One of the most important elements in creating a happy home is its inhabitants. And in the case of your animal companions, their behavior can make your home a fun, welcoming abode, or a carefully guarded fortress that friends and family are afraid to enter.

The key to having a happy home is in making sure that everyone who lives there knows where they fit into the family. That’s especially important for your pets. Sadly, too few people take the time to properly train their pets, so they have dogs that jump on guests, growl or worse.

“Training creates a skill set that is always consistent,” explains Kelly Cullum, owner of Best Friends Fur Ever, a doggie daycare and training center in Joppa. “Our dogs in daycare come and socialize and learn – they learn how to sit, to come when called. But that’s probably not enough to create a really trained dog.”

That’s why Best Friends Fur Ever offers a variety of training programs to suit you and your dog. Unlike the traditional “Thursday night basic obedience” class for six

weeks at the pet store, Best Friends Fur Ever’s training classes are divided into levels. Those that learn quickly advance quickly; those that need more time on a skill set can stay at a comfortable level for a while. “We offer the levels classes at a variety of times to suit everyone,” Kelly says. “It’s like joining a gym – you progress through the levels at your own speed.”

For those who don’t have the inclination to train on their own, Best Friends Fur Ever will train your dog for you, with Day-N-Train and Board-N-Train programs that combine daycare or boarding with up to five days a week of training time. Your dog will leave with good house manners, and you’ll learn how to replicate and enforce those skills at home.

And don’t think that just because you have a cat you can’t do training, either! “You can certainly train cats!” says Dr. Anne Sinclair, owner of Cat Sense Feline Hospital. “You train them like a dog, based on a reward system. We use baby food without onions and onion powder – onion powder is poisonous to cats – and you need to give them the reward at the moment they offer the behavior. You can also do clicker training with cats.”

With all the training options, there’s no reason for your cat or your canine not to be a good family member!

Best Friends Fur Ever,
1009 Philadelphia Road, Joppa
410-671-PLAY (7529) | www.bestfriendsfurever.com

Cat Sense Feline Hospital,
332 South Main Street, Bel Air
410-420-0535 | www.catsense.net