Absolutely not! Have you ever acted up in class and had a teacher look at you from across the room and you immediately stopped what you’re doing? The teacher doesn’t hurt you or yell at you, they don’t even tell you what to do, you just know you need to make a different choice. That is pressure. 

We use it as humans all the time, and it is what dogs use to communicate. Pressure does not hurt a dog. Pressure might come in the form of gentle pressure on a leash, or from our body language and eye contact. This quiet form of communication helps your dog choose a calm state of mind.

Dogs are pack animals who are hardwired to crave leadership. This will involve some structure in the home to get your dog to understand that the humans of the home are their leaders. This is not because we don’t love and adore our dogs, this is because we want to show them love and affection in a way that builds respect, not confusion.

Check out some of our longer programs which include some verbal commands like “Come” and “Drop.” While we offer verbal commands in a few of our programs, we are not obedience style trainers. The reason we opt not to use many verbal commands and treats is because those things create excitement in a dog’s brain and we would rather teach calm. However, once you work with us to lay the foundation for a calm dog, you are welcome to layer in verbal commands at your discretion!