What is BARK University?
We are a small, local, woman-owned business based out of Hot Diggity Doggie Camp in Northport, Alabama. Hot Diggity owners Brooke and Liz identified an unmet need for affordable, long-term, and flexible training options in the area. They began offering training classes out of their daycare business, and the widespread popularity of these programs quickly outgrew Brooke and Liz’s ability to handle alone. They created BARK University to separate dog training from the daycare and boarding offered by Hot Diggity. BARK University allowed them to recruit enthusiastic trainers who are just as eager to meet our community’s training needs.
BARK honors Brooke’s and Liz’s dogs - Bentley, Aljo, Riley, and Koda - at the business’s creation. Their beautiful souls continue to inspire us! University highlights our emphasis on continuing education for both dog and owner from puppyhood through adulthood, basic obedience to sports and tricks, and minor behavior issues to mild reactivity. Of course, being located near The University of Alabama may have had a little influence on the name…
BARK University’s trainers support dog guardians in creating a better life with their canine companions. As humans, we put a lot of expectations on dogs to live in our human world. At the same time, our dogs have natural and instinctual needs that we agree to meet when we become their guardians. Trainers at BARK University recognize that one size does not fit all! We have a lot of experience in balancing both human and canine wants and needs. We are here to help your dog fit perfectly into your family. Life with dogs can be fun and harmonious - let us show you how!
Our trainers are both educated and experienced. Brooke and Liz by funding continuing education programs. All trainers must pass canine body language programs. Assistant trainers spend hundreds of on-the-job training hours alongside lead trainers in classes. BARK University funds additional certifications for lead trainers from several of the leading national and international dog training organizations. Every year we send a delegation of lead and assistant trainers to the Association of Professional Dog Training Conference. All of these measures keep us on the cutting edge of canine learning and development.
What is our training philosophy?
BARK University values positive reinforcement for human and canine clients. Our cooperative approach to training involves reorienting a human-centric perspective by teaching clients how to “speak dog.” We believe the best relationships between people and their dogs minimizes human micromanagement of canine behavior and maximizes long-lasting harmony between species. To that end, we also teach dogs how to “speak human” and make choices that uphold their needs and wants as well as those of their human guardians.
We do not practice outdated, disproven, and harmful aggression-based dominance or alpha methods. Scientific studies have repeatedly proven that these methods are ineffective and create dysfunctional relationships between humans and dogs. We know that our dogs are motivated by their needs for food, friendship, and fun. Thus, positive human attention and companionship are highly motivational. Our trainers emphasize rewarding desired behaviors and ignoring or redirecting undesired behaviors. Consistently withdrawing human attention from unwanted behaviors and just as consistently rewarding wanted behaviors with love, treats, or play is often enough to eliminate undesirable behaviors. Our trainers will never resort to harsh or abusive positive punishment methods.
Because we recognize that each dog and situation are unique, we approach training from a Least-Invasive, Minimally-Aversive (LIMA) position. In practice, this means that our trainers do not condone physical punishment, abuse, intimidation, or forceful positioning of dogs. We are willing to work with human clients who use a wide variety of training tools with their canines, including flat collars, slip leads, martingale collars, harnesses, prong collars, gentle leaders, e-collars, and muzzles. When properly used, these tools can enable clearer and more effective communication between a person and a dog, which results in a better and safer quality of life for everyone.