On Command Canine Training Center 417-439-0944

On Command Canine Training Center is a family owned business, owned and operated by Brenda and Tim Franks. Brenda and Tim have been training dogs professionally since 1995. Tim is a graduate of LEAD K9 Training Institution as a Master Dog Trainer and Instructor. Before that Tim was a Police K-9 Handler for the Madison County Sheriffs Office in Arkansas working Narcotic Highway Interdiction. Because of this experience, Tim has handled and trained some of the most dominant and aggressive dogs that you could imagine.

Tim and Brenda have always had a warm spot in there hearts for dogs. Because of that love, On Command Canine Training Center was established.
There is nothing secretive or magical about training dogs. Good dog training is all common sense combined with a foundation based on experience and a clear understanding of the way dogs think and interact (pack structure). The key is to get the right experience.
Brenda and Tim train dogs by the use of Marker Training. In technical terms marker training is operant conditioning. Operant Conditioning forms an association between a behavior and a consequence .When a dog exhibits a behavior we like the consequence is a high value reward. In marker training that reward is either a high value food treat or a high value toy that the dog really loves. If a dog does not perform a behavior the consequence is "No Reward." This is called a negative reinforcer. When a dog gets a negative reinforcer it must then repeat the exercises if it wants to get the high value reward.
Marker training provides the dog owner a language that allows him to communicate with his dog "the instant" his dog performs a behavior. It provides a non-punishment method of telling a dog "the instant" the dog does something you don't like and it provides a motivational method of telling a dog that you like what he is currently doing and you want him to continue to do exactly what he is doing at this moment in time.
During Training the dog will go through a learning phase. During the learning phase the motivational methods (food, toys or praise) is always used to take the dog through this phase. The most effective motivational method is called training with markers (This is where the dog actually learns the meaning of a command)
Once the dog understands the meaning of the command the trainer then adds distractions to the program. A good example of this is a dog that has learned the meaning of the word "DOWN" but now must learn that "DOWN" means stay down until the handler gives a "RELEASE COMMAND". This means the dog must stay down even if the trainer or someone else tosses a ball in front of the dogs feet or drops a hot dog 4 feet from where he is lying.

If a dog is disobedient under distraction or does not follow directions this is where a dog will receive a correction for being disobedient. The key here is that corrections are never given unless the trainer or owner knows 100% the dog understands what is being asked of him but refuses to follow the command.

Brenda and Tim believe that there is a difference between trainers who train with compulsion (IE force training) and trainers who use corrections. Corrections involve fixing a mistake. Compulsion means the dog offers the behavior to avoid a correction (yank and crank training, old school way of training dogs).

There are some things that dogs do that are self rewarding, like chase rabbits, squirrels, cars and maybe even a kid on a bicycle. No amount of redirection or marker training is going to change a dogs desire to chasing squirrels. You can't take the fun out of the chase. Even though they seldom if ever catch a squirrel they derive pleasure from the chase. Therefore the solution is that the fun needs to be taken out of the chase.

Dogs need to be corrected for self rewarding behaviors.

So as you can see Brenda and Tim believe that there is more to a obedient dog than just teaching a few basic commands. They believe that by teaching a dog to sit, down, stay, come to you when called, and to walk while on a leash, is setting the foundation for the dog's owner to become a fair and consistent pack leader that the dog will not only love but come to respect.