Handling is a HUGE part of puppy socialization!
When you hear about puppy socialization, there’s a big emphasis on meeting other dogs and people. But handling should be a BIG part! 👋👋👋
Practicing handling with your puppy will help a lot in the future- with veterinary care, grooming, and tons more. So what to do?
HANDLING = TREATS.
So for example, we feed treats while we gently pet an ear. After a few times, maybe we squeeze or move the ear. Then maybe we flip it over to look inside. Every time we touch the ear, a treat magically appears.
But remember- we want them to think handling is FUN! So if your puppy pulls away when you try to squeeze their paw. STOP. 🛑
Back up a step, and work on just touching their paw! Once they’re more comfortable, you can work back up to the squeeze.
Puppy Day School Fun
Always the best vibes at Puppy Day School! Just goofin and smiling between peanut butter breaks.
Meet Kiera, An Every Dog Puppy Day School Student!
Meet one of our favorite dog friends, Kiera! We wish everyone could know her.
Kiera is one of our amazing Puppy Day School attendees, and she's a great student with a big personality. She's 5 months old, and just discovered lights. Her likes include play tugging and sitting in her favorite places. Her biggest dislike a very specific big red ball.
We love working and playing with her 🐾
January Dog Training Classes
January classes are open for enrollment! Check them out at everydogaustin.org/classes
Just a friendly reminder that we offer financial assistance on all of our training services. You can request financial assistance on our website with a simple, easy form!
We’re so excited to share this update!
Cisco, like many dogs, struggles with some anxiety and big feelings out in the world. After lots of training, it felt like he had “plateaued” and was still really uncomfortable in new situations or when he saw other dogs.
We recommended seeing a veterinary behaviorist, but knew Cisco’s mom wouldn’t be able to manage it financially. Fortunately, thanks to a generous grant from Maddie's Fund we were able to cover his appointment with Dr. Sirois at PAZ Veterinary
Veterinary behavior support can be life changing for some dogs, and we are SO thrilled to have this partnership with Dr. Sirois.
And a HUGE #ThanksToMaddie for making this possible for Cisco and for others like him.
Video description: an elder golden retriever wags his tail and goes from his mom, trainer Michele, and Vet Behaviorist Dr. Sirois in a room at Paz vet clinic. Everyone is excited!
At Every Dog, we believe that:
DOG TRAINING IS FOR EVERYONE.
We’re a nonprofit dedicated to providing inclusive, accessible dog training and behavior support.
But we can’t do this alone! Your donation this #givingtuesday allows us to help more families (and dogs) in need.
everydogaustin.org/giving-tuesday to donate
Free and low cost dog training can:
-keep dogs in homes, and out of shelters
-prevent and manage safety risks
-improve the important bond between humans and dogs.
Please consider donating for #givingtuesday this year. Thanks to a generous donor, the first $1,000 will go twice as far via a matching donation.
Everydogaustin.org/giving-Tuesday
Video description: text as above. Several short video clips of dogs doing training exercises, followed by photo clips of a few dozen dogs (or dogs and people).
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
This year, I’m thankful for Nina’s 1-year adoptaversary.
Last Thanksgiving I was out for a walk, headphones in, trying to shake off the winter blues. Suddenly something booped me in the face- a loose dog had popped up to kiss me, all wiggles.
I followed her for about a mile before I was able to trap her in a yard and find a way to bring her home with me. I posted everywhere, got her checked for a chip, and looked for her family.
But this girl became mine.
She isn’t without flaws- she’s reactive to some dogs, hates nail trims, and refuses to come inside when it’s sunny out. She’s had some neurological issues, and had a mast cell tumor removed.
But mostly, she is amazing. She’s a first class snuggler and lap dog, loves her toys, and naps when I’m gone. She loves walks, playing with select dog friends, and stalking squirrels (but never gets close!)
Even today, her default greeting to humans is still a boop to the face 🤦♀️It’s not ideal, and some day we’ll do some training for it, but for now I’m just thankful it led me to her.
#thanksgiving #adoptaversary #gotchaday
Today at @puptopiafest we got to talk to Ethan of @caninestars after an AWESOME performance of disc and dock diving. These dogs are all rescued and SO skilled- and all trained with positive reinforcement. So Ethan talked to us about positive reinforcement and why it’s so important!
Several folks have recently asked about how to manage the “middle” stages of muzzle training- when your dog is already happy to poke their nose in for treats, but you have no idea how to move forward or start with the straps. So here you go! A few things you’ll notice from the video:
-this is NOT our first session at this level. She’s had probably 15+ sessions with straps already, so go slower than I did here!
-you see me using my knees to stabilize the muzzle. This makes it easy for her to shove her nose in (face height) and gives me hands free for moving straps.
-before this, I practiced just clipping/unclipping in front of me, to get her used to the noise of the clip itself.
- enthusiasm!!! If she gets uncomfortable, she’ll pull her nose out early (seen on video) and very occasionally walk away or refuse to muzzle up again right away. In those cases we do some Touch or other skills, then try to get her to just put her nose in the muzzle for treats a few times. Go slow, and find ways for your dog to get a win and feel comfortable!
Huge thank you to TYDM muzzles for this amazing custom muzzle! And if you’re looking for more muzzle info, check out The Muzzle Up Project
#muzzleup #muzzle #muzzleupmonday #dogtraining #positivereinforcement
