Pawsitive

22/01/2024

03/10/2023

Breast Cancer awareness month!
Keep checking those puppies 💗

28/08/2023

08/03/2023

😂🤣😂

05/03/2023

I’m happy to report that after several weeks of not being well, things are looking up! I’m still working my way through messages so if you’ve emailed or called and and you haven’t heard back from me yet, I’m making my way through the backlog as quickly as I can and I will be in touch soon! Thank you for your patience and understanding 🙏🫶☺️

19/02/2023

Lola is a very special 15 week old . She is both profoundly deaf and visually impaired. She can certainly see light and dark (she doesn’t like dark places) but further investigations by the ophthalmologist will help to know if she can see any detail beyond that and/or if her vision can be improved surgically.

Now, you may be wondering how to train a special needs puppy like Lola who can’t hear/see? Well, like Helen Keller, we go with what she can sense….food (of course!), touch and smell. For example, I showed Lola’s owners how to lure her into a sit using food and then to pair a touch to her rump with the food lure to become her cue to sit! Lola now sits on her touch cue 👏🎉

Lola also does a little Stevie Wonder style head sway when she’s trying to place where someone or something is! OMG, it is the cutest thing to see 😍🐾🫶🐾💖

18/02/2023

Lovely Lulu is a bit of a Nervous Nellie. Recently permanently re-homed by her foster family, Lulu is wary of new people, pulls on and is leash reactive and knows nothing of recall. Part of her new family’s reason for keeping her is that they were worried that with her behavioural issues, she would struggle to find anyone willing to take her on. On the upside, she is great with their young son and although she was clearly quite nervous of me at first, by the end of our session today she was happy for me to stroke her and she gave me kisses in return! A great start! 😁🐾👏🐕

16/02/2023

Introducing Rusty! Rusty is a 12 week old x mix who enjoys playing with his 2 feline housemates and chewing on slippers 🐾💖🐾

15/02/2023

Look at that smile 😃 Phoebe the German Shepherd is showing off her new ‘In Training’ harness from

13/02/2023

Good morning from 11 week old Ayla the Wheaten Terrier 👋🐾😍🐕

11/02/2023

This gorgeous guy is Oslo, a purebred ‘rez’ dog that was rescued through the . Oslo is learning how to play more gently with his humans and other dogs, and to listen better to his mom when they go to the park.

10/02/2023

Those ears!!!!! Throwback Thursday to when Fergus the Irish Terrier was only 3 months old. Wasn’t he adorable?!?

09/02/2023

Here Skipper the Mini Aussie Shepherd can be seen offering his ‘cute face’, which is indeed extremely cute, in the hope of receiving just a little more sausage. It worked! 😁🐕 Great session today Skipper 👏👏👏 See you again next week 🐾🫶

08/02/2023

Here is Kyro the mix showing you how happy he is at the end of his training session with a big smile and a waggy tail 😁🐕🐾 Good boy Kyro, you did well! 👏

04/02/2023

Pretty in pink. This little cutie patootie is Baby and she lives with her big brother Rambo. From the outside this little & large combo may look like an odd couple but they are a match made in heaven and adore each other 🫶🐾

01/02/2023

I get similar requests at least several times a week. Pet dog training and treating behavioural issues is a very different thing to service dog training, for more reasons than Steffi outlines below. In Alberta, service dog training, assessment and certification can only be carried out by a handful of organisations. It is a long, involved and expensive process.

ESA's (emotional support animals) are not the same as service dogs and are not allowed the same access to public spaces as service dogs, which are specifically task trained to a very high level on top of having the correct temperament to do their work well. In Alberta, there is no ESA certification at the provincial level, although at the national level there is a certification process that can help for those wishing to fly with their ESA...that said, airlines are not obligated to recognise or allow ESA's and not all do.

Service dogs.
Probably one of the most unpopular topics for any pet dog trainer.
I cannot begin to count the amount of service dog training requests I receive.
“Can your online courses train my dog to be a service dog?”
“I need to make my dog a service dog so he can ride on the bus with me” (Yes, someone seriously asked me this)
“Do you certify service dogs?”
No - no - no - and more no.
Service dog training is completely different from pet dog training.
If your dog is trained to walk nicely on a leash and sit and stay, they are a pet dog.
If your dog comes up to you and nuzzles you when you are sad - they are still a pet dog.
If you want your dog to accompany you into stores or fly in-cabin on planes … they’re still only a pet dog and these privileges are not for them.
Service dogs are task-trained.
They are specifically taught to work for people with disabilities.
A dog that solely provides comfort is not a service dog.
I see a lot of people acquiring dogs, labeling them as “my service dog” and *then* going about training them.
This is not how that works.
You cannot just select a dog, put a service dog harness on them and figure the rest out as you go.
We regularly receive requests from dog owners who tell us that their “service dog” pulled them over on leash or has always been highly reactive.
That their service dog relentlessly chases wildlife on walks or has anxiety in social settings.
One time I got a request from a lady who told me that she got a dog from the shelter to be her son’s service dog, but that “service dog” was now biting the son and could I please fix it.
I’m sorry - none of those dogs are not service dogs then. And they likely won’t be service dogs in the future either.
Please be honest about the dog you own.
Unless you worked diligently to train them as a service animal with specific tasks, they are a pet.
A beloved, (hopefully) well-behaved, wonderful pet.
But not a working dog, and you should not demand the privileges that are reserved for true service dogs.
Staying clear with this distinction protects the actual service dogs and their owners :)

31/01/2023

One of Frankie’s favourite activities is to bulldoze the snow with her face! The on here will get the reference to 😂

30/01/2023

Enjoying the finer things in life!

28/01/2023

Walter, the ‘purebred Mexican Street Dog’ came to hang out with Milo the today on this very snowy Friday. ❄️ 🤣

26/01/2023

Potato or Pitbull? 🤣😂🤣

23/01/2023

Wouldn’t Saturdays be sweeter with a Labrador puppy by your side?

We are looking for Puppy Raisers located near Calgary or Edmonton to foster a service dog in training! Take part in the experience of a lifetime and make a difference in someone’s life.

Learn more here: https://aspenservicedogs.com/volunteer/

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23/01/2023

One of the perks of my job is all of the adorable puppies I get to spend time with! Meet Ollie, a 3 month old mix who is not only a handsome chap but also has a beautiful temperament to go with those good looks 😍