Head Trainer
Our primary trainer is Paige Rushing. Though Paige has been a dog lover all of her life, she began her career in Speech-Language Pathology. Paige holds a Master’s of Science in Speech-Language Pathology and worked in speech pathology for 15 years helping people learn how to overcome various communication barriers. In 2003 Paige began pursuing her life-long dream of working with dogs. Initially, dog training was a hobby, however that hobby quickly developed into a passion for working with owners and their dogs. Echoing her purpose in speech pathology, Paige felt burdened to help owners’ improve and repair the lines of communication with their dogs. Paige has found that whether you are in the human or canine world, relationships cannot flourish without effective communication.
While living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Paige began a part-time dog training business with a friend and from there continued to gain education and experience. Now living in Central Mississippi, Paige has established Canine Companions, LLC and continues to help owners better understand and communicate with their beloved canine family members.
Her qualifications and education include:
- North State K-9 Academy of Tarheel Canine Training
– Master Trainer Completion with emphasis in the areas of:
Professional Obedience Training, Behavior Modification, and Search & Rescue - The Michael Ellis School for Dog Trainers
– Obedience Intensive Program Completion - Member of Association of Pet Dog Trainers
- AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator
Our Dog Training Philosophy
Our philosophy of dog training is a balanced approach. We treat each dog as an individual that has a unique temperament and learning ability. We believe that each dog has an innate need to know his boundaries as well as your expectations. When boundaries and expectations are unclear or inconsistent, problems occur. It is our desire to help you clarify these boundaries and expectations for your pet.
We begin our training by teaching the dog a simple communication system consisting of 3 words: “Yes,” “Good,” and “No.” These words are used to train the dog in each of the various commands. In combination with this new communication system, we also utilize food, toys, and praise for positive motivation. As the dog begins to become more familiar with the commands and progresses through the learning process, corrections for willful disobedience may need to be introduced.
Each dog has his or her unique temperament and as such, the length of time dedicated to each phase of training is gauged on the dog’s specific learning rate and needs. In order to build a mutual respect and establish a loving bond with the dog, we instill within the dog an understanding that we will always be fair. We never correct a dog for what he or she does not understand or for what has not yet been taught.
Additionally, we believe that dog training goes beyond the teaching of specific commands. Dog training for the family involves teaching you, the owners, how to manage your dog’s behaviors by managing his or her state of mind. We want to empower you with the knowledge to not only recognize triggers within your environment that elicit poor behaviors in your dog, but also teach you the skills to keep your dog in a state of mind that is calm and respectful.