08/16/2024
Couldn’t be happier with my Trick Classes at Canine Country Academy! Everyone had a blast and learned some cool new showstoppers!
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Teaching Atlanta to speak dog! Top Notch Science-Based dog training since 2013!
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For the safety of everyone involved ARB Dog Training will only be offering services to those who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or those who are willing to wear a facial covering during their sessions!
08/14/2024
CALLING ALL PUPPIES: We have multiple group classes options starting this month. Our classes are 6 weeks in length and appropriate for dogs under 5 months of age.
In class, we work on foundation skills to help you and your dog live happily together. Things like coming when called, walking on a loose leash, socialization, and more.
Classes are 3 to 6 puppies.
$185
Register TODAY: https://caninecountryacademy.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx
*day time, evenings, and weekends
08/13/2024
Check out Maple (left) and Ivy (right) sharing space. This is a big deal for both girls because they have different ideas on interactions with other dogs.
Maple is staying with Amy, one of our amazing trainers, for some training. Maple's people have done an awesome job training her and wanted her to continue when they travel. She's been hanging at CCA joining classes and working on learning about different dogs. The image shows how much confidence she's gaining being able to be in this program.
Raising dogs is best done with a village of support. We are really enjoying having Maple around.
08/13/2024
Maple is having a great time with us! She’s gotten to spend a lot of time with Poison Ivy and I at Canine Country Academy to make lots of new friends too! Not to mention she’s getting to hone in on a lot of skills!
Don’t make me give her back!
08/10/2024
Been a while since I’ve had a chance to get my Aussie fix in! Welcome 🍁 Maple 🍁 who will be boarding with us this week!
08/02/2024
07/31/2024
07/25/2024
PSA from Ivy the Briard: NEVER vacuum the training room alone.
You're welcome.
07/18/2024
Poison Ivy wants you to know about one more Amazon Prime deal. It's her FAVORITE food puzzle toy.
Outward Hound Snoop
Check it out: https://amzn.to/3WsXQw8
07/16/2024
Couldn’t be happier to be back to teaching group lessons!
If you’re ready to get into class, meet me at Canine Country Academy!
07/11/2024
The very thing I always teach in all my group lessons!!
Is your dog excited and social with other dogs? Can your dog be near another dog and not say "hi"?
It's an important skill for your social dog to learn how to be neutral around dogs, too. They may find it challenging in a group class or on walks not to pull you to greet or socialize when you don't allow them to get close.
We teach this by giving the dog clear expectations when to greet and when it's not appropriate to greet. This can help you and the dog in many other ways, too.
Check out Vision the Golden being near Zest the Ibizan Hound sticking with their people verses pulling to the nearby dog. Good work teams!
07/04/2024
Everyone remember to be safe this weekend! Don’t forget to keep the pups safe, calm and comfortable as well!!
06/16/2024
A picture is worth a thousand words...image credit International Canine Behaviorists
06/15/2024
My Manners group classes at Canine Country Academy are filling up FAST! Don’t miss your chance!
Manners Is your dog jumping on guests? Counter surfing? Not coming when called? Pulling on the leash? Then you are in the right place! Manners Is your dog pulling on leash? Are they jumping all over your guests? Do you struggle to get them to come when called? Then our Manners class is the perfect f...
06/12/2024
I’m hosting trick classes at Canine Country Academy next month!! Who’s ready to have the most impressive dog at the party?
06/09/2024
This weekend’s Barn Hunt trial in Lawrenceville was a BLAST! Poison Ivy even got to take home the most prestigious award of them all: Big Fat Loser!
In all seriousness, this kid was on FIRE 🔥 and I could not be more proud of her. I’m spite of all of her Master Level runs being NQs, it was still some of her best work in the sport I’ve seen so far! In 5 of our runs, she cleared the course and I managed to call it correctly; but she decided tunneling was for chumps this weekend so we got nothing. We did however finally get to try our hand at Crazy 8s and she took home 90 points toward our Bronze title! 🏆🏅
Most importantly of all, we had an absolute blast! It was wonderful to see you all again!!!
