Discovery Dog Training

03/14/2025

RUFFresher is on for tomorrow, 3/15/25 at the Boone Greenway.

03/06/2025

2 spots available!
The last group puppy class of the spring starts in just under two weeks!
Check out our Puppy Head Start class on our website.

We offer private lessons year round on a flexible schedule for your convenience. While some dogs and owners enjoy and thrive in a group setting, others find that private instruction best suites their needs. Private lessons allow flexibility, and when appropriate, we can add or subtract material fr

03/01/2025

Whoo hoo! 🎉 Three more Canine Good Citizens and one with an added Novice Trick Dog! 🐾🐕

Good job guys!

02/28/2025

We will have RUFFresher tomorrow (3/1/25) at 9am at the Boone Greenway (355 Martin Luther King Jr St, Boone).

Remember to have your gear properly fitted/attached and to give everyone space.

We will be holding the CGC test afterwards (at 10am) as planned. We have three dogs signed up for the test. I still need one helper - so if anyone is able to stay for an extra 20-30 minutes to be part of the "Crowd" let me know! (Your dog will need to either be in your car or quietly tethered off to the side during that time.)

Thanks!

02/26/2025

♥️🐾🐕

02/14/2025

No RUFFresher tomorrow, 2/15/25

02/03/2025

Y’all. It’s above freezing AND sunny. ☀️ Time to put those piles in your yard to work! For that means proprioception fun - he’s never met a pile he didn’t want to climb. For that means chipmunk hunting.

Get outside. Have some fun. Pepper in some obedience. (We did some e-collar recall refreshing.) Think quality over quantity. Ten minutes can make a huge difference in their day - and yours!

01/31/2025

RUFFresher is ON for tomorrow at 9 am at the Boone Greenway (355 Martin Luther King Jr Street).

Remember to give everyone space, have your equipment properly attached/fitted, and wear shoes appropriate for post snow melt squishy/muddy ground.

01/23/2025

Catching up on those first day of school pics. 🐾😎📷

01/22/2025

Pop quiz!
Name the three big reasons I knew that was faking relaxation while trying to convince me that she should be allowed to retain possession of this oh so obsessively loved giraffe. 😂

Swipe for the answer key.
Explanation in the comments.

01/22/2025

Maple said it was absolutely too cold to sit on the plain old floor at training last night. 😂♥️🐾

01/17/2025

No RUFFresher tomorrow, 1/18/25

01/17/2025

Adventure

It’s important to try to keep our dog's lives from being the same thing day in and day out. That doesn’t mean that every single day has to be a grand adventure, but I think it’s nice to be able to take advantage of appropriate locations as you are able.

Need something from a pet friendly store? Consider taking the dog with you.
Going to the pet store? Consider taking the dog with you.
Can’t get in the car to go somewhere? Consider breaking routine and sniffing around a “new” place on your property or in your neighborhood.

I say “consider” because not all outings are appropriate for every dog and because sometimes you need all of your focus for the human task and don’t need to be distracted by the dog.

For Yuki, it was great fun (and tiring!) to check out Lowe’s Hardware, the pet store, and to hunt for chipmunks in the culvert. (All done on separate days to spread out the mental exercise.)

01/15/2025

Help us find a new home for Yuki!
Info in the photo below.

We like Yuki a lot and think she has excellent potential with the right humans!

01/14/2025

SHOW the dog what you want.

I am not a morning person.
I want my dogs to understand that first thing in the morning (after taking care of the essentials) we relax together. Yuki is still working to learn the benefits of relaxation. If left to her own devices, she’d be bouncing around and wrestling with Jack.
To show her what we want, we use the crate to help her follow the morning pattern and routine. The first few days came with a bit of verbal protest, but now, she mostly settles down and waits. Even though she won’t be with us long term, teaching this pattern benefits everyone and teaches her a bit more about her ability to be calm and rest.

This same skill could be taught using the Sit on the Dog exercise, but we choose to use the crate with Yuki for a few reasons.

(Jack and Ellie are not doing a place command - they’re just hanging out and relaxing.)

01/13/2025

Supervised play

Would you leave two toddlers on a playground by themselves and assume they’d always make good decisions? Of course not.

Best case scenario they both decide to be mischievous together. Worst case scenario they don’t get along and one begins to bully the other.

When Jack and Yuki play, I am always right there with them, watching them. It’s my job to step in if something gets too rough. It’s my job to step in when Jack has decided he’s had enough, but Yuki won’t take no for an answer.

Could I leave it to Jack to handle? Sure. Might it devolve into him feeling the need to give an over the top correction? Yep. Is that fair to either party? Nope.

And sure, there are moments when what a dog really needs is for another, more stable dog to tell it NO. But I fear we often leave it to the dogs far too often and without considering the personalities and skill levels involved.

Lastly, fun fact, do you know how long a play session is between Jack and Yuki? No more than 10-15 minutes. Why? Because with high intensity play, that’s about all they can handle before Jack is asking for a break. Play is great, but learning to settle in between may be greater.