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The Way of The Dog

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Canada
Tatamagouche, NS
The Way of The Dog

Providing a balanced style way of obedience through private one on one lessons.
(1)

07/28/2024

August availability!!

07/20/2024

Just a little PSA regarding DayCamp since I have been getting A LOT of messages as of late.

DayCamp is really a great service and I absolutely love providing this! However, the outcome of your dogs behaviour solely depends on what happens in your dogs home and comes from you as the owner.

Can I train your dog. Yep. But the well known secret...dog training is actually people training!

DayCamp provides a jumpstart as well as tune ups and maintenance to basic obedience. What I do with your dog only works when it is consistently practiced in the dogs home. I unfortunately cannot work miracles when the dog does not live with me 24/7. I wish I could. Truly. I do.

I find the best successes with this program come with basic obedience lessons paired with Daycamps. And yes, I will offer discounts for DayCamp to active clients who come regularly for training. There are other options I do offer as well!

I am super duper happy to discuss options. And help YOU help your dog!

07/04/2024

**Let me add....I absolutely adore my clients. Human and dog. All of you who have put in the hard work and continue to, you keep me going!!! Thank you!!!!!

Ok.....elephant in the room time.

I've heard twice now that my clients have wasted their money because their "dog is still acting the same". I am positive there are far more comments like this that never hit my ears.

I am not a magician. I have never ever claimed to be. I cannot fix anyones dog. I can provide you with tools to help YOU build a better understanding and relationship with your dog. I offer services to assess dogs and jumpstart a better relationship. These services work. When it is practiced WHERE IT IS MOST NEEDED!

I am also humble enough to be honest when a dog comes to me that is above my skill set. And I am more than happy to direct you to someone who is better equipped to handle that particular situation. And I always appreciate these dogs and humans who inspire me to keep learning. So I can be better.

If you are not using tools properly and appropriately the way I have shown you, if you are not using commands appropriately, if you are allowing behaviours to happen "only sometimes", if you are not following my directions, if you are trying to fast track, if you are allowing uneducated and inconsistent humans access without proper understanding to your dog, your dog will not be "fixed". And then the blame gets placed.....most definitely on the trainer.

What I preach is CONSISTENCY. Every single person who has come to me has heard this particular word used MULTIPLE times in our visits. And will continue to hear this word. Unapologetically.

Your dogs don't lie. I can 100% tell within 1 minute if you are practicing what I teach you.

Please stop assuming that if your dog spends 1-8 hours with me only once per week (in some cases once per month) your dog should be trained. I do my job. And I do my job well. Your dog is different with me because I've set a standard and stick to it. Each and every time your dog is with me. But your dog does not LIVE with me.

If you want help, trainers can HELP. If you want fixed, please be willing to fix your ideals as well as your lifestyle and mindset. Fixing is on the owner. Not the trainer.

Most importantly, train BEFORE problems happen. Shaping the dog you want is FAR easier than fixing the dog you have.

06/29/2024

July's schedule!!

***Depending on the dog(s), I am able to accommodate one 1/2 day dog when a full day dog is booked. Please reach out if you'd like to discuss whether this could be an option!!

06/27/2024

My apologies for the delay on my July schedule! Trying to get some things in place before posting.
I will post within the next couple of days!

06/19/2024

It was a rare week of cancellations!!

And honestly, it was needed.

My friends that I spent time with this week were spoiled with play time. Not many photos. Just us. Genuinely enjoying our moments. ♥️

No one really thinks about the burn out pet professionals go through because most people think we charge $50-$150/ hour to play with puppies and kitties.

I can promise you, this is not the case. With actual professionals.

The compassion fatigue we go through is real. We don't talk much about it until it brings our world to a complete halt. You know why? Because there are not enough other humans willing to put their hearts, their bodies and their minds through the countless heartbreaks that we do. Not to mention compromising reputation and relationships advocating for the pets we see.

I am so fortunate to be surrounded by a pet professional community I have chosen.

And I couldn't be more grateful to my clients who really are the absolute best people.

Thank you all for your support!

06/08/2024

Gordie had a big morning at DayCamp today.