06/04/2024
Super excited to say that I’ve been given a great opportunity to join the Canine Country Academy team! For the first time in nearly four years, I’m offering group training again!
I’ve been running ARB Dog Training on my own since 2011 and loved every single minute of it; but I’m so excited to start the next chapter in my life and work with these incredibly talented ladies!
See you all in class!
Welcome Amy Baumann to the CCA team! Amy is a skilled dog trainer that will be offering group classes and private lessons starting in July. She is an instructor who likes to have fun while training foundation behaviors and tricks. Her mission is for you to see how brilliant your dog is.
She's also a dog mom to a Briard named Poison Ivy. They participate in dog sports including barn hunt.
We are excited to have her on the team helping more dogs and people. ❤️
PS: Her classes are open for registration - https://caninecountryacademy.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx
05/31/2024
Gio how are you so stinkin cute???
This little man has been working with me for a couple months now and he’s been a blast! He’s a total 🧨 firecracker 🎇🎆 his energy and zest for life is out of this world and you just can’t help but smile!
05/31/2024
As the weather gets warmer it is it important to keep your dog’s safety in mind! Even though we want our furry pals with us everywhere we go, they would much prefer to hang out in the comfort of your ac at home! And better yet they stay alive! Unless you have a fancy new car with the dog feature, let your dog relax at home while you do your errands. For ideas on how to keep your dogs busy, contact ABQ Bark University!
www.abqbarkuniversity.com
05/20/2024
It’s always such an enlightening (and sometimes humbling) experience to get to attend a training course run by another professional trainer. I always recommend it of course, there’s always so much more to learn from our peers! Here are some of the changes in Poison Ivy I’ve noticed since enrolling her in Susan Garrett’s Homeschool The Dog program:
Increased food drive ✅
Increased confidence in new environments ✅
Shorter adjustment time needed for stressful environments ✅
Decreased stress signals when wearing gear ✅
More willing to engage in various scenarios ✅
Higher desire to snuggle/be close to me ✅
Less afraid to “make mistakes” ✅
Seems like a lot of great things right? Let’s hit on the one thing I’ve found to be a bit of a con, and talk about why I don’t think it’s such a con after all.
Significant increase in dog reactivity❌❓✅❓
Poison Ivy has always had low confidence around dogs she isn’t familiar with. After a dog tried to attack her multiple times in a training class, her reactivity became pretty problematic. What was once a dog who could watch dogs go about their business is now a dog who looses her mind whenever she sees a dog she doesn’t know. Since enrolling in HSTD, I chose to fully embrace the philosophies of the course. What could hurt right? As well as playing the games and doing the homework that was assigned, I completely discontinued the use of all correction based training tools for Poison Ivy (who’s been conditioned to a prong and e collar since she was 4 months old).
Now that Poison Ivy no longer fears the physical correction, she’s become very difficult to handle around dogs. This begs an important question that any good trainer should ask: did the collars actually teach her what is expected of her? Or did they simply stick a bandaid on a wound that never stopped bleeding? I think the answer is pretty clear in this case.
True behavioral modification happens when you change your dog’s conditioned emotional response to a fear enduring stimulus; not when you only correct the side effect of that fear. I’m disappointed in myself for not seeing this sooner in my own dog.
Seeing reactivity less as the dog being an ass and more as communicating discomfort in a scenario she couldn’t handle (one I shouldn’t have put her in to begin with) has done wonders for our relationship. And that’s exactly why I signed up for this course: to better our relationship.
The moral of the story here is never to think you know it all. No matter what your field, learn from those around you. Continue to grow and keep an open mind.
04/27/2024
Sometimes when you hit a wall, changing your approach is the best thing to do!
My most recent goal for Poison Ivy has been increasing confidence and adding joy to her life. This is where I really hit a road block with her; I thought everything I was doing was exactly the best plan to achieve just that and yet, quite the opposite.
