"A dog’s learned behavior is an act of choice based on his own learning experience. When those choices are influenced by the expectation of reward, the behavior will most likely be repeated. When those choices are influenced by the anticipation of disapproval, they will most likely cease. This is Nature’s recipe for learning." Dick Koehler

Roland Fox's approach is based on the animal’s specific personality type, the dog's owner, and the unique environment that these two create. He is not a method trainer, meaning he does not use a STANDARDIZED method on every dog.

Praise, correction, and motivation make up the backbone of his philosophy. Initially, leash work is the ABCs of establishing the correct relationship between dog and handler.

If you have ever watched The Dog Whisperer on TV with Ceasar Milan you may already be aware of the concept of using a leash correctly to place an image in your dog's mind of his place as a subordinate member of the pact. If this is your first time hearing the word subordinate relating to dogs, it may have a creul or intense conotation. In summary, the dominate-suboridnate relationship is as follows: Many animals in the wild that band together in packs such as Gorillas, big cats, wolves, for example, live within complex social structures. Observers and experts agree that these structures are tiered from the DOMINATE, a.k.a ALPHA male or female, the beta or next in line, to the lower member, Omega, usually the very young. There appears to be no such thing as equals in a pack society. No amount of breeding through the millenia has changed your dog's expectations, needs,drives, and desire for placement within your family. If you have been striving to make your dog feel equal to you and the members of your family, your intentions may be good, but this approach is the source of many behavioral problems. Your dog can never be your equal at any time, your dog should never have it in his mind that he is the pack leader. Even if its just you and him. Its a family structure and it must be natural to his original instincts.

A host of insecurities and maladaptive behaviors arise when we fail to lead our animals, or worse: allow them to lead us. DIGEST THIS CONCEPT! Its is fundemental to raising a healhy dog. Now, there are other schools of thought on dog training that are vehemently opposed to the paradigm of alpha-omega structures. They generally believe that the PRAISE-ONLY and my dog is my equal is a more humaine paradigm. Nonsense! If you research dog training you will discover that the vast majority of acclaimed dog trainers and their dog training programs handle animals with an alpha-omega relationship in place. Roland Fox did NOT invent this concept. Nature did. It is an accepted way of viewing a relationship with a dog. You are the boss, he follows your lead. You are his protector. He sees the world and all personalties in it through your eyes. If you are scared of someone or something, he is too. If you are relaxed he is too. This is the closest to a natural DOG kinship relationship you can provide and your leadership is key to his instinctual relationship to everything and everyone else. Your dog is seeking your Alpha-ness to form the foundation of his secure peronality; subordinating your dog it is the most humaine way to handle your animal.

How does this apply to you and your dog? Is your dog a very relaxed and attentive pet that has a great awareness of your expectations? If not then we must observe the way you walk him, feed him, play with him, correct him, etc. You may not be providing him with the correct leadership.

Roland can help your dog advance with greater achievements than sit, stay, fetch, etc. A lot of what your dog can and will do depends on what your specific needs are and what you are willing to change in how you treat him.

Are you a first time dog owner dealing with a restless and destructive puppy? Roland will help you and your puppy settle in both develop into confident and satisfied beings.

Are you dealing with a more mature dog with behavior problems? Roland can trouble shoot your problem and rehab both you and your animal back to DOGGY-ZEN! His goal with every client is help them better understand the specific needs of canines based on factual and scientific evidence, then, to set and achieve their specific, personal goals on a desired schedule.

Working directly with any dog he can trouble shoot and correct mal-adaptive behaviors using a balance of motivation, praise and correction. He does not use food as a reward. He does not cause trauma, fear, or damage the esteem and spirit of the dog using coercion. Roland believes that training must be based on true motivation that triggers the dog’s basic instincts and drive to please her pack leader. Roland believes that with a fair & consistent balance between praise and correction the dog can learn to respect its boundaries and live up to your expectations. Roland strongly feels that corrections should never be given in anger or include any type of physical or mental abuse. Roland teaches that your dog’s socialization with humans and other animals begins with obedience and must be administered with an increasing use of diversity and distractions, utilizing a controlled level of exposure and desensitization to people, places, and things. This approach creates a dynamic of “Obedience as a way life, not as a trick or novelty.” – The same foundation that goes into a K-9, or a dog trained for service for the disabled, goes into your family companion. Your dog must be able to function as a member of the family unit all of the time, especially under pressure.

Lesson One: Your dog is not human. He or she does not think like you. His or Her needs are very different than yours. Humanizing your dog sets the backdrop for an insecure, unruley, hard to manage animal with a host of mal-adaptive behaviors ranging from but not limited to: aggression, anxiety, depression, hyper-activity, incessant barking, destructive behavior, unpredictability, and host of physical ailments that can be linked to psychological disorders.

Lesson Two: Your dog, big or small, pure-breed or mutt, has instinctive behavior that is linked to his or her wolf lineage. That instinct has been watered down through over ten thousand years of breeding, however, there are characteristics that have survived and drive your dog’s needs and emotions.

Lesson Three: Your dog’s primary instinctual drive is merge into the safety of the pack. Whether he lives alone with just you, or is raised on a farm with 50 varieties of animals and dozens of human family members. He is looking for the social structure found in a pack. His goal is to secure his rightful place and to seek the protection and guidance of the leader: you and all of his potential care givers.

Lesson Four: In the absence of strong and confident leadership, your dog will not seek equal ground with you, he will look to assume the role of leadership. Dog’s do not understand equal. In the absence of definite boundaries set by the leader, containment of emotions, i.e. anxiety, fear, your dog will develop mal-adaptive behaviors, i.e aggression, fearfulness, anxiety, etc.

Lesson Five: ...(to be continued)...