Training dogs–and dog owners

Lea este articulo en español aquí.

Cristian Sharboneau, owner and trainer at 3Cs K9 Training in Hollister, learned to train dogs in part by working with shelters. “I have worked with Copper’s Dream rescue and a few other pitbull rescues that friends have been a part of,” he said. 

Sharboneau still helps take care of some of the dogs he met at the shelter. “I started a lot with rescues,” he said, working with “challenging dogs—dogs who were deemed untrainable or unfit to be in a home.” 

In addition to working with dogs, he said, being a dog trainer involves working with clients.

“I think the experience with people is what drives the business forward, and I can work with not only the dogs but the people behind the dogs as well.” 

That, he said, is the most important part of his job.

“Most of the time the dog is not the issue—the dog is amazing,” he said. “The dog has drive, the dog wants to work, the dog wants to go hunt a squirrel, the dog wants to go bite a toy.” 

Sharboneau said that the biggest mistake he sees among people is “they think that their dog is a human.”

“The dog is a dog,” he said, meaning its tendencies are rooted in genetics and temperament. 

“You could have a nine-year-old calm Chihuahua, then go and get a puppy Chihuahua that ends up being a psychotic crazy animal trying to kill everything,” he said. “So it’s more so about how do we educate the owners on the small little mistakes they are making.”

According to Sharboneau, setting up your dog for success also means making sure that it has the right play pals. 

“They need to not be playing with random dogs that are going to bully them, who are going to push them around,” he said. “They need to be able to want to walk up to the dog and play with the dog rather than growl or snarl or do something that’s going to cause a negative reaction.” 

Personalized training

Trainer Toni Mathews of Peacekeeper K9 Services said every dog is different, just like every person is different. 

“I don’t base anything on one theory,” Mathews said. “I train the dog that’s in front of me and go by their needs.”

Like Sharboneau, Matthews said some people think of dogs as their children, “but they are not.”

Dogs have very specific communication needs, she said, and if it’s not being fulfilled, things get “unbalanced,” she said. “If it’s unbalanced, that’s when everybody starts making their own rules.”

We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.