In an attempt to think outside the box, I decided to join Susan Garrett’s “Home School the Dog” program. For those who aren’t familiar with her, Susan Garrett is an absolutely incredibly trainer that I’ve looked up to for over a decade now. Her methods are based entirely in choice and reinforcement-based games. Needless to say, punishment of any kind is off the table for her.
Poison Ivy has not only loved the games (most of which she’s known all her life) but her confidence has already skyrocketed. Tonight was our biggest win so far. Our apartment complex has been scary for her ever since we moved in. We have never finished a lap without her becoming overstimulated or afraid about something. Not until tonight at least. Not only did we finish the lap, we did it using a tool I vowed I’d never put on a dog ever again, a Head Collar.
I expected to see a dog who tolerated a tool I despise. Instead what I saw was a dog who was truly enjoying herself out and about on her walk. She never turned down a single treat, never reacted to a sight or sound that startled her and offered me engagement and wiggles at every turn.
It’s never too late to learn something new. Or in this case, remember your roots. In 13 years as a dog trainer, a very small fraction of it has been as an exclusively reward-based trainer. It was only when Harley Quinn came into my life in 2017 that I (for the first time in my life) found myself so at a loss with my own dog, that I expanded my toolbox and learned the other quadrants of learning.
I believe every single dog we have comes into our lives to teach us something. Harley Quinn taught me to expand my horizons and learn from trainers I may disagree with. Poison Ivy is now reminding me that the faster way isn’t always the better way.
04/11/2024
Is your dog actually trained? 🤔💭
What happens when you take off the tools? Put the treat bag away maybe? Do you get the same response out of the dog, or do they still suddenly act like they don’t know you? If you don’t like what you see, you might need some work building your relationship!
Dogs do things for the opportunity to earn some form of reinforcement, or to avoid a stimulus they dislike. That’s it, full stop. Your dog doesn’t do things to please you or because they think you’re the “alpha” of you household. If you take off your collars or put away the baggie of chicken and your dog stops listening, don’t fret! Behavior is communication. If they can’t perform without something in the picture, then you might have a flaw in your training plan! But what can you do?
First off is always to ask yourself where you are? The environment always dictates the course of action for your dog! If they struggle to sit inside your home, it might not be the best call to practice at the dog park. Second is to look at your reinforcement. If you’re offering kibble to get your dog to ignore a rabbit, you probably aren’t gonna win that battle. Last (and most importantly in my opinion) is to take a look at your mechanics in your training. Are you using that treat to reinforce your dog, or are you holding it to their nose as a bribe? Are you jumping right to correcting your dog for failure when they haven’t got a strong enough foundation yet? Well that’s just not fair!
Need some help? Might be time to give us a call!
04/07/2024
Behavior never stays static. It’s either improving or falling apart. Thank you Susan Garrett for the wise words!
This has really hit home at our house this month! Poison Ivy’s crate training really fell apart after our move back in October. Between the change in environment and my lack of consistency, she’s gone from hanging out in her crate on her own to screaming whenever she’s closed inside. We’ve had to make some big changes around here to fix it!
After two weeks of daily crate games, we’ve officially gotten back to her eating a meal closed in her crate without stress! We still have a way to go but we’ll get there!
Nobody is immune to breakdowns in behavior! Don’t be me, and remember to stay consistent!
03/30/2024
First AKC Show is done! ✅
Despite Poison Ivy (and her mom) being incredibly nervous in the new environment, she performed better than I could’ve hoped. She stood flawlessly for her exam and had a good time trotting in the ring (and holding her tail like a dummy). She even got a little swag for the ribbon wall! First place Novice, Winner’s Bitch and Best of Opposite 🏆🏅 less exciting when you remember she was the only bitch in the ring but hey, we’ll take it!
