Nisi and Lisi

12/08/2024

Did you see a dog looking so flashy and polished and now you want that look too? You've come to the right place. Not only do auto behaviours look good from the outside, teaching auto behaviours is great for dogs. Consistent expectations (knowing what to expect) keeps dogs feeling safe and secure with you! How to teach automatic Down when you stop walking on leash: …...

Did you see a dog looking so flashy and polished and now you want that look too? You’ve come to the right place. Not only do auto behaviours look good from the outside, teaching auto behaviou…

08/07/2024

Ranger is looking for a new forever home! This guy is so handsome but definitely has some special needs and will be needing an experienced home. He comes with training support from us 💕

✅ Very protective of home/family
✅ Knows all basic commands
✅ Comes with training support
✅ Crate trained
✅ Muzzle trained

He is a purebred German Shepherd, 4 years old. Very healthy and fit. He's a big boy and needs a strong handler.

He has some challenging behaviours that he needs continued work on. His people have started his handling but he'll come with a training plan for his new family.

Challenges:
💥 He's not used to sharing a home with other dogs. He socializes fairly well outdoors and can redirect in public but he struggles to be inside a closed space with dogs.
💥 He takes time to build trust with new people and can be reactive with strangers - training has been started for this
💥 He needs to be managed when guests arrive at home - this training has been started and needs to be continued at home
💥 He has anxiety in the car and in new public locations - socialization has been started and needs to be continued

Help This good boy find his new home! Share my post and mention Ranger to friends and family.

09/02/2024

Baby Vada with Trainer Shona doing all the good girl things:)

Spot the difference. 🐶🐶🦊

It doesn’t matter if you call it ‘place’, ‘go to bed’, or ‘mat’- teaching your dog to chill out on cue is one of my favourite behaviours to teach pet dogs.

On Friday I had a great mat work training session at Jazzed Up Agility with Spud 🥔 the and puppies Diamond 💎 and Veda.

Teaching a dog to be still, stay and relax on a mat is a useful trick to teach if you want to encouraging calm behaviours at home and in public.

Once a dog learns that relaxing= working they start offering settled behaviours more frequently in their day to day lives. The more you reward this behaviour, the more your dog will repete it.

Jazzed Up Agility
Nisi and Lisi
Canadoodle Australian Labradoodles

06/12/2023

We are training this foster boy from the coast, Zultan, who is looking for his forever home.

He is searching for the perfect family to call home!

He is a really sensitive boy and prefers not to have other dogs around (but he's friendly and would get along with a very gentle dog). He is good with cats! He finds young children a bit overwhelming.

His ideal home has adult family members, trips to the backyard to do his business, the occasional walk (he's happy to be at home relaxing!), and lots of love.

He's not a get out and go hiking kinda dog and would do amazing with a senior or older couple looking for a companion.

He has a few quirks and comes with ongoing training support from myself at his new home.

❄️❄️Please share ❄️❄️ with friends and family that may be on the lookout for a nice older boy 💖

15/11/2023

Place place place. Sometimes I feel like teaching dogs to settle on a bed is all we do but you know what? It's useful.
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I don't agree with having your dog on a bed for hours at a time without being allowed to move. But I do think being able to hold a Stay on a bed during certain situations that are causing an issue is really helpful.
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Human dinner time 🥕
Guests coming over 💃
Kids running around the house 🎉
Cooking in the kitchen 🧑‍🍳
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Are there any other situations where you've found your place cue useful?

15/11/2023

For jumpy dogs there are a few things we like to do: like teaching an alternative behaviour (Sit, Down, Target or Place) and rewarding the dog with praise on the ground. Simply leaving a leash dragging at home and stepping on the leash in public can help you get a handle on a dog who is a crazy bouncy mess!
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Give the dog enough leash to stand normally, put your foot (two feet with a big dog) on the leash, and let the leash stop the jump so that you can reward something else! Don't forget, the leash is helping you interrupt the habit, but you need to also reward the dog for another polite behaviour on the ground once the jumping has been stopped momentarily.
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Has this worked for you?

