Belinda has owned and operated Before ~N~ After Dog Training for over 13 years and is a Professional Dog Trainer and canine wellness coach.  She helps owners change behavior and meet the needs of their companion animals with a novel approach to working with clients in their homes both in person and via zoom with clients Coast to Coast.  Her novel approach focuses on Genetics, Environment and Lifestyle as the pillars to Health and Wellness in dog(s) and their behavior.

 

Why is dog training your job and passion? 

A very long time ago I realized that our lifestyles were changing but things for our dogs were not changing.   Our ancestors had been breeding dogs to do jobs for centuries and now those skills are no longer needed.

people buy dogs based on their looks or preconceived notions of what that look represents without understanding what they have been breed to do.

We place our dogs in our homes and everyone goes to work or school and the pup is not doing a job or being socialized or trained all day and it makes them go a bit crazy. 

What I found was that dog's who aren't able to do their job or what comes instinctively can become extremely destructive and annoying when they are bored and left to their own devices. 

What needs to occur is that we need to teach our dogs how to behave rather than allowing them to run off of their instincts.

So we temperament test a dog to determine what it likes and has a tendency to do and create a reasonable outlet to use those instincts while also teaching them when it is acceptable or not acceptable to be behaving that way.

So, rather than dominating or submitting a dog to do what we want we work with an understanding of the dog's needs to get a well-behaved dog.  Assisting people in understanding their dog's unique personality and how to work with their dog and build their bond.  That is what keeps me teaching, training and learning about animal behavioral science.

 

Why should people choose in home dog training?

When your dog is exhibiting undesired behaviors like barking at everyone that walks by, jumping on your guests or begging at the table it creates contention in your home.

When you get home you just want to love your dog, not be annoyed that they are barking at every single thing, jumping on guests or begging at the table.

We don't need the added stress or necessarily know how to deal with it.  So, in home dog training curtails all of the nuisance behaviors at the source.  If your dog is practicing crazy at home, then we cannot expect them not to practice crazy when outside the home.  We can teach the dog what I call don't do that do this... so a dog that is always under foot in the kitchen is taught to stay just outside the kitchen or a dog that is begging learns to go settle in a bed or on a mat away from the dining area.  You can quickly get a calm well mannered dog with in home training packages that meet the demands of your busy schedule.  We train your dog while you are home or while you are away at work.  When you come home your dog is offering the new learned behaviors in place of the crazies…

 

What kind of dogs do you train?

We train all breeds regardless of their size, age or temperament with tailored programs for their handicaps and size differentials.  We specialize in helping families whose dogs are deaf or blind or just going through the normal developmental stages.

 

You have 2 types of Consultations.  What is the difference between a Behavioral Consultation and a Wellness Consultation?

At times there may be an overlap between the assessments but fundamentally the behavioral assessment is to teach your dog what you want it to do in place of the behaviors you want to change.  Both consultations begin with a root cause analysis, we discuss your issues and determine if they stem from genetics, environment or lifestyle and then put a plan in place.  A plan can include management techniques, training protocols, changes in schedules, feeding and diet.   So whether it is seperation anxiety, fear and phobias or the triggering of chronic ear, eye, skin or GI issues. We conduct the tests to determine your dogs unique genetic predisposition to address the physical and physiological issues that are presenting in your dog.

 

You have three signature programs.  Can you tell us a little about Cooperative Care, Small Breed and your Puppy program?

The puppy program targets the first year of life as we go through the developmental stages we are able to predict normal problems and make them less of an issue.

A chewing, jumping potty in the house management training 8 weeks to 5 months or lunging, ignoring not coming when they are called at 10 months .

The small breed program is quite clear, there are a lot of techniques for different dogs and they get lost in translation when we have a height challenge.

I have pulled together dog tricks and tips to help people with the yap,  marking and soiling amongst others.

Cooperative care - My favorite program is helping families to get their dogs to accept grooming, vet visits and general care.  Many dogs go berserk and teaching them to handle the stress is really beneficial and an important aspect to the health and wellness of your pet.  If you and your dog avoid the vet or grooming then they may not be getting the grooming or healthcare that they may need.

 

How can people get in contact with you BNADOG.COM