Geralyn Kelly has dedicated over two decades to helping dogs and their owners through positive reinforcement training. As the founder of Elite Canine, she strives to make training fun, rewarding, and stress-free for both dogs and their humans. Geralyn's passion for canine companionship is evident in everything she does. She approaches each training session as an opportunity to strengthen the bond between dog and owner through patience and understanding.
Geralyn's training philosophy centers on clear communication rather than intimidation or fear. She takes the time to properly teach dogs what is expected through positive reinforcement rather than punishment. Geralyn believes every dog deserves to feel safe, secure, and confident. Her force-free methods have helped countless dogs who struggled with leash reactivity, separation anxiety, and other behavioral issues. Whether working with puppies or senior dogs, Geralyn's calm, encouraging presence puts pups at ease.
After over two decades in the business, Geralyn remains dedicated to continuous education within the field. She strives to stay on top of new training techniques and research. Geralyn is also an advocate for humane treatment of all dogs. Her passion, expertise, and compassion shine through with every training session, cementing her reputation as one of the most respected dog trainers in the region.
About Geralyn:
Geralyn Kelly has been working with dogs since 2002. She began in a daycare/kennel environment where she gained valuable firsthand knowledge about canine behavior. In 2004, after two years at the daycare/kennel, Geralyn began her training career and has never looked back! She began training at a large corporate pet store chain, where she learned everything from ethics, the scientific study of animal behavior, to learning theory and how dogs learn. The core of Geralyn’s belief is that to be a great dog trainer; you must know everything about them from their origins, background, recent changes in breeds, and how their minds work. To expand her education, she has attended seminars, workshops, and conferences and met some greats like Ian Dunbar, Sophia Yin, Victoria Stillwell, and Suzanne Hetts. After three years in the corporate world, Geralyn left the pet store chain to pursue a career with a private kennel. She developed the entire training program for this kennel from the ground up, where she trained Obedience, Agility, and Flyball!
In 2008, Geralyn relocated to Winston-Salem and spent four more years working for a corporate pet store chain as Store Trainer and Area Trainer, where she not only held many classes in the store but also trained numerous other trainers who have gone on to have successful training careers. During this assignment, she trained dogs in obedience and rallying.
In December 2012, Geralyn decided to reach more animals and work more closely with their human handlers and rescue groups, so she opened her own training center, Elite Canine!
Geralyn Kelly has dedicated over two decades to helping dogs and their owners through positive reinforcement training. As the founder of Elite Canine, she strives to make training fun, rewarding, and stress-free for both dogs and their humans. Geralyn's passion for canine companionship is evident in everything she does. She approaches each training session as an opportunity to strengthen the bond between dog and owner through patience and understanding.
Geralyn's training philosophy centers on clear communication rather than intimidation or fear. She takes the time to properly teach dogs what is expected through positive reinforcement rather than punishment. Geralyn believes every dog deserves to feel safe, secure, and confident. Her force-free methods have helped countless dogs who struggled with leash reactivity, separation anxiety, and other behavioral issues. Whether working with puppies or senior dogs, Geralyn's calm, encouraging presence puts pups at ease.
After over two decades in the business, Geralyn remains dedicated to continuous education within the field. She strives to stay on top of new training techniques and research. Geralyn is also an advocate for humane treatment of all dogs. Her passion, expertise, and compassion shine through with every training session, cementing her reputation as one of the most respected dog trainers in the region.
About Geralyn:
Geralyn Kelly has been working with dogs since 2002. She began in a daycare/kennel environment where she gained valuable firsthand knowledge about canine behavior. In 2004, after two years at the daycare/kennel, Geralyn began her training career and has never looked back! She began training at a large corporate pet store chain, where she learned everything from ethics, the scientific study of animal behavior, to learning theory and how dogs learn. The core of Geralyn’s belief is that to be a great dog trainer; you must know everything about them from their origins, background, recent changes in breeds, and how their minds work. To expand her education, she has attended seminars, workshops, and conferences and met some greats like Ian Dunbar, Sophia Yin, Victoria Stillwell, and Suzanne Hetts. After three years in the corporate world, Geralyn left the pet store chain to pursue a career with a private kennel. She developed the entire training program for this kennel from the ground up, where she trained Obedience, Agility, and Flyball!
In 2008, Geralyn relocated to Winston-Salem and spent four more years working for a corporate pet store chain as Store Trainer and Area Trainer, where she not only held many classes in the store but also trained numerous other trainers who have gone on to have successful training careers. During this assignment, she trained dogs in obedience and rallying.
In December 2012, Geralyn decided to reach more animals and work more closely with their human handlers and rescue groups, so she opened her own training center, Elite Canine!