24/11/2022

UPDATE: OWNER FOUND. The owner is out of country traveling while the dogs are being cared for by a family member. They traveled reaaaalllyyyy far from their farm before I found them. Going home today!

I found two dogs on the road by the fair grounds in Rock Creek yesterday afternoon. Saw them twice wandering in the same area and couldn't leave them out there overnight so I've taken them in. So far, I haven't been able to locate an owner or anyone missing them in the area. It's a small community so a bit strange that the people haven't been found yet. I might need a placement if anyone is able to adopt them. Very sweet dogs.

01/08/2022

Heard a song on the radio that reminded me of Lisi today and sent me into a big cry...a love song that is probably not meant to be about a dog. It's been two years and I still miss my bestie like crazy, especially after a long day or during a road trip. She was always my co-pilot, adventure companion and support system when I was feeling overwhelmed. Miss you pretty princess.

25/07/2022

***PLEASE SHARE***
Courtesy post for someone looking to rehome Senior dog in Lumby.

Beautiful boy is 10 years young. No known health issues. Border Collie mix.

Great things about Nero:
🍓 He isn't a puppy.
🍓 He's awesome with other dogs.
🍓 He's great with cats.
🍓 He's great with kids.
🍓 He's incredibly sweet and loving.

Challenging things about Nero:
🍋 He's anxious about being left alone
🍋 He struggles to settle if you are moving around the house

He's a very good boy who deserves the best place to enjoy his retirement. Do you know someone looking for an older dog?

07/07/2022

Wee baby looking for his forever home ❤️

04/11/2021

***PLEASE SHARE ***

Django needs a forever home! He is visiting me on Board & Train to work on his leash reactivity and other basic training. He is here through Furbae Rescue and they will be taking applications for a new forever home.

Great things about Django:
✅ He is great with his humans including children. He is very snuggly and friendly.
✅ He is great with small dogs and non threatening female dogs
✅ He is easy to train and learns new things quickly
✅ He is very clean
✅ He doesn't have separation anxiety

Things that are challenging about Django:
⚠️ He will guard the home and barks at strangers and things out the window if he has access
⚠️ He reacts to dogs when on leash outside (we are working on this)
⚠️ He needs patience to move from one space to another or to do things he doesn't want to do (we are also working on this)
⚠️ He sometimes bites his leash or mouths his person when excited (we are also working on this and it's much less in just a week)
⚠️ He has a big hate on for cats

We will be looking for a home in a quiet place with an experienced and patient handler. This boy needs love but also rules and boundaries and to continue on with his training. He is not going to be an easy dog that you can take anywhere (at least not right away) and it will be a training session every time he heads out for a walk.

Someone who loves to snuggle is a must!

https://www.furbaerescue.dog/adopt/django

09/10/2021

King (bulldog) and Sadie (border collie) are roommates at home and haven't been getting along well. King has attacked Sadie twice.
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They are visiting us to work on their relationship as well as doorstep separate training for both.
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This is a parallel walk. It is a low social pressure walk where no one greets face to face and everyone gets to relax. This kind of walk is ✅ bonding ✅ safe ✅ trust building ✅ confidence building.
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They are doing great. This is our second parallel walk and Sadie greeted her friend that she was formerly very fearful of really excitedly. King was really chill and after the initial sniff, displayed very polite social behaviour.

09/10/2021

📣A big secret to loose leash walking is that any time you take a step forward while your leash is tight on your dog's collar/harness you are reinforcing pulling on leash 📣
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Here are some tips to help with your leash walking and to keep that leash in a nice loose "banana" shape during walks:
✅ Start walking only when your dog is close by and engaged with you. Movement is a reward. 🚫 Don't start your walk if your dog is already pulling while you're stationary.
✅ If your dog is digging forward into the leash trying to pull you along, take a few steps backwards in the opposite direction. 🚫 Don't take any steps forward with a dog that is pulling into the end of the leash.
✅ If your dog isn't matching your pace, make a U-Turn each time your dog starts to walk too fast or gets too far ahead even if he hasn't hit the end of the leash yet. 🚫 Don't try to jerk the leash or get really frustrated with your dog. It's hard to walk with a slow as molasses two legger.
✅ Reward your dog for taking steps in the correct position beside you. You can calmly verbally praise, give a treat or give a little pat if your dog likes that. 🚫 Don't get overly excited and throw off your vibe. Don't pat a dog who is dodging or dropping away from your hands - the touch is a punishment to your dog in that moment, not a reward.
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Happy leash walking! Make sure to practice your loose leash walking daily and don't sometimes allow pulling and other times commit to training. Each walk is for training until you have the behaviour you want!!

