So What Is ARC Dog Training Anyway?

 ARC dog training helps owners and dogs live happily together. The words Ask, Receive and Celebrate summarize the most important steps in our training process.

The goal for most dog training is not about preparing 'Sammy' to go into the obedience ring and do a perfect 'down/stay' for several minutes or training Sammy to catch dumb bells while jumping over a short fence.   Dogs do not need to be trained for the show ring in order to live cooperatively with their people.   That being said, ARC works beautifully in training dogs for any sport, from obedience to agility.   That being said, most dogs do not live in performance homes and do not need to develop advanced obedience or learn to go through weave poles or run through tunnels.
 
Both humans and dogs are social animals.  We often love and adore each other, but we speak different languages and have a very different 'to do' list at the beginning of each day. The question which presents itself to most new pet owners is ”How do we make this work?” In reality, your dog will not think of this question, not ever.    Sammy has never had a day so slow as to leave extra time to contemplate the harmony and stability of the household.  Dogs look at what is happening right now as the beginning and ending of each waking moment every day of their lives.   

A.R.C. Dog Training is about helping owners and dogs meet in the middle and move together through the moments of their days creating a 'lets do it together' manner of communication.  We do this through creating and capturing moments of cooperation with dogs so that they choose to work with their owners on simple tasks like walking on a leash and holding a sit position without jumping out if it like they've had a 20,000 volt shock.  Think about how many different opportunities for instructive interaction between you and your dog occur in your everyday routine, and remember that every time your dog works with you your bond becomes stronger.  It's actually quite exciting once you get the rhythm of ARC-ing with your dog because you begin to see your dog be happy while working with you through simple day-to-day events.  

Ask, Receive, Celebrate consists of three separate events which combine to direct your dog's ability to listen to you. ARC helps you break down your dog's overall behavior into a series of smaller choices.  You are asking him to do less for you more often and he is learning to give you more cooperation without feeling forced or coerced into anything.  

• Ask You have a behavior in mind and you either work to elicit that behavior from the Dog using body language in a formal training session or that you give the Dog a command using a signal that your Dog already knows either verbal or with hand signals.   The moment you *Ask* your dog for a behavior you need to be prepared to *capture* the action of your Dog's cooperation.

• ReceiveYou get the response that you wanted from your Dog, whether that be getting out of your way or sitting and staying or leaving the dead animal on the side of the road alone. You have thrown out the command or directed the behavior and you received it, which is very cooperative and exciting!!  We can always practice recognizing the moment when the dog recognizes the 'Ask' of their person and puts it together with a 'Give' in the form of giving you the behavior you've signaled.  The instant you recognize your dog is giving you what you asked them for you've *Received* that behavior and it is instantly time for you to complete the conversation with them.
  

• Celebrate!! You acknowledge your Dog’s brilliant cooperation (cooperation from a dog is always a moment of brilliance) with verbal praise or a treat/treats or a happy pat. The level of your celebration should reflect the significance of your Dog’s accomplishment. Simply saying *Yay!* in a really happy voice might be enough for some Dogs to feel like they've just won the lottery.   Let your body language and tone of voice reinforce how excited you are with your dog's cooperation.  
  

As you practice ARC-ing with your dog you'll notice that your dog is happy when they make you happy.  For this reason ACR Dog Training sets both you and your dog up for future successes because it is based on both of you winning.