Happy Dog Lodge

01/01/2025

Registration open for our Sporty Foundations 101 class! This is taught by Trainer Skye and will meet Wednesday nights at 7pm starting on January 8th.

This five week class is perfect for people interested in learning more about dog sports, building a solid foundation for young dogs or just to help keep your dog mentally and physically tired during these long winter days.

Register here: www.happydoglodge.com

01/01/2025

Trainer’s Tip Tuesday
NYE edition

As trainers we can always make improvements, refine skills, create better behaviors, faster responses, more focus, and so on. But let’s not forget why we chose to add a dog to our story in the first place!

In honor of ringing in a New Year, I’ve got a suggestion for your New Year’s resolution.

See the innate GOOD in your Good Dogs. Specifically take time to notice their very best qualities. Marvel at their Dogness, their beautiful characteristics, freckles on their toes, shiny coats, tufts of hair behind their ears, their abilities to smell and hear far beyond human comprehension. Laugh at their silliness. Watch their eyes light up when put your jacket on in hopes they can go with you, wherever you’re going. Each individual with lovely traits unique to themselves. A favorite toy, a happy howl, sleeping upside down or maybe snuggly under blankets? Celebrate sharing a life with an animal of our world that has so amazingly adapted to domestication, in its many forms.

Thank you to our companions, our teachers, our protectors, our TV buddies, our reason to go for a walk, our partners in work, our friends.
Thank you to our Good Dogs.
Enjoy a photo dump of so very many of the GOOD DOGS we share our days with here at Happy Dog Lodge, and beyond.

Happy New Year!
-Trainer Skye

12/30/2024

We have a couple of openings for Day Camp tomorrow (New Year's Eve) and Thursday! Grab them while you can. :D

www.happydoglodge.com

12/25/2024

Everyone staying with us today is celebrating with a Christmas cookie! 🎄🍪🎅🏼

12/24/2024

Another round of Christmas Puppers!!

12/21/2024

We just opened up a BUNCH of Day Camp spots for Christmas Eve!

So if you have festivities planned and you want your dog to be nice and tired that evening, grab a spot. Or if you're doing some last minute preparations and want your dog out from under your feet, grab a spot!

www.happydoglodge.com

12/21/2024

Are you tired of Holiday Photos yet?
We aren’t either!! ❤️💚💛
Happy Friday!

12/19/2024

More holiday puppers!! 🌲

12/18/2024

Trainer’s Tip Tuesday.
We are going to revisit this Trainer’s Tip because it is HOLIDAY PHOTO TIME!!
This is a great reminder for those of you that want to capture great memeories of your own winter wonderpups!!

Do you like Taking pictures of your dog?
Here at HDL, we try to take fun, informative photos to share with our clients and friends. Ever wonder how to get the best pooch pics??

Here are a few pointers when it comes to snapping shots.

- Use portrait mode in your camera to get soften backgrounds.

- Get down to your dog’s eye level and get closer to show their best facial expressions.

- Consider where you light source is, or time of day you’re taking pictures. Bright lights can create hard shadows, diffused light is more photo friendly.

- Pay your models! Seriously! If your dogs are not having fun, it shows in their expressions. Use lots of treats to keep your subjects interested and reinforce their stays too!

- Take LOTS of pictures! It usually takes 8-12 photos to get The Best One. It’s better to take too many and delete what you don’t need than look through the few shots you take and realize the focus isn’t crisp or somebody closed their eyes.

- Think about the feeling you want to capture. Open mouths, or panting, can look like a smile. A closed mouth can look worried, unless the ears are up and eyes are focused on something in the distance, then it can look studious or distinguished.

- Practice!!! The only way to get better is to practice, and it’s a fun way to your partnership with your pup!

Please enjoy a few Holiday photos of DOGS!!- and the Bloopers!!
-Trainer Skye

12/16/2024

More cute holiday photos!

12/14/2024

There are openings for Day Camp this week! Now is your chance to jump on them.

Monday - three openings
Friday - one opening

www.happydoglodge.com

12/14/2024

Another day, another round of Holiday photos…and bloopers! Enjoy!

12/13/2024

We had so much fun with on the first day of having the Holiday Photobooth set up! This was a Day Camp activity that actually requires many skills, such as jump up on a table for most, sit or down and stay!
Some puppers were super models, and some were fed up with these shenanigans, but everyone had fun!
If your dogs are scheduled for day camp in the next week or so, we’ll try to get you a cute pic for the holidays too!

12/11/2024

Trainers Tip Tuesday

Low Impact, High Value!

In 24hrs from now, the weather forecast says we will be in a serious deep freeze! This makes getting the dogs out for even a quick potty trip a big chore, and longer walks can be downright dangerous! What to do for cabin fever as we approach the darkest hours of the year?

How about starting a home gym for your best friend? How about a treadmill? Did you know with the right introduction, acclimation and supervision, teaching your dog to use a treadmill has many benefits! Treadmills are a great tool to keep your pups physically fit and mentally satisfied. Not only can you use a treadmill to exercise your dog when the weather outside is frightful (too hot, too cold, too rainy, too dark…) this piece of equipment can provide a low impact way to keep older joints moving, rehab injuries in a controlled environment, build balance & coordination, plus keep boredom at bay.

Just like human athletes, if you decide to add a new workout routine, build duration and speed slowly. There are several types of dog-specific treadmill available, and a wide range of price points. Check out manufacturers training videos that offer step-by-step guides to getting your doggo started on treadmill exercises.

Happy Dog Lodge uses treadmill workouts for some of our day camp friends. If you think your dog might benefit from learning to use this fitness equipment, sign up for some day camp sessions and let us know at drop off!

- Trainer Skye

12/06/2024

Gemma and Atty were on Expert Mode during our training field trips today! We did heeling and sit stays out in front of Walmart. So many distractions and they were so good!

12/04/2024

Trainers Tip Tuesday

The Benefits of Group Classes & Seminars

Want to know what trainers do to get the most out of the time they spend with their dogs?

Often times, when dogs are around other dogs, we have the expectation they should be playing together. We take them to dog parks, set up play dates, take them to dog day care because we want them to have fun, and burn off some energy, with fellow K9 friends.

What doggos also need to figure out in the company of other dogs, is how to relax, think clearly, learn new things and work.

Group classes or seminars can be some of the best environments to achieve these goals.

This is the trick that trainers use for their own dogs! We take group classes. With the right organization and structure, a classroom can be a safe and supportive place to work on a one-on-one relationship with your dog, while under supervision, with tons of distractions. The class content is not always important. What matters most is the opportunity to work on focus, impulse control, and reward patience.

Find a class taught my an instructor you trust, load up with positive rewards and a plan and get the most out of the work you put into your best friend!

- Trainer Skye

Video of my youngest dog Rikki, a couple of years ago, participating in an agility seminar, showing lots of focus, many opportunities to reward and also chilling out on her cot watching others.

Short Sequences for young dogs, plus impulse control while ring side