Kool Dogs Training Academy

03/16/2024

Koro and I have a few jobs coming up and I always like to see if anyone along the route would like some training. And if you do PM me and I’ll give you more information.

Pic 1
Trip one is to MA and is from April 19 to 20 so I can do some training Before the job or After it. I would be open to going to Maine if someone is interested.

Pic 2
Trip 2 is to Frankfort, IL and is from May 9-12 so I could do some training before the job or after it.

05/19/2023

On the road again! Packing for a month long “Training Tour” takes a lot of planning. Typically about two days three days before I’m going to travel I’ll start packing up all my training gear, all my food for the dogs, my first kits, and plug in my cooler. Cooler that I have can act as a refrigerator or freezer so it’s amazing when I am packing food for blaze and I want to keep it frozen. About a day before I’m leaving through my checklist make sure I’ve got everything I’ll start putting everything down into the garage and marking that off so I know that I have what I’m needing for the trip. The day of I feed the dogs half their meal in the morning before we leave this way their stomach is full heavy while we’re driving long distances and I’ll give their second half of the meal midway through and then their dinner they’ll get their full meal. Since blaze is experiencing some weakness in his hind end, I’ll make sure to stop at least every three hours. I think everybody should do a cross-country road trip at least once in their lifetime. Experiencing all that America has offer is amazing seeing the different landscapes from the high desert of Colorado to the desert of Arizona to the rock, formations in Utah, and an amazing array of lush, green forests and prairie, land, and grasslands, and miles and miles and miles of crops and pastures is magnificent. This type of experience for Blaze in Koro is priceless. They’re getting to experience new environments and meet new people and new dogs and train all along the way. It starts by learning they have to fully settle in the car and these two are pros they get in immediately lay down and fully settle in. At each rest stop they know the command to do their business and they immediately do it. They learn they have to drink water on command.

03/30/2023

Blaze, Koro and I will be doing a training workshop from May 23-26 in San Diego, Ca if anyone is interested in some training message me. We could do anytime from May 1-20. Each trainjng workshop is 4 days and we work with your family and dog one on one.

03/16/2023

We are hanging with our favorite local crew! Bella the American bully and G-man the bull terrier!! Blaze and Koro love it here. Bella and G are so great with Blaze now that he is fully blind. They are careful around him and I love seeing how much they love him!

02/16/2023

Blaze is 14 yrs old Feb 12th. For 14 years he has given me his all. He was 3 months old when I got him in dog training school. The entire class and the instructors chipped in and helped me get Blaze!!! Little did I know he would change my life so profoundly that I would be able to travel the country with him and train dogs.
He was just 7 months old when he began alerting to my Crohn’s disease.
After I realized what he was doing I began the hard work of training him to be my Crohn’s alert dog. He has never lied or missed an alert in all these years.
He took Koro under his wing helping to guide and mold him to take over the reigns when age slowed him down. He has trained Koro so honestly that Koro now possesses so many of Blaze’s training skills. Blaze is now blind and his hearing flickers on and off when it suits him! He needs help down the stairs, takes longer to find that perfect place to do his business, begs relentlessly now that he is fully retired and sleeps more. His mind is sharp and his desire to continue to work is still strong and although his body looks strong and he can still jump into the suv and on to the bed, he just can’t handle the play of a rambunctious pup. He still comes with me to my training workshops.He loves meeting new people and this makes him very happy. I love that traveling and training still brings him much Joy. He loves his down time and he loves to sleep, play, and eat!! He still knows how to throw in those football moves to fake out me or dogs who are gentle enough to play with him. He still loves squeaking toys and chewing bones and getting spoiled with special treats from his friends.
He is the epitome of who a Griff is and who a Service Dog is and how with the right mix of genetics, love, hard work, and honest training you can have a friend like Blaze. Blaze has help train 300 service dogs the majority of which are diabetic alert dogs.
He has logged over 303 flights, over 375,000 miles in the car, 45 states many multiple times and god knows how many walking miles. He has helped thousands of dogs from@shut down to highly reactive. He is the epitome of what a Griff is!!

11/05/2020

This was from a couple years ago when I was working with a highly sensitive/reactive dog in NYC.

