We have 1.3 seconds to influence our dog’s understanding of cause and effect. Sometimes we have even less time. Having great timing is critical to clear communication with our dog.
We must provide a consistent set of rules for our dog. This is important to maintain to minimize conflict within your dog. The more consistent we are about creating and maintaining behaviors, the faster these behaviors become habitual.
One of the first steps of the training process includes charging the marker with something that’s meaningful.
Through this, an action that is ordinarily mundane to the dog (the sound of a clicker, a vocalized command, etc.) obtains meaning through following it with what the dog wants (for example, food). This is how your dog will learn to respond to all of your commands.
During this process, we believe it’s important to understand the timing between the cue (the marker) and the reward. All we want is to mark the specific behavior that we desire from the dog. We are careful to include a split-second delay between giving the marker and reaching for or delivering the reward. This way, your dog understands the difference between the marker and the reward. Otherwise, dogs can become confused by things like misplaced body language, potentially ruining their training.
What will make a dog work? Food, pets, a ball or toy; anything physical that they enjoy.
We extinguish behaviors with correction collars that provide an uncomfortable feeling. We can also withhold rewards to create a negative, and make bad things go away to create a positive experience. We use positive and negative reinforcement and punishment, classical and operant conditioning.
MUST be done first and foremost. If you just recently brought a new dog into your home and you're not sure what's next, this is the place to start. During this lesson we will go over basic care, management and training philosophies. This is the first step towards entering any of our Full Potential K9 training programs.
Starting at $100.00
Our Board and Train program is our best program for getting results quickly. You drop off your dog, and we do the work for you!We put in hundreds of repetitions, and that’s what it takes to teach all the behaviors the correct way. We have programs specifically for puppies, for friendly but untrained dogs, for service dogs and for behavioral cases such as aggressive and fearful dogs.
Starting at $2,800.00
One on one training for you and your dog. Want to be more involved in the training process? Private Lessons with one of our Full Potential k9 trainers are held at your home. One of our most popular programs, and a great option for anyone who wants to learn how to teach their dogs how to learn!
Starting at $100.00
Once you and your pet meet certain prerequisites, you can join our semi-private group sessions to work in a controlled group setting with 5-10 other owners and their pets. Group classes are held Wednesday Nights and Saturday during the day at various dog friendly locations so we are able to generalize behaviors.
Starting at $40.00
A FREE phone consultation is available for all dogs.
We do appointments by scheduling only as we are not open to the public. No dog is permitted on our property without undergoing a complete behavior assessment and temperament test.
Where do I begin. My husband works for a company based in Florida but runs the Boston office, we are back and forth a bit and wanted to take our French bulldog, bear (his name) with us. Bear was trained with a sit command but that is really where it ended with his discipline. I wanted a dog I felt comfortable flying with. We did a bunch of research and came across Full potential K9 inc. After reading through their webpage we set up an appointment with the owner. He came to our home, met us, met Bear and did a bit of an evaluation. We settled on a customized board and train program. The next day, with a huge lump in my throat I dropped bear off to The owner/founder/head trainer Dillon. He was very kind and respectful of the fact that it was really hard for us and that for me particularly hard. Bear is an emotional support dog for me and Dillon was going to start the process of getting him to service dog status. Within days of Dillon having our dog, we all discovered a bunch more about Bear, good and bad that needed work and extra attention. Bear was a bit slow to learn as Dillon had to first work on behavior modifications such as crate and sometimes people reactivity. The constant communication we had with Dillon whether it was a quick text, video or phone call was vital for us in getting through giving up our dog for what would end up being almost ten weeks. Dillon as well as his whole staff, was available when ever we needed anything. They also went above and beyond with vet visits, filling prescriptions and respecting Bear’s need to be on very specific dog food. After a few weeks of training my husband and I had a long FaceTime chat with the staff (we were back in Boston at the time) about Bear’s progress, and difficulties. The honesty, detail, love and compassion the whole staff had for Bear was evident. We as a group decided to extend Bear’s training and really dive into a bunch of commands and boundaries we all knew would be best for both bear and his owners (myself, my husband and our two children). WHAT A GREAT CHOICE!! The leaps and bounds he has make with listening and following a bunch of commands is unreal. Bear is now home with us but it is unbelievable how much he has learned and how much we have all learned. Dillon went the extra mile by meeting me several times in high traffic areas like Home Depot so that Bear and I could be tested and perhaps occasionally fail. Dillon was right there, to get us back on track. The other piece of this perfect puzzle known as full potential K9 is their care and detail in teaching the owners. I really didn’t appreciate my role in keeping Bear safe, happy and successful as a well mannered animal. I think at the end of training we all agree .. the owners are the harder ones to train;) so THANK YOU TO THE WHOLE STAFF AND a special thanks to Dillon and Emma for giving me back my dog with all these amazing tools to be his best self! When you leave the training facility and the loving staff you know you have a new, extended family in them. They made it clear and have checked in often to let us know they are one phone call or visit away if we ever need anything! Don’t walk.. run to Full potential K9. If dogs could talk they would thank you for that;)