Kristen daukas, welcome to Conversations on the rocks, the podcast where the drink is strong and the stories are stronger. I'm your host, Kristen daukas, and this isn't your average chat fest. Here, real people spill the tea alongside their favorite drinks, from the hilarious to the heart wrenching, each episode a wild card, you'll laugh, you may cry, but you'll definitely learn something new. So grab whatever, what's your whistle and buckle up. It's time to dive into the raw, the real and the ridiculously human. Let's get this chat party started. Hey everybody, it's Kristen daukas, and you are listening to conversations on the rocks, the show that is as random as me, and right now, be glad that you're not me, because the voice in my head is me, because there's something weird going on with my microphone. Luckily, you're not hearing two of me, because no one needs that. Ish, I am super, super excited to welcome my good friend, Jerilyn Kelly. And you know how they say that dogs are humans best friends. I'm not gonna say man's best friends, because they're everybody's best friend. True. Geraldine Kelly is dog's best friend, and she has a fantastic business here locally called elite canine. And two of my pups are proud graduates. Can't say they might be able to go into the alumni class, but if I'm doing the if I'm doing the stuff they do listen like loose leash works much better when Kristen's doing it than when Steve's doing it, because Baxton knows that we don't pull because mom will stand there. So what Geralyn is very well known for, is what they call is what is known as positive reinforcement and force free training. So instead of me echoing myself through this, Geralyn, why don't you tell everybody exactly what that is and how it differs from other forms of training for our fur babies,
Geralyn:
sure, sure. So I have always been a positive reinforcement, force free trainer, since day one, going into my 23rd year as a dog trainer, and I've never thought about ever using anything other than this method. So I train using a clicker. When I first started out, the clicker was not part of training, but we use what's called a marker, and that's what your clicker ends up being. And it basically tells your dog, yes, I asked you to do something, and that's exactly what I wanted you to do. So I'm going to give you a click, or you can use a verbal a lot of times in class, you'll hear me click and then go, yes, because I'm so conditioned from the beginning stages of my training to say yes, so then it's followed by you are such a good dog and a reward. So it's basically reward based training with no aversive methods whatsoever. I show them what I want them to do, as opposed to force them into what I want them to do. So you have your force free trainers, and then you have what's referred to now as a balanced trainer, which is just in my and I'm, you know me, Kristen, I'm brutally honest. It's just, that's why we love you. Yeah, I mean, it's just, it's just a fancy word for and the trainers usually say, I do what I think the dog needs, and that is shock collars, which they are now referred to as E collars, trying to, you know, hide the fact that, yes, make it bougie, right, that it's a shock collar choke chains which Do nothing but that choke and your fancy prong collars, and so this is more of like a fear and intimidation form of training, and it suppresses a behavior. So, you know, always people say to me, when I use my prong collar, my dog walks. Great, okay, but what happens when you don't use your prong collar? So suppressing a behavior and teaching a behavior are two completely different things. You're not fixing the bad behavior. You're teaching the dog to avoid this aversive method, whether it be a shock, a pinch on their neck or the fact that they can't breathe, as opposed to saying, I'm gonna take the time and teach you how to do it properly and and
Kristen Daukas:
I'm going to interject something real quick, something I didn't say. One of the best parts about geralyn's company is her, her logo, or her motto, is training for both sides of the leash, yes, because humans need to be trained. And
Geralyn:
that's it's, I mean, it's me basically training the humans. Yes, and the level of patience that people have is honestly nowhere close to the patients that I have. And I know it's frustrating to have a puppy, I totally get that. But when I look at a dog, whether it's my own dog, or it's a puppy in my class, or it's a 10 year old rescue that somebody's brought to me, I could never look at that little face and even consider pressing a button that's going to shock them, right? I don't raise my voice at my dogs. I don't yell at them. I have never smacked one or spanked one, or, you know, whatever you want to label it as if Colt is not doing something that I want him to do. It's because I didn't teach him. If your your child does something bad, you know, you're not going to shock them. So it's, yeah, well, maybe some people, but I mean, you know, so it's kind of the same thing. And I have, it's very rare that people ask me, Why do you choose this method? And this is what I always say. This is my little story. So for everybody who wonders why I don't use shock collars, this is a perfect story for it. So you've just started a brand new job. It's Monday morning, 9am your rip roaring and ready to go. You're so excited about your new job, and your boss comes in and he says, Oh, welcome to the company. Here's your first project. I want this on my desk by Friday, and along with the paperwork, is every step to doing that project, every single step, Mr Bill. Oh, okay, there you go. He just told me, is Mr Bill, and every step is right there. So all week long, you're so excited you can't wait to show your boss this project, because you know you're doing it great. Friday comes, you walk into his office, you put the project down, it's perfect. And he says, this is fantastic, good job. I'm gonna give you a raise. That's your reward for doing such a good job. And then next Monday comes, and you're excited again. Oh my god, I got a raise last time. And here comes that same boss, but he's not happy anymore, and he just throws the project down on the desk and says, do it, but it's a different project, and you've got no instructions on how to do it. Friday comes, you've been struggling all week. You bring him the report. You're terrified, and he looks at the report, and bam, he shocks you in the face. How you didn't even know how to do the report. But instead, he throws a shock collar in your face, right? So how? I mean, you're a human. You didn't know how to do this. Imagine a dog who doesn't even speak English, not knowing what sit is, or loosely schwacking Or that they have to come to you when you call them. So was that a little dramatic? It was, but pressing a button and shocking your own dog is beyond inhumane.
