Kilcommons has trained the dogs of many celebrities and he has been described as the
dog trainer to the stars by a Miami Herald reporter. His clients include Harrison Ford, Diana Ross, Ashley Judd, Morley Safer, Diane Sawyer, Carly Simon, Patrick Ewing, Mike Nichols, Candice Bergen, Ralph Lauren and others. Over the years he has trained over 35,000 dogs.
Training Philosophy
"Most of the dogs in America think their name is No"—Brian Kilcommons
Kilcommons advises dog owners that saying
No to a dog is useless. The reason for this advice is his belief that dogs simply do not understand the meaning of the word because it is too abstract for them. They are more likely to think that
No is their name. Kilcommons explains that dogs are more likely to understand, and thus obey, commands connected with a specific action, such as
Off, Sit or
Stay. Such commands demand specific action from the dog and thus are more easily understood. When the puppy complies with the command, Kilcommons advises positive reinforcement in the form of praise and rewards.
Discipline
"There's no democracy in dogdom"—Brian Kilcommons
Kilcommons believes that the dog should understand who the boss in the family is. He thinks that people nowadays invest a lot of energy and effort in their pets and many times neglect to discipline them properly. Undisciplined dogs can then exhibit dominating and disorderly behavior such as sitting on the couch and running outside the house without being properly prompted. He provides advice to families by observing their interaction with their canine companions and then analyzing the weak points. Proper training with basic commands such as the
Sit command and behavioral cues such as ignoring the dog when he transgresses and sits on the couch have been credited with turning the behavior of an unruly dog around.