The Beginning of a New Journey with Your Dog
What if I told you that your dog’s not broken and they don’t need to be “fixed”?
I want your dog to feel EMPOWERED! I want YOU to feel EMPOWERED TOO! Free from guilt, or your gut telling you that what you have been doing just doesn’t feel right, and it’s definitely not working.
So often times, when behavior struggles show themselves, the relationship becomes strained and stressed. It’s not what you wanted your life to be like with your dog. It certainly isn’t what they wanted. And many times, this fracture in the relationship can result in the dog being abandoned, given up on, rehomed or sent to the shelter to become someone else’s problem. I am of a deep belief that the quality of the relationship with our dogs lays the foundation where upon everything else is built.
Your dog has emotions, thoughts, a personality, nervous system, hormones, memories, learning, and genetics. Traumatic events can also impact your dog’s behavior. All these things and more make your dog who your dog is as an individual.
If you are stuck in your training, or feel in your gut that there has to be something better out there. If you are confused from so many people telling you so many different things about dog training and behavior. If you are sick of the way things are with your dog and know you have put off addressing it long enough,…If you are ready to finally commit and jump in to this new journey, than click on the link below and get in touch!
Based in Tennessee, Lakota's Legacy specializes in helping dogs with issues such as trauma, over excitement, anxiety, and aggressive behaviors. Offering a holistic, science-based approach including education, management strategies, skills training, and behavior modification, all delivered with a science-based, holistic approach, both online and local private in-home sessions availability.
She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) & Accredited Dog Trainer (ADT) with the International Association of Behavior Consultants (IAABC) https://iaabc.org/en/certified-credentials ; a Trauma Informed Pet Professional with Animal Behavior Kent (ABK); and Professional Concept Trainer with Dr. Tom Mitchell, BVSc, BSc, MRCVS. She has completed the Aggressive Dog Master course led by Michael Shikashio & has participated in hundreds of hours of educational webinars by such luminaries such as Dr. Tom Mitchell, Dr. Kathy Murphy BVetMed, DPhil, CVA, CLAS, MRCVS, Grisha Stewart, and Leslie McDevitt, and continues to learn in order to bring the best to her clients. She is a member Association of Professional Dog Trainers International (APDT) https://apdt.com/ and pledged member of the Shock-Free Coalition.
The IAABC Certified designation represents the pinnacle of achievement for animal behavior consultants. This credential indicates multiple years of experience and the ability to tackle challenging, complex cases. A minimum of four years experience with 500 hours in animal behavior consulting, 400 hours of coursework, seminars and mentorship and a working knowledge of learning theory, counterconditioning, desensitization, husbandry, assessment skills and application of species-specific knowledge.
As complex as human behavior is, canine is even more so being a different species. Gina takes a holistic approach when I consider behavior struggles and what can be done to resolve them.
Shock collars, prongs, “balanced approach”, force, intimidation and debunked theories have no place here with us; kindness, understanding, skill building and fun, DO!
Gina is here to help you understand your dog, support you both on your journey to a happier life and restored, positive relationship, while building skills that lead to REAL life results, not just in a training facility! Learning is fun, deep and most importantly, IT WORKS!
Don’t let the Fun factor fool you!
Just because her methods revolve around positive, rewards-based training, doesn’t mean that she is unable to help you if your dog struggles with over excitement, conflict in the home (multi-dog households), walking on leash nicely, plowing people over at the front door, reactive behaviors towards other dogs or visitors.
On the contrary, many people believe dogs that struggle need to be intimidated by an “alpha”, “corrected”, forced, or shocked, in order to change those behaviors. Nothing could be further from the truth. Studies have shown, and vet behaviorists agree, there is no need for those kind of methods. Sure, you can force a dog into a position, but there are much more kinder ways to do that. I often get clients who have used those outdated methods and finding they are ineffective and their dog’s behavior is getting worse!