Kristen Daukas:
Yeah. But humans need to have that, that that parallel, right? They need to. They can't. They just go well, that this is the fastest way. It's just a dog, right? Which instant gratification is, me off. You know, it's like, if it's just a dog, then why'd you get it right? And it takes time, right? And it's
Geralyn:
instant gratification. That's what people are looking for. That's where those shock collars and those prong collars come in. When you bring a dog into your home, and I don't care where that dog came from, you rescued it. You found it on the side of the road. You got it from a breeder. I don't care where it came from. When you brought that dog into your home, you made a promise to that dog that I'm going to keep you happy and healthy. That's what training is part of. So you have a dog that goes to the bathroom in the house all the time. You're going to throw it outside. You have a dog that eats your furniture. You're going to get rid of it. You have a dog that jumps and knocks your, you know, your friends over. You're going to create it all the time. That's not the dog's fault. So for me, when I look at a dog, that's what I see. I see a creature the number one doesn't speak our language, and number two needs direction, plain and simple, I need to communicate to this dog what I want from them, what I want them to do, as opposed to constantly saying, Don't do that. Cut that out. No, no, no. Bad dog. Stop doing this. Okay. Well, they're looking to you to say, Okay, what am I supposed to be doing? And that's where I come in. So I want every person to have a beautifully trained dog. Is that reality? No, it's not reality. But when my students come to my class, I tell them, flat out, it's your job to teach them the rules, and if they make a mistake, it's your fault, plain and simple, it's your fault you haven't taken the time, then they're not going. To learn, plain and simple,
Kristen Daukas:
I had a child. I had a problem child. He wasn't a problem child, but, you know, he was a spaz. He's still a spaz. I'm surprised he hasn't come up here. You know, he's an excitable, lovable dearf That just, and you have to, and she's doing so well, and especially now that he's starting to get a little older, right? I can, you know, I can see that some of them, but you would think everybody that walks through this front door is his new best friend, and
Geralyn:
there's nothing wrong with that. I love love when they're social. I love that because the alternative is not good, absolutely, but it's the control that's what they need to learn. They just need to learn to control themselves. I never want to break that spirit. I never want to shut a dog down. That's never my goal, right? And I want those people who have that opposite, the dog that's terrified of the world. I want them to come to me, because I can help that. I don't want that dog to be terrified. I don't want Baxter to knock somebody over, but I never want him to lose that fun, happy. I love everybody's side. So you have to find kind of that common ground where, you know, everybody has to be a part of the training. So when you have people come over, you know, you've been to my house. You know, Colt is excitable. Is he supposed to be on the couch without being invited up? No, he's not. But when I have a party, you see him, he's all over the couch because nobody's shoving him off. And I'm in the living room, making in the kitchen, making, right for everybody. So, you know, right? He He will take advantage of it as well behaved as he is, but absolutely, am I gonna get mad and pick him? Am I gonna get mad and throw him in the backyard? No. I mean, he's so adorable. Well, come up here. Say hi. Kristen daukas,
Kristen Daukas:
come on. And if you aren't watching this, you need to go to the YouTube, because you would get to see a dog right now. You get to see Cory and Mr Bill. He's got his Mr Bill. Hold on, hold on. Let me take a picture of this. Okay, wait,
Geralyn:
hold on. I lost my screen. There we go.
Kristen Daukas:
Oh, there you go. Hold on, five, core, cold.
Geralyn:
Oh, he turned at the last second, did you get it?
Kristen Daukas:
Did I don't know, did we I can send you a picture? Yeah, Oh, whoops, oh yes, almost I did. All right. Okay, cool. So if you're lucky enough, I'll include it.
Geralyn:
I have a difficult read. Samoans are not easy to train. They're extremely destructive, they're loud, they're stubborn. But I really lucked out with Colt. He's a great dog where those of you who know me know Nanook. He was an awful puppy, awful, awful. I miss him every day, but he was, I know, but they are the most wonderful creatures. I mean, when you think about all of the things that they do in the world for humans, without asking for anything in return, nothing, nothing in return, you know, so when I'm training one of them and they've done something good, I'm gonna give them a reward. I'm gonna give them that cookie. Am I a cookie pusher? Some people call me a cookie pusher, and that's okay, because, you know what? At some point there's no more cookies. There's no more cookies. You're doing it because they do it, because you took the time and you trained them to do it, right? But if you went to work all week and didn't get a paycheck, you want to go back to work? No. So when they're young, yeah, a little incentive is not a big deal, you know. So question,
Kristen Daukas:
speaking of so question is it, is there ever a point where they're too old to train No never. So, so the whole you can't teach an old dog new tricks is a complete myth, everybody. Yes.
