DogSmith MTR Resources
At the DogSmith we are all pet lovers. We have all raised, trained and shared our home with man’s best friend, the pet dog. We understand what it means to "want" a well-mannered family pet.
We know whether you raise your pet dog from a puppy or open your home to a rescue dog you will need to commit to Managing their everyday home environment. You will need to invest time Training them so they can happily fit into your human world. Last but not least you will need to place an emphasis and focus on developing a strong and trusting Relationship, with your pet dog so they become an ambassador for the canine community and are comfortable and safe around your family, friends and neighbors.
This is why at The DogSmith we developed our proprietary MTR™ dog training system. This system is a collection of management tools, training skills and relationship building exercises designed specifically for you and your dog.
Remember out pets are sentient beings, they feel and express emotions just like we do. This is why it is so important that we use Positive Reinforcement to help them gain new skills and we focus on our relationship with them, like any family member.
The Foundation of our MTR™ Program
Management Tools – We Provide Five Tools for You
DogSmith Management of the setting events
Management of motivating operations
Managing problematic SD's and CS's
Management & control of the reinforcement during and post training
Management of action prompting behaviors - be the thought police
Manage for "do this" rather than "do not do that"
Lifelong management protocols for dangerous behaviors
Safety management protocols
Managing owner compliance and commitment
Building, shaping and managing the pet owner
Training Skills – We Help You Learn Five Critical Skills
Teaching and coaching pet owners
Training incompatible or alternative behaviors where appropriate
Training new behaviors where appropriate
Training to reduce the frequency, intensity or duration of a problematic behavior
Training new behavior chains for pets
Implementing desensitization and counter conditioning protocols Relationship Exercises
Developing appropriate play behaviors
Fair and consistent rules for the pet
The dog is respected as a pet and family member
Developing a reinforcement history between owner and pet
Reframing the owner-dog relationship for the betterment of both
Relationship Exercises – We Guide You on Relationship Exercises
Developing appropriate play behaviors
Fair and consistent guidelines for the pet
The dog is respected as a sentient being and a family member
Developing a reinforcement history between owner and pet
Reframing the owner-dog relationship for the betterment of both
Download Your Full MTR Pack Here It is a collection of tools to help manage your pets environment, skills your pet can have fun learning and exercises to strengthen the bond you and your family share with your pet
To Support our MTR Program We Focus on ARRF®
A = Active Involvement.
Active involvement in the learning process is critical. When the student is actively participating, rather than passively observing, greater learning takes place. This applies to both your dog and you.
R = Repetition.
Newly acquired skills need to be repeated frequently in a variety of contexts to ensure they are robust. This means the skills you and your dog learn will be effective in and around your home and out and about around town. Frequent repetition in various scenarios ensures the skill is truly owned so the student can not only generalize its behaviors in new situations but can also discriminate when appropriate.
R = Reward.
Positive reinforcements, in the form of rewards for accomplishing skills successfully, are far more effective to ensure learning takes place. Rewards such as food and toys are quickly replaced by life rewards, such as attention and petting, when behaviors are placed under a cue, such as “wait”, “sit” or “down”.
F = Finite Objectives.
Clearly defined and attainable objectives make it clear to student and instructor what is to be learned and taught. With clear objectives the student and instructor can easily recognize when a particular skill has been mastered and during the process we train - test - train to ensure our objectives are met.