I’m really blessed to have animals as my teachers. When you think about it they are as close to God as anyone. They have no preconceived ideas about anything. Then WE domesticated them and we used them for our benefit so long ago. Back then they still had freedom, they still traveled miles and miles with their people pack and it was a win win. You help me hunt and I will share my bounty, you help protect my village and I will in turn protect you, you provide hard labor and I will provide shelter. Nowadays we see less and less freedom for our animals and so they begin to mirror us.
I think people are missing the point a little when we talk about meeting the DOGS needs.
Exercise is very important but if it is spent having to correct a dog who is reactive we are actually keeping that dog reactive. It is more important to have at least 2 structured walks that keep the reactive dog under threshold and therefore keep the dog in a place of contentment where we aren’t pushing to frustration or fear. Reactive dogs are absorbing the energies around them and REACTING. Some of these dogs are anxious As A Result of what they are near or maybe even living with. More often than not your dog mirrors YOU. So you have to be honest with yourself and start with clearing out any negative energy you have or any frustrations you are dealing with so you can be an effective communicator with your dog.
If you keep saying “He is such a great dog BUT “ then YOU are keeping your dog in the state of mind it is exhibiting.

I work with so many people and I now realize when someone makes me feel sick it is because of their energy and the fact that I may be in that flow and that is why it affects me so strongly. I’m learning how to keep my energy flow going and not have other people or Dogs affect it.

Cities are a unique environment for any person or dog. There is so much energy just whirling around that it is hard to remain calm when going through it. I am a little uncomfortable in cities especially when I don’t know where I am going. I got lost last night because I forgot to make a turn. It brought me to a area that was safe just super busy. I didn’t like it and Instead of acknowledging that I worked my self away from that feeling and starting to think of things I did like about where I was and eventually walked and worked myself into a better feeling place. Koco Never reacted that entire walk even though so much was going on.

12/15/2019

Koro has a tendency to an addictive/obsessive personality. He is very much addicted to food, so much so that I cannot work any obedience drills with food. He will either rush through the command or just not even do it because he is frantic about the food. So I do all obedience drills without any food on or near me. At the very end of our drills I will give him a jackpot reward. This week we will work with a toy reward to give another option to reward with. Koro is very eye driven and has begun to become a little crazed with the game Fetch. Now that I have realized this I still want to give him what he likes in play while bringing him back to his nose. He has an excellent nose so after a game of Fetch ( eye driven) I end that play with a search game ( nose driven).
In the end of the video you will see he jumps on the counter and this is because the ball that is across from the place he jumps up on is still producing a scent cone and since he really didn’t want to end that game he jumps up on the counter to smell that scent.
I tell him off and he gets down. He has never attempted to counter surf even when there is food on the counter so that is why I know it is still part of the search game I just ended.

09/03/2019

I have a new Blog post all about Koro’s first month! Lots of great info! Let me know if you have any questions!!
http://dogsenergybalancers.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-month-in-life-of-puppy-8-to-12-weeks.html?m=1

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

09/02/2019

Koro is through his fear period ( lasts from 10-12 weeks sometimes a little longer)
He is in his Testing phase now and we are working on teaching him that the rules still apply and he still has to do what is being asked. This phase he is stealing toys/bones from Blaze, not listening on walks and trying to pull ahead with just me or when we are with Blaze, and general indifference to what is going on.
He is learning the Place command now and he did well. Always build Duration first THEN distance. All too often people rush the distance part and the dogs get confused.
Here are the instructions for the Place
Command:
PLACE COMMAND: This is a command where you want to build a solid Reward History!! Get high value treats that you ONLY use for this command.

All dogs start out ON leash. With treats in your hand you will walk to the place bed ( must be a raised cot type you can get it at either of these places. www.chewy.com or www.kuranda.com) the raised COT type is important because it has defined edges and works as a boundary. Dogs don’t know they have a rear end so this prevents them from creeping off the bed.

As you walk to the bed you will say PLACE ( or whatever word you want ) and Guide them with the treat onto the bed. Once they are all the way on you will say Down ( only this one time) and reward the DOWN. Once laying down you will say a RELEASE word of your choice and Toss a treat and let them get it. Guide them Off with the leash if they stay on the bed.
After they go get the treat immediately say Place and guide back on this time WAIT FOR THEM TO GO INTO A DOWN and then reward them! Wait a couple seconds and then use release word and toss a treat.

You will initially have the leash in your hand then lay it on the ground and finally take it off. Don’t rush through moving too far from the place bed at first.

