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Well Mannered Mutts

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Canada
Alix, AB
Well Mannered Mutts

Balanced Dog Trainer/ Dog Boarding
Located in Mirror AB, serving Lacombe County & Stettler County
(8)

11/07/2024

EDIT: CLASS HAS BEEN FILLED 🫶
If you would like to be on a waiting list for the next round in Jan/Feb please feel free to reach out!

✨Level 1 Obedience Group Class ✨

Is your dog struggling with focus in high-distraction environments? Do you want to improve communication and strengthen your bond with your dog? Whether you’re just starting out or facing specific challenges, this class is designed to give you the foundation you need to build a stronger, more balanced relationship with your dog.

In this class, you’ll learn:

👉Proper communication & engagement with your dog

👉Finding the right tools & activities to suit your dog’s needs

👉Setting healthy boundaries for good behavior

👉Leash communication & how to correct reactive behaviors on leash

👉Impulse control techniques

👉Recall & how to keep focus in distracting
environments

👉Proper introductions to people and other dogs

👉Reading your dog’s body language

👉Creating structure and clear communication in your home

This class is held in a group setting for 1.5 hours, once a week for 4 weeks, at the Alix Resource Centre. We keep the class size small, with 4-6 dogs, to ensure quality attention and personalized instruction.

If you think this program is a good fit for you and your dog, send us a message! We’d love to help you get started.

11/05/2024

Hey WMM Fam!

We need your help! This Sunday, we’ll be hosting a free pack walk around the lake, and we’d love for you and your pups to join us. The goal is to provide positive, controlled exposure for Bowser, our current board and train dog, who has been showing some leash reactivity.

After working with him, he’s gotten along well with all 3 of our dogs, both on and off-leash. Now, we’re reaching out to our wonderful community to help with Bowser’s socialization and provide him with more leash training experience.

If you’re interested in joining, we’d love to see you there and help Bowser continue his progress! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need directions!

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

11/05/2024

🌟 DOG OF THE MONTH, LOUIE 🌟

When Louie and I first met, he was in that classic teenage angst phase, which we like to call the “messy middle.” It’s that tumultuous time when dogs push boundaries and test limits.
If you’ve ever owned a puppy, you know exactly what stage I speak of 😅

Sam (Louie’s mom) reached out like many do in this stage of life, looking for help as she was struggling to communicate with her obnoxiously large, pushy teenage boy and bless her soul for doing so as this is the age when people usually give up and surrender their dogs to the shelters.

Sam had several training goals for Louie which included:

• Respect on leash
• Reduce reactivity
• Increase socialization with dogs and people
• Better focus to handler
• Reliable recall
• E-collar training
• Structure & Boundaries in the home
• Curbing excessive whining

Since Louie is a working breed, he has insane drive and the willingness to learn anything you throw at him! So we started with fun and exciting exercises to help him hold his focus on myself and Sam.
Once we had his focus we exposed him to various environments, people and other dogs. We went on many structured pack walks to gradually introduce him to other dogs and used the E-collar to provide us with off-leash control and reliable recall.

He. Did. Outstanding!!!! 👏

Given Louie’s age, size, breed, and the fact that he was still intact, many dogs found him intimidating, which limited his social interactions. So we worked hard to ensure everyone was comfortable in his presence and that he was being respectful in his greetings.

Louie has been in our programs for just over a year now, starting with a 12 week program leading into stay and plays. We of course started with my dogs only then slowly added other dogs who have trained with us who are well balanced and would be proved to be good influences for him.

Over the past year, it’s been incredible to witness Louie’s growth. He’s proven to be an amazing companion, protector and friend to many dogs and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to help him become a more balanced and well-mannered dog!

Cheers to you, Big man. Auntie loves you so much 🖤

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween 🎃 👻

Who dressed their dogs up today?

