The Pack Leader Method.
Dog psychology before dog training. Understand how a dog thinks, return the mind to balance, and obedience becomes the easy part.
Dog psychology before dog training.
Most training starts with commands. Ours starts with the mind: a dog's instincts, their energy, their need for a calm leader to follow. We return a dog's state of mind to balance first. After that, obedience becomes the easy part.
At its core, dog psychology is simply how dogs think. It is the key to understanding and improving the way dogs interact with one another, and the way they bond, with each other and with the humans in their lives.
Three tenets.
Calm, confident energy
Calm, confident energy is the only energy a dog will follow. Dogs do not follow frustration, fear, excitement or anxiety. They follow calm, and calm can be learned.
Leadership as care
Leadership in the dog world means protection, direction and love. A leader is not the loudest presence in the room. A leader is the steadiest.
Inclusion as the reward
The ultimate reward for a dog is inclusion. To the dog, you are their whole life. Everything we teach begins from the weight of that fact.
The walk comes first.
In the dog world there are two positions: leader and follower. Nothing settles the question like the walk, and the walk begins the moment you pick up the leash, not at the door.
So it is the first thing we master, on the great lawn and through the woods, every day of a stay. A dog who follows on the walk follows everywhere else.
Calm is not commanded. It is taught.
Balance, honestly.
About ninety percent of our time with a dog is spent positively reinforcing calm, respectful, good behavior. The rest is clear, well-timed guidance, given without anger and without drama. Guidance offered calmly does not frighten a dog. It gives them clarity.
We work with a dog's instincts, never against them. You will not see bribery here, and you will not see a symptom managed while its cause goes unaddressed. We find the root of a behavior and resolve it there. Excitement is not always happiness; calm is the state we reward.
A large share of the owners who find us have already been through several trainers, some many more than that. We understand the fatigue in that, and we take it as our brief: this should be the last training program you ever need.
The other end of the leash.
It's not just the dog. It's also the human behind the dog and the relationship between. Energy is everything in the way a dog sees the world. You and your dog each carry an energy, and the two are in a relationship with one another. When yours settles, theirs follows.
That is why you are half of every program. During a residency you train with us weekly, take the lead at the go-home session, and return for the follow-up as the work moves home.
“Any dog, any breed, any size, any age.”
You become part of the pack.
Owners ask, reasonably, whether the method is guaranteed. Here is our honest answer: success with a dog rests on commitment, consistency, follow-through and patience, so we will not promise a percentage. What we can say is that we have yet to meet a dog who could not change dramatically for the better, and that from the day you begin, you are part of our pack. We are with you before, during and after your time at the ranch.
“Steve has changed our lives by helping with our 2.5 year old pit bull… Within the first few minutes of our initial training session with him, he had already changed the energy of our dog… With his calm, assertive energy, he is a true leader… Steve trains with the best of the best (Cesar Millan and The Monks of New Skete)… We will be forever grateful for Steve and all his help and knowledge and look forward to always being a part of his pack!”
TamaraTatanka, rescue pit bull
“First and foremost, without a doubt, without Steve and Pack Leader Dogs, our family would not be what it is today… Not only did he correct and ‘train’ Lily, but he also taught us how to understand her. He trained us as well! …he explains the psychology of how their brains work… I can't stress enough how amazing Steve and Pack Leader Dogs are.”
Corinne & RussTheo & Lily
The method, in writing.
Bring the method home.
Every program begins with a short application and a conversation. You will hear from us within one business day.