Incredible Canine Incredible Canine is the vision of Patrick O'Connor and Lorna O'Connor. They have over 60 years experience training dogs for show and service. Patrick O'Connor Pat has been training dogs since 1972 and has trained over 9,000 dogs to date. He is recognized internationally as an expert in his field. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs including "K9 Cops" and the Discovery Channel where he was interviewed extensively about his views on training. While his specialty is training police dogs, he truly enjoys bringing the best out of every dog he trains, whether it's a police dog, a competitive sport dog, or your family pet. Lorna O'Connor Lorna has been training dogs since 1980 and has trained thousands of dogs. She specializes in behavioral problem solving. She has put 46 titles on 28 of her own dogs in the show ring and competitive obedience arena. She has also trained dogs for police and narcotics work. Lorna is wonderful with people and shows patience with a smile. Our Natural Approach to Training Why aren't we all positive? In the long run it doesn't work. You can't build the all-around affectionate and obedient companion we all want with just one tool. It just isn't natural - no mother in nature, human, dog, or any other animal, uses this one-sided approach. While behaviors are strengthened with positive reinforcement, you must use some negative consequence if you want an undesirable behavior to go away. Were you (or your children) raised without ANY consequences? Why don't we use treats? We believe it's the lazy way to train. We give the dog what it craves the most - our love and affection - and we always have it with us! The foundation of all real obedience lies in the positive relationship between you and your dog; praise, play and petting reinforce and strengthen this bond, being a human "treat dispenser" does not. What do we use? We use the natural approach. We guide the dog toward the behaviors we desire and reward lavishly with verbal and physical praise and fun games. We believe that a healthy, natural relationship in the DOG WORLD is based on rank (dominance/subordination), as well as the drives for social bonding (pack drive), and physical interaction (play drive). When you use a treat based training system you do get a conditioned response from your dog, but only under "training conditions" - not when you have no treats, the situation is different from class, and you're not in "training mode" - in other words, not in real life. This is because that kind of system does not address the social dynamic that is so crucial to a dog. Our training produces a dog that works for you because you are the leader and what he wants is your approval, affection and guidance, not a cookie. So, where does compulsion come in? Once a dog has learned a command and has clearly demonstrated that he understands that command, we believe that a refusal should be dealt with by giving a consequence. The consequence can be as minor as a stern look, a verbal correction such as "No" or it can escalate into a leash correction. There is a level of correction that is appropriate for each dog and each situation. In fancy terms it's called an escape reaction threshold. Knowing when to use corrections and using them properly takes experience, patience and finesse. The correction appropriate for a 6 month old lab that refuses to sit is light years from that required by a five year old pit bull that is trying to start a fight. In order for a correction to be effective, it must be just enough and never too much. Dogs learn from the beginning to accept physical corrections from their mother and other pack members. They are "hardwired" to learn through consequence. It's what has allowed them to survive as a species. In Summary We use both positive reinforcement and negative consequences. Why limit ourselves to only one tool when dogs must benefit from both in order to have a natural relationship with you as the pack leader.