I go to the home and work on a one-to-one basis with people and their dogs. I work with puppies as young as nine weeks, teaching the owners the art of reacting to their pet’s actions. If the dog likes the owner’s reactions, it will keep doing the action more and more frequently. If it doesn’t like the reactions, it will do the action less and less. The trick is teaching the owner to communicate with the animal without getting angry or being irritated, and finding the best consequence for each individual dog.

I don’t use the choke chain, and I show the owners how to discipline after the fact.

I know a lot of people feel you can’t train before six months of age. I believe you start training a dog the day you bring it home. Just as a child begins at a very early age to form its core concepts, a young puppy forms its impressions of people through sounds and sights and tastes.

A young puppy will decide, based on its experiences, that hands are hurtful and something to be afraid of, or something wonderful and gentle.

It will decide that children are frightening and to be avoided or defended against, or that they are fun and rather helpless and should be treated gently and respected because they can summon adults when the pet misbehaves and needs discipline.

It will decide that men are more forceful and women can be manipulated (or vice versa), or it will learn that every human in the family is to be obeyed because the family works together.