A new dog training center, Dakotah’s Doggie Training, recently opened in Elk River. The training center, and sister business Dakotah’s Doggie Daycare, are owned by dog lover John Madsen. 

Dakotah’s Doggie Training

The training center focuses on training dogs using positive reinforcement. The lead trainer is an animal behaviorist, who understands the way the dogs’ brains work, and uses that information to help the dogs understand what their human counterparts need them to do. 

Madsen says the trainers will never use negative reinforcement, because it doesn’t solve the issue behind the behavior. 

“Imagine you’re sitting on a plane next to someone who’s complaining because they are afraid of flying,” Madsen said, as an example. “So every time they complain, you smack them. After a while, they’ll stop complaining, and so you get the behavior you want, but the problem is still there: They’re still afraid to fly, and they’re pretty ticked at you on top of that.”

He says the same is true for dogs. Negative reinforcement may get the desired behavior, but it won’t solve the initial problem. 

Classes Offered

The training center offers many different classes, including puppy and adult training classes, obstacle courses, “Nose Work” (training dogs to find various scents), “Neurobics” (brain games and puzzles, and the very successful “Reactive Dog Training.”

Reactive Dog Training focuses on situational negative behaviors. For example, a dog who always barks when seeing people on the sidewalk. Or a dog that will growl and act aggressively around other dogs. Madsen says many owners think there is no solution, and they keep their dogs isolated. This is the wrong response, according to Madsen. Instead, dogs enrolled in the Reactive Dog Class will be taught the correct reaction to various stimuli, and will be rewarded when they react in a calm manner. Even dogs who have acted “viscously” for years can reenter the world after a few weeks of classes and one-on-one work with their owners.

Madsen says the trainers are also working on a special case. One dog owner, who is paralyzed from the waist down, is bringing her furry friend to classes that are teaching the dog to help its owner through simple tasks, such as picking up items its owner drops, and fetching items she needs.

Dakotah’s Doggie Daycare

Madsen is also the owner of “Dakotah’s Doggie Daycare,” a boarding house not far from the new training center. There, they offer boarding, daycare, and grooming services. Staff pays attention to all the animals, and gets to know them personally. They use this information to make sure the animals’ needs are met. For example, dogs who love to wrestle and play are boarded with like-minded dogs, while those who are less rambunctious can spend time in another play area. The dogs form friendships with other dogs, and therefore staff tries to keep them together. Alternatively, dogs that don’t get along are kept apart. Dogs that don’t get along with other dogs get personal playtime with the humans instead.

“They’re just like people,” Madsen said. “They’ve all got different personalities.” 

Madsen decided to open the daycare center after his father passed away. He had been working as a bank executive, he said, and was making good money, but it didn’t “feed his soul.” He left his job to be with his parents when his father was diagnosed with cancer. After his father passed away, Madsen didn’t want to go back into banking again. His sister recommended that Madsen open the daycare center, saying Elk River needed a good boarding house, not an understaffed “dog warehouse.” Madsen thought this was a great idea, and says he has been loving his job ever since.