Geralyn:
So I have had 11 year olds in class. I had Madison, who, God, I loved her. She was so cute little. She's gone now, but she came to me. She was a little maltipoo. She came to me at 11. I trained her, and she was on the therapy team for four years for she'd retired and passed away. So they're never too old. And remember that I get a lot of rescues, so I do get older dogs, and sometimes they're awesome, but most of the time they have baggage. So, you know,
Kristen Daukas:
I was gonna say, yeah, so, and that's okay.
Geralyn:
I mean, I am an obedience trainer. I don't do behavioral training. I have my friend Jennifer. I send everybody to her. But I mean, like, if I have a dog that people say, oh, you know they're a bad Barker, that's okay. I have things to make them quiet. We know that, you know, or they know all of this stuff, but they can't walk on a leash, okay? Well, then you don't have to do. Beginner class. I'm not going to make you do the beginner class. You move up a level. So sometimes they do have some training. And of course, if they're at Forsyth, those techs, those kennel techs, train them while they're there. So you know, sometimes even, like the alumni that I get in class, they already know how to sit there. They know how to lay down. So you know, they do get some training, and then I'm like, Farah, oh, my god, Farah, I want to squeeze her till she pops. She already knew everything. She was a rescue, but she knew everything already so and then sometimes I get dogs that I had as puppies that have been surrendered and rehomed, and they come back to me. I'm like, I already know you, and they already know everything. So you know they're they're so smart. And I it really irks me when people are like, Oh, my dog's so dumb. No, they're not dumb. You just haven't taken the time out to train them to some learn faster than others. Of course they do, but that doesn't mean they all can't learn. People need to be patient with them. They're dogs, you know, and again, yeah, you bring them in your home, you have to be patient with them. They don't know the rules. They don't know, you know. Oh, my dog went to the bathroom on the floor because he was mad. No, your dog went to the bathroom on the floor because you didn't take him out. Or, my dog ate my remote control because he was mad I went on a day trip and didn't take him with me. No, he ate that control because you left it on the table, and your dog wasn't crated, and they eat things in your home.
Kristen Daukas:
So out of curiosity, why? Why will you use the remote control? I'm gonna knock I'm not knocking on wood right now. I have never, ever had that happen, is it? Do you think it's a something other than you left it out, right? Because I leave those things out, and my dogs don't even pay attention to it.
Geralyn:
It's just the dog. I mean, I have, I mean, I have a switch with the remote, with the controller and my remote control for the TV right next to it, and it's always been there, and no one has ever decided to touch it. Some dogs just look for trouble. I mean, oh no. Colt loves his toys. Colts never he carries my socks around. Sometimes He never eats them, but he's never taken anything that didn't belong to him. He really is. I mean, I can't say enough good things about this dog. It's unreal. Nanook, not so much. So when we had Nanook, the remote control was never out when he was younger, when he was older, yeah, but I mean, that dog ate $600 in cash. He shredded all my books. Remember the little folders I used to give you with the paper in it, and all the little Blue Buffalo handouts? I made 45 of those, and he destroyed all of them. So where was I? This was me testing him to see if he could be out of his crate when I wasn't home, and the longest I was gone was
Kristen Daukas:
23 minutes. So he was an opportunist, is what you're saying. He is. He was
Geralyn:
most definitely and then I can leave an open pack of uncooked bacon on the floor in the kitchen. Nicole would never even think to come near it. So there is a different you know, you have dogs that love to eat mulch, and then you have dogs that couldn't care less about mulch. You think all dogs love to eat mulch, but some dogs don't, you know, and then you have some dogs that never chew. Remember, Foster. Foster never chewed on anything that he couldn't digest. Colton and Nook are all about their antlers and their Benny bones and you know, this plastic stuff where Foster was like, I can't eat that.
Kristen Daukas:
Yeah? Josie is not a big fan of anything. Yeah. So like, we'll, we'll buy toys, one for her and one for Baxton. And we go, ha, ha, ha. That'll be josie's for 30 seconds, because as soon as Baxton turns around, or Josie turns her back, you know, Baxton has it, but he's right. You were and right. I have discovered, I know you don't have kids, but do you remember those little Fisher Price educational toys that were, like the ball and you stuck the shapes and like, you remember those, right? Yeah. So when Mackenzie was, I don't know, a year old, we were out of town, and they had left the pieces, you got the star and the triangles in the square right. And the worst pain in my entire life, even beyond childbirth, was walking into the room on and like planting on that I have, I have recently discovered the 50 year old version of that are those damn horns, yeah,
Geralyn:
oh yeah, the Nyla bones, the Benny bones, they all hurt. They're like Legos for dogs, oh yeah. That's why every night, all of cold scores get put away, because I'm not going to step on them in the middle of the night if I. To come out to the living
Kristen Daukas:
room, and you can always tell, I can always tell when baxton's been in there and he's left one because then all of a sudden there's a string of profanities coming out of my mouth. Here he is again. If you're not watching, you're missing out.
