Rattlesnake Safety and Avoidance Private Package
Most snake aversion courses involve the use of live snakes and shock collars to "teach" the dog that snakes are painful. This is terribly unnecessary, and traumatic for both your dog and the snake. We will not be teaching your dog to avoid a snake because it hurts, we will be teaching your dog that seeing, hearing, or smelling a snake means returning to your side is very rewarding. Dogs are capable of understanding that the collar means pain (shock) or unpleasant stimuli (vibration or warning beep) occur in the presence of certain things. They are equally capable of understanding that the absence of the collar means an absence of the pain or stimuli. It is not reasonable to expect your dog to wear that collar all of the time, nor is it reasonable to expect that a snake will only be in certain places at certain times. Snakes are individuals, and they can work their way into spaces that can be unexpected! Like your garage, or basement, or literally anywhere outdoors.
This training can also be applied to additional avoidances, such as traps! There is an option below to add trap/snare aversion to this package. If you want the trap/snare only, just choose the basic rattlesnake package and on your behavior history form, indicate that you want the trap/snare avoidance.
The private course for rattlesnake aversion includes:
- discussion of the skills you as the owner need for keeping your dog safe in snake country
- introduction and demonstration of training the behaviors needed for your dog to recall immediately to you if she sees, hears, or smells a snake.
- The first session can be virtual, so I can learn more about your relationship with your dog, and we can go over all things snake and dog! If you would prefer a face to face meeting, there will only be an additional charge if you live outside of the Lander immediate area.
- After that, we will meet one or two times to begin introducing the "triggers" and setting the dog up for successful reaction of returning to you, and if you want an added alert behavior can be introduced later.
- After your dog is solid on these behaviors, I bring fake snakes, snake scent, and a speaker to hide with rattlesnake sounds to help you link to the behaviors as cues, and demonstrate further training.
- The private course can be enhanced by attending planned practice sessions offered throughout the spring and summer, beginning just prior to snake emergence, for an additional fee per practice. The practices use my props and set you up for real life scenario encounters to test your training!
The online course for snake aversion helps you learn the skills to teach your dog to recall to you at the sight, scent or sound of a snake. Different parts of the country have different snakes that can be dangerous to dogs. While this course is tailored to rattlesnakes, it can be used to teach dogs to recall away from other dangerous snakes as well. My online course is different from many in that I will send you some snake scent to work with, and we will do zoom sessions to troubleshoot and ensure that the desired behaviors are being trained correctly. Most online trainings are simply a DVD or webinar format only.
For either private or online option you will receive a lesson plan in .pdf format to follow, lesson plans for each behavior used in the overall training, as well as other behaviors to alert if desired, plus a list of the props and skills that you need to keep your dog safer through training, prevention and awareness. You also get one on one coaching through Zoom as needed for 3 months, and lifetime (your dog's) of support through phone/text/email as needed.
THIS COURSE IS BEST TO START IN FALL OR WINTER, AS MANY OF THE BEHAVIORS YOU WANT FOR YOUR DOG WILL NEED TO BE TRAINED INSIDE TO BEGIN! By spring, with regular practice you and your dog will have the skills to be set up for success.
DOGS MUST HAVE A GOOD RECALL, and GOOD LEASH MANNERS.
- If your dog's recall is not good, meaning your dog often ignores you on the recall, or plays the dodge game upon returning, or begins running around when you call then we MUST do the recall work first. If you choose the recall add- on with your Rattlesnake Package, you will receive a discount!
- If your dog is not good on leash manners (meaning always lunging at the end of the leash to get to things) it is helpful to have good leash manners with this, so there is an option to choose one of the two leash manners packages at a discount too.
IF YOUR DOG NEEDS WORK ON BOTH RECALL AND LEASH MANNERS- please consider the Trailblazers Private Package - All inclusive adult behavior package geared towards outdoor adventure. This package includes both as well as the snake training and trap training plus more!
To register, please fill out the Behavior Intake Form, unless you have already done so.
To pay online with a credit card simply add this item to the cart, or you can pay with cash or check at the time of appointment.