Tails of success

17/11/2025

Not only are we awaiting colder temperatures where dogs are coupled up and bored, but we are approaching holiday season with chaos in our homes which throws our furry friends off kilter too. One strategy for winter blues is teaching your pet a new trick, or series of tricks. This will distract from boredom, and depression in your canine, but also trains from the inside out. Remember I have written about interacting toys not working? It has to come from a place within in your dog. Tricks are interactive, allows you to spend time with your dog, and challenges your dogs intelligence, problem solving skills and critical thinking. It can be simple things like roll over, high five, to more complex things like standing on your back and acrobatics.

17/11/2025

Leash pull technique

Do you want your dog to stop pulling? Obedience training begins to stop this most unfavourable trait in our dogs. Rule #1. Keep your dogs. Nose to toes and their shoulder to your knee. When they go past this point ( your toes) say sit. With more independent breeds you will have to push their but down. Click and reward. It takes several repetitions. But the most important part is the command sit, every time they pull. They will learn respect, and what their boundary for walking is ( your toes).

08/11/2025

Strategies for high energy behavior

With winter approaching I wanted to give you some strategies to work with that high energy, restless behavior that comes with in- door cabin fever.

Restless behavior
Barking
Digging
Destructive- chewing furniture, ripping clothes, bags, boxes ect..

While these are increase your dogs energy output, mental stimulation behavior, these can also be breed related which are more challenging.

Tips and tricks

Barking at windows
Utilize agility and call your dog from the windows and having them jump through a hoop and over a stool or broom handle.
This wears down energy, acts as a distraction

Activities for winter
Fetch
Tug
Jumping
Agility type excersize

Why do store bought mental stimulation does not work
Most toys designed for mental stimulation will only hold your dog temporarily with a few exceptions.
When we train from the outside in with shock collars, prongs, toys it will not correct the problem because it is not coming from an instinctive place

More Activities
Talking buttons make your dog think
Give or train for a job in your home
Mountain dogs- climb hills, or get them climbing stairs. Use their skills they were born to do!

Retriever- fetch, hide things and get them to search and rescue

Hounds- scent type games

Small dogs- need your time

06/11/2025

Challenges of dog training
The challenges are :
when you go through training your dog still might need training.
Some of the issues stem directly with us.
Have you ever noticed you might work, and work, and work or months maybe years later the issue resolves?
Did you yourself do something different?
Did your behavior change?
Did you directly nail a learning challenge, and all of a sudden your dog gets it!

The owner and the dog are often a mirror reflection of each other's issues. However here are some tips with some challenges:

1. Be consistent through the difficult behaviors
2. Don't give in:
Think of training like you are an employer.
> Expect a certain way of being
> employ the same rules, don't give in
>if your rules is no barking what action > are you employing to stop the barking?


3. Most challenges require a distraction
4. What "we" allow will continue
5. Challenges are sometimes a respect issue,
pack leadership issue,
a timing issue: sometimes dogs will overcome issues at a milestone ( age) related maturity. And some issues are a learning strategy.

12/10/2025

Fun fact
Did you know most aggression, digging, and some types of barking are related to lack of excersize.

04/10/2025

Breeds with blue eyes

Siberian husky, Australian Sheppard, Great Pyrenees, Cardigan welsh corgi,Weimaraner, Border Collie, Dalmatian, Great Dane, Bull dogs…

Causes: Genetics and lack of pigmentation

04/10/2025

Ages and stages of your dogs life and behavior

Dog training is a life long journey between us and them, both reflecting something about ourselves in the process. Remember, they choose us for a reason. Some behavior no matter what you do, takes time, there is not always magic wand, sometimes, your dog has to be at a certain maturity to grasp the training.Let’s reflect on some pivotal stages of growth in your furry friend.

0-4 months- they,copy, other animals behaviour and ours,mimic-and learning is fast and furious
5-7 months- potty training starts to form bladder strength, and good habits. Behavior starts to form, often in the form of resistance and independence, much like a 2 or 3 year old.
7-9 months- more independence as they are growing into their adult self’s. They can fight for leadership in the family unit, barking can start, many behaviors start ( often challenging). Always go back to basic training, reinforce training until that stage passes. Don’t give in to them. Set your rules.
9-12months- new behavior can form, or untreated behavior can get worse. Such as Aggression,leaping,jumping,barking, biting etc if their needs are not taken care of. Energy requirements and exercise are usually the culprit.
-
12-18months- for large breeds are hitting their max height and weight. Always, as your breed gets closer to full adulthood, and fitting into their “full breed and traits” reinforcement will be required. Know your breed well!

Major changes in the owners life like marriage, major moves, and stages of owner can elicit behaviour changes that need your attention.

03/10/2025

DIGGING?

In order to stop digging, we must find out why our furry friends are digging. Let's examine some of the breeds that have a tendency towards digging first.

The dogs that come to mind are Great Pyrenese, Terriers, Dachshund, Beagels,Liberian huskies, Border Collies, Australian Sheppard, Alaskan malamutes, and Golden retriever need very high levels of excersize.

Most digging is an energy and boredom problem. Dogs with high energy will get bored faster.Assess how much exercise your dog needs to stop the behavior:
* A tired dog is a happy dog
*Increase excersize as larger dogs need at least an hour of exersize a day
*. Examine your breed. If you have a working dog, give them a job, get them hiking, and climbing hills. Beagels like to use their sense of smell to hide and seek, so let your dog smell something like a toy or treat and hide it.
* Fetch is always a good go to because it wears your dog down fast.
* Mental stimulation might include activities like agility where they are required to to problem solve and think.
*Fly ball is another good sport to reduce digging holes
*. Obedience might suggest creating boundaries where your dog does dig.

Interactive toys probably are not going to help as they will get bored with those too. A bone is often helpfull, chewing does give them something to do that they enjoy. The issue is exercise so the solution must be more excerize that stimulates their brain.

02/10/2025

02/10/2025

Agility bootcamp