I wanna see those costumes! Comment below to be entered to win a giveaway! 👇🏻

10/30/2024

Halloween Tips for Pet Safety and Comfort

1. Managing Halloween Stress for Pets.
While you enjoy the Halloween festivities, consider your pet’s feelings. Many pets find the noise and activity overwhelming. Create a safe space for them away from the doorbell and trick-or-treaters. A quiet room with some soft music and a favorite toy can help them feel secure. If your dog is crate-trained, a cozy crate can be a safe haven during the chaos.

2. Keeping Halloween Treats Away from Pets.
Halloween candy can be dangerous for pets. Ensure all candy is stored securely in a high cabinet to prevent curious paws from reaching it. Be particularly cautious with chocolate, gum, and xylitol, as these can be toxic to animals. Educate your children about keeping their treats away from pets to avoid accidental sharing.

By taking these precautions, you can help ensure a fun and safe Halloween for both your family and your pets.

Hope you all enjoy your Halloween festivities 🎃

10/30/2024

Our Board and Train program offers an immersive training experience for your dog, with a professional trainer focusing on tailored sessions to address specific behaviors or skills. This approach is ideal for busy owners or dogs needing specialized attention.

We also have three well-balanced dogs that assist in training, providing socialization and corrective measures as needed. Their presence helps create a supportive environment, allowing your dog to learn important social skills and behaviors in a safe and controlled setting.

At the end of their stay, you’ll receive a comprehensive plan, written homework, videos, pictures, and ongoing support to continue their progress at home. It’s a structured and engaging way for your dog to learn and thrive!

10/26/2024

Adoption week continued.. Last dog, I promise 😉

Here’s Nyx’s story!

Nyx made his way to us when I was transitioning from the rescue world to the training side. I had missed fostering so much, so I reached out to another local shelter who were desperately looking for mature dog fosters. They had so many great dogs to choose from but since I like them shy, I picked our newest and sweetest “project dog” formally known as “Ness”

Nyx was very precarious the first week with all the new changes but all he needed guidance and someone he could count on as he had been let down by people his whole young life.

We bonded hard and fast and with that, he very quickly became my newest side kick.
Constantly glued to my leg; if I turned, he turned, if I stopped, he planted his feet.
He didn’t trust many, but he trusted me.

We started slow as that was the only pace he was comfortable with. We conditioned him to the car, crate & leash then broadened his horizons from there.
After some much needed decompression time, it was time that this impressional young lad got out into the world for some positive exposure & valuable experiences!
We used every dog friendly facility available to us, took him to gatherings with plenty of great people, bush whacked to the extreme and even tagged him along for my training mentorship program!

Both Ellie and Briggs had been in similar states previously in life, so naturally they took to him with open paws and provided him with the guidance and leadership that he so desperately needed from his own kind.

We fostered Nyx for 7 months, took him to multiple adoption events and entertained a few meet and greets before the thought of him finding another home was unbearable, so we signed the papers and officially adopted him 🎉

Nyx is incredible with every dog that comes into our programs or home, he’s gentle and respectful and is now helping other dogs become more confident, well balanced dogs!

We are now coming up on our 2 year anniversary together in February (foster time included) YAY US!!! 🎉

I just wanna end with this in Lou of adoption week; I am so extremely grateful everyday for all 3 of my amazing rescues, and though they all required ALOT of time, love and extra patience, they we’re 1000% worth all of it and can honestly say they are BFF status 😉
Because

I believe you gravitate towards the ones YOU need the most! So with your next dog, let gravity take the wheel 😉

10/25/2024

This mornings adventures with Louie & Akira!

I just love these two so much 🖤🤎

10/24/2024

National Adoption Week💕

Briggs was 4 months old when we found our way to each other. I remember him hiding in the back of the travel crate, trying to make himself as small as humanly possible so I’d leave him be. Getting a leash on him proved to be a challenge and once on, the bucking bronco came out in full effect. So the leash stayed on. All. The. Time.

