Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanya Yarbrough.
Tanya, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My journey toward becoming a mixed-technique dog trainer was unintentional and began about 37 years ago. As a preteen, I had a fascination with animal behavior, reading about it, training my hamsters to “speak”, “sit-up”, “come” or “stay” and hit place markers all on clicks and whistles from my mouth as cues. I was effectively applying the concepts of classical and operant conditioning before I knew what they were called. My mother even called me Little Miss Dr. Doolittle because I was gifted at using my body language, my breathing and my eye line to convince scared, stray dogs to approach me.
So, with my love of science and math and animals, I decided veterinary medicine was my obvious career choice. I noted that while working with scared animals in the scary office of a veterinarian, I realized that I had much more success in convincing dogs and cats to accept bathing, brushing, nail-clipping, flea picking, ear-cleaning, et cetera, than the owners had in actually getting their animals to walk into the office. The question I had was, “Why?”
In my experience, the most common abuse I had witnessed is a lack of training…a lack of structures and boundaries that the dogs can rely on. Without that structure, without tapping into their natural work ethic, we created anxiety in dogs, which manifested in all kinds of poor behaviors as well as poor health. After all, WE humans created them to be working partners and to rely on us, or, in other words, be submissive to us.
Well, an ill-timed back injury, depending on how you look at it, prevented me from entering into Veterinary School, and I found myself fishing for a new life…which led me to modeling, acting, working in the film industry and all kinds of jobs and developing new skills.
Meanwhile, I always had my pets and the day I ran out of things to train my dog, Kazzi, to do anything else, I turned to film & TV production training. She had already learned over 54 commands with hand signals and I had never used food. Now I was entering a school as a student to challenge her and myself. It was during my last class that I was offered a job as an instructor at the facility. There I honed another skill of mine that is essential to dog training…how do you teach people to do what you can do and inspire them to not give up. In the process, I devised a clear approach to dog training, addressing both nature and nurture, and I called it the S.T.A.R. method.
It was my students who actually urged me to open my own practice in spite of the popularity of the politically-correct “all-positive” training philosophy. It took me just a year to start building a reputation of a trainer who is honest with her clients, tailor the “game plan” according to each dog’s propensities and personalities, and encourage the owners to be full participants in the training of their dog. In other words, I am very good at helping owners become their own dog whisperers and problem solvers in behavioral modification. I am the kind of trainer who is called when a behaviorist tells a dog owner that their dog is “not trainable” because the dog won’t take food.
A huge part of my success is due to crossing paths with Blue Collar Working Dog and The Dog Yard LA, where they are open to mixed technique trainers and believe that dogs who are aggressive, fearful or not food-motivated should get an equal opportunity to be trained, challenged and become more balanced. I accept almost every dog at every level in my group classes at The Dog Yard LA… that’s puppies with leash reactive 10-year-old dogs in the same room…and by the end of the 6-week courses all dogs and their owners see improvement in their dogs’ behaviors. My series of group classes all began with offering my monthly Pack Leadership 101 Seminar that has been ongoing for 9 years – the longest running one-woman comedy show about the nature of dogs and our role in their lives.
As a result of my flexibility, my ability to teach dog owners how to have realistic and harmonious relationships with their dogs, and my clarity in philosophy, I continue to be successful in helping dog owners teach their dogs boundaries, address their anxiety by tapping into their work ethic and gain a happy companion for life.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been an amazing journey for the last 12 years as I dove into the professional world of being a dog trainer. Like any business, there’s a lot of competition and some business owners, including dog trainers, resort to copying or disparaging other trainers. The greatest hurdle to overcome has been the overwhelming misunderstanding that people have, including other trainers, about the concept of “Pack Leadership”, or the relationship of dominance and submission, and thus the cultural popularity of “All-Positive” Training.
“All-Positive” Training is defined as rewarding good behavior while ignoring poor behavior. But I know that it’s enjoyable for my dog to chew on my bonded leather couch: chewing on my couch is self-reinforcing. So, for me to ignore the behavior only condones the behavior. Expecting that my dog would prefer to take food from me when he stops chewing on my couch, depends on how strong a relationship we have, doesn’t it?
And it is short-sighted to assign corrections to the word “punishing”, yet that is exactly where mixed technique trainers like me get stigmatized. I can correct a dog from across the room, simple by stepping forward, holding my chin level to the ground and watching them in my peripheral. How I hold my shoulders, how I am breathing, can correct a dog and let it know I want it to stop what its doing or to relax. But…all-positive training says any and all corrections are inhumane.
As I explain in many of my podcasts, “That Dog Training Show with Tanya Yarbrough”, dominance and submission does not mean violent or harmful. It means a relationship of trust and mutual opportunity for survival. It’s about addressing the nature of the dog that we created, which is what is meant by “domestication”. The nature of the dog is to work with us and look to us humans for resources…loosely, this is the definition of a pack with a leader. This is where the exclusive “all-positive” trainers and a mixed technique trainer like myself have much in common. The all-positive trainer is a resource and the dog they are training is the one who is submissive at that point, offering work for the primary reinforcement of food.
Yes, all-positive trainers use dominance too, if unwittingly, and thus dominance/submission or understanding that dogs were domesticated is not as ugly a thing as portrayed in our culture. I do, in fact, use a lot of techniques that would be described as “all-positive training’. But the almost cult-like following that trainers and dog enthusiasts have towards “all-positive” training, which somehow includes condemning mixed technique trainers, is the greatest hurdle to overcome in my business. I spend a lot of my energy and time explaining why allowing for corrections and techniques are often more effective for varied dogs’ personalities in varied situations.