You will have the dog on place and SAY Place and take a step to one side then the other. Then say Place and take a step back. If at any time the dog gets up or off the bed no problem just guide back on with the leash and say Place and repeat the above.
You’ll want to say Place and sit on a chair or at a table ( close at first) when you go to sit down say Place to remind the dog what they are doing.

You are building pictures in the dogs mind so each movement you make ( sitting, walking to door, in kitchen, living room, these all are pictures and the dog learns when they see this they know they still need to stay.

With the Place command The word you use MEANS down and is an implied STAY.

Practice when you are cooking, watching tv, eating. When watching tv have the dog on place for 10 mins then with you for 10 mins. Build Duration then Distance!!

08/03/2019

Now that Koro is here and we have had the week to work out some sort of schedule.
I track everything to learn his pattern and see if I can tweak something to make it easier on everyone. I played with amount of food at each feeding because he has been consistently waking me up at 3:12-3:30am. And he has to p*e and p**p at that time. I’m hoping he sleeps longer tonight because I fed him more for morning and afternoon and less for evening. And once he goes to twice a day I’ll probably be able to split it equal since he will be older and potty trained!!

A day in the life of Koro:

Aug 2
Wake up 3:12am p*ed and p**ped
Back to bed at 3:21.
Wake up 6:30am p*ed.
Back to bed at 6:53. I want to hold off feeding till 8 am since that is the best time for me.
Wake up 7:45am ate breakfast and drank water then out and p*ed and p**ped at 7:54.
Back in for a play session.
Nap at 9:20 we have been alternating with crate time (nap) and relaxing on couch he does fall asleep but is in the mix of everything going on.
Because he will need to love the crate nap time in the crate is just that I do Not put anything in there except a bed. No chews, toys or any other distracting item. He likes the crate and is learning it means to fully relax into a sleep!!
Lunch at 12:15
Potty break 12:30 p*ed
Nap at 2:30-4
Neighborhood walk at 4 p*ed
Got caught in just a loud thunder show and Koro did not care one bit.
He is starting to Chill about the water and not gorging himself with it.
Dinner at 5:45
Potty break at 6 p*ed
Then placed in crate while I feed Blaze. He barked for just a minute at most and settled right away and is still quite!
Building some sort of routine will help gauge when he needs to p*e or p**p and how much time he can be crated without an accident!
He has only had one accident in his crate and it was a overly busy day and he drank a ton of water and p*ed in his sleep.
The heat really was affecting him so he just gorged on water. Now I don’t do a lot during the hottest part of the day instead we play inside and do little body awareness exercises, teach little spins and sit! He likes the work. He will
Still eat quickly but as the weeks go on he will learn patience! I alternate one meal out of the 6 cup muffin tin but he is kind of frantic when eating out of it so I do that for afternoon after he has already had one meal and he eats calmer.
Relaxed for about 20 mins then potty break at 8 pm and he p*ed and p**ped
Neighborhood walk at 8:15pm it finally cooled to 77° from 89° so I decided to do a walk with Blaze and Koro! We had a great training opportunity because he has never seen a fire hydrant so we crossed the street above where the hydrant was and walked towards it. He saw it and did a low growl and little bark. Blaze had walked over to it and did his business then stood in front of it on the grass. I didn’t ask him to do that. Then Koro sat down and looked at it and finally got up the courage to investigate it! I never force a interaction and if he just choose to sit there or walk the opposite way we would just go with whatever he wanted and try again another day. He has to learn I respect him too so if he would have been so unsure that he didn’t want to investigate then we would have just left.
After that we came home and he met
My downstairs neighbor kids 8 and 6.
They were so good with him and he loved them.
Then a potty break and he wanted to go to bed at 9.
Before I go to bed at 10:30-11pm I will take him out for a last potty break.

07/03/2019

Some tips to keep your pet safe this 4th of July

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

06/14/2019

Socialization is an important part of the journey to adulthood and a well balanced dog.

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

06/11/2019

It’s time to get out and get training with your new puppies!!

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

06/03/2019

My latest blog post about children and dogs! http://dogsenergybalancers.blogspot.com/2019/06/mind-your-manners-kids-with-dogs.html?m=1

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/30/2019

My latest blog post is about Allowing the dog to understand the command being asked before ever giving a correction. Force will break down relationships and put the dog on defense.

