WHO?
Hi! I'm Jodi, Behaviour & Training Lead at Raising Fido.
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My knowledge and skills in dog training, behaviour, and client counselling have been obtained via first class industry education and hands-on experience since 2015. I possess multiple certifications that attest to my passion for proficient reward-based training methods that are backed by scientific evidence. I am a graduate of Jean Donaldson’s The Academy for Dog Trainers which is regarded as one of the most rigorous programs for dog trainers anywhere in the world. I operate Raising Fido Canine Behaviour & Training Centre in accordance with The Academy’s Code of Conduct, which you can find here.
Raising Fido exists to support clients and fidos learn how to confidently navigate puppyhood and adolescence so they can experience an enjoyable life together long term. We teach people how they can establish and maintain a high standard of welfare in all aspects of their dog's life based on individual needs and wants.
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Our commitment to clients and their dogs is to work honestly with integrity and compassion. We promise to fervently deliver training programs and coaching that you can always trust to be in line with what the latest scientific evidence suggests is the most welfare-focused approach for raising a well-adjusted companion dog.
When it comes to relationship-building with your dog, the adolescence phase is a very vulnerable time. Statistics show that this development period corresponds with the peak age range at which dogs are relinquished to shelters (Asher et al. 2020).
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Our mission is to actively combat this statistic by focusing most of our programs on puppy and adolescent development. We provide services to the community featuring opportunities for people to expand their knowledge and understanding of their dog's behaviour while strengthening their training "chops" with expert advice and coaching by qualified professionals.
We proudly operate with a small team of keen, educated, and skilled people to help you achieve your goals with Fido. Whether you want to build reliable essential skills that will make life even more enjoyable with your pooch as they age or are seeking help with a common or complex problematic behaviour.
Everything that happens while your dog is young contributes in some way to the development of their adult personality because nature (genetics) always intertwines with nurture (life experiences). The passionate and knowledgeable team at Raising Fido will help you get started as early as possible with your youngster working toward achieving long lasting desirable behaviour with your future adult dog.
Training can and should be enjoyable for everyone without adding unnecessary stress or sacrificing progress. We fully support and are practitioners of modern dog training methods backed by scientific data. We do not deliberately employ the use of aversive training techniques in order to change behaviour.
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Knowingly causing pain or discomfort, purposefully generating fear, or attempting to intimidate Fido so that they will avoid doing a behaviour out of fear for what might happen is not our style. Instead, we focus on teaching you how to help Fido learn what desirable behaviours they can do plus when and where to do them.
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We do not support the use of aversive tools such as shock collars, e-collars, bark collars, slip leads, prong collars, choke chains, or tightly fitted martingale collars (limited slip). Techniques like flooding, "alpha rolling", and physical or harsh verbal corrections are not only unnecessary but according to a substantial amount of data, risks irreparable long term harm for Fido. We are committed to do no harm via the use of humane training methods while helping you build good behavioural habits in your developing dog. Learn more about the risks associated with aversive training approaches here.
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No matter what methods you may have used in the past, our training centre is a safe space for anyone wanting to learn how to effectively train their dog in a way they feel good about, that produces long term results, and is in line with current research. Click to read the position statement on Humane Dog Training from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour​.
In fact, we feel so strongly that our training approach gets long term results with the lowest risk of harmful side effects that any new client can trade in a shock collar, e-collar, bark collar, electric fence system, prong collar, or choke chain and be eligible to receive up to 20% off.
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Click here to read more about "Project tRade" and the details of our discount program.