When driving back to Alberta from his “home” in Northern Saskatchewan, I thought to myself “He needed me & I needed him” so I claimed him to be my newest foster.

Briggs came to us In a pretty unique time in our lives after just losing our beloved Deefer Dog, I had a giant hole in my heart that desperately needed to be mended 💔
I was lying to myself and everyone around me when I said, I wasn’t keeping him, but carried on as if he wasn’t staying forever.

That next 6 weeks, Ellie and I showed him the routine in our home & took him to every social gathering with us. If I sat, he would lay directly under my chair, if I moved he would be on the back of my feet.. he had zero confidence and I was the only familiar face and he put his trust in me. In giving him the necessary exposure and allowing him to feel safe while he processed those emotions, in turn we created a relationship based on trust, mutual respect and loyalty. How could I let that go?
So as soon as my partner, Colin, came home from work and met him, we adopted him.

Briggs has been a huge staple in this training company of ours, he quickly proved to be EXTREMELY intelligent, excelled in every type of training and is now our wonderful demo dog!!

He is patient, he is kind and ridiculously goofy!
We love having him apart of our family & couldn’t imagine this life without him!

10/23/2024

Todays group of adventure dogs 🙌🏻

We had a blast exploring nature 💛

Luna, Hank, Scout, Nyx and Briggs

10/22/2024

In light of it being national adoption week, I figured it was a good time to introduce and share my 3 wonderful dogs’ adoption stories

All 3 of my dogs are rescues and as some of you know, all of them started out in a fearful/semi feral state when coming into my care. Starting out being fosters, meant to stay briefly, until gaining enough confidence to be set out into the world and adopted to a new family… well clearly that didn’t work out 😂

Let’s start with Ellie 💕

Ellie was 8 months and pregnant when she came to stay with us back in 2020. This young girl had a lot of triggers and dealt with her fears in a less than favourable manner. She wasn’t fond of men, dogs, fast movements, loud noises, people passing on walks/in the car etc. and when she was faced with these obstacles, she would have a full blown meltdown.
We call this fear reactivity!

At that time we had a resident senior pit named Deefer, quickly Ellie became his side kick/shadow dog. Slowly her reactive behaviours diminished due to his lack of care toward mostly everything.

We worked hard on building a solid life of structure, boundaries and gave her a ton of exposure to everything that triggered her, ultimately changing Ellie’s view on the world.
We still use corrective tools like her e collar to help her stay in a more calm, collective state of mind and advocate for her accordingly!

Ellie is the leader of our pack & keeps everyone in line, has helped mentor over 45 foster and training/boarding dogs, has shown all her confidence to our other 2 beautiful dogs that started out in similar states, she loves humans almost too much, and is super chill in her day to day.

She still excels in keeping us all safe but can now decipher actual threats 💕

She is a outstanding asset to our pack 🫶

10/19/2024

Today Nyx had to see a vet as he obtained a puncture wound on his hock (ankle joint) that started to swell and collect fluid (infection) and had to be managed with antibiotics!

One thing about Nyx is he hates having his feet touched. Especially by strangers! The last few months I’ve been taking advantage of the times he’s in a calm state of mind or when he’s sleeping to touch, squeeze and flick his feet, pads and nails to get him used to the sensations.

Either way I went prepared as I had no idea what to expect and brought a pocket full of treats and a muzzle just incase he decided to take his pain and fear out on our vet.

Well, to my surprise he did absolutely incredible, he focused on me the entire time and let the vet do her thing. She even shaved the area around the wound without him even flinching! I am SO impressed with how he reacted or rather, how he didn’t react! Afterwards he (by choice) loved up on all the ladies at the front desk, showed off some fancy tricks and showed incredible patience during the whole experience.

Everyday this once “semi feral” boy leaves me feeling so proud of how far we have come as a team. It truly is the small wins that have the biggest impact.

