Our Philosophy
“Vi” is Swedish for “we” and symbolizes the fact that the relationship between dogs and their humans is our biggest focus
Building trust, effective communication and a feeling of togetherness are some of the most important features of our dog training philosophy. This is why we give both dogs and their owners new methods and approaches so that they can improve their communication and avoid misunderstandings.
Our biggest motivation is to guide dog owners through the confusing maze that dog training can sometimes feel like. We show dog owners how they can use reward-based methods in an easy and effective manner in their everyday lives. With that being said, we are careful not to judge dog owners who are beginning their reward-based training journey. Everyone is welcome to train with us!
Vi Dog Training stands for evidence-based and modern training methods. It should be easy for both dogs and dog owners to succeed!
“It is because of the journey with my previous dog Skilla that I later decided to become a dog trainer”
I got my Skilla when I was very young and I raised her all by myself. At the time, the prevalent training methods were very different from today, and I trusted the information I received from books and puppy classes. While it did not sit right with me, I did not see any other alternative with my reactive and energetic Field Labrador.
After a few years of using different kinds of physical and psychological punishment, I started to realize that not only did it worsen our relationship but it also had made my dog even more reactive and insecure.
I found a more reward-based training approach and managed to improve our relationship.
- Mia
“My beloved Skilla and I got to spend 14 years together. It is far too short. But it was still long enough for her to teach me what I need to know about love, dogs’ needs and life in general”
Mia, owner of Vi Dog Training
We create the right conditions for learning
If you have read this far we assume that you are interested in finding out more details about how we work.
The most important thing we do is to create the right conditions for dogs’ learning. That means that we always make sure that it is easy for dogs to perform the desired behavior.
We identify with Progressive Reinforcement Training, which is a training approach developed by the world-renowned American dog trainer Emily Larlham. Emily Larlham runs the wildly popular Dog Training by Kikopup account on YouTube.
This is a way of training and modifying behavior without the use of physical or psychological intimidation. In practice, it means that we reinforce desired behaviors, that is, behaviors that we want to see more of. This is called positive reinforcement.
In addition, we prevent and interrupt undesirable behaviors without any intentional use of physical or psychological punishment. We also consider dogs’ physical and emotional well-being.
If you are interested in finding out more about Progressive Reinforcement Training, you can read more here.
Structure and clarity
Now you might wonder if we mean that dogs should be able to do whatever they want and that humans should never intervene? No, that is not what we mean! Dogs do indeed need lots of guidance from us humans in order to live in our modern society - both to survive physically but also to adapt to our social life.
In terms of any rules that you might have for your dog, these can be taught and maintained without the use of physical or psychological intimidation. Moreover, we can avoid the need for a million different rules if we proactively arrange a dog’s environment so that it is easier for them to succeed.
Our goal is that dogs should perceive humans’ “rules” as a task or job that they have to perform, or as a game. We do not want dogs to view rules as something that “I am not allowed to do X and if I do it anyway I will get punished”.
At Vi Dog Training we believe that structure and clarity are important for a dog in their everyday life. This is especially important for dogs who live with fears and anxiety. An example of this is to prepare the dog for an event that is about to take place by saying a specific word, making life more predictable and less scary. Another example is being very clear and structured when teaching a dog a new behavior. We thereby make it easier for the dog to understand what we would like them to do.
Structure and clarity will help your dog develop a sense of trust in you and will strengthen your bond.
Safety and love
Focusing on dogs’ emotional status is an important puzzle piece in building and improving the dog-human relationship. There is always a risk, even when using reward-based methods, that the dog develops performance anxiety. We want to avoid dogs developing performance anxiety as this can lead to increased stress levels and unwanted behaviors.
We therefore want to shine a light on the importance of dogs to experience unconditional love without the expectation of performance. It is very easy to accidentally get into a pattern of only rewarding, showing the dog love and giving attention when they are performing.
As dogs are individuals there are many different ways of showing them unconditional love. A dog who feels unconditionally loved will be a happier dog and will be an easier dog to live with.
Improved confidence and sense of control
We believe that it is crucial to improve dogs’ confidence levels and their sense of control and influence in their own lives. Many studies have shown that this is central to achieve mental well-being, both in dogs and in humans.
In today’s society, dogs often have very little influence over their own situation and they typically have very little freedom of choice in their everyday lives.
We help dog owners with simple tools and small changes in their routines that can make a huge difference in dogs’ well-being.
Our take on emergency situations
It is important to mention that we make a distinction between emergency situations versus dogs’ normal every-day lives and training. In an emergency situation, we believe that one should do whatever one must, for example, to stop a dog from attacking another dog or to stop a dog from eating chocolate.
However, we do believe that it is vital to prepare oneself properly so that one already has effective and ethical methods to use once an emergency situation occurs. It is possible to train oneself and one’s dog for different emergency scenarios so that they can be handled in a less drastic way.
It is also important to remember that everyone can make mistakes, especially in a highly stressful emergency situation, and that this is normal.
Knowledge needs to be kept up-to-date
We believe that knowledge always need to be updated. At Vi Dog Training, we always do our best to keep ourselves updated on new research and findings within the field of dog behavior. We welcome constructive criticism and an open discussion regarding training methods and ethics.