Noozhawk’s Four-Legged Friends and More section features articles covering aspects such as health, comfort, training, exercise, and the overall well-being of your beloved animals.
In our mission to showcase the pet-friendly establishments in Santa Barbara County, we’ve engaged in informative interviews with representatives from these local businesses. This year’s Four-Legged Friends and More Guide promises to provide an insightful glimpse into the offerings of these businesses, ensuring your tail will be wagging with delight.
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Lorrie Burger, Director of Marketing at Elite Pup Training to learn more about their mission to strengthen the bond between the dog and guardian.
Question: What is the name of your business or practice?
Answer: Elite Pup Training
Q: What is the mission behind your business?
A: Our mission is to strengthen the bond between the dog and guardian to live a more fulfilling life together. We treat all dogs as if they are our own and go to all lengths to ensure their comfort first. Once a comfort level is reached, we are then able to maximize the benefit for whatever service they are with us. We change lives one dog at a time.
Q: What types of animals does your business cater to?
A: We cater to all canine breeds, ages and sizes.
Q: Can you describe the services or products your business offers?
A: We provide obedience training, day care and overnight boarding for all canine breeds.
Our training consists of day training and board & train programs. Our day care and overnight programs enable a dog to socialize in large, open spaces with other canines, humans and ranch animals.
Q: How long have you been in this industry?
A: We’ve been training dogs for over 15 years.
Q: What makes your business or practice unique?
A: What makes Elite Pup Training unique is our location. Elite Pup Training is located on a 300 acre, ocean-front ranch in Santa Barbara with large open spaces where we train and socialize dogs. We have a large facility where each dog has their own kennel with enclosed, secure yard. Each kennel is insulated to protect from both hot and cold weather. Our kennels vary in size, giving opportunity for family dogs to remain together if desired. We have access to miles of trails and beach giving variety to our pack walks.
Q: What training, education and experience do you and your staff have? Do you hold any professional certifications?
A: At Elite Pup Training we have licensed trainers and dog handler with years of experience.
Q: What is your level of expertise regarding pet health and behavior?
A: We have a high level of expertise in recognizing canine behavior and obedience training. We give the best care possible for all dogs under our supervision and if a dog is displaying any type of unfavorable health condition, we alert the guardians immediately for veterinary care.
Q: How do you manage behavioral problems?
A: At Elite Pup Training, we work with dogs of different breeds and temperaments. If a dog is behaving in an undesirable way, we do our best to get to the root of the behavior and work from there. Often times, if we can determine why they are behaving they way they are, we can remedy the situation, gain their trust and start working with them on a clean slate.
Q: Do you work with all breeds / age groups?
A: We work with all breeds and age groups.
Q: What method of training do you use? (i.e. positive reinforcement, electronic training, clicker training, training equipment, etc.)
A: At Elite Pup Training, we practice balanced dog training where we teach a dog desired behaviors using both reward-based techniques and aversive corrections which the dog will be introduced to once it associates a behavior with a command. The intent of correction is not to punish the dog, but rather to change a dog’s behavior.
The tools we use include, electronic collars, prong collars, flat buckle collars and clicker training. Each training program is uniquely designed for each dog. We observe and decide which tool will be the most effective for that particular dog. It’s not always one type of training that helps a dog succeed. Often times, we use a variety of methods to maximize the training experience.
Q: What do you do if a pet is aggressive towards you, your staff, or other animals?
A: If we have a dog showing signs of aggression, it is handled very seriously. We will quarantine the dog from other dogs and humans, and only have the most experienced handlers involved in the case. Once the dog is quarantined, we are able to observe and analyze the cause of the aggression, work through and mitigate the cause for aggression. We then will slowly introduce different levels of stimulation to ensure, to the best we able, that the issue is resolved and training is commenced.
Q: What advice would you give to a new pet owner?
A: Having a dog takes a commitment of time and money to ensure the best outcome and fulfilling life together. The more time you commit early on in the relationship, the more time you will ultimately spend with your dog throughout it’s life and a good training routine will enable a more robust life together. A happy life together.
Q: Are you currently accepting new clients?
A: At this time, we are accepting new clients.
Q: Can you name a few common reasons animals end up in your shelter?
A: As we all know, our shelters are overcrowded. Three common reasons why an owner has to surrender their dog is lack of money, time or their living arrangements have changed and they are no longer able to have a pet in their home. When we learn of an owner considering rehoming their dog, we do everything in our power to help the owner keep their dog.
Q: Do you re-home animals no longer able to live with their owners?
A: When we learn of an owner considering rehoming their dog, we do everything in our power to help them in that very difficult and emotional process.
Q: What kinds of challenges have you faced within the pet care industry? How did you or your team manage them?
A: At Elite Pup Training, when we are faced with challenges of any type, we do it together as a team.
Q: How do you help make your client feel at ease leaving their pet in your care?
A: It’s never easy leaving a dog whether it’s for training, daycare of overnight boarding. We put our clients at ease by keeping them updated throughout the visit with calls, texts, photos and videos. Frequent progress reports are generated and delivered to the guardians and all calls and texts are answered in a timely manner.
Q: Can you describe the process to adopt an animal at your shelter?
A: At Elite Pup Training, we offer dog training, daycare and overnight boarding. We are not a shelter nor do we offer adoptions services. We do, however, help our clients if they are considering adopting a dog from a shelter. We can provide our input in deciding which dog would best fit their needs and support with our services once the adoption is complete.
Q: Are you a nonprofit? Do you accept donations?
A: Elite Pup Training is not a nonprofit.
Q: How do you keep the public informed about your business or service(s)?
A: Our Elite Pup Training website, social media accounts and newsletter help us stay connected with our current and future clients.
Q: What is the typical cost of your service(s) or product(s)? Do you offer any payment plans or discounts?
A: At Elite Pup Training we don’t have a typical cost for our services.
Our services range from $50 for a day of EPT Daycare up to $7,000+ for a 7 week Board & Train program. These are very different clients with specific needs and the price reflects that. We do work with each and every client to give them the best service possible for the desired investment of both money and time.
We have discounted EPT Ranch Passes for both EPT Daycare and EPT Overnight Boarding that range from 15-25% off the regular price. We also work with each and every client, designing a plan together that works best.
Q: What are your hours of operation?
A: We are open from 8:30am – 5pm Monday thru Saturday and 8:30am – 4pm Sunday 365 days a year.
Q: What is one fun fact about your business?
A: At Elite Pup Training, we love to get to do what we do.
Q: Is there anything you would like to tell our readers that was not mentioned above?
A: Elite Pup Training is located on a 300 acre ocean-front ranch and there is someone there on site 24/7. We are very serious about the job we do and are very proud of the services and care that we provide. Our clients, both two-legged and four-legged, become our family.
Click here to learn more about Elite Pup Training!