We use Prongs and high quality E-Collars to ensure we are using the most gentle and safe tools possible to communicate effectively. Prong collars are designed to protect a dog’s neck and throat/trachea when leash pressure is applied, intentionally by a handler or unintentionally when a dog lunges. E-Collars are micro muscle stimulation tool like a tens-unit used in physical therapy. E-Collars create a low warm tingly feeling and we use it positively and negatively to perfectly customize your communication system by layering it over Verbal Commands, Body Pressure, and Touch. We can also use E-Collars to communicate and help our dogs regulate their nervous system at a distance using this remote technology and build positive behavior and associations through these balanced communication tools.

Tools are used as a bridge, layered over verbal commands, body pressure, physical touch, and implied behavior or boundaries to motivate a dog to prioritize the pressure.

We specialize in low level pressure, meaning using the lowest level possible to communicate effectively based on our goals, to:

1. Teach a new behavior

2. Motivate or encourage a dog

3. Set boundaries and correct behavior

Each of these goals requires different levels of pressure and we are always striving to use the lowest level possible in any category.

When you begin training, tools are used 100% of the time. As you progress through and achieve behavior/training goals, tools are faded out and used situationally as a backup.

Since prong collars and e-collars are not inherently bad or aversive tools and allow us to fully customize how we communicate, we continue to have success using these tools for seriously behavioral dogs including reactive, aggressive, fearful, or anxious dogs, without any fallout or regression, when paired with our specialized low-level pressure approach and Janna's Pack proprietary R.E.S.T. Method.

We do use food as part of our training “toolbox”. However, since dogs naturally learn easiest from low level pressure, we use gentle pressure to motivate and encourage dogs to stay “focused” and accountable to their humans. In this phase, only low-arousing reinforcement such as affection and attention are used to reward dogs and dogs learn to avoid pressure by offering good behavior.

Once dogs are practicing impulse control and good behavior without obedience for management, we will introduce food or play to reward good choices, if it would benefit your dog. We use food for many dogs (but not all) as part of Trigger Response Training techniques, when we focus on improving a dog’s mindset and emotions around triggers.

Most of my clients have worked with 1-4 dog trainers and specialists in the past including positive only, rewards-based balanced, military/police K9/PSA trainers, pack-style trainers, and veterinary behaviorists. Although these trainers may be good, none of them focus on functional obedience + life safety skills AND leadership principles AND dog psychology AND building implied behavioral expectations AND teaching owners to be confident or successful in real-world situations (where creating space or avoiding triggers isn’t always possible)... all starting as early as the first 3 weeks.

In my program, I focus on empowerment through education, demonstration, coaching, and progressively overloading humans AND dogs. I will show you how and encourage you to work through the messy but VERY REAL parts of dog training without overwhelming you. You won’t learn about complicated dog training lingo - instead you’ll learn how and when to reward, ignore, or correct your dog, and how to live a structured lifestyle that sets humans and dogs up for success 110% of the time.

I am an owner-centered dog trainer who has designed a program that teaches average dog owner's how to replicate the results of professional trainer's right at home.

Rather than schedule short training sessions during the day, we focus on using your dog’s daily walking and socialization time more productively.

A minimum of 60-90 minutes will be needed everyday, using the time you already spend with your dog focusing on getting it "right".

When they are not walking, training, or socializing with you, they should be relaxing in a comfortable crate, ideally with a noise machine so they can decompress!

Although we cannot guarantee behavioral results, your personal results will be determined by your dog's breed, genetics, and temperament combined with your level of effort & willingness to integrate the principles & practices shared with you in your daily lifestyle before/during/after training

Most dogs and owners will achieve significant, transformative behavior change as a result of completing the FOUNDATIONS DIY Board & Train as long as owners are fully committed to the process, follow the Trainers instructions which will include significant lifestyle changes, and use the available resources included.

Some dogs may require a level of "management" for the rest of their lives to thrive and co-exist with humans or other animals peacefully however this is only applicable to approximately 1-5% of dogs, provided all other requirements are met.

The changes you will need to make will depend on your current lifestyle with your dog. It is will known that high cortisol levels in animals results in mood disorders, cognitive impairment, and behavior dysfunction.