Geralyn:
Squeeze it. Oh, my God, he's so cute. He's such a cutie.
Kristen Daukas:
So have you ever had a student that you absolutely could not pass was a 100% fail? You don't have to tell their name.
Geralyn:
So I don't have a human dog student. It would be the human. The human would be the failure. And, yes, yeah. I mean, I it's, it's not as much. Since I opened a lead canine at PetSmart, when I can I say that, you can say whatever you want to sis at PetSmart, when I worked there, I had a lot of that, you know, the dog could go through all six classes and not even learn how to sit. And it was, you know, people would say to me, and even now they'll say to me, sure, what you know is it really, I mean, they paid you what? So what's the big deal? What's the big deal? The big deal is that, you know, well, it's not like they wasted your time. It wasn't free. It that's not what it's about. It's about the dog, you know what? I mean, um, but on a flip side, it is about me, because you see that dog at Tanglewood acting like a total idiot, and someone says to you, Hey, have you ever thought about training? And they say, oh, yeah, we went to training at elite canine. And here's this dog that can't even sit. That's a reflection on me. Absolutely, it, technically is a reflection on them. Because of all the 1000s of students I had and have, there's a handful that maybe have come out and not really learned. But there's a there's I've changed a lot over the years. I used to really kind of tiptoe on eggshells with my clients. You know, not that I'm not nice. I'm always very nice. I'm but sometimes I will talk with a bit of an edge when I get excuses. Well, they do everything for me at home. I get that. I get that they should be doing everything for you at home. But when I come here, they don't do anything, okay, but they do it for you. Of course they do. I'm the cookie lady. I have a pocket full of treats, and I never tell them they're a bad dog. They love me. Do you know what I mean? I'm always gushing over them. I'm always rubbing them. I never get upset with them. Of course, they love me. They're gonna do anything for me, but you need to have that in your home. Okay, well, now they're doing everything for me at home, but when I take them places, so from day one, you know, I always say the same thing, dogs don't generalize. This is one of the very first things that I learned when I became a dog trainer. They do not generalize, which means they're going to be great for you at home, but you take them to Lowe's and they're going to act like an ass. You take them to Academy sports. You take them to a brewery. They're not going to behave there, unless you take them there and excuse my cat, unless you take them there and train with them. Yeah, he sits on the
Unknown:
ball and you've got somebody in your house.
Geralyn:
What's up? Kiki, it's good as bloom. Is he the cutest? Okay,
Unknown:
there's a Kremlin in your home, yeah, protect yourself. Pete,
Geralyn:
Kiki, no, he's gonna get down. Okay? He sits on the back of my shoulders when I'm
Kristen Daukas:
working. He's very Penny. Does that, yeah, one of my twins does that, yeah. So,
Geralyn:
you know, you have to take them out. You have to go to strange places with them. They need to, you know, socialization. A lot of people are like, oh, I need to socialize my dog. Do you have a dog I could work with? It's not just about the dog, it's about people, places, sounds, the floor, the noises. You know, the other night at Lowe's, a forklift came right through my class, and, you know, the lady with the flags at Lowe's and the beeping, and all of my students were like, so just watching them go by, and the lady was like, they don't even care. I'm like, no, they do not. They don't care. Why? Because we're at Lowe's, and that's what you're you know, their families have done. They've taken them out and practiced and you know, now they know that's not a scary noise, or the great downtown that I have to walk across is not a scary thing on the ground, or the creaking of the Mass General Stores floor, is not something I need to be afraid of. So it's all you know, to have a fully well rounded dog. You do have to take them out. You have to take them out of the house. And I do get which always annoys me, the vets that will tell them they have to be fully inoculated before they should go to class. It, and by that time, they're four, four and a half months old, and you've missed a huge window of socialization there. And I understand the concern, don't get me wrong, but I'm not going to put anybody's dog in danger. I want them to start at 10 weeks. I want them to start right fresh. Look at all these puppies. Look at all these dogs that are going to love you and these people who are going to want to touch you, and look at this new place at four and a half months old, that window may have closed already, and now you've got a dog that's afraid or a dog that's never met another dog, and if they're a big enough breed, they don't come in a puppy class, so they don't get that socialization. So it really does start right from, you know, puppyhood and up. And when you don't get them as a puppy, you start them with those noises, with those different places and the sights and the sounds and the new people. But you have to do it where your dog's having fun. They have to be having fun. So to answer your original question, my training methods are fun. They're fun. We have a great time. Everybody's happy. They're excited to come back to class, including the humans and I, try to make it someplace where you want to be, as opposed to a hive dog training tonight, the instructor so boring in this, you know, the class sucks. Oh no, I laugh a minute. I have so many jokes, it's not even funny. So I want you to want to come back, and I want your dogs to enjoy themselves, just like they do at home. So and
Kristen Daukas:
they do, at least mine did, yeah, yeah.