Kazzi Dog Training – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Kazzi Dog Training is geared to teaching dog owners how to resolve or prevent anxiety and aggression in their dogs. Kazzi Dog Training also offers training to help dogs overcome distractions and be the kind of companion a dog owner can take anywhere.
One of the unique features of Kazzi Dog Training is the S.T.A.R. method that I developed. It is a user-friendly has been a user-friendly method of discerning what each dog’s motivations are and how to use those motivations to modify behavior. S.T.A.R. stands for Space, Treats, Affection and Respect. When dog owners figure out which category of commodities – space (all 3 aspects), treats (anything they can put in their mouth) or affection (or attention) – are the most valuable to their dog, they can use the natural desires or motivations to shape behavior to something helpful. Being in control of those commodities and requiring the dog to work for that which the dog desires, is not only pack leadership, but also fosters a working partnership that addresses the nature of the dog first. It is my belief that once you’ve addressed the nature of the dog, then “nurture” or learning is more successful and longer lasting.
Another unique feature is that as soon as I began my private practice, I offered free assessments for everyone and will travel to anywhere in the Los Angeles area, Orange County or Valencia. This gives the dog owner(s) a chance to get to know me, ask questions and I can meet the dog and ask questions as well. It’s a dual interview process where I can also assess the commitment of the owner(s). I can give them a “game plan” or two and I am clear about what I will ask them to do. I even give free advice to get them started. Dog owners have lots of choices in dog trainers and I want people to be happy with their choice. It’s okay with me if they decide I am not the right one for them.
A third unique feature of my private practice 9 years ago is that I offered what was called a lifetime warranty. About a year later, a client of mine suggested I call it “Lifetime Tech Support”. I believe that it is my job to educate the owner so that they don’t need me anymore and most clients only need 2-3 lessons, but I don’t want them to feel they are left alone as they experience the reshaping of their dogs’ behaviors. So, clients have always been welcome to call, text or email anytime and Kazzi Dog Training usually responds within 48 hours to coach them through questions or doubts. Of the thousands of students and clients I’ve had, I rarely get a call, email or text…that’s a testament to my ability to teach and empower owners to handle the changes in their lifestyle with dog. It’s unfortunate that since I have been “shopped’ by other trainers, they have copied this policy, verbatim.
Some of the things I am very proud of is the volunteer work Kazzi Dog Training, formerly Urban Dog S.T.A.R., in the world of disaster preparedness. Kazzi Dog Training is often a guest speaker for the city of Santa Clarita disaster preparedness series and for Bill Hopkins, the Chair of the Valley Disaster Preparedness Fair. In fact, this year on October 7th, I will not only be demonstrating at a booth, but I was invited to be the Key Note Speaker. In addition to disaster preparedness for pets, Kazzi Dog Training occasionally offers low-cost service dog training for veterans when it’s financially possible for the company.
I am also proud of my podcast “That Dog Training Show with Tanya Yarbrough”, the show where we talk about dogs we love and the stupid human behaviors we don’t, also known as S.Hu.B.’s. It’s an irreverent, frank and often times humorous approach to dog issues and information. It has an international following from dog owners, kennel clubs, behaviorists and veterinarians.
Finally, the Pack Leadership 101 Seminar has been a god-send for many dog owners and my seminar has been requested across the country and in Canada. I’ve had so many people thank me for the experience that they’ve learned so much and often times resolved problems they were accidentally creating at home. One man stopped me to thank me for saving his dog’s life. He welled up in tears while he explained that he and his wife had adopted a dog who turned out to be extremely fearful and aggressive and everything they tried, all the trainers they hired couldn’t help the situation. They were at the point of giving up which meant taking him back to a shelter where they knew he would likely be put down. It broke their hearts, but once they came to the seminar, they made some lifestyle changes and the dog, without any further instructions, turned around in a few weeks and continued to improve. It’s these experiences that keep me personally motivated and certainly keeps Kazzi Dog Training in business.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success by one simple rule: have I helped each dog owner have a better relationship with their dog? By the feedback from clients, the thank yous I receive, the referrals to other owners and the fact that Kazzi Dog Training is not inundated with calls or texts for help after one-on-one lessons, tell me that my mission of improving relationships between human and dog is working. Another sign of success is that other dog training companies have mimicked Kazzi Dog Training policies, names of group classes like Movie Tricks and Street Obedience. And finally, when a few of your clients are dog trainers themselves? Well, that’s a huge compliment to my techniques and philosophies.
Pricing:
- In-Home Lessons = $150 for an hour (can be financed over 6 months)
- In-Home Obedience Packages (6-9 visits) = $750
- Board & Train (per overnight) = $55 (for some behavioral issues, in-home lessons required as well)
Contact Info:
- Address: 3183 Wilshire Boulevard, #196-C21, Los Angeles, CA 90010
(business mailing address) - Website: www.kazzidogtraining.com
- Phone: 818-355-3636
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Blue Collar Working Dog
Redcross P.U.P Pet Preparedness for Disasters, Santa Clarita, CA
Poppy Phillips, Holistic Animal Insights, www.haiinstitute.com
