WOW! You guys are awesome!! Our in person spots for the 6pm class sold out so I opened at 7pm class and it sold out in 2 days! We only have virtual spaces left for our June 3rd class. Next class start date will be July 22nd at 6pm (skipping the August long weekend).
Our in person spots have now filled for our upcoming April 28th hybrid class. I do have a few spaces available for virtual only spots.
New for 2024: Our Reactive to Relaxed package combines our CU Building Blocks class with the Power of the Pattern class. You will get 4 weeks to learn pattern games and handling techniques at home where your dog feels completely relaxed and then 4 weeks of taking those games on the road in a controlled setting around other people and dogs at our Shantz Station Rd location.
Full 8 weeks is 500 + HST
If you’ve already completed the Building Blocks course, you can also sign up for just the Power of the Pattern course, which is the last 4 weeks of the R2R package for 275 + HST
Next start date: April 28th @7pm
Social media usually showcases results but remember this: Nobody is just born with it. Results take work and lots of it!
Share with someone who needs this reminder!
Katara’s newest trick(s)!
2 of our longterm regular “Stay & Play” clients recently retired from our daycare program which means we have 2 spots open for Tuesday daycare. Preference given to puppies under 16 weeks or dogs who have done our programs that we know will be a good influence & enjoy playing with our imprinting puppies.As always, property rental for offleash hiking is available to existing clients for $20/hr and imprinting grads get discounts.
What do piano lessons have to do with dog training?
Some of you may know that when I first got into dog training, I was teaching kids piano lessons. I think it gave me a lot of insight into working with kids and when it comes to dog training, I have to admit that 9 times out of 10 when there are kids involved in classes, I have more fun teaching the kids than I do their parents. When I stop to ask myself why? the answer is pretty simple: less pressure to jump to the end result and less concern about expectations. They want to learn for fun, they want to be involved, they want to PLAY the game. They’re not worried about being top of the class, making the dog the perfect pet in the home, or what society is going to think of their dogs when they’re out in public.
When I think back (omg over 30 years ago) to my own journey learning piano, what I find interesting is that the more pressure there was from teachers, my parents and myself leading up to recitals, exams, & competitions to not only perform but trying to do it to a certain standard, the less fun it got, and the less I wanted to do it. I eventually quit and didn’t touch a piano for a long time.
It wasn’t until I moved out on my own that I decided to pick it up again. I bought a piano and started playing again - this time for no reason but to enjoy it as an outlet for myself whenever I felt like I wanted to do it.
When I compare that to my dog training journey - especially as I’ve started to get into competitions and performance, I see an AWFUL lot of parallels.
Before I go any further, let me be clear that I am NOT anti-sports, anti-competition, or against dogs performing. I’m not saying these things are bad at all and plan to continue doing all of these things with my own dogs. They serve a range of purposes: they can motivate us to work more with our dogs, elevate our skills, we can use them to see where there’s room for improvement, we can use them to learn from watching others and
When we take our dogs into town to socialize them, it doesn’t mean we let them interact with everyone they see. The goal is to teach them to be confident and calm around everything they see while setting them up to make good choices rather than telling them what to do all the time. When I play the Look At That game from the Control Unleashed program, the dog gets to choose their position (sit, down or stand) and we find what distance they can comfortably notice distractions/triggers while staying calm (not nervous, worried, nor getting excited) and frequently rewarded for noticing and staying calm to build positive associations. If they start to look concerned, get stuck staring/fixating on things or like they’re going to get excited or react, then you’re too close and need to move further and try again until you find the proper distance that the dog can stay calm and engaged and play the game, looking at things for 1-2 seconds and easily looking back at you when you say “yes” for looking at the distractions
Winnie is pretty nervous with strangers so we really take our time with walks in busy areas. Here you can see me starting with Control Unleashed pattern games. We did up & down, some Look At That, and ping pong. A lot of my Look At That videos show pups sitting stationary playing the game - which is great if the pup is offering that position but it’s important to give the pups the choice to be able to move out of position if they feel unsure. I find the ping pong game especially helps pups feel comfortable knowing they can move to where they feel safe while they play the games so they really feel like they can control the outcome of the situation.
A few weeks ago I didn’t think Winnie was going to be able to do this walking video downtown. She was so overwhelmed by the amount of noises and people walking every which way. I kept her walks to quieter areas and times we took her downtown I focussed on pattern games from safe distances from foot traffic instead of actual walking. Today she was super brave and showed off her walking skills even with passing oncoming strangers. This happened by removing any pressure and
Out of any trick I’ve ever taught, I think this one requires the most trust and has taken longer to teach than anything else I’ve ever done. We still need to do some fine tuning so she looks more “dead” but it’s getting closer!
Willow showing off her skills in week 3 of our Fitness & Manners class!
Our classes, private lessons and board & train programs all use the Control Unleashed program by Leslie McDevitt as a foundation. It is the most effective program I have found to date for communicating with and building the best possible relationship with our dogs.