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/25/2019

The follow up to proper play. The last blog post went over natural interrupters and how to interrupt if you are using training aids.
This blog post is on how a neutral dog goes through the different phases of appeasing and warning signals to help the other dog learn what play looks like.

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/24/2019

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/20/2019

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/13/2019

Check out the newest blog post

https://dogsenergybalancers.blogspot.com

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/11/2019

To follow the blog from the mobile version just scroll down and press the view desktop version and press on the follow button.

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/10/2019

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/08/2019

Have a read and follow the blog to learn more about dogs and their energy and how you can influence them with yours.

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/07/2019

05/07/2019

I’m still figuring out this blog thing! Check out my latest blog post and let me know what you think!
https://dogsenergybalancers.blogspot.com/

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

05/06/2019

I started a blog many years ago and decided to pick it back up. I’m going to try to write a weekly piece. Please comment questions and I will answer them as they come up!
https://dogsenergybalancers.blogspot.com/2019/05/energy-work-with-dogs.html

This is a blog about everything dogs: from energy work to training tips and everything in between.

04/12/2019

Our second travel Train was just a day training to set up some obedience commands with Settle and Recall and teaching a nice heel!! Both dogs did excellent.
These are full Siblings and in most cases when taking two pups from the same litter one will always emerge as the confident one while the other may be confident in most situations but unsure is others. Most owners wouldn’t notice because they typically act fine in their home.
The brother was very submissive with Blaze. But Blaze never wants a dog to submit to him he always wants dogs to be confident or at least content. He never pushes himself on any dog especially ones that will go belly up.
I arrived late at night after a very interesting trip! 3 hrs turned into 6 when the tread of my tire came completely off. No one was hurt and it was perfectly fine.
So we did the dog introductions and I taught the clients how to do this.
The female was very excited by Blazes “cologne” and really took to him.
The next day we began training and the brother was starting to come around and gain confidence from Blaze.
By afternoon early evening the brother was beginning to engage in play and even gave Blaze some play bows!!
They did very well with recall, heeling and Settle!

04/12/2019

Blaze and I just got back from two travel trains both very unique and I learned from each of them!!
I’m not going to use the names of the owners or dogs for privacy reasons. The Griff world is small and since I am going to talk about sensitive subjects I take my clients privacy seriously!

The first one was with owners that are very Dog Savvy people who have rehabbed many dogs and several tough breeds so they Know Dogs!!
When they got to a point when their knowledge was not producing the results they were use to and their dog continued to get worse they called me in to help them out.
The female’s issues are a result of bad genetics ( I have trained several dogs from
This kennel and line) and bad advice from trained professionals.
She was completely shut down with fear in the home environment. She would mentally spook and go immediately to her owners for attention by getting into their laps. They didn’t recognize her fear and believed she was just wanting to snuggle so obliged. What they didn’t realize was her body language was saying she was in a “panic” mode and her neediness just kept her there. Her owners were also just following advice from trained professionals who said to give her as much attention and love she wanted.
There were no real hard rules set in the home environment and when dealing with a dog who is fearful letting them make choices only keeps them in that stressed and or fearful state.
We reset her mind by beginning the process of allowing her to think through what was being asked and respond in kind.
By helping her see obedience commands as a positive and by showing her what we wanted we helped open her mind and allow the learning to flow! She appreciates the rules and is happy to follow them. She has gained confidence in just the 4 days I was there going from barking and rushing me to happily giving me affection! From going after Blaze twice to walking nicely next to him! She was perfect in the Field environment with Blaze and other dogs. She wasn’t yet ready for a off leash run in her yard with Blaze but that will come in time. As she progresses in her training and continues to gain confidence she will realize she doesn’t have to be on the defensive. Her pst is gone and future is bright!!
The owners are very committed and as the training went on they started to have those Ahh Haa moments dog savvy people get when presented with the Why behind what was going on.
Learning to detect the subtle signs of fear/stress they are now armed with the knowledge to help her work through any problem. She had extreme stress with every day items such as a vacuum, broom, and any large item. While there we worked on her relaxing around these things and she did excellent.
I’m super pleased with her progress and her owners have given a few updates and she is responding very well to the training and new set of rules. In 3 months tops she will be balanced and without the use of medication.
Her brother just needed to tighten up his obedience and learn a little more self control!!