This sweet pup has some fear issues. I had a very difficult time today getting him to engage with me so I needed to change things up.
When he decides he is unsure about something I'm asking him, his instinct is to hide. His first escape attempt is in between legs. And when that doesn't work, he just shuts down.
This is not easy to deal with.
We leashed up and walked up the road. We made a simple walk a little more exciting by ducking into a couple small meadows to sniff and engage.
We headed up to the gas stop. It was busy. So we sat off to the side and did some people watching. That was quite scary too. Gordie attempted to jump into my lap several times. I don't encourage this. At all. Remaining calm, neutral and ignoring his attempts to flight, he finally calmed down enough to lay down.
We returned back to home base for some water, a rest, a nail trim and a big reward of backyard shenanigans with the girls!

06/02/2024

Gordie spent the morning with us on Saturday!

Training + play time! I sent home a tired puppy!

06/02/2024

Brought my buddy Coop over on Friday to spend the day with me at my home and around the village.
Coop is taking these new environments, car rides and changes really well!
He was shy, disengaged and a bit nervous in my yard at first. So I allowed him to sniff around, check things out and learn a new safe place. While I walked around, scooping up the morning poops.

Once I saw him begin to relax, I picked up a ball and got him engaged. He's definitely not a retriever! Once he realized all was good in Chantelle's hood, he started to play. ♥️

We went on a few different walks. His favourite was going to the village and struttin' his stuff! We met some nice people. He got some pats (after my permission - thank you Tatamagouche!) and was told he was a good boy a couple hundred times!

He made the most perfectly polite date! ♥️♥️

05/26/2024

The boss here is standing her ground and making days off MANDATORY every week now. So my training schedule has been altered to accommodate more of the demand.

First come, first serve. 😁

If you have any questions, concerns or special requests, please reach out!!! Always happy to chat!

***** THAT HAPPENED FAST!!!

To all who have booked, please give at least 24 hours notice if you need to cancel.

If anyone would like to get on a cancellation list, please send me a message.

05/26/2024

This is the difference between what I offer and the local daycares. Your dog cannot get the one on one time working on real training at high volume, free for all dog daycares.

Olly is thriving with these DayCamps and it's showing. 😁

His confidence has blossomed in the few visits he has had here. And it's only going to get better!!

I'm super proud of this guy and his owners.

Today was the first time I put the muzzle on him. It's not on properly. Yet. I wanted to be quick before he started to react in order to have a success here. Beginning to associate the muzzle in positive situations. He's still not 100% convinced. We have some negative associations to counter condition. Which isn't easy, especially with a 7 year old dog that we don't know what happened for the first 6 years of his life.

Happy to be a part of his journey. ♥️♥️

05/24/2024

And of course, Vader! ♥️♥️

It was a bit of a hot one yesterday so we stayed close to the property. For everyone's safety!

05/24/2024

Willow. ♥️

This little sweetie got to spend the day at DayCamp yesterday. She doesn't want to be friends with dogs so her and I had to be friends. 😁
Miss Willow is in need of some confidence boosting. She was shy and nervous when I brought her into my home. She had no interest in playing with me. Which is fine. I will absolutely allow decompression time at my house! I don't expect your dog to come in and immediately trust everything new!
So I let her decompress. Explore her accommodations for the day as well as the yard. She enjoyed chasing the birds. And eventually my company.

First, we build up her confidence. As an individual dog. Along with her owners and anyone who handles her. Coinciding. We build her confidence with different types of exposure. New places. New smells. New sounds. SLOWLY. We run obedience drills as well as PLAY in new places. Slowly. At a pace that works for her. Too much too soon only sets up for failure. Eventually, we do a controlled introduction with other dogs. The idea is to help her cope with stress more appropriately. Shaping a better state of mind before having to correct unwise decisions!

I'm looking forward to working with Willow more. Getting her in a more neutral state of mind.

05/23/2024

DayCamp is gonna be fun today!!!

Slowly building up the yard!!!

Please keep us in mind if you're looking to get rid of any outdoor children's climbers, trampolines ....

05/17/2024

Who's up for a Pack Walk tomorrow morning?
Nelson Park at 10am!