When you start training, you will need to analyze your habits and rituals, and daily/weekly activities to ensure you are not engaged in any highly arousing, overstimulating, high-adrenaline activities that are counter-productive to regulating your dog's nervous system and establishing healthy pack leadership like routine Dog Sports, Agility & Trick Training, Obedience Training, Therapy Dog Visitations, etc.

We will also look at your communication system, and personal + household boundaries including whether your dog has furniture access, feeding rituals, daily play, free-roaming, how much affection or attention you are giving them daily, etc. In the beginning many changes will need to be made.

After your dog's behavior is under control and they learn to respect, trust, and feel accountable you as a parent or leader, and you've achieved your behavior/training goals, you may begin to revisit prior lifestyle activities in moderation!

Although most dogs can be transitioned off of heavy tools like a prong collar with a proper protocol, I encourage my clients to focus on stopping the behavior issues before we discuss stopping the tools that helped you get your dog under control.

E-Collars will be a permanent tool in your dog’s life, being worn daily, and typically can become used more like a backup or seatbelt in advanced stages of training

Before you worry about not using tools, worry about stopping your dog’s reactive, aggressive, fearful, or anxious behavior and helping them feel better.

The crate provides a dog a physical and mental barrier to stress with 3 walls and 1 entry point. Their backs are covered and they get more meaningful sleep in a crate since it resembles a safe, denning environment which feels familiar to them instinctively. Dens are protected and policed by the pack leader or senior dogs. When a dog is in a crate, they tap into their denning instincts and feel safer getting sleep, knowing subconsciously that they are safe and protected.

For 3-6 Months after training ends, you must continue crating 18 hours a day and strict no-furniture-access protocols. Failure to uphold these protocols will result in decline/reversal of behavior improvement. When outside of a crate, your dog will still need structured decompression time, on Place.

After 6 months and your dog has developed a long-standing pattern of reliably settled behavior, getting enough sleep on Place and in the Crate daily, your dog may start sleeping out of crates again periodically at night. We do not recommend allowing dogs to sleep outside of the crate daily to prevent them from regressing in crate settling skills.

We maintain a strict NO DOG PARK & NO DAY CARE policy indefinitely. These environments are anti-canine environments which conflict with dog psychology and balanced, natural pack principles. When you study wild dogs or wolves, you see that they socialize WITHIN their pack, not outside of it, and pack’s operate in “territories" (Page 3 https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/upload/2023-Wolf-Report-final_web.pdf). Your dog doesn’t need to “make friends” at the dog park or burn energy at doggie day care. They need you to become a balanced pack at home and learn to practice pack principles in your daily life.

Attending dog parks, doggie daycare, and allowing your dog to interact and play/greet with stranger dogs will result in decline/reversal of behavior improvement.

Unless your friends/family’s dogs are trained exactly the same way, reliably, and they have FULL CONTROL over their dog, it’s a bad idea to let your dog to play. If dogs are going to play, you must not allow any mounting, posturing, humping, stealing toys, bullying, charging, sparing, ear biting, and imbalanced/excessive chasing. Dogs may lightly wrestle, take turns chasing each other, and need to be taking breaks often to prevent over-arousal and conflict from arising. Play escalates to bullying or fighting quickly. If you are not confident policing pack play, we encourage you to say “No” to playtime with friends/family pets Instead, we recommend focusing on down-stays, place time, tethering, pack walking, and calm co-existence near each other, or, crating your dog so they can relax. Dogs don’t need to play and if it would be more chaotic than calm and under control, it’s not worth it to set yourself back in training.

If your dog has known pain issues, we require a pain management plan to be in place with your Veterinarian before your reservation. Janna’s Pack is a holistic dog trainer and dogs that are in pain are often behavioral.

Provided your dog has no known age-related health risks, you can train your dog! Owners with dogs as young as 3months and as old as 16 years (with a heart murmur) have joined the pack to transform their life together and get on the right track to pack leadership and properly fulfilling their dog to enjoy as much time as they have left. That said, by booking, you accept full liability for your dog's care and well-being, and I encourage you to visit your vet for a Wellness Exam, prior to getting started, if you are concerned.