FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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WHERE ARE YOUR LESSONS HELD?

Our lessons are conducted at Paws and Claws Pet Care Inc. located at 23 Linden Park, Penfield, NY 14625 unless otherwise discussed with your trainer. Please park on the blank side of the building with two large bay doors. Your trainer will meet you there and bring you inside.

Later Advanced or Behavior Mod lessons are held in home, or in public, based on the needs of your dog.

WHAT TRAINING METHODS DO YOU USE?

Every dog and owner that we work with have different needs and goals. There is no cookie cutter way to train a dog. Our trainers have experience with all types of methods and use the techniques we believe are best for your individual dog.

Positive Reinforcement is an important staple of dog training. Good behaviors should absolutely be rewarded with things like food, toys or praise. On the other hand, we believe there should be consequences for some bad behaviors. Those consequences could be as simple as a pop on the leash or a squirt with a spray bottle. If we believe it will benefit your dog, we may recommend (but do not require) additional training aids such as prong and e-collars.

WHAT IF MY DOG ALREADY KNOWS THE BASIC COMMANDS?

That's great! Many of the dogs that we train already know some commands. We will bring those commands to a new level and show you how to have your dog doing them around heavy distraction. We can help turn household "tricks" into real life obedience. Lessons are done at your dog's pace. If they are mastering the basic commands quickly, we can move on to more advanced commands or new places.

DO YOU OFFER BOARDING OR BOARD AND TRAIN PROGRAMS?

We do not offer boarding or board and train programs. For stay-and-train style dog training we recommend our friends at Finger Lakes K9. Find them at www.fingerlakesk9.com.

DO YOU TRAIN AGGRESSIVE DOGS?

We work with aggression on a case by case basis. If we have determined your dog may be one we are willing to work with, we will most likely ask you to come in for a one hour consult to discuss goals and possible courses of action.

We will rarely take on aggression cases if it is towards the people that live in your home, especially if children are involved. There is no simple "fix" to aggression. Having an aggressive dog in your home is a significant risk to your family and in many cases becomes more about management than actually overcoming the aggression itself. Putting the safety of your family in jeopardy is a red line we are not willing to cross.

DO YOU TRAIN THERAPY AND SERVICE DOGS?

In short, no we do not.

Therapy dogs have a specific temperament and are meant to go into places such as retirement homes, schools and children's hospitals. These dogs enjoy interactions with all people, are environmentally confident and have at least mild obedience training. This type of work entails much more than most people think. The dog and owner are a team registered with a therapy dog organization. You are usually required to have training, complete a background check, log your hours and pay a fee. We recommend you find a trainer that works with a therapy organization to assess your dog and put them through a training regiment that leads to certification.

Service dogs are the super heroes of the dog world. These dogs are most often chosen at birth and put through rigorous amounts of training to do a specific task. They are willing to ignore any distraction and drop what they are doing at all times to assist a human with their task. We recommend you seek out an organization that works with a specific disability that you believe a service dog can help with.

Most dogs are not capable of therapy, and especially service work. We are commonly asked to train service or therapy dogs simply so their owner can attain housing or take their dog on a plane. It is unethical and we will not entertain this idea.