Loose Leash Happy Paws, LLC

03/30/2024

Since I give the dogs their food in their bowl, why not have them give me their bowl when they’re done!

02/29/2024

Bite Inhibition — the ability to control pressure of a bite. This ability can be crucial in many situations.
EX: Fetch a plastic medicine bottle.
EX: Grabbing a person’s arm to guide them in a particular situation.

01/21/2024

Here is a video of Ruby’s training earlier this month. I’ve been really bad about posting “update videos” here during her training journey, although her owner gets them regularly.
Tootsie and Dillon got in on this action too!

01/19/2024

I've been sitting here trying to put together a general guideline for the owners lacking confidence in learning new skills. it is a lot of information, but I hope it helps someone.

Learning how to “speak dog” can be intimidating at first, but not impossible. After all, it is learning a new language. The most important, and rewarding, thing is to have a mutual understanding with your dog. This can come in many forms. Establishing communication through Obedience is only one way to open a wonderful trust with your dog.

*CONSEQUENCE – Just like raising kids, consequence is important! Wanted vs Unwanted behavior.

* TOOLS – Just like a carpenter, using Tools helps in accomplishing your goals. Tools are a way to communicate with your dog: Leash/Collar, Body Language, and Treats, are the main ways I establish communication. Learning how to use each of these tools can be advantageous in establishing a new communication with your dog.

*BOUNDARIES – Dogs, like Humans, need boundaries. It is important for the human to set them. If not, the dog will follow their instincts and set their own. Often, the canine instincts will not be wanted by their human companion.

*RULES -Boundaries: Personal boundaries such as jumping on people, Counter-surfing, and free roam of furniture are all boundaries that should be set to establish good rules of the house.

*PATTERNS - Dogs pick up on patterns rather quickly. For me, once the dog learns the Place command, I incorporate that with a “potty routine”: Out of kennel ->Place->Outside. Then, I establish the reverse routine: Inside->Place->continue doing whatever.
This allows for many opportunities for training as well as reduces chaos for the owner. The idea of setting patterns is limitless. It all depends on YOUR specific needs/wants. I caution that there are WANTED and UNWANTED patterns that can be set!

EX: Kennel every time immediately before you leave the house.

EX: You grab the leash before a walk with your dog

Even if your dog does not know obedience command, he/she still will pick up on your daily activity/routines and patterns. This is natural, and can be very advantageous or detrimental to your bond with your dog.

*STOP “TALKING” TO YOUR DOG:
Sounds crazy, right! Less is more. Dogs do not understand the human language. We have to teach them. It is easiest for them to understand ONE word at a time.

EX: “Hey Fido will you SIT for me” vs “SIT”

It is much easier for Fido to associate the SIT command, rather than ciphering through all the “un-needed” words

01/06/2024

So I’m not the best videographer and media person but this gets the point across. Here is a glimpse of introducing the Place command to Ruby earlier this week Diane Long Gather

01/04/2024

Just an announcement:
If you or anyone you know got a new puppy or adopted a dog of any age, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE getting training for you AND your new pup. If you do not choose my service, that’s ok. But please, for the sake of your pup, get some training NOW. Please, do not wait until your dog starts exhibiting unwanted behaviors.

12/31/2023

Ruby is dropped off a couple hours ago. She is here for the next three weeks to learn some obedience. Having three legs does not affect her energy level at all. Lol! Diane Long Gather

12/23/2023

My grandson came to visit today. I wasn’t present when this picture was taken, but what a great advertisement!!!🤣

12/23/2023

I’m guessing Tootsie is comfortable. She chose to go to that Place bed and has been passed out in this position for at least 30 minutes!
Anyone else’s pup sleep in crazy positions?

11/10/2023

Fetch, in my opinion, is a wonderful task to teach your dog. It can be a great game to play with your dog in the backyard, but it can also be a wonderful service task. In the instance in the video, I am teaching Tootsie to fetch a very small item. I said in the video, I do not recommend small items until your dog understands how to fetch larger items and slowly move towards smaller items. As always, safety is a concern.

10/25/2023

To all my followers/clients:
I realize I have been somewhat inactive these past several months. We have been dealing with major family issues that have taken most of my time, and therefore had to minimize my dog training. As of Jan 2024, we will be back in full swing and ready to devote our time to new and previous clients to our full potential. Thanks for your understanding over the last several months. We truly appreciate everyone that has supported our efforts.

10/25/2023

Still taking Boarding for the Holidays (previous clients only). Only 3 spots left. Book now to reserve your spot!

10/25/2023

As a follow-on to the previous video about my daughter working with Tootsie and Dillon, she also sent THIS with the frisbee!! Reminds me of a “sunflower pup”!! LOL

09/02/2023

Here is the whole “5min” video

09/02/2023

Almost 5min video and SO MUCH to discuss:
Scenario-
1) Previous client dog here for Obedience
2) Borded once before, soon after Training
3) Always happy to go in/out during Training/Boarding previously
4) video captures 1st time coming inside during THIS boarding visit.
Discussion of video:
1) Notice that dog was coaxed inside and offered a KNOW BEHAVIOR.
2) It was supper time so I used food to entice wanted behavior
3) Notice the technique used to entice Louie step by step from the Place bed to all 4 paw onto the ground (feeding for progressive steps)

07/25/2023

A bit of background on this video:
The black Staffie is mine
The b/w poodle is a previous Board and Train client here for Boarding
The white Pyrenees mix is here for our Board and Train program. Her name is Kennedy.
Kennedy has been taught all of her basic commands. Her biggest issue has been reacting when encountering other dogs or dog teams. In this situation, she has demonstrated ignoring other dogs in a calm and supervised situation.

07/25/2023

No Command today. Just dogs offering behavior.

07/03/2023

Puppy Lessons! They are GREAT!!
This is why I love offering “Puppy Class” only through Private Lessons. I love to watch them both grow together as they build a new language that they both understand.

This is Lesson #4

YES….we learn some “Puppy Obedience” as well as Socializing/Confidence skills

07/03/2023

Great way to start off the Independence Day! Work your dog, Generalizing the tasks they already know!
In this case, Tootsie understands the task of “Fetch” with different items…. so “why not” ?!
You might have already seen her in previous videos of her retrieving a beer from the fridge.
Have fun and be safe!!

05/27/2023

My wife LOVES this part of training! She gets the den vacuumed!🤣
The white dog is Louie. The other two are mine.(Tootsie and Dillon.) the owners told me that anytime they pulled out the vacuum cleaner, Louie began barking incessantly.

05/27/2023

Hey folks! It’s been a long time. Hope everyone is doing well. Since I haven’t posted in a while, I thought I would share with you, Louie. He’s my most recent client dog that came in last weekend and making excellent progress (although I may be a little bias in my training) lol.

05/08/2023

05/08/2023

TRUTH