Geralyn:
So force free training is training with love, your rewards, your clickers. Balance training is training with aversive methods like fear and intimidation. The best way to describe it, I
Unknown:
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Kristen Daukas:
Is there any difference? And I know there is, but I want to hear your professional opinion on it, speaking of training, the way you train and the way professional dogs are trained. So our canine, our little canine officers, you know? I mean, luckily, I never went through the through with getting a German Shepherd as much as I think they're cool, yeah, I don't have the discipline to do the training. And like you told me, the thing that you told me that was, that was that really set me back, was they need a job. They
Geralyn:
do any, any, and I see the job, yeah. And then I see
Kristen Daukas:
that and, and, like, chasing the cats ain't a job,
Geralyn:
no. And I mean, I have a lot of German shepherds in class. I love them. They're, they're, you know, they're in my top four, my Aussies, my sammies, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds. They are one of my all time favorite breeds. But they need exercise. They need to be entertained. Super smart, and believe it or not, this in 2024 they took over the poodle spot as the number one smartest dog in the world. The poodle has been the smartest dog in the world for as long as I can remember. It is now the German Shepherd. But when you have a brilliant dog like that, their mind has to be kept busy, and they're too smart for their own good, sometimes too so you have to keep an eye on them. But canine training has come a long way. It's much different now in a lot of places than it used to be. So they used to use sort of like a schutzen training, which is very, very rough. They would kick the dogs and PUNCH the like anything, somebody they're trying to apprehend, would they would encounter? This is what they would do. Do you really have to go that bad? Okay, hold on, bring it back, or I'll still talk. And so it was a very brutal sort of training. It was definitely something that I could never watch. I have had people send me canine training videos that I just didn't watch because I couldn't stomach it. And I want to say that I understood why, but I don't. I don't understand why, but now a lot of canine trainers are training is now done with positive reinforcement. Yeah, so you don't have those shock collars on. Sometimes you'll see prong collars. A lot of times you'll see choke chains, but for the most part, especially here in Forsyth, you know, I work very closely with the Forsyth Sheriff's Department. I do a lot of stuff with them and their dogs. They're so awesome, but they're their dogs. This officer, this is his dog. It's not just his partner. They go home with them. They live with them when they retire, they go home and live with them for $1 think they buy them for $1 from the Sheriff Department. So the training might not be super positive reinforcement, but it's way more than it used to be in the past, schutzen training is still around. It's just not, not as popular as it used to be, because now 17 countries have banned prong and shock collars, nice so they can't use those methods anymore, or they go to jail. But, yeah, I mean, I've met all the canines over at the at the Sheriff's Department. They're all sweet. They'll, you know, they love kids. You've got the SRO over at West, who is a lab, so they're not all German Shepherds anymore. And then you have Bain, who's huge. Mean, he's one of the biggest German Shepherds I have ever met, and he'll lick the skin off your face. But if they're called out, I wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley,
Kristen Daukas:
absolutely not. Because, from what I understand, one of the newer canines, and I can't believe I'm blanking on their name. But I really can believe that, since I'm postmenopausal, the one that is a not bombs, is it the bomb sniffing dog? Anyways, they send them away for the truly personalized so the handler and the dog go away for a couple of months, a month or whatever, to get some really intense training,
Geralyn:
right? And the sniffing dogs, the bomb sniffing, he's a gun Sniffer, the new guy, the bomb Sniffer, yeah, go, No, I think it's Coda bomb sniffing, um, the drugs, the guns, all that stuff, is done with a clicker. So when they go from box to box, and they they, when they alert that, hey, the guns in this box, they get a click and a reward. It's the same training that I do. So, you know, it's, it's almost like, on the lines of like Diabetic Alert training, the diabetics smell the breath and say, oh my god, their sugar's off. So, you know, it's kind of the same thing. So all of those nose work, all that nose work is done with positive reinforcement. So you know it the world is changing slowly. But again, we do have, you know, people that want to send their dogs away to to get trained, and you know they don't know what's happening when they're gone. Not that every board and train is bad, but you know, there's that woman in Raleigh who killed those dogs
Kristen Daukas:
well, and for me, it's just the your whole premise, I think, is the right premise, which is, if you send your dog off for two weeks, and I have had friends that have done that, and I Go, but what about you?