28/09/2021

Lisi my love with her ball, subtly hinting that she'd like to go out and play ⚽
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Are you using your dog's play time productively? Here are some tips to practice polite behaviour with toy play:

✅ Ask your dog to perform a behaviour (like a Sit or Spin!) for you before throwing your toy or starting a game of tug! 🚫 Don't start your game if your dog is displaying nuisance behaviours like barking, jumping or nipping.
✅ Ask your dog to make eye contact with you instead of staring at the toy! Hold the toy out to the side and stare at your dog - mark when he eventually looks at you (this could take a long time) - then throw or start your tug game! 🚫 Be ready and move your dog's toy out of reach if he tries to jump up and sn**ch it!
✅ Trade a treat or a second toy to encourage your dog to drop the toy in their mouth! 🚫 Don't chase your dog around or try to pry open his mouth to get the toy out.
✅ Have fun! It doesn't need to be stern or serious when your dog is working for a toy, get into your games enthusiastically. The more you play, the more you can use play as a reward for training.

21/09/2021

**PLEASE SHARE**

Samson is looking for a new home. His family has to unexpectedly leave the country and are heartbroken that they need to find somewhere for their beloved boy.

About Samson:

He is a 7 year old Golden Retriever Mix.
He is very loving and likes to spend most of his day relaxing at home.
His owners are looking to finding a new forever home for him OR finding a foster that will take him for up to 2 years until they can return to Canada (they will cover his expenses until they return).

👶Samson is used to kids and lives in a home with small children
🐶Samson has shared his home happily with other dogs
🐱Samson has shared his home happily with a cat

Challenging things about Samson:

💪Samson can be protective of his home and yard. He happily greets invited guests but strangers approaching the house without his family present are not his favourite. He has lunged at male strangers aggressively approaching his house without his family greeting the stranger.
🌳 On leash walks, Samson occasionally lunges at other large dogs on leash. His owners just give other dogs on leash a wide berth and haven't had any issues. He doesn't struggle with dog interactions other than that on leash reactive behaviour.

If you know of someone who wants a really nice older dog to add to their family please send me a PM and I'll pass on the owner's info. They are looking for a placement ASAP.

08/09/2021

A very rare on puppy B&T programs for Sept! I never discount my prices. I'll also be down on the coast for a pick up mid Sept!
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I had some amazing feedback from an owner of a puppy who took my program at 4 months old. The pup was rehomed due to allergies at 8 months ❤️ and the new owners contacted me to say how incredibly well trained the dog is and to ask for some tips on what he's learned.🐶😍 That makes me so happy - puppy training really sticks (good and bad!) so if you know someone who needs help with their puppy, please pass on this promo!💕
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I've had an influx of adult dogs recently for B&T and we are ready for some new puppies to mold and play with :)
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A few things that we work on in puppy Board & Train programs: loose leash walking, off-leash recall, manners around the house, biting toys (not hands!), training with toys, peeing and pooing outdoors, all basic obedience (eye contact, sit, down, stay), place (send pup to bed during meals, door greetings & rest times), socialization with kids, poultry, friendly dogs of all sizes, new locations, new smells and sounds, urban and rural environments.....and so much more!
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Please get in touch via email or text [email protected] or 250-540-7828