A big thank you to Tammy L. Ream - Beckworth for helping teach us to navigate a new sport and Merry Jeanne Key Millner for being such a wonderful handler to be in the ring with and be so kind and welcoming of a new handler! Now for a good long nap and a day to enjoy Poison Ivy being clean before she finds a way to ruin it!
03/23/2024
💚💜🐶Happy National Puppy Day from us and baby Poison Ivy 🐶💜💚
I still can’t believe how much my baby girl has grown and how incredibly different she looks today.
Let’s see those puppies!
03/18/2024
Dog Parks: because “Disease Infested Fight Club” just didn’t have the same ring to it.
03/13/2024
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ALL DOGS SHOULD BE MUZZLE TRAINED! Muzzles have been a hot topic the past few months in the dog world. It’s breaking my heart to see so many dogs on social media wearing muzzles, but not for the reason you may think! Muzzles have a pretty bad rap. Bad dogs wear muzzles right? Wrong! All dogs should be properly conditioned to wearing a muzzle for a variety of reasons. Your dog may be a restricted breed where you live. Maybe your dog is fearful/aggressive in certain situations. Maybe your dog eats things they shouldn’t. Who knows! Maybe you may even decide you want to participate in a dog sport that requires your dog to wear a muzzle! With the recent breed bans in the United Kingdom, I’ve seen dogs online every day wearing muzzles with owners who are broken hearted to see their dog struggling. Here’s the thing though, your dog isn’t sad that they have to wear a muzzle. They aren’t upset that people think they’re bad dogs. They’re stressed out because they haven’t been taught to accept wearing a muzzle. As our dogs’ owners, it is our responsibility to prepare them to live in a world alongside humans. This includes being ready for the day they might need to be muzzled. Let’s use Poison Ivy as an example! Anyone who’s met Ivy can attest that she is one of the most sweet hearted dogs they’ve ever met. That is, those except the veterinary staff at our clinic. They’d say that Poison Ivy is extremely fearful. That’s right! Poison Ivy hates the vet! While I cannot fault her for her feelings, I also am not willing to risk the safety of the veterinary staff that she interacts with. Will Poison Ivy bite? I certainly don’t think so. Do dogs naturally bite when they feel threatened? Of course! Because of this, Poison Ivy has been conditioned to love her muzzle! She (as well as every dog I’ve ever owned) sees the muzzle as just another piece of equipment and a normal part of her life. As her owner, caretaker and guide of the human world, I r
Want a dog that walks through hardware stores like this? Engagement is key! Be sure to reward any eye contact your pup offers in a variety of environments and you’ll be on your way in no time!
Living peacefully with a nervous dog in the city can be tough! Here are some tips to help with things like construction! Always get a professional onboard to help if your pup is really struggling!
Miss Haru, the Samoyed, modeling what I deem to be the single most important thing in pet dog training, come when called! In my opinion, ALL dogs should have an absolute rock solid recall in all scenarios! Not only is it about communication with your animal, it’s basic safety 101! And believe it or not, you don’t need harsh corrections to achieve this! Wanna get a dog that RUNS to you every time you call? Give us a call and let’s get started!
“Oh my god she’s so smart!” “Look how well trained she is!” “She’s so graceful” …my dog 90% of the time.
Poison Ivy just became the first Briard to hold a Masters Trick Title with Do More With Your Dog at only five months old! Nothing helps build a bond between you and your pup quite like training training! Ready for a trick dog to impress your family and friends? Give us a call!
Mastery is mastery of the fundamentals! Something so many people tend to forget about is the essentials of going back to basics. No matter how good your dog may be at a particular skill, it’s always beneficial to practice the foundations of that skill to keep them sharp! Practicing your skills at its most basic level helps avoid incorrect form or placement and decreases the likelihood of confusion as you increase difficulty of the behavior. For example, Poison Ivy is in the initial stage of learning her front heel position and her middle position. I use similar hand cues for both of these behaviors and so practicing these two in a non distracting environment helps Ivy to master the basics before we go out into the world to practice! Happy training everyone!
