Taking care of Your Pets Since 1999
Northeast Pennsylvania Training Services:
Professional Dog Training Serving Lackawanna County, Wayne County, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Neighboring Communities
basic obedience
advanced obedience
competitive obedience
problem solving
Personal Protection
- Home Protection
- Self Defense
Law Enforcement
- Suspect Apprehension
- Drug/Contraband Search
- Explosive Detection
Tracking
- Missing Persons
- Manhunt
Detection
- School Safety
- Public Events
Eliminating dominance from the training allows even children to handle any size dog.
Obedience training develops cohesion and tolerance within the pack.
About our Training
- Teaching a dog is really no diffrent from teaching a child. They need to count before they can add and subtract. Every lesson builds on the one that came before. Just like children, not all dogs learn the same. I would not train a dominant dog the same as I would a submisive dog or a fearful dog the same as a dog with a happy go lucky personality. It is important to taylor the training for the individule dog. I train every dog as if it will be a service dog because I feel that is the correct way to do it. The first rule to training a service dog is that one percent of the dogs attention must always be maintained. Dogs learn by markers. If I don't have one percent of a dogs attention, I can't mark a positive or a negative, because they will be oblivious to it.
Expert Bio:
Tony is an expert in canine behavior, understanding why a dog exhibits a behavior so that he can attack the cause of a problem instead of the effect. He began his career as a police dog decoy in the Scranton area and has been serving the Abingtons and surrounding areas since 1999. He specializes in canine behavior and problem solving. He believes in teaching dogs rather than training dogs, engaging a dog's brain to think and develop their problem solving skills instead of simple conditioned response. Developing a dog's cognitive reasoning literally makes them smarter.
I’Although Tony is not against treats, he does not believe in using food in pet dog obedience to bribe, coherse, lure or reward. He believes every dog should have a job, it's part of the species. In the wild, in a pack of dogs every dog has a job and they need it to feel right. If you don't give a dog a job, that is often when you see behavior issues arise like separation anxiety and destructivness. A dog's job can simply be to do whatever it is you tell them to do, but that needs to be his job and it is very difficult to get them into that mindset if you are always holding a treat saying, "pretty please do this and I'll give you a biscuit." There can be no quid pro quo on obedience.
Experience
K-9 Academy delivers a dog training experience like no other. With Tony's training regime the results are speedy and tangible. Basic Obedience Training can be completed in as little as two weeks, but is tailored to each family's pace.
High Quality
K-9 Academy has an impressive track record spanning over 25 years. Tony Mercuri, representing K-9 Academy is a back-to-back recipient of the "Best of the Abingtons" dog training accolade .
Personalized Training
K-9 Academy implements the most effective training strategies in the area. The methods Tony uses are field-tested and proven. No matter the breed of dog , Tony will be able to quickly diagnose the dog's problems and prescribe the most impactful training practices to meet the unique needs of your pet.
Gain the Confidence to Train your Dog
Private Class
Engage with the expert trainer one-on-on for the most personalized experience.
Group Class
Socialize your pet amongst others and take advantage of techniques not possible in solo sessions.
Board & Train
Fast track your dog to success by leaving him with the master trainer for live-in daily training