03/28/2019

LASER LIGHTS OR MOVING DOTS: THEY ARE DANGEROUS

Laser lights are a CAT TOY.

These lights Will cause lasting damage to our hunting dogs.
They turn ON the prey drive which triggers the chase and search for the laser light. They can NEVER catch this prey and you force a dog built and bred to use their Nose to search and hunt into using their eyes which has the strong potential to make this breed reactive.

They are Forced to search long after the game is over. Some will look for hours even losing interest in eating or sleeping because of this dangerous game. This behavior carries over to any light reflection, shadow, or even just a flickering light.

It has killed dogs, given them concussions, and even broke the back of one of my clients dogs before they decided to hire me to help stop this behavior.

It is so sad to see a beautiful creature locked in their own world and unable to function outside of continuing to search for that elusive red dot. It has taken me up to 6 months to completely end this behavior.

Please
JUST DON’T EVEN TRY IT. EVEN ONE TIME CAN CAUSE OBSESSION IN THESE BRILLIANT DOGS.

If you want to tire your pup use a Flirt Pole with feathers or a stuffing free toy and this way they can Catch the prey.
Teach them the “Find it” game and build on their desire to sniff out the “prey”. Use birch or anise oil on a cotton swab and place in a tin container with holes in it then hide that and reward when they find it. There are plenty of ways to fire a pup that build on their amazing abilities to sniff and search for their prey. Buy toy puzzles.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/10/02/amp/pet-laser-toys.aspx

According to Dr. Dodman, laser toys are not a good idea for pets because chasing the beam can become an obsession from which behavior problems develop.

03/27/2019

Blaze and I got back from a training trip in NY. Koco is a special case who came to her owners as a rescue with severe obsessive compulsive disorder. She was so obsessed with water that she would drink her own urine ( and will still occasionally do this). She was difficult to deal with if it rained or snowed. She is a work in progress and every time I work with her she learns to deal with her frustrations and stresses. She gets overstimulated by wind or loud noises. Her reactivity has decreased in frequency as well As the length of time she is reactive. She has no idea how to play properly she is not fluent in dog language and gets confused or frustrated and lashes out. She spends a lot of time body blocking even when the other dog is giving all the right signs to be clear they are playing. IN THE VIDEO YOU SEE SHE NEVER GIVES A PLAY BOW OR SHOWS INTEREST IN PLAYING SHE SPENDS THE WHOLE TIME BLOCKING BLAZE. HE CONTINUES TO TRY TO GET HER TO ENGAGE.

I’m including my notes to help you see how I work a dog through the issues and how to help the owners understand what is going on.

Koco’s notes:

I am diffusing Frankincense during the day for anxiety and Tranquil at night to help sleep and for calmness . It is working amazingly!! She is so much better and I’m so happy!! Both oils are from YoungLiving.
Words add energy and it is the energy the dog is feeling. So talking to an anxious dog makes them more anxious.

Please Stop allowing her to say hi to dogs on leash. Just because she seems
Interested you have NO idea how the other dogs will respond and if someone goes after her you will set her back even further. Saturday Koco did her normal reaction to a dog who was on a flexi leash she had this reaction because she wasn’t able to greet it and the dog barked at her. It is the only way to teach her to ignore other dogs. If she was with Blaze she would have redirected on him.

Keep her in a heel position until
You give the potty command. Allowing her to just free wheel is not helping her with her impulse control. It also helps her to relieve herself more in one location. And stops the eating snow or drinking puddles which helps her stop p*eing in the house!
I get you are in a great new neighborhood and it’s nice and quiet but she hasn’t gotten over her reactivity and letting her have as much freedom on the walk gives her more of a chance to search than just do her business.

When you are taking her on a walk or leaving the house don’t talk to her. Your words will only add to her anxiety/excitement. Your being quiet helps keep her from amping up before the walk or before you leave.

Before anyone walks out the door to leave put Koco in a down then just leave. She is doing really well keeping position and not bum rushing the door. Do this when you put her in the kitchen to leave for work or out to eat. If you have plans to eat out or go somewhere do NOT give her water for 1 hr before you leave.

