Aloha
The meaning behind Dakine Canine
Dakine, or da kine, is a widely used expression in Hawaiian Pidgin used for anything and everything. It is often used when you don’t know the name of something, similar to “whatchamacallit”. It is also used to describe something as “the best” or “exceptional”, especially when used in a business name like ours!
Dakine Canine was founded on the idea that every canine is the best canine. Often times, owners don’t see their dog as the best because they display so many unwanted behaviors and cause so much frustration. We want to show owners that the best dog is possible. Using positive training methods, we will help you teach your dog more appropriate behaviors to ultimately improve the human-animal bond and bring out the best in your canine.
Our Training Methods
Dakine Canine focuses on positive training methods that are scientifically proven, pain-free and force-free. We learned from world-renowned trainer, Victoria Stilwell, and follow her positive philosophy.
The four pillars of positive training:
Use positive reinforcement.
Avoid the use of intimidation, physical punishment or fear.
Understand the misconceptions of dominance theory.
Learn about the canine experience from the dog’s POV.
Positive reinforcement is simply rewarding behavior you like and it will likely be repeated. Undesired behavior is ignored, redirected or replaced with a desirable behavior. Rewards are based on each individual dogs’ preference from praise, pets, food, toys and “life rewards”. Positive training is effective with all dogs and creates a cooperative relationship between owners and their canines.
If you have used other methods in the past (i.e. choke, prong, shock collars), no worries! We encourage you to try a different approach to teaching your canine, and we are more than happy to show you the way. Every canine is unique and we take the time to build a training plan that works for you and your canine.
If you want to learn more about scientific studies on dog training and behavior, check out our resources page by clicking here.
More about your trainer.
Like so many people, I have always loved animals. I knew working with animals was my passion in life and pursued a degree in Zoology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. My introduction to animal training began at the Waikiki Aquarium as a student aquarist, where I had the privilege to work with the resident Hawaiian monk seals. The seals were trained using positive reinforcement methods as part of their daily care and enrichment. After college, I continued working in public aquariums using the same training methods with a variety of animals including dolphins, sea turtles, stingrays, sharks and many types of fish. I am very passionate about marine life and work as a diver/aquarist when I’m not training dogs.
I also spent time in California working as a veterinary assistant for a general practice veterinary hospital. I gained hands on experience with many breeds of dogs and trained to assist on everything including nail trims, vaccine administration, blood draws, x-rays and anesthesia monitoring (just to name a few!). I became a Fear Free Certified Professional with the vet clinic and used my animal training background to ease the stress many pets experience when visiting the vet.
I loved working with dogs every day at the clinic and decided to learn more about dog training to also help my rescue dog, Presley, work through some of her problem behaviors. Becoming a certified dog trainer was the first step and I graduated from The Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior. The Academy’s positive training methods expanded on my training experience with marine animals. Teaching Presley was just the beginning and led to the creation of Dakine Canine, LLC. Helping my dog was the best feeling and I want to share that feeling with other dog owners and help more dogs be successful living in a human world. Dogs are simply the best!
Aloha,
Whitney (owner and head trainer)