24/08/2021

Cracked me up

18/08/2021

Movement away from your dog is more alluring than movement towards. 😘 If your dog isn't completing a recall when you call OR is coming really slowly... You may just need to stop putting forward pressure!
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Common Mistakes:
⛔ Leaning out to your dog as they come closer.
⛔ Taking steps toward your dog as they approach.
⛔ Trying to grab at your dog as they approach.
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How to fix :
✅ Always move a step or two backwards as your dog approaches to encourage a complete recall
✅ Reward while making contact with your body: patting your dog's side while leaning on your leg, giving treats close to your legs (or torso if you have dinosaurs like me), asking for a Touch before tossing a ball
✅ Turn and run away after you call your dog to engage prey drive and increase the speed of your recall. Reward when pup catches you!
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It's also important to have the right picture in your mind of what it means when you call your dog. Here is my standard:
🥇 I call
🥈Dog turns and heads in my direction quickly
🥉Dog comes all the way to me
🏅Dog sticks around until I say "okay!" and release to be free again
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12/08/2021

Why teach a 'Down'? Teaching your dog to lay down on cue is one of my essential skills I teach any dog that visits here - big or small.
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Here are a few reasons I love a Down
✅ Easiest Stay: Down is the slowest position to rise from, so it tends to be easier to teach a Stay to dogs who are struggling holding still from this position.
✅ Most Controlled: A Down is a position where the dog is the least likely to react physically. Less barking, less sudden lunging, less bolting.
✅ Stops Movement: Have you seen dogs that can still toe tap or scoot in a Sit? I have. A Down is great way to get a full stop - I love teaching it as a distance behaviour so I can ask my dogs to drop from 50 feet or more away.
✅ Relaxation: Down will help your dog relax. A dog who paces, has trouble calming or is hyper aware will be much more likely to calm down in this position.
✅ Safest for Kids: In a Down, a large dog is much less likely to paw at, bump or mouth a child. When the dogs are in a Down, I can be sure that Lili is going to be safe playing with her buckets in the sand without me having to referee or block.
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Does your dog know how to do a Down? How long have you tried holding it for?

28/07/2021

Reduce barking frenzies at your house! A consistent change in YOUR behaviour will get you results you want in your dog's behaviour.🏆
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How To:
🔹Keep a dish of kibble or treats in a handy spot out of your dog's reach in your main living areas.
🔹When your dog barks, call him to you. When he arrives give him a treat right away (don't try to ask for a sit on arrival).
🔹If your dog runs back to bark, repeat.
🔹Try to feed treats one after the other quickly to avoid your dog running back to bark.
🔹If your dog is too loud or distracted to come to you when you call: get closer! If that still doesn't work, put the food in front of his nose and "turn" him back away from what he's barking at and lure him with the food back to where you called from. If that STILL doesn't work, leave a leash on dragging at home so that you can use the leash to gentle pull your dog away from the thing he's barking at until he can turn to you.
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This takes consistent practice, so make it your new normal. It has to be the way YOU react to barking every time and you'll see significant improvement within a few weeks.
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What your dog is learning 🚸
✅ Food helps to calm your dog and create a brain pattern of calm in exciting situations
✅ To move away from something that is exciting or scary instead of running at it barking
✅ To defer to human when feeling the need to bark.
✅ That the human will take control and protect you in situations where you feel the need to bark.
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This strategy also helps to reduce angry or negative feelings at home when the dog barks! Nice for dogs, nice for humans... Win! 💐

16/07/2021

What helps create a bond between two dogs?! 🐕🐩New best friends 💕 Roxie and Tink snuggling on the front seat (in front of the a/c of course 🥵).
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If you're considering adding a second dog to your family, here are some tips for creating a harmonious household between your dogs:
✅ Protect the weaker dog and show the stronger dog how to be gentle in play. ▶️ Generally, similar breeds and sizes of dogs will get along best but that isn't a steadfast rule. If your two dogs are different sizes or one is much more rowdy than another, you need to referee play time and excited moments at home. This avoids one dog being bullied to the point of starting a conflict.
✅ Structure mealtimes and treats. ▶️ In a multi dog house you don't want anyone trying to steal anyone else's food or squabbles happening over treats. The rules in my house: everyone waits to eat until I say Okay, no dog approaches another dog while they eat, no one tries to take a chew or snag a treat away from another dog.
✅ Go on Walks together. ▶️ Nothing creates a stronger bond than sniffing and exploring together. I also think that meeting strangers together and tackling obstacles helps to put both dogs on the same "team" and can shift a mentality of competition if that is persisting at home.
✅ Keep things calm. ▶️ In a multi dog house, it's much better for everyone if things stay much more in control and calmer than if there was just one dog. I don't allow high energy play indoors and train my dogs not to loose control in greeting situations. If I'm not sure I can be in control, I'll separate the dogs so that they don't rile each other up.
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These are only a few tips but good ones to start with! Always seek help when you notice conflict STARTING with your dogs. Don't wait until there is a big fight to find a trainer to help.

