Welcome to Cascade Pet Camp’s Behavior & Training Department! We offer a range of services for dogs and cats. You’ll find information here about our classes -- including basic to advanced training, the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen program, and competitive dog sports like Rally and Agility. You can also learn more about our private training lessons, board & train services, and consultations for dog and cat behavior problems.

Our Methods

Fun, trust & cooperation — not force, fear or intimidation

Cascade Pet Camp embraces modern, science-based training that relies on motivating rewards and gentle “take-away” punishment. We give rewards for desired behaviors, and take away rewards for undesired behaviors. For example: When you get a good behavior from your dog, you give a goodie…

• give a treat
• throw a ball
• open a door your dog wants through
• praise & pet your dog

When you get an undesired behavior, you take away a goodie…

• ignore your dog
• don’t treat (or eat her treat yourself)
• don’t play, don’t toss a toy
• don’t open the door

The training is in the consequences!
The main way animals learn is from the immediate consequences of their behavior. If you can control the consequences, you can change the behavior. We teach our clients the appropriate use of food rewards, giving them generously during early training (called learning acquisition), and gradually reducing them to occasional treats and a variety of non-food rewards once the dog’s skills are solid (called learning maintenance).

Minimizing mistakes, maximizing success!
In addition, we treat the dog as we would any young learner, whether child or dog: with kindness and patience, progressing in small steps in a logical sequence, setting up each lesson to minimize mistakes and maximize success, allowing lots of practice to get it right, and warmly rewarding each success.

A positive revolution!
Modern training has been revolutionized by the proven science that learning is maximized — for people and animals — when it’s enjoyable and rewarding. In our classes, dogs don’t behave out of avoidance or fear, but because they want to earn our attention, treats, praise, toys, walks and play!

Our reward-based methods:

• Are highly EFFECTIVE!
• Fun at both ends of the leash!
• Kid-friendly — easy & safe for children too
• Based on the principles of learning from the science of psychology, not on outdated traditions and myths
• Build drive in your dog to work for you and please you
• Give you off-leash control
• Teach you benevolent leadership — training with your brain not brawn!