What we do
What makes Sherrie Balcioni and Kinship K9 the best choice for dog training in Lodi?
Kinship K9 was founded on the belief that a well trained dog is not only a testament to his owner’s regard for him, but their regard for the community in which they live. By building each relationship through cooperation and respect, we are able to reach dogs of any age, breed or behavior type successfully.
Choose how you want us to care for your dog!
Our training programs can be customized around any dog’s behavioral issues and as a result, we are sought for our understanding and success with a variety of behavior issues, including dog and human aggression. We are often the ‘last resort’ for many dogs that have been failed by other training, or whose issues are beyond the scope of other trainers.
Basic Obedience
Our Basic Dog Obedience Boarding and Training program is a great choice for dogs that need a boost on solving some annoying habits like jumping, pulling, chewing, begging, and playing too roughly. You will be amazed at the difference in your dog after this training! This is for dogs who need a leg up on basic manners, not a behavioral overhaul. You can enjoy a more cooperative and pleasant companion: • that you can walk in your neighborhood without drama! • that stays put, when you say so! • that waits at doors without running into the street! • that keeps his paws and mouth to himself! • that will let go of things he shouldn’t have!
Advanced Obedience
Our Advanced Obedience Program: your dog will receive all of the great features of our Basic Obedience Learning program, with the additional benefit of being able to perform these skills offleash: • Walking politely with or without a leash • to come when called on and off leash • to ignore distractions, including other dogs, people or even wildlife • to wait politely at doorways without running away • to be quiet ** An in-person evaluation is the ONLY way to determine if your dog is eligible for this program. Although we do work dogs with aggression issues, dogs with aggression concerns may not be eligible for any of our overnight boarding and training programs.
Protection
Protection Dog Training is subject to an in-person evaluation. This is the ONLY way to determine if your dog is eligible for this program.
Protection Skills Include: Alert on command (bark and show signs of aggression) Obedience Bite and hold (apprehend attacker and hold until release is given, off-leash) Release on command Pursue and apprehend (K-9 will chase, bite and hold attacker) Adjusted to living in home setting. Exposed to a variety of environments.
This is a brief overview of protection training and more detailed information is available on request.
AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Certification
We are AKC Certified Evaluators for the Cainie Good Citizen Certification Program.
CGC is a ten-skill training program that’s open to all dogs–purebred and mixed
breed–that focuses on teaching the basics of good manners and obedience...
The Benefits of Canine Good Citizen
Not only will you and your dog understand the basics of dog training, and master skills like sit, down and stay, but you’ll know your dog will be able to handle herself with grace in a crowd and be a welcomed client at the vet or groomer.
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FAQs
Of course not! Have you forgotten your first love? Dogs don’t either. Dogs have a remarkable capacity for remembering “their” people as a result of their amazing sense of smell and how it influences memory. Besides, our residency boarding and training programs include private lessons with you to assure a smooth transition from our training to you. We provide periodic updates while your dog is in training. This enables you to know your dogs’ progress, and actually helps demonstrate how to handle him successfully, without the emotional stress of having to ‘do the heavy lifting’ yourself.
Yes, we do use food. We also use anything that has value to the dog, like toys or games. We tend to fade the use of food as a motivator pretty early, once the dog grasps a concept, and replace it with a more tangible reward. We employ many scientifically sound principles in our training, but we are not married to one philosophy, nor do we engage in rhetoric or dogma. We train dogs.
We advocate for results-based dog training, in a timely manner and do not engage in the rhetoric of “positive”, “negative”, “punishment based” or “fear”. We are well-versed in the use of all contemporary training philosophies and tools and are able to create a unique experience for our training clients, one that satisfies their goals and expectations.
The intelligent use of reinforcement to motivate willing cooperation creates thoughtful, well-trained problem solvers who are a pleasure to own. We create positive relationships where none existed and improve those relationships where conflict has taken the place of companionship.
Modern electronic collars have evolved into a unique tool of communication that many people misunderstand. Most clients who have used them categorize their sensation as “annoying”. The new technology enables us to create a direct line of communication to the dog in a conflict-free way. Instead of shouting or yanking, we employ a very low-level stimulation to get and maintain your dogs’ attention. In this way, we actually set your dog up for success instead of punishing him for failure. The modern e-collar’s technology makes it a versatile tool and one that has been successful in the training of the world’s top competitors in field trial events for hunting dogs, as well as many other dog sports. Kinship K9 demonstrates their application at every evaluation we conduct so you can make an informed decision about their use. We can’t force people to use them. After over 15 years in the trade, we are more than capable of providing training that uses other methodology.
We are very familiar with aggressive behavior, whether fear-based, or overtly aggressive resource guarders, fence fighters and biters. It is not the tool that does the harm. It’s how the tool is used. Any tool is simply a means to control a dog in a precise way, so learning can occur. Electronic collars, prong collars and chain training collars have been used for decades as training tools for dogs. For over 70 years and counting, chain training collars are still the only training collar permitted in AKC competitive events.
Electronic collars have been in existence since the early 60’s and have revolutionized modern dog training. The contemporary prong collar has been around since the the late 1800’s and was designed specifically to work with as little pressure as possible. Decades of successful application has only been marred by inappropriate use.
As We stated before, every tool can be used safely and humanely. We demonstrate the tools we use so that you can see their application and make an informed choice about their use and how each may help you achieve your training goals. We have learned that when we demonstrate how we use these tools, we empower you to choose the right tool for you. You are more apt to enjoy maintaining your dogs’ training after he leaves our care when you understand how each tool is effectively used.