This morning was Poison Ivy’s first trip to a local dog park! But no how you’d think! Poison Ivy has been pretty suspicious of unknown dogs from the start, and a string of off leash dogs getting in her face hasn’t helped. This morning, we went to a dog park to let her observe from a distance. No obedience, no loose leash expectations (hence the harness), just watching and listening. We stayed across the parking lot where she was comfortable and just existed for about 15 minutes. Anytime she checked in with me, she got snacks and praise. By the end of the visit, she’d gone from cowering and growling to looking at the dogs just so she could look back at me for another treat; no stress left in her body. Now as many of you who know me already know, I can’t stand dog parks as a whole and my own dogs never go in. That said, they serve as great training opportunities like this IF YOU’RE CAREFUL. When you spend time outside a dog park like this, a lot of people will assume your dog is friendly and allow theirs to approach. Exactly what we DIDN’T want in this case. I stayed right next to my car the whole trip prepped to hop her back in if needed and advocated for her personal space. Please, if you do visit a dog park with your dog, do so with extreme caution and always advocate for your dog!
Poison Ivy got to meet a brand new challenge today: swimming! Im blown away with how quickly she took to the water and how much she loves it! We may have a future dock diving dog on our hands!
First day of socializing with miss Ivy!
Little weirdo 😆
This girl cracks me up! Treats? No thanks. Toys? Meh. Dirty sticks? Oh yeah let’s go! Work with what your dog finds motivating! Gotta be flexible!
Join me on my daily ramblings with miss Dottie!
The show must go on and Dottie is back! This gorgeous lady took a break from our Day Train program to recover from her spay and today was her first day learning about off leash life! E collar conditioning is a slow and steady process and I couldn’t be happier with her response to feeling the sensation for the first time. Good job Dottie 💚
Relaxing with frenemies! HQ and Athena have an established understanding of mutual dislike. Thankfully, HQ’s relaxation on “Place” is pretty rock solid, and that’s one of the things miss Athena is working on during her stay with us. Being able to not only exist, but truly relax around a dog they don’t exactly love is an excellent exercise. Note: Don’t try this at home! If you have two dogs who actively dislike one another, reach out to a trainer to get the help you need! HQ and Athena are both tethered on leashes here JUST IN CASE. It’s ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry!
This little lady is just too wonderful! A huge open field, no treats, toys or even her e collar remote on me and she doesn’t want to do anything but stay right beside me! Looks like the year of training with us really paid off!!
Loving this kiddo!
Another day, another new concept! This morning, Dottie and I went to a nearby park to work on her leash walking skills. Learning “Heel” near all the loud scary cars was a great way to help her put her energy to something more productive.
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My Story
My name is Amy! I've spent my entire life learning about how animals learn and see the world. I began studying dogs more in depth in my junior year of high school with a goal to work with more problematic dogs. I spent close to three years shadowing professional instructors and training with my own dogs to practice. In April of 2014, I completed the Dog Trainer Foundations course at Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior. In August 2016, I became certified through Petco Positive Dog Training and the American Kennel Club as a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. This is when I found my love of working with Therapy and Assistance Dogs for the disabled and left my work with Aggression behind me. Since then, I have become dedicated to showing people what incredible things dogs can really do if you set them up for success. In mid 2019, I took that desire to show off dogs' smarts a step further and dove into AKC Trick Dog. From a simple bow to pushing a shopping cart on hind legs, I've met some dogs who can learn to do some show stopping things! The tricks are great, but what really makes me smile is seeing how happy the dog is to work with their human. it's all about that bond! I believe in a solid foundation of positive reinforcement and lots of love. Any boundaries or corrections should be fair and well understood by the dog. Most importantly, your DOG gets to pick what is reinforcing and what is punishing. YOU don't! We use what makes your dog tick and take advantage! This helps us to harness their true enthusiasm to work and keep the focus on us! The results of real communication are truly astounding! I’m hoping one day, I may get a chance to show you just how smart your dog can be, too.
-Amy
