turn your dog into a robot than to actually train the dog, I want to explain why our motto, "Training Dogs Together," is so important. All the training that I do with your dog is temporary, because you are the one living with them. That is why 90%+ of my job is changing the human habit, coaching through mistakes, and cleaning up your understanding of the goal, the journey, and the ultimate result.
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At Allegiant Canine, we offer private lessons, group classes, drop in sessions, in-home stay & trains, board & trains, and even adventure and pack walks. I can't think of another company that offers all these services but who also executes them in a way that serves the dog and owner for the express purpose of long-term behavior rehabilitation. That is why we will continue to doggedly pursue the highest standards set before us by our teachers who respect the nature and agency of canines.
 
I thoroughly enjoy what I do, and I have been training full time in my own business for 8 years now, have rehabiliated close to 350 dogs, and have trained so many more in off leash obedience. Whatever behavior your dog is showing you, I can guarantee that we will work to better understand the behavior, the dog, your environment, and your capacity before we put together a training plan. Once we're all on the same page, we will train your dog together.
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Matt Burnett
Owner, Allegiant Canine
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