When Moving from room to room take the time to put Koco in a down. If you don’t mind her coming with you when you get to where you are going put Koco in a down. For example she didn’t initially follow me around except for when I went into the kitchen. If I went to open a blind in the dining room or went any where else she held her down. So what I started doing was put her in a Down just outside the kitchen door and had her hold that position. She did great! If she got up I simply and calmly walked out of the kitchen and told her to down again.

Saturday: Koco continues to stalk Blaze and bum rush him. He has an incredible amount of tolerance. All walks went well we only did one group walk. Her reactivity is GREATLY reduced from the old neighborhood and she and you both have made big strides now it’s time to really tighten all her obedience up and not slack. She is still reactive. She reacted in her normal way by grabbing the leash and growling and shaking it when she saw a dog who was on a flexi leash. Her reactivitity is more geared towards barking dogs or dogs she perceives needs to be “corrected” and that is her way of doing so.

She slept in the kitchen with her blanket.

Sunday: I took Koco out at 5:30 and it was already raining. The wind is horrible so Koco spent more time drinking water ( in the yard , on a Walk I keep her IN a Heel) than p*eing. She p*ed twice and then Once in the house ( when I took blaze for his potty break).
I am NOT allowing her access to Blaze since she is in a very agitated state because of wind and rain. She is spending time in the kitchen till she can calm down.
I fed and gave meds at 8:45 and she p*ed twice and then once again in the house ( again when I took Blaze to go potty)
I’m taking her out every few hours but may do more often because I have no idea how much rain water she is consuming.
She had to spend the better part of the morning in the kitchen because of her agitated state. She calmed down and I let her free for the rest of the night. She had
Several walks and I kept her in a heel
Position so she couldn’t drink anything and she did well. We had an uneventful night and she slept in the kitchen.

Monday: Woke up at 5 am to a dry kitchen she is Barking to go out when I’m out of sight.
Today was a good day! Koco is learning to handle stress better and is also accepting being frustrated ( when she can’t get to a dog or when there is a loud car going by fast) she was very stressed after our afternoon walk and did NOT take it out on Blaze. She did a little blasting this morning out in the yard then later laid down and just hung out with Blaze not far away.
I have not allowed her to eat any snow at all on our walks and she is heeling nicely and no longer trying to pull over to grab a mouthful of snow. today Blaze and I left the house for a couple hours ( went to a park to recharge) and when we got home Koco did not p*e in the kitchen. There are a few Cats that roam the neighborhood and she tries to track them. I don’t allow her to do this on a walk because it just charges her up.
We were in the back yard and there was a cat sitting in plain view in the neighbors yard. Koco stalked it and pointed it. I walked over and did a air spray to break her focus and walked away giving her a chance to make a choice to stay or walk away. The cat ran off And Koco came to seek attention from me instead of frantically search for it.
I’m really proud of her!
The only way to help a reactive dog is to get out and face its fears!!

Tuesday: Having an excellent day so far with Koco!! She is doing great with Blaze in the backyard. Choosing not to engage with play but no more bum rushing.
Went for a long walk and a man who was on the other side of the street asked about Koco and when I said she was a Griffon ( we saw the guy the day before with Blaze) and he was surprised at the size difference!! Koco who normally triggers with Men and anyone talking when we are stopped!! She never reacted and calmly stood as I talked to the guy for about 15 mins. She did not rush Blaze when we got home!!
Blaze and I went out for about 2 hrs and came home and the kitchen was dry.
Koco is not being as obsessed about the snow as she was in the beginning of the training!!
I’m so pleased with her progress.
Tues evening: Had a good day. I noticed Koco is on higher alert at night and more reactive to sounds. She began to really stop and listen to the train. I believe it is because she cannot see it since it is behind houses. it is loud and does cause a vibration/ rumble when it goes by and I think she started to feel it and that is when she started taking notice. If we are away from that block and she hears it she will sometimes stop to listen but not always. If we are on the train block she always stops to look and I stand calmly and let her. Do NOT talk to her at that moment because that will set her off and don’t force her to keep moving I want her to be curious and to be able to see something, take it in, and decide to walk away.
She has been fine with it all this time but tonight with the high winds and the loud noise it was just too much so she grabbed the leash and shook it just for a couple Seconds so the length of her reactions have been drastically cut down. Such a work in progress with Koco! I really care deeply for her and see in her eyes the love she has and want to help her so much! Slow and steady wins the race.

