Frequently Asked Questions

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 We travel all around Southern and Central california, holding our training events.  

 Due to the mild climate we enjoy, we train year round. See our upcoming events to find an event near you!   

 We would prefer your dog to be at least 4 months old & fully vaccinated to attend at a public location.  But if your dog is younger and is in an environment where encountering a rattlesnake is unavoidable, please contact us to discuss alternatives. 

 We train dogs of all sizes! Any dog can be trained to avoid rattlesnakes 

We strongly recommend your dog to be trained twice in their first year at two different locations, with the second training soon after the first. We do this to help your dog 'generalize' the training to more than one situation. Once a year after that is usually adequate.   

Yes, absolutely...  With Gina's extensive background in behavior modification, she has the skills and patience to work with any dog.  She possesses the ability to work with dogs that are shy, fearful, aggressive, unfocused, hyper-obedient, or that have separation anxiety.  Your dog doesn't even have to have any formal obedience training!  

*Please let us know in advance if you feel your dog may require a little extra time/effort so we can plan ahead.

We have 3 different pricing tiers, $275 for the dogs initial training, $215 for the dogs 2nd training with us, and $115 for dogs annual refresher training. See more pricing details here. 

Yes!  Unlike our competitors, we offer a variety of training e-collars.  If your dog already has a conditioned response to 'come' or 'heel' with a shock collar, we won't use that same type of e-collar on the course.  For example, if your dog is trained to 'come' upon feeling a shock from their E-collar, we don't want to confuse the dog and use that same sensation on the course to teach avoidance.  Therefore we would use a different collar such as a spray or vibrate collar for their R.A.T. Click here for more info on our E-Collars

We often hear "Will the shock collar electrocute my dog?"  The shock E-collars do not shock your dog like a taser.  It doesn't burn your dog.    Instead, it works a lot like a T.E.N.S. unit which people may be familiar with from chiropractic or physical therapy.  It causes a momentary muscle contraction, much like a cramp or a pinch, between the two contact points which can be startling and uncomfortable to the dog.  This gets paired with the sight, scent and/or sound of the rattlesnake at the various stations to form a direct association in the dog's mind that that animal or even just its scent and/or sound is startling and uncomfortable, creating the reflex in their brain to move away.  Regardless of the type we choose, we start EVERY dog on a very low level and increase the level only if need be, until the dog has reached a level that it feels and responds to.  Overstimulating a dog puts him or her into a heightened panic mode where learning stops. Click here for more info on our E-Collars

No!  Our training can give even the more insecure dogs a big boost of confidence!  We default to positive reinforcement as much as possible, including having the owners profusely pet and praise verbally.  We have dogs who were previously shy and reticent at the sign in/collaring area leave the training course with tails held high and a new found sense of pride at navigating our mock trail course successfully. In fact our trail course has over a dozen stations so we need to be sure the dogs remain calm and are not panicking or not thinking clearly.   We even have rest areas on the course with shade and water for dogs who need them.  Our E-collars are chosen and adjusted specifically for each dogs’ temperament, sensitivity and response.  Gina will consult with each owner about any previous known e-collar history for each dog prior to beginning and will use only the minimum level of stimulation necessary to achieve the desired results (just enough to teach, not traumatize!).  Click here for more info on our E-Collars 

We serve the following counties: Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Fresno, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern, Orange, and San Diego. Click here to view upcoming events

Be aware that this training only teaches your dog to avoid rattlesnakes they either see, hear or smell.  This training is not 'awareness' training & does not make your dog omniscient.  This isn’t rattlesnake DETECTION training either.  We are not training your dog to go out and FIND rattlesnakes. Just like us humans, dogs might not notice a rattlesnake it happens to walk by. Since rattlesnakes are camouflaged and dogs don't have as good color vision as humans and they tend to see motion, its especially difficult for them if it's motionless.  If your dog can't hear, see or smell a rattler, they can’t avoid it.   Our mission is to make sure your dog can identify & is not curious if/when they ever encounter a rattlesnake. 

 Our FIRST PRIORITY is the comfort and safety of all involved.  Every precaution is taken to minimize danger to dogs, humans and snakes. For the most effective training we use live rattlesnakes which have been DOUBLE muzzled with medical grade tape to prevent them from being able to bite 

No!  Our Herpetologists take great care of the rattlesnakes we keep for this service, maintaining the snakes' well-being 24/7 …even on training days monitoring ground temperatures with infra-red technology & utilizing shade or cooling aides whenever necessary to be sure they don't overheat on warmer days.  The dogs are also kept on leash to ensure the safety of the snakes.  The snakes receive mice on a regular schedule and constant access to water.  The snakes are muzzled for everyone's safety which is no easy task! (We are always looking for volunteers to help… just kidding!)  We are grateful to the guys who put their own lives and limbs at risk to ensure the safety of your dogs.