Geralyn:
And sometimes the dog comes back and is completely shut down. I don't, I mean, people have, you know, they do say to me, please take my dog home. No, no, it'll be okay. You'll be able to do it. You know, I already trained my own dogs. I'm not bringing yours home to you. But you know, the board and trains. I'm just, I've never been a fan for that exact reason, and because there's so many. And again, I have no problem with any of the board and trains in our area, don't get me wrong. But there have, there are so many horror stories out there, you know, again, the most recent one in Raleigh, the the woman had five dogs in the shed, and four of them died because the air conditioning shut off. So, I mean, you know was that a freak accident. No, that air conditioning was a piece of trash, and those dogs shouldn't have been in a shed, in crates that were two times too small for them. So there was another one in Florida. The same thing happened, but this was a very reputable place, and they lost power, and their backup didn't kick in for whatever reason, and a whole bunch of dogs died from the heat. So I'm just not, I mean, I don't know, just like I wouldn't board my dog somewhere where somebody wasn't there overnight. It's just personal, absolutely, yeah, but I have started a new program because I have watched a lot of my students with the walking really just lose their minds when I'm sorry, I'm just watching out the door for him, lose their minds when it comes to trying to teach their dogs how to walk. And a lot of them are those high energy, you know, working dogs, yes, and it's. Was like, the light bulb has not gone off yet. What's going on? And so I recently had a student who I showed up at Lowe's, and my class was standing outside, and I was like, what's going on? And I saw one of my students making a beeline for her car, and I was like, what's going on? And they're like, We don't know. She was just really screaming at him inside the store. So I was like, well, that's not like her. So I went to her car. She was crying, and I'm like, are you okay? She's like, I had the worst day, and I cannot deal with him because her dog very super, crazy, high energy, only nine months old, just loves other dogs, loves people. And was like ripping her arm out of her socket. And when you lose your patience like that, that's not helping the dog at all. And so I sent her home, and I said, we're gonna switch to privates. I'm gonna meet you here, whichever day it was, just like a month and a half ago. So I met her at Lowe's, and I had her sit in the outdoor furniture, right in front of the store, right in the when you first walk in. And I took him for 30 minutes and walked him around the store, my patient never thins when it comes to a dog I'm training. It just doesn't, because I know that I'm teaching him. He's learning just taking him a little bit. You know, I don't never learned algebra or geometry or any of that, because it would have taken me too long, because I don't have that brain for math. So I know he's excited. By the time we were done with that half an hour, was he walking perfect? No, was he walking better? Yes, did he lower his feet instead of jumping on people. Yes, by the third session, she brought him back to the beginner to class, and he walked like a champ through Lowe's, because I worked twice with him, and then she worked with him in between, because he tested her and realized, Oh, this is what jer was doing, too, and I wasn't allowed to do it then. So kind of like with Baxter, with you and Steve, okay, and so he went off to hunting camp because he's a hunting dog, so he's at hunting camp right now. And I thought to myself, she was really upset. And again, with the patience, she just didn't have it for the dog. And you know, most people that get dogs like that, they have a backyard like you know, I have a nice backyard. I don't walk cult. Does he walk nice on a leash? He does, but I don't walk him. I'm not gonna walk him when it's 95 degrees outside. So when you have a dog that sucks on a leash and you have a backyard, you know, take the time to teach them, but you have to take them out of your house at some point, and when you do, that's when your frustration builds, and that's when your patience goes away, because now they're walking horribly, but you didn't take the time to do it right? So I said, I'm gonna do this program where I come to your home and I walk your dog. You don't come with me. I give your dog a walk and a loose leash lesson at the same time. So they get a 30 minute walk with me, and I'm training them at the same time. And you have to do it Monday through Friday, five days in a row, and then Friday, you walk with me, and I show you for 30 minutes everything that I did all week, and now you have to follow through with it. If you need me to come back, I'm happy to come back, but after five days, I shouldn't need to come back. Ash, can you get off? Thank you. Sorry the kittens climbing the curtains. What's the matter? Did you pull your nail? Well, that's what happens when he hangs in the curtains. Are you okay? She
Kristen Daukas:
talks to her animals the way I used to talk to my kids. If you didn't do that, that wouldn't happen.
Geralyn:
This is Ash. Say hi, I'm a climber. I climbed the curtains. Okay, don't jump from this high. You're too little to jump from this high. Hold on. Okay, okay, okay, all right. There you go.
Kristen Daukas:
Okay. Geraldine, we've only got a couple more minutes left. So as we talk wrap up, here's here, here's a here's a parting question for you, sure, a family, a person, wants to get a dog, what are 345, what are, what are some key things you want them to think about or ask themselves before they make this what is supposed to be a dog's lifetime commitment first? And
Geralyn:
this is going to sound weird, but what is their grooming requirements? That's the first question. And here's why doodles are super popular. And I mean, I love all my doodles that come into class, but they have to be brushed every single day. Shaving them is not good for them. You have to brush them every. Single day they have to go to the groomers. So many, you know, six, six, every six weeks or so, their nails have to be cut. And this is all dogs every, you know, two weeks are you going to do that grooming routine if I didn't brush Colt? I mean, it was her hair would be horrible. You know, labs, a lot. Baxter and Josie probably shed more than cult does.