05/07/2024

Mays availability is going quickly!!!

I only have 1/2 days available for DayCamp. Assessments are free of charge for this service. Feel free to reach out to see if your dogs would be a good fit!

Also still looking for yard enrichment/ confidence building equipment! If you're getting rid of anything, please let me know!

05/02/2024

Those 4 days just FLEW.....

I wish I could fill these next 4 days with more dogs. 😉

I didn't even get photos of all of the dogs I saw this week ...

My DayCamp dogs this week worked their tiny hinies off!

Since I can't upload videos and photos in one post....this post will be the photo dump!

Autumn had a lesson and a day at DayCamp this week. I'm seeing big progress with my girl! Little by little we are getting her there. She has come leaps and bounds (pun possibly intended) on her fear of floors and is moving from different flooring far more easily!! Still a little graceless. But definitely improving! 🤣

My boy Coop. ♥️
Coop has had some struggles. He has spent the last year battling car sickness which then turned into a pretty serious fear of getting into vehicles. So poor Coop has had VERY few outings far from his road. We started conditioning him to getting into vehicles. Thanks to several bowls of Cheesies and very determined humans, we got Coop into 2 vehicles within 10 minutes. We got our momentum and his humans ran with it. They worked really hard. Our next step was getting Coop exposed to the world.....we did a little bit of that today. A nice little beach romp to start our date and burn off a little anxiety. We did some basic drills on the beach, he ate some fresh from the sea seaweed and made sure I was not short of smooches. Next, we headed off to our next stop. Home Hardware. He was a rockstar. Then we headed off to a nearby park and watched the Cormormants. Had his butt scratched from some nice people. And again made sure I was rewarded greatly with his sweet kisses. Our last stop was a late lunch at Sheryl's Bakery. Just him and I. ♥️

Grateful to have these humans who trust me enough to handle their dogs and their dogs who trust me enough to enjoy their time. ♥️

05/02/2024

Those 4 days just FLEW.....

I wish I could fill these next 4 days with more dogs. 😉

I didn't even get photos of all of the dogs I saw this week ...

My DayCamp dogs this week worked their tiny hinies off!
My guy Olly. He's a 7 year old Australian Cattle Dog who has been with his family for only a year. We don't know his full history but based on his quirks, our best guess was he had tools used on him that were misused that has caused him great sensitivity and in turn has become very reactive to collar use. However, somewhere along the line, he was also very spoiled.....

His amazing and very dedicated owners have spent the last year with me working towards a balanced dog. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of counter conditioning. We had some pretty big successes during our day together this week. He walked on the busy Route 6 NOT chasing cars. He offered his face into a muzzle on his own after only 5 minutes. He happily stayed at my home for an entire day. The first time he had been away from his humans in just over a year. ♥️

I'm proud of these humans. ♥️

05/02/2024

Learning through play!

Autumn has the mind set of she doesn't need to be told what to do because she's pretty. And she's boss. This has gotten her in a bit of hot water!

She's fiercely independent and not afraid to put her teeth on skin to let you know she doesn't NEED to listen. She will also quite literally dead pan look you in the eye and flip you the bird while she walks away mid command.

This is unacceptable.

Because Autumn is not quite a year but over that age of acceptable puppy banter, we are faced with a lot of counter conditioning and reshaping with a splash of correcting.

Her whole life up to now is on reset.

**Let me just add that I never do these posts to shame anyone. Ever. Anyone who has or is reaching out for help their dog is doing more than most. And I applaud anyone willing to acknowledge that they need help from a professional. Most dogs are NOT easy!

****

Training doesn't have to be militant or boring. It shouldn't be. Dogs love structure. And play. Why not combine the two?

Impulse control with play as reward. ♥️
A flirt pole can be a wonderful reward! It can also be a cause of OCD! Don't let the chase go on too long. Let them catch and switch off.

05/01/2024

** Only 1/2 day DayCamps available now!

Book NOW to get the spot!!!!!

05/01/2024

Would LOVE to see your responses to this!!!

04/30/2024

So it seems my DayCamp service might be a little misleading? I'll take this opportunity to clear that up.

