I don’t know that I would say my approach is completely different from every other trainer. There are a lot of very good trainers out there, and I’ve been fortunate throughout my career to learn from some of them.

What does make my perspective different is the sheer number and variety of dogs I’ve personally trained. By now, I’ve personally trained well over 20,000 dogs. That experience gives me a very different reference point when I evaluate and train a dog.

After working with that many dogs, you begin to recognize patterns—but you also learn very quickly that no two dogs are exactly alike. I’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, what works for one type of dog but not another, and how dramatically different dogs can respond to the same technique.

So when I’m standing in front of a dog today, I’m not approaching that dog with just one training system or one set of assumptions. I’m drawing from decades of experience and a very large reference point.

I’ve also been fortunate to learn from some excellent trainers in very different disciplines. I’ve worked with and learned from sport-dog trainers, service-dog trainers, protection and working-dog trainers, and trainers with different philosophies and specialties.

I’ve taken something from each of those experiences.

I’ve also learned a tremendous amount simply by training dogs.

You can read books, watch videos, attend seminars, and learn different techniques, but eventually you have to put that knowledge to work with a real dog. And real dogs don’t always follow the textbook.

Some methods work beautifully with one dog and don’t work nearly as well with another.

That’s where experience becomes important.

Keeping an Open Mind

One thing that has always been important to me is keeping an open mind.

I don’t believe there is one magic training method that works perfectly for every dog.

I’ve learned through experience, trial and error, observation, and working with thousands upon thousands of dogs that you have to be willing to adjust.

If something isn’t working, I don’t keep doing it simply because that’s the way I’ve always done it.

I ask:

Why isn’t this dog responding?

Is the dog confused?

Is the exercise too difficult?

Is the dog distracted?

Am I using the wrong motivator?

Does the dog trust me?

Does the dog understand what I’m asking?

Does the dog need more time?

Sometimes the answer is very simple.

Sometimes it takes some digging.

But the objective is always the same:

Find what works for that dog.

The Dog Has to Buy In

One of the biggest principles that influences how I train today is the idea of buy-in.

I don’t want a dog simply going through the motions.

I want the dog to understand that working with me is worthwhile.

That means figuring out what motivates the individual dog and using that motivation to create a desire to participate.

For one dog it might be food.

For another it might be a ball.

Another dog may work for a toy, praise, physical interaction, or something else entirely.

The reward isn’t the point.

The motivation is the point.

I want the dog to develop the attitude:

“I understand what you want, and I want to do it.”

That’s when training becomes much more powerful.

Functional Training Is Important to Me

I also believe training should be functional and reliable.

I don’t want to teach a dog a behavior simply so it looks impressive during a training session.

I want the behavior to have value in everyday life.

If I teach come, I want that recall to mean something when the dog is distracted.

If I teach stay, I want the dog to understand that staying means staying—not staying until something more interesting comes along.

If I teach place, I want the owner to be able to use that behavior when guests come over or when the household needs the dog to settle.

The commands are tools.

The real objective is creating a dog that can function successfully in the owner’s real world.

Experience Gives You More Tools

Having worked with such a broad range of dogs has also taught me that sometimes the answer isn’t obvious.

I’ve worked with puppies, older dogs, working dogs, highly trained dogs, dogs with behavioral problems, fearful dogs, reactive dogs, aggressive dogs, and dogs that simply had never been given any real structure.

Every dog teaches you something.

That’s one of the things I love about this profession.

Even after all these years, I can still meet a dog that makes me think:

“Okay, let’s figure this one out.”

And I enjoy that challenge.

Because the experience I’ve gained over the years gives me a larger toolbox, but it doesn’t mean I assume I already know the answer before I’ve met the dog.

The dog gets a vote.

Results Matter

Ultimately, I try to stay focused on results.

Not appearances.

Not labels.

Not doing something a certain way simply because that’s how it’s always been done.

If a technique produces a reliable, balanced, motivated dog and helps the owner communicate more effectively with that dog, that’s what matters to me.

At the same time, I believe training should be fair to the dog.

I’m not interested in creating obedience through fear or simply forcing a dog through an exercise.

I want the dog to understand what is expected, have a reason to participate, and develop the habits that make good behavior increasingly natural.

My Philosophy Has Evolved With Experience

If I had to summarize what decades of training have taught me, I’d say this:

Stay curious. Stay flexible. Pay attention to the dog in front of you.

The techniques I’ve learned from different disciplines have given me a foundation.

My own experience has expanded that foundation.

Trial and error has taught me what doesn’t work.

Training well over 20,000 dogs has given me an enormous reference point for understanding how different dogs learn, what motivates them, and how to adjust when something isn’t working.

And keeping an open mind has allowed me to continue learning.

That’s probably the biggest difference in my approach today compared with when I first started.

I’m not trying to force every dog into the same system.

I’m trying to understand the dog, find the right way to communicate with that dog, create buy-in, and develop behaviors that are reliable and useful in real life.

Because ultimately, I don’t want to simply train a dog to perform.

I want to teach the dog how to succeed.

And I want to teach the owner how to continue that success long after the formal training is over.