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| Dog Training | Service Dog | Therapy Dog | Pet First Aid | Puppies | Our Dogs | The Ranch | Directions | Articles |
| Board & Train | New Puppy & Private Lessons | Service Dog | Classes |
| Telephone Consultation | Workshops | Therapy Dog Training | 4-H Class |
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| Beginning in 1983, Tammie started a journey teaching first her own dogs, and then helping with the Beginner classes in a club in Chicago. After acquiring advanced level obedience titles (in the US and Canada) and attending many seminars and clinics, she began offering in-home lessons, started a Park District training class in her home town and worked at a local training school teaching a competition level course. This was done concurrently while working as a Biologist in a Fortune 200 Bio-Medical company. She also trained and trialed her first two Border Collies to advanced level herding titles during this time, earning multiple High In Trial awards. | ||||
| In 1994 Tammie acquired her first farm in southern Wisconsin where she began offering herding lessons and hosted herding events. Evening and weekend Obedience classes were offered in her training building. | ||||
| When she met Robert, he began training his first Border Collie for herding competitions and subsequently beat Tammie at his first trial, taking 1st place with Lexie, while Tammie earned 2nd and 3rd with Jaye and Breeze. And so began their partnership with dogs. | ||||
| Robert and Tammie moved to Brownstown, their current location, in 2001, where they continued to expand their sheep raising venture and hosted a number of herding trials (AKC, AHBA and USBCHA). | ||||
| In 2002, Tammie ended her 20 year long career as a Biologist and she and Robert now dedicate 100% of their efforts to professional dog training. | ||||
| Having worked with hundreds of dogs and their people by that time, Robert & Tammie began offering anti-social / aggressive dog rehabilitation services within their Board & Train program. The experience required to appropriately accommodate the troubled cases sets DarnFar Ranch apart from most other dog training options. Nothing (no paper certification or diploma) compares to years of hands-on experience with dogs and their people. Tammie's degree in Biology, and her 20 years of working as a professional scientist along with Robert's 10 years working as a Trainer in the United States Marine Corp further enhances their portfolio; providing reasonable, logical, common-sense approaches that people can understand and put to use with their companion dogs. | ||||
| In 2009,
Tammie's first book, The 4-H Guide: Dog Training and Dog Tricks
was published (for which Robert provided all of the
photography).
In 2011 Tammie's second book, a training manual called "T.E.A.C.H. Your Own Service Dog" was published. She is currently working on her next manuscript. |
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| We have our own "pack" of dogs (our personal pets) ranging from young puppies to very senior individuals that are retired on our couch. Some members of the pack are puppies we raised ourselves. Some are dogs that we have rescued. We have intact and neutered males and intact and spayed females. Our dogs interact with each other in a healthy, socially balanced unit and share the secrets of dog-talk with us on a daily basis. We examine dog behavior and take note. This has been one of the most valuable learning opportunities in understanding how dogs speak to each other and what makes sense to them. Our training methods emulate the way dogs interact with each other and that is why they are so successful. If a training or management approach makes sense to the dog, he learns quickly and respects the method. Fortunately, dogs tend to behave in ways that most humans would consider "common sense" approaches to maintaining social order, once we explain dog-talk in human terms. | ||||||||||
| Our life experiences have exposed us to, and prepared us to communicate with people from all walks of life. Often, our job is more about playing human psychologist rather than dog trainer. If our human clients don't understand our training approaches, they won't be able to continue the training at home. We consider human education our primary goal, whether that is during our Workshops, Puppy consultations or at a Board & Train pick-up appointment. | ||||||||||
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| Our adoration for dogs runs very deep. We are constantly researching other training methods, but we have found many of them are lacking the comprehensive approach that we feel is so critical to success. | ||||||||||
| Our approach to training employs a keen awareness of dog as a very unique species - something which is missing from many of the contemporary methods, and which allows for a non-food-based training technique. Your dog is not a dolphin. It is a product of hundreds of years of selection to partner with humans. While dolphin-training methods work on any animal, wild or domesticated, there are methods that can and do work with dogs that cannot be applied to other species. Dog has been developed to have a keen sense of belonging in our human social families. We feel it is important to treat dogs with that understanding. | ||||||||||
| Our training methods are based on the sound principles of excellent communication, fairness and consistency, establishing and reinforcing boundaries and offering the dog the tranquility of strong leadership. | ||||||||||
| But, unlike so many other canine professionals, we also understand that training is only one component required to help a dog become a fully integrated, happy companion animal. Our approach provides the complete package because a dog doesn't only need training, but also requires proper management and proper socialization to feel comfortable, calm and happy. We are passionate about helping dogs become truly happy in their homes by helping their owners become exceptional leaders | ||||||||||
| Along with our passion for training dogs comes our passion for educating their humans. There are some excellent dog trainers in the world. But, they often do not have the patience, skill or even the desire to deal with the more challenging component of the canine-human team. It is truly far easier to rehabilitate and train a dog than to teach a human how to be an exceptional leader for their canine companion. The ability to accomplish both tasks sets our program apart. Our Classes are designed to teach people how to train their dogs. Our Board and Train option culminates in a 3-4 hour comprehensive Owner Education session with our human clients which prepares them to continue their dog's education. We have been told more than once that the Pick Up appointment was worth the entire training fee. It is an incredibly education and enlightening experience | ||||||||||
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| Although we recognize a place for food and toys in some aspects of a dog's training, a dog trained at DarnFar will not require food bribery to willingly obey its commands. Our approach to dog training and management results in a highly compliant and happy dog without the need for treats. We use a collar and leash, good timing along with our presence and attitude as the primary components of our method. We prefer hands-on contact rather than a "remote"/electronic method, because, in our experience, dogs touch each other as an effective form of communicating. | ||||||||||
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| We often rehabilitate dogs that have been seen by other "trainers" or "behaviorists" who deemed the dog a "lost cause" or whose methods have failed to resolve the dog's issues. Do not give up on your dog because some "expert" tells you there is no hope or who have recommended actions which fail or even make the issue worse. Talk to us. See if what we say makes sense to you. Use your own brain and your own common sense and determine whether our approach sounds reasonable. We expect you to question our methods and you can count on us to explain the rationale behind our processes. So often we hear clients tell us, "well, what that Behaviorist said didn't really make sense, but we figured she knew what she was doing. But, the dog just seemed to get worse!" Let us help you find a method that makes sense to you so that you can emulate it, yourself. It doesn't really matter if we can get your dog to jump through fire hoops! You need to be able to control him. We are dedicated to teaching you AND your dog with a method that is reasonable, logical and which you can learn to perform. | ||||||||||
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There is a reason it is called "dogged determination". As social predators, dogs are designed to stick to a problem until it is solved. To present an aura of authority to a dog, one must possess qualities that dogs respect. Calm, confident, relaxed persistence is a critical quality of leadership. Many students become frustrated, angry or disappointed when their dog doesn't behave as expected. Typically, dogs behave the way that they think they can. Unless we communicate, in dog-friendly terms, what our expectations are, it's very challenging for our dogs to understand our wishes. Our methods hinge on remaining calm, communicating effectively, and holding high standards for behavior. In this way, dogs consider us quite clever and worthy of following. |
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| Holly, Golden Retriever | Ben, Springer Spaniel | Jasmine, Boxer | Cesar, German Shepherd Dog |
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| Jake, Mixed Breed | Nana, Newfoundland | Curious Cat Parade | Kara, German Shepherd Dog at Farm Store |
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