Hearts and Hounds DT

06/20/2025

Congratulations to Alma and her mom and dad for graduating from Puppy Kindergarten!

06/20/2025

Congratulations to Marty and his family for graduating from Puppy Start Right Preschool!

06/13/2025

🐶 Here are 5 bad habits we see in dog owners all the time, and if you relate I’ll share what you should do instead. 🐶

🐾Shouting at the dog or telling them off using their name! (I am guilty of this one time to time)

What to do instead - Your dogs name is your way to get their attention, that's what it should be used for. Its not a way to tell them off and its not a recall cue either.

🐾 Focusing on all the bad stuff their dog does.

What to do instead - Our human brains are hard wired to remember bad things in high definition, this is how we end up focusing all the ‘naughty’ behaviours our dogs do. When your dog is good - which I bet is more often than the bad - give yourself 12 seconds to think about it and remember it.

🐾 Repeating cues over and over. for example say sit, sit, siittt….SIT. This teaches your dog to forget what Sit means and turns the sound into white noise aka something to ignore.

What to do instead - Say your cue once and clearly. You may repeat it a second after several moments. But if you need to do it a 3rd time forget it. Your dog either isn’t listening (say their name to get their attention) or they don’t understand what you are asking. So have a think about what it is you are asking.

🐾 Assuming because their dog has done something right several times in a row that they don’t need to keep practicing it or using it.

What to do instead - ALWAYS be reminding you dog of the skills you’ve taught them, so they don’t forget and then when you need them to do that skill they can complete it without any problem.

🐾 Forget to praise. We get so busy thinking about the bad stuff we stop seeing the good behaviours.

What to do instead - A dog hearing Good Boy/Girl/Dog can achieve so a lot. So try to praise any and all good behaviours. Hearing the praise from their human is a great reward.

We all can turn a bad habit into a good one with a little time and patience.

06/11/2025

Summer is upon us! Check out these summer safety tips for your dog.

Summer is an exciting time for dogs, with new smells, new friends, and a whole world to see! Keep them going, and keep them safe, with help from our guide.

06/10/2025

Congratulations to Maisie and her mom for graduating from Life Skills class!

06/10/2025

Congratulations to Riley and his mom for graduating from Puppy Kindergarten!

06/10/2025

Congratulations to Scout and his parents for graduating from Puppy Kindergarten!

06/10/2025

06/10/2025

Congratulations to Stella and her mom for graduating from Puppy Start Right Preschool!

06/02/2025

Please don’t forget to fill out the Pacific Spirit Park Dog Management survey before June 4th to save off-leash trail privileges in the Park.

Information about dog management program review at Pacific Spirit Regional Park.

05/31/2025

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