The Gums Companion Dog Training
Building the Bond Between Humans and Canines since 1993, Absolutely Positively Force Free
Thank you for visiting!
Established in 1993 to provide a community service for people wishing to be instructed in training their dog in obedience, it is our aim to ensure you find training with us to not only be informative, but also enjoyable for yourself and your four-legged buddy. Our role in the training of your dog is not to train him or her to become obedient, but to guide YOU to train your companion in a positive, force-free environment.
Initially, we focused our training on bringing dogs to a level suitable for competing at obedience trials. With more and more people sharing their lives with dogs however, reaching trial level obedience has no longer become essential, more so the request is to have a dog that is a happy, well-adjusted member of the family. To that end, our focus is on training behaviours that are generally experienced in day-to-day life, encouraging our dogs to be involved in decision-making and therefore developing their self-esteem and trust in us.
We strive to help you understand the way your dog thinks, why it behaves the way it does, and your contribution toward this behaviour. We guide you in communicating with your dog in a manner he or she can understand - through rewarding the behaviour we would like to see using reinforcers of value to your dog. Our force-free approach to training is one of positivity, we encourage you to develop a relationship of kindness and trust with your dog, not one of force and 'submission'.