My DayCamp service is to provide dogs with real life training. A jumpstart to what should be happening in my guest dogs own homes.

Sometimes the day I have planned with these dogs needs altering. For many reasons! But the day is NEVER wasted.

We are not always "Go, Go, Go". This concept is not only unrealistic but very unhealthy.

In my home, we not only create healthy stimulation but we create healthy down time.

A dog that doesn't know how to chill is not ideal. This is something I practice with all of my guest dogs. We practice being calm in crates as well as in "place".

Your vet and groomer can thank us later....😉

Vader has become a regular at my home is VERY COMFORTABLE! We had a day where it was crappy icky weather and I took the opportunity to tidy around him and my own dogs. Vader is a VERY sweet but clingy boy who does have a bit of separation anxiety. He struggled with staying off my heels during this hour.....but he did it. ♥️

04/24/2024

Looking to add some equipment to my yard!

Sometimes the local park here isn't ideal for some of my DayCamp dogs and we need to stick close to my fenced in yard. These dogs are the ones I'm focusing on building confidence with. As fun as these look to us, they're terrifying for some dogs! And so ideal to work around to help these pups cope.

If you're getting rid of anything like these, please let me know! They don't have to be pretty!!!

04/18/2024

Only a few spots left for May!!!!!!

04/17/2024

Unstructured daycares.
These are a big problem in the professional dog world.

Is your dog more interested and excited to see and meet dogs rather than you? Pulling you on a leash to get to another dog?

Is your dog displaying reactivity towards other dogs?

Does your dog attend daycare? 🤔

Structured daycare gives your dog the opportunity to be a real dog.
Structured daycare doesn't mean your dog is joining the military. It means your dogs individual needs and requirements are met appropriately and properly. Through true understanding of canine psychology. That "after daycare coma" isn't what you think it is. For most dogs, that exhaustion comes from a VERY unhealthy amount of unnecessary stress and anxiety.
Structured daycare helps your dog learn appropriate coping skills, appropriate play - IF they WANT to play and to build an independent confidence. And allowing your dog to have a safe space where they can decompress. They get to learn these skills through play and proper leadership/ supervision from a human who truly understands breeds and body language.

Interested in learning more? Feel free to reach out! I'm happy to discuss and make recommendations!

04/17/2024

DayCamp today was mostly birthday celebrations!

Happy 8th birthday to my Soul Dog, Hilde.

And Happy 1st Birthday to our space inVader!

04/15/2024

Sweet boy Sherlock!

Todays DayCamp was a fun one! Sherlock got to run some town errands with me and was a complete rockstar!

Working through some anxiety and fear and he did amazing!!

And I don't think there are zoomies quite like the GSP zoomies!!!

04/15/2024

A few little changes in my schedule to allow for more DayCamp!

Dogs that have not attended previous lessons with me will need an assessment. This assessment takes about 2 hours and is free of charge.

*PLEASE SEE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SERVICE UNDER "ABOUT" BEFORE BOOKING FOR A DAYCAMP ASSESSMENT*

Pack walks will be resuming for May!!! I will create events for these closer to their dates!

All lessons and DayCamp bookings are on a first come first serve basis. Any cancellations will need minimum 24 hours notice.

LETS GET BOOKED!

Address

Tatamagouche, NS

Telephone

+19026641740

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Those 4 days just FLEW..... I wish I could fill these next 4 days with more dogs. 😉 I didn't even get photos of all of the dogs I saw this week ... My DayCamp dogs this week worked their tiny hinies off! My guy Olly. He's a 7 year old Australian Cattle Dog who has been with his family for only a year. We don't know his full history but based on his quirks, our best guess was he had tools used on him that were misused that has caused him great sensitivity and in turn has become very reactive to collar use. However, somewhere along the line, he was also very spoiled..... His amazing and very dedicated owners have spent the last year with me working towards a balanced dog. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of counter conditioning. We had some pretty big successes during our day together this week. He walked on the busy Route 6 NOT chasing cars. He offered his face into a muzzle on his own after only 5 minutes. He happily stayed at my home for an entire day. The first time he had been away from his humans in just over a year. ♥️ I'm proud of these humans. ♥️

