Photo: Sarah Whorley Up Close <strong>and</strong> Personal <strong>San</strong> <strong>Diego</strong> <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>SPCA</strong> Behavior Trainer Anna Lindahl works with Boba, a two-year-<strong>ol</strong>d Havanese, while his pet parent Diana Duong marks Boba’s good behaviors with a clicker.
cover story One-on-One Training Helps Pets Succeed For many pet parents, training consists of a few puppy classes or basic manners courses. However, for other pet parents, group-training settings don’t always serve the needs of their pet. For example, how would you train your pet if he were too shy to leave your home, or he simply didn’t like to be around other pets? Luckily, <strong>San</strong> <strong>Diego</strong> pet parents with this dilemma have a wonderful resource available to them right here at the <strong>San</strong> <strong>Diego</strong> <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>SPCA</strong>. The <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s Behavior <strong>and</strong> Training Department offers in-home <strong>and</strong> private training sessions <strong>and</strong> behavior consultations for pet parents in need of one-on-one or in-home training help. For friends <strong>and</strong> roommates Kathy Muth <strong>and</strong> Doreen Rock, training their one-year-<strong>ol</strong>d Miniature Poodle Abby hasn’t been easy, but they say it would have been nearly impossible without the help of the <strong>San</strong> <strong>Diego</strong> <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s in-home <strong>and</strong> one-on-one training sessions. Group puppy classes were too overwhelming for Abby <strong>and</strong> the trainers didn’t have the time to dedicate to Abby’s particular needs in a group setting without detracting from the positive class experience of other students. “When we first started training Abby we had trouble getting her to calm down <strong>and</strong> she also had issues with being touched,” said Doreen. “So we got on the Internet <strong>and</strong> found the <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s services – now life is livable <strong>and</strong> we have peace in our house.” On a recent sunny day in June, Kathy <strong>and</strong> Doreen brought Abby to the <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong> for a private training session with <strong>San</strong> <strong>Diego</strong> <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong> Behavior Trainer <strong>and</strong> Certified Pet Dog Trainer Margaret Lenoir. As Kathy walked with Abby through the <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s courtyard, Margaret walked by her side <strong>and</strong> gave Kathy moment-by-moment commentary on how to encourage all the good behaviors Abby exhibited. Whenever addition, seeing the pet <strong>and</strong> family Kathy was unsure on how to proceed, members in the home setting can also Margaret was right there with an answer. give trainers better insight into why pets “Private training <strong>and</strong> behavior are having issues <strong>and</strong> how pet parents consultations are a great answer for can most effectively modify their pet’s those who need a professional to give behavior. them their full attention <strong>and</strong> insight “ ‘Margaret’ has become a househ<strong>ol</strong>d into their pet’s personal training needs,” word for us,” says Kathy. “We didn’t said Margaret. “And of course, one-onone training can give you personalized Abby’s undesirable behaviors, but having know how we were reinforcing some of insight on how to apply training to your Margaret come to our home helped us everyday life.” figure it out. As a result of our at-home The <strong>San</strong> <strong>Diego</strong> <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s training, we’ve been able to branch out Behavior Training Department offers <strong>and</strong> take Abby through several of the private training sessions <strong>and</strong> behavior <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s advanced group dog consultations both at home <strong>and</strong> at the training classes.” Thanks to the <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s private training <strong>and</strong> behavior consultations, pets are able to succeed in life, form better bonds with their human families, <strong>and</strong> stay in their homes. <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>. Training sessions, which are $75 per hour at the <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong> <strong>and</strong> $100 in-home, focus on the physical training techniques that will help pet parents succeed with their pets. Behavior consultations on the other h<strong>and</strong> are $150 at the <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong> or $175 in the home <strong>and</strong> include an initial one-<strong>and</strong>-a-half hour session as well as an additional one-hour f<strong>ol</strong>low-up session. This allows pet parents <strong>and</strong> trainers to meet <strong>and</strong> discuss the pet’s particular behavior modification needs, devise a training <strong>and</strong>/or management plan <strong>and</strong> then f<strong>ol</strong>low-up with the implementation of that training. For many pet parents, in-home consultations <strong>and</strong> training sessions are the most convenient, <strong>and</strong> make the most sense, because it allows the trainers to see the pet in a contr<strong>ol</strong>led environment where the pet is most comfortable. In Thanks to the <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s private training <strong>and</strong> behavior consultations, pets like Abby are able to succeed in life, form better bonds with their human family members, <strong>and</strong> stay in their homes. For the pets <strong>and</strong> pet parents whose needs don’t fit the traditional group-training scenario, the <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s private behavior <strong>and</strong> training services offer a viable <strong>and</strong> effective s<strong>ol</strong>ution to building <strong>and</strong> maintaining a strong bond between tw<strong>ol</strong>egged <strong>and</strong> four-legged companions! Interested in the <strong>Humane</strong> <strong>Society</strong>’s private in-home <strong>and</strong> on location training <strong>and</strong> consultations? For more information, visit www.sdhumane.org <strong>and</strong> click on “Resources,” or call (619) 299-7012, ext. 2273 to schedule a private training or consultation. SW AnimalFare • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2007</strong> www.sdhumane.org 5
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