Unknown:
Probably, yeah, so Jesse definitely
Geralyn:
right. That would be my first thing. Are you prepared? Because, oh, I have a non shutter that's great, but your non shutter is more grooming maintenance than my shutter. So people aren't prepared for that. Number two, find the dog that fits your lifestyle. If you're a couch potato, you get an English bulldog or a greyhound rescue, or something like a Shih Tzu that's going to sit on your lap and watch television with you. Are you a runner? Get a lab, get a husky, go to the shelter and get a dog. You know what I mean, if you're active, pretty much any dog would be good for you, except like an English bulldog, where, if you took them for a walk in the seat, they go and fall over and die. So, you know, it's funny, but it happens.
Unknown:
No, I know, right?
Geralyn:
If you're you know, if you're a renter, check your lease First, check your homeowner's insurance. Are you allowed to have a bully breed in your home? I mean, there are plenty of times that people leave FHS with a pit bull, and 20 minutes later they come back because the landlord saw them and said, Oh no, that's one of the dogs on our list. So you check your leases, check your homeowners insurance, make sure that that dog is covered. By the way, State Farm doesn't care what kind of dog you have. Is, you know, do you have a fence? Are you capable of making that fence non escapable if you bring a husky home? So read about these breeds. Read about them. If you go to the shelter and you see a dog that you absolutely love, ask the staff about them. If they don't know anything, well, they're not going to know anything. But you know, there's a lot of foster to adopt programs out there where you can find out if the dog is good for your home or not. There are certain breeds that like to eat cats. So if you have cats, bringing a husky home probably isn't the best idea. Okay, do you have children in your home? That's another concern, you know. Are you gonna bring home a dog that was found on the side of the road that has no history into your home with a toddler? And I'm not trying to deter anybody from rescuing but this is a major concern when you bring a dog home and not not to get puppies bite too. I mean, you know, puppies are worse than any dog that's before,
Kristen Daukas:
but there's a difference between nipping puppy nipping and like, right, the dog that was in my house, that was my sister's for a while, I don't know if you remember how, I mean, he was resource what's the word resource guarding? Yeah, he was in it like it was bad, right?
Geralyn:
And if a child doesn't know that that's you're creating, you know you're creating a situation where a tragedy is going to happen. So definitely grooming, definitely finding the dog that fits your lifestyle. Read about a breed. If you're looking for a breeder, you call me, and I'll help you find one, a reputable one, not some that you're going to get. You know, like if you saw some Moya like coke for $100 you need to run the other way, because there's something wrong with that dog. You know what? I mean? Go to the shelter. Hang out with the dog. Go there and hang out with them. Take them out for a dog day out and get to know them. You know, how high is their energy? You know, there, there's, oh God, there's so many Kristen, I could talk for an hour on what qualifications, but, you know, the main thing is investigating the dog that you're looking for. So don't just
Kristen Daukas:
get, don't just get a burr up your butt and go. Let's go get a dog. Because you're
Geralyn:
supporting a puppy mill. You know, there are so many backyard breeders and so many puppy mills out there that we need to stop, which is a whole other subject. But, I mean, you know, they you really need to research the dog that you're looking for, especially if it's a purebred, and you can read about it. But if you need help finding a home or dog that fits your home and fit your lifestyle and stuff, give me a call. I'm happy to help. I mean, I love to do stuff. I love to do stuff like that she does. And I, you know, I have a lot of ends with, you know, I have a lot of dogs in my class, so I have good breeders, if I needed to send you to a breeder. And of course, I work out of the Forsyth Humane Society, so I know those dogs. There were three beautiful dogs tonight at the paw crawl at brewery, Dubois, Gracie, Sarah, and I can't think of what the third one's name is, but man, they are awesome. They loved other dogs. They loved the kids there, the people. So I'm giving a fiches a plug. So if you're looking for a dog, go check them out. They have some really cute dogs right now, and they have a litter of four puppies that are adorable. Yep, but you know, if you're not sure and you saw this dog, you asked the staff there, they're happy to look up. You know, where the dog came from, or if there's any information about them, these guys know that dog the best, so they're going to help you find that dog at their you know there that's going to help you. And then you come to training with me for free. When you adopt from the humane society, you get three free sessions with me, so you get them off on the right start.
Kristen Daukas:
Thank you so much. A it was like towards the last minute, we'll hang on for one second, but to sign off with everybody else, I hope you have a great day. I hope you have a great night, and coming in on the fourth I hope everybody does smart stuff and keep your dogs inside. Yes please for the Fourth of July. So till the next time, everybody, thanks for listening. Thanks, Geralyn, absolutely. We'll see you later. As the saying goes, you don't have to go home, but you can stay here. And that's a wrap for this week's episode. A big thanks to my guests for sharing their story and to you for listening. Don't forget to share the show with your friends and spread the words. And if you'd like to be a guest on the show, the link is in the show notes till next time. Cheers you.