Wednesday: Today was a great day Kitchen was dry again ( that is 3
Days in a row) did a 5 am walk, 7 am walk, fed at 8 and another walk afterwards.
Went to your shop today and worked with the ladies. She did not bark once. We are doing what I call Prompting. This is addressing the slightest change in her behavior instead of trying to fight a fight when she is already barking and carrying on.
I worked with the ladies going out one at a time first and they will get ready and spray Koco if she comes over or follows them, then spray again at the threshold ,
And finally again at the gate. Each pulled it off flawlessly.
Then I had them all go out together and the last one turn and spray before they walk out the door, then again at the gate if need be but Koco stopped at the door and I told her to lay down and she did without going to the gate. You can do the same. If she looks at you just say Koco Down and make the down long and drawn out.
This works so please be consistent and do it Grace knows what to do and will explain everything!
The rest of the evening went well until Koco caught the scent of the CATS and she just was relentless trying to track them. I decided to walk to a new location but her mind was on the cats. She refused to go potty and after a 1/2 hr on walk 1/2 hr in yard she just refused to go to the potty. So I decided she needed a break and we went in and I put her on her place for a few mins to reset her then let her off and we hung out till she fully settled. Then we Went back out at 10:30 and went to the left on our aide of street and she did her business and was fine.

Thursday: Wake up was 7 am I gave water and did a walk it went well and we saw several people and she was fine. After the walk I went back to sleep and figured she’d do her bark and wake me up at 8:30 like usual but she didn’t we slept till 11 and I woke up and was shocked. We all needed the sleep. Went down to a dry kitchen and fed everyone.
Had a walk after breakfast and she was good with everything! Then this afternoon I forgot about the time and we were out again when the school bus went by this time no grabbing the leash but she did a couple barks and that was it.
Fed dinner and did a nice long walk and Koco did great. It seems like this one corner she must feel Like cars go by too close cause she gives a couple barks ( No leash grab).
I did place training with her and she did great. She held her place while I went to the kitchen and came back and while I sat and watched tv. When I gave her the Ok command she chose to stay.
I am using very high value treats that I will leave here and she loves them.
I Guide her ON with the treat by saying Koco “Place” and as soon as she gets on I wait for her to lay down ( she is good about this but if she just sits there say Place long and drawn out one more time) and then I give her a reward!

Friday: Wake up was 7 with a bark and I took her for a short walk she did her business and I went back to sleep for a hr.
Fed at 8:30 and took for a long walk. Came home and walked Blaze.
Hung out in yard for a half hour. Then inside for a rest.
11:30 took Koco for a long walk she was amazing. No reactions at all all day. Saw a group of men across the street and she was great. Saw a few dogs and again no reaction. Came back and had her and Blaze in the yard. Was a great day. There were 4 helicopters that went back and forth and they fly low and are loud she just stayed laying down.
I did take for another walk because she started to amp up and I wanted her to release that energy.
She did great on the walk. She got locked up on the cat scent so I gave one spray at her back of neck and she shook it off and walked on.
Did a place training and sat on couch for 10 mins then she sat up and I went over and said Place and she went back down. After another 10 mins I gave the ok command to let her off. She chose to stay. In situations when you want her to stay and she is Already on the bed just walk over and say Place and do your thing.

Place is the most important command to teach impulse control which is what she lacks. Really being committed to training Place will trickle down to everything including walks.

Koco has NOT p*ed ( and never p**ped) in the house since Sunday. Blaze and I went out two separate days for about 2 hours each and she never did anything.
I have not gated the upstairs and she hasn’t bothered to go up there. She has not gone up when I go to the bathroom.

I’m using a liter water bottle to gage how much I’m giving her. Also the COLD
Water makes her feel more satisfied.
She has not demand bark for anything. She will Bark to go out and she has had to go potty each time.

We have had the best day with Zero reactions and way more stimulation. Lots of activity today with work trucks and people and dogs. Large work truck went by as we were crossing the street and she Huffed Not even a bark and looked at me! I was so proud of her!! We did a really long walk, we made a left out of house and walked straight up and across the end of the street, then all the way down almost to the apartments and all the way back up going in and out each street. She loved it and then we came back and hung out in the yard.
I had already packed up so she wouldn’t see any of my stuff. Hopefully I remembered everything. She is rolling in the grass and loves her yard.

I hope you both had an amazing time and were able to really completely relax and soak up all that beauty and fresh air!!