08/07/2021

A quick and classic tip to reduce Jumping Up behaviour.
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Especially when your dog is using Jumping as a way to solicit pats, affection, food or play.... the key 🗝️ is to ⚡Both⚡
✅ Ignore pup while front paws are off the floor
✅ Reward pup once back on the ground
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This shows puppy 🐶 "you won't get what you want by jumping" AND 🐶"you will get what you want by having all four paws on the floor". Two important pieces of information in one lesson!

27/06/2021

If your dog hates nail trims or is very sensitive to being touched, don't put the pressure on either of you to endure trimming all nails in one go!
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Our adopted boy, Murphy, isn't a huge fan of nail trims so.... I do one a day until they're done!
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I will also give him a treat each time I clip a nail. Clip & treat! If your dog gets a frozen stuffed kong each day, this is a good time to get your one nail clip done!
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Why?!
👍This helps create a positive (or at least less negative) and less stressful association with nail clipping!
😎It's easier!
💕You aren't feeling rushed!
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Tip: it's handy to keep a note of which nails you've already clipped 😅 I can never remember without writing it down.

18/06/2021

Viva and Charlie and working & playing tonight!
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Incorporating your Obedience skills into walks and outings is so important! It helps your dog's behaviour in many ways:
✔️ Rewards focusing on you outdoors
✔️ Practices using your skills in new and challenging environments
✔️ Demonstrates gaps in your training when your dog really struggles in one setting VS another
✔️ Helps you gain back calm energy when your dog is excited
✔️ Generally improves your dog's listening while out and about
✔️ Gives you an opportunity to be in the moment with your dog and observe body language
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Try out a Sit or Down Stay next time you're out with your pup! On leash or off leash, this is a great practice.
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Bonus: it makes for great pics!

11/06/2021

Viva 🤣🤣

09/06/2021

Boring Training aka Hang out with your dog and do NOTHING. 😎 This is an important lesson for dogs who are over excited and/or reactive outside!
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Charlie likes to bark at people and some dogs and weird stuff. We want him to feel comfy observing his environment without feeling uneasy when life happens.
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Practicing being calm and bored outside is an important way to lay down a behaviour pattern of being chill outdoors. The more you practice this the better your dog will be!
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This is easy for humans too! Grab a book, write some emails and hang out!! Don't forget to bring some treats to reward your dog for checking in with you and to redirect if some barking happens (I like to use a nose target to redirect!).

09/06/2021

⚡Don't add another dog to your home if you aren't happy with the behaviour of the first dog! ⚡
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This has come up several times recently! 🤪 Adding another dog to a home where the first dog isn't behaving well WILL NOT fix the behaviour of the first dog. It will end up with TWO misbehaving dogs! Period. End of story.🎄
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Dogs rarely naturally learn polite behaviours from each other.
🏆Top 10 Things that I have found they learn contagiously from other dogs:
1. Barking
2. Jumping
3. Digging
4. Counter Surfing
5. Escaping
6. Hunting
7. Garbage Theft
8. Destruction
9. Rough Play
10. Any General Out of Control Energy
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So, if your first dog is doing one of the above things 👆 and you don't like it...imagine two dogs doing it at the same time. That is what you picture when you add the second dog 🌪️
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Just to be clear, I am NOT against having multiple dogs. I love many dogs. I am a puppy pusher. BUT it's very important to be smart and train your first dog to your liking before adding another fur friend to the family ❤️