Learning through play! Autumn has the mind set of she doesn't need to be told what to do because she's pretty. And she's boss. This has gotten her in a bit of hot water! She's fiercely independent and not afraid to put her teeth on skin to let you know she doesn't NEED to listen. She will also quite literally dead pan look you in the eye and flip you the bird while she walks away mid command. This is unacceptable. Because Autumn is not quite a year but over that age of acceptable puppy banter, we are faced with a lot of counter conditioning and reshaping with a splash of correcting. Her whole life up to now is on reset. **Let me just add that I never do these posts to shame anyone. Ever. Anyone who has or is reaching out for help their dog is doing more than most. And I applaud anyone willing to acknowledge that they need help from a professional. Most dogs are NOT easy! **** Training doesn't have to be militant or boring. It shouldn't be. Dogs love structure. And play. Why not combine the two? Impulse control with play as reward. ♥️ A flirt pole can be a wonderful reward! It can also be a cause of OCD! Don't let the chase go on too long. Let them catch and switch off.

So it seems my DayCamp service might be a little misleading? I'll take this opportunity to clear that up. My DayCamp service is to provide dogs with real life training. A jumpstart to what should be happening in my guest dogs own homes. Sometimes the day I have planned with these dogs needs altering. For many reasons! But the day is NEVER wasted. We are not always "Go, Go, Go". This concept is not only unrealistic but very unhealthy. In my home, we not only create healthy stimulation but we create healthy down time. A dog that doesn't know how to chill is not ideal. This is something I practice with all of my guest dogs. We practice being calm in crates as well as in "place". Your vet and groomer can thank us later....😉 Vader has become a regular at my home is VERY COMFORTABLE! We had a day where it was crappy icky weather and I took the opportunity to tidy around him and my own dogs. Vader is a VERY sweet but clingy boy who does have a bit of separation anxiety. He struggled with staying off my heels during this hour.....but he did it. ♥️

Currently booking for July lessons! Please note, because I only offer one on one private lessons, once I send dates & times to you, I can only hold these for 12 hours before I send these to the next client waiting for appointments with me. If I do not get confirmation from you, I cannot guarantee that these times will be available upon your response. I still have spots left in July! Send me a message and let's get you started on enjoying those summer days with balanced dogs!

I posted this video yesterday on my personal page. Less than 24 hours ago. I have received a few comments asking me if he's ok because he's so "skinny". Let's talk about it. Hank is perfect. Legit. Perfect. He is a giant breed dog. Being a giant breed dog doesn't mean he needs to weigh a certain amount. It means his body structure, his genetic make up is larger. He stands at just under 6' tall when on hind legs. He weighs approximately 150lbs. This is the max weight I'd like him to stay at. Extra weight means extra problems. A simple walk being overweight can cause MEGA neck, back & spine issues. Torn cruciate ligament & ACL tears are at a VERY increased risk with everyday activities . And overall, a very shortened life span. And I should mention that that life span is FULL OF PAIN. Everyday. Pain. Just because you don't see the signs, it doesn't mean your dog isn't hurting. Their threshold of showing pain is unreal. The dogs in today's world are literally spoiled to death. And it's breaking my heart. Feeding does not equate to loving your dog. We put too much emphasis on a dogs weight. The bigger, the better. This isn't how we should view dogs health. Why do we look at poorly behaved and overweight dogs as cute yet turn and view poorly behaved and overweight humans in disgust? Including ourselves.... 🤔 My dogs are not raw fed - I'd need a substantial raise + a third job to afford raw for my 4 animals - but a quality kibble mixed with real whole food added. Treats are used and accounted into their daily calories. Training + physical exercise is also daily. I do not claim to be a dog nutritionist. I just know what appropriate feeding is. If I tell you your dog is overweight, I'm saying it out of love. I want you to have the BEST relationship with your dog. And I want that relationship to last a very long time. Quality of life for dogs doesn't include overflowing food bowls and Pez dispensing handfuls of treats. I don't pass judgement. I'd rather h