Side note for the locals: Bashaw Vet carries Stanhexidine antibacterial solution, Non woven sponge pads, Inhibit ointment & Derma Gel & spray for all your wound care needs!

Thanks Bashaw Central vet for being so amazing!

10/18/2024

Stay and Play Adventure Program 🌲

👉 Do you want your dog to live an exciting, adventurous life but don’t have time?
👉 Do you want to socialize your dog but don’t have a lot of friends with dogs?
👉 Does your dog have pack mentality and recall training established?
👉 Is your dog high drive and needs more than a leash walk around town?

If you can relate to any of the above, this program is for you!
Adventure days are excellent for dogs who fancy the great outdoors, appreciate time to put their natural senses to work and find enjoyment in hanging with their own kind!

We’ve been offering this program exclusively to our training clients for a while now to see what it would look like and if it’s something we could offer to the public, and since winter is right around the corner and most people don’t love spending an over abundance of time outside in the cold, why not have a professional do it for you?!

We have a variety of different locations to explore and plenty of dogs to socialize with, so if your like me and want to let your dogs wild side shine, why not register them for this program!

There are no bad days on adventure days!

Message us for more information on pricing, availability and any further details regarding this exciting program!

10/17/2024

This evening we had yet another group of Stay and Play Adventure dogs, this time adding in Miss Maci, making this a pack of 9!

Honestly, these back to back adventure days are my absolute favourite! Not only do I get my steps in, I get to witness the joy I bring to these beautiful dog’s lives 🧡

Keepin them wild & free ✌🏻

10/16/2024

Our first Stay and Play Adventure of the day featured Louie & Ellie 💕

We had been back and forth the last 6 months with having Louie with other dogs for his adventure days but ultimately decided until he was neutered we would do one on ones to ensure everyone was having a good time, as Louie just proved to be overstimulated the with most dogs.

Well, Louie recently lost his 🥜 so we are now in the process of intergrading him back to the pack life. Today we brought the “Mom” of my pack to ensure he was eased in with a dog who would be firm but fair.

And let me tell you, these two had a blast!!! Absolutely no issues whatsoever, they played respectfully and enjoyed each others company!

I can’t say enough how much I LOVE watching Louie progress into this beautiful, well balanced boy he is becoming!

Remember, we are here to advocate for the dogs needs, we don’t want to pressure them into something that they will ultimately fail at. We want them to succeed in every aspect of their lives.

Address

Alix, AB
T0B3C0

Telephone

+14033040856

Website

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Videos

Working on Briggs’ “with me” or “heel” in high distracting environments! If you know Briggs, you know that he LOVES to do his own thing, sniffing his life away so this training was challenging but very rewarding. Note: we didn’t use a single treat for this training, he works for me, not food 💛 #dogtrainingisfun #focusonwhatmatters #myboy

Hope your out there living your dream life too 💕 #dogtraining #CameraRollChallenge #bestlife

Next was Gus' turn! Since Gus isn't as dexterous as Will, we decided to take it nice and slow and make it intermediate in terms of challenging but still have fun! I know there's a working dog inside of Gus, I can see it in his eyes. Maybe one day with more time we can tap into his agility abilities 🤷‍♀️ #agility #FocusTraining #dogtraining #ConfidenceBoost

If I’m being honest, I’m kinda pumped for him 🫶 #packlife #leaderofthepack

Last nights adventures with Nash & the pack 🐶 Great company & Sunset lake vibes. Can’t ask for much more than that 🫶 Cambell Swanston #sunsetlovers #eveningsatthelake #paddleboardingadventures

Last nights pack walk in stettler. Big thanks to everyone who came out 🙌🏻 #packwalk #dogtraining

Always thriving to give them a better life than the one they had before me 🫶 #rescuedogs #bestlife #mybffs

Bean Rippin & grippin with Furgo at Fetch Haus: Pet Specialty Store & Grooming Salon grand re-opening ! #slatmill #slatmilldog #rippinngrippin #fyp #foryoupage