What is "The Alternative Way"?

The Idea

The Alternative Way is based on an understanding. This understanding is that dogs are intelligent, emotional beings. With intelligence and emotion, dogs are capable of incredible levels of learning, understanding, and co-operation.

The Alternative Way taps into our dogs' ability to learn, understand, and co-operate. Every dog has this capacity, and every person can learn to unlock their dogs' abilities. The Alternative Way Dog helps people bring out the best in their dogs.

We believe a dog should never be trained with any technique meant to frighten or intimidate. The ideas and techniques we teach to our clients are educational and fair - never bullying or harsh.

The Tools

The success of The Alternative Way lies in the education our clients receive - The Alternative Way "Building Blocks", which combines an information session about general dog behaviour with a private session (usually at the client's home) that addresses the individuality of dogs and their families. This combination empowers our clients with a clearer understanding of their dogs' behaviour, and enables them with effective, simple techniques to make the desired changes in their dogs' behaviour.

We think of dogs as part of the family. To truly integrate into a family household, a dog needs to learn how to behave appropriately according to our expectations. Our dog training programs are built specifically to help dogs integrate successfully into a human family household.

The Result

Using the understandings and tools taught in The Alternative Way, clients develop the ability to confidently handle their dogs in every situation. With The Alternative Way, dogs are taught how to handle themselves more calmly and reliably over time.

The Alternative Way not only teaches dogs to obey commands, but more importantly it focuses on teaching dogs to make good decisions whether they are being commanded or not. Dogs are given clear and simple guidelines for behaviour. As a dog learns to follow these guidelines, he or she becomes more reliable, co-operative, and enjoyable.