Brilliant Puppy School

02/03/2023

Puppy school pictures will now be posted on our main page Mariah Hinds Dog Training. Follow us there to see the latest training updates. https://www.facebook.com/mariahhindsdogtraining?mibextid=ZbWKwL

In home training and puppy school for Fort Mill, SC and surrounding areas

www.mariahhinds.com

01/17/2023

Apologies that due to technical difficulties our Monday 1/16 post didn’t get posted on Monday evening.

Who doesn’t love sweet chocolate? Joining the program today is Piper the Chocolate Lab! In true Labrador fashion, she already made friends with the other puppies and figured out training is fun because she gets delicious treats.

Our handling activity was paw prints so the puppies could put their “pawtograph” on their paintings from Monday.

We worked on stays during training time. The less advanced puppies worked on holding a sit stay while the trainer picked up and put down a bowl with food in it, and while a leash was put on and taken off. The more advanced puppies did stay on place so the trainer could take several steps away to pick up and drop toys and food, and open and close a door. We also worked on come touch and each puppy recognizing their name while outside during play time.

Our field trip to the greenway offered a lot of opportunities for the puppies to make good choices. They got to walk nicely around other dog walkers, cyclists and joggers.

01/11/2023

We have a new graduate! Dozer the Lab/Bernese Mountain Dog mix is ready to go out into the world. He joins his big brother Obi, who is also a sweet, well-loved guy. Obi was one of the first puppies to go through our program and we are thrilled to have Dozer follow in his footsteps.

We worked on sit and down with the puppies during individual training. We meet each puppy where they are at, since some come to school with some degree of one or both of these skills. We will try to graduate away from luring to using hand signals as quickly as possible, with the goal being that the puppy will eventually be able to sit and down on a verbal cue only.

We also worked on come when called by name. We have them “come touch” to practice the puppies coming in and getting a treat for body contact. This helps avoid the puppies finding chasing to be a fun game and can be used to build a strong recall.

Our activity was peanut butter paintings, where each puppy got to be the artist, licking a pattern on plastic bag with a paint covered canvas inside. We work on leave it with the puppies while they lick the food off the bag.

Our field trip was to Just Fresh, where we worked on nice leash manners around lots of people, cars, and other distractions. We practiced our appropriate people greeting on leash, with the goal of no jumping up to be pet.

01/09/2023

Watching a new puppy become more confident in the Puppy School environment is so much fun. Little Buzzy the Schnoodle joined the class but was very overwhelmed by her larger classmates. As the day went on she started confidently exploring the yard, taking treats, and eventually playing with the other puppies!

We worked on leash walking prep where the dog comes to the side of the trainer and sits. This can be helpful for getting a puppy back into an appropriate place if they get too far ahead while walking on a leash.

We also worked on appropriate greeting at the door. We know people want to see their dogs when they come home so we try to excite the puppies while still rewarding desired behavior like not jumping, pawing, vocalizing, and also rewarding desired behavior like choosing to sit.

Our activity today was a confidence builder, the obstacle course. We set out a variety of obstacles the puppies could put their feet on or in and rewarded interaction with these objects.

Our field trip was to the Splash Pad, where we worked on passing another dog on leash in addition to walking nicely on leash.

01/04/2023

Today might have been the rainiest day we’ve ever had at Puppy School! The puppies got lots of cookies for pottying in heavy rain. We only had one accident inside today, which is a huge accomplishment for 6 young puppies on a very rainy day! Our newest student, Lily the Golden Retriever, happily made new friends and led the pups for a round of chase zoomies in the mud. To all the puppy parents, sorry for your muddy pup, they had fun!

We worked on leave it with bones and toys, and also with food. For puppies who put everything in their mouth, we start with Nylabones and work up to bully sticks and chicken feet. When they can drop and leave those items when dropped on the ground, we work on leaving dropped food.

We also worked on waiting at an open door and not jumping upon greeting. For this, the trainer would open the door and close it behind them, and then open it again and greet the puppy. If the puppy jumped up, the trainer would walk back through the doorway and close and then open the door to try again. The puppies would be asked to sit before they jumped up and be rewarded for that. Some of the puppies were able to be touched after the trainer excitedly greet them. This is the goal we work towards.

Our handling activity was nail trims. We want the puppies to have a positive experience on the table so they were fed while their nails were clipped, if they would tolerate it. Some pups needed a higher value treat than others to get the trim done.

The field trip was to Harris Teeter, where we worked on leash walking. During our field trip we had the puppies walk past trash on the ground and worked on the leave it skill there.

01/03/2023

New puppy pictures from the new year! Our first graduate of 2023 is Storm the Pomsky! He has come such a long way in his confidence, manners, and appropriate greeting and leash walking.

We worked on stays with the puppies. The newer puppies worked on sit stays while a food bowl is put down and picked back up, and while a leash is put on and taken off.

The more advanced puppies did down stays on a place bed while the trainer dropped and picked up toys, and while the trainer walked through a doorway.

We also worked on calling each puppy by name out of the group and asking them to “come touch”.

Our handling activity was grooming. The longer coated puppies got brushed and combed, and all the puppies got an ear cleaning.

Our field trip was to Tuesday Mornings. Lots of fun and great focus from the pups!

12/22/2022

We have such a nice group of puppies this week! Everyone plays well together and no puppy is too rough or fearful to enjoy being a part of the group dynamic.

We started our morning with a round of come touch and calling each puppy individually out of the group. Then we worked on sit and down.

Our activity was “get dressed” where we worked on handling each puppy’s face and body while dressing them up in cute costumes.

Our field trip was to Home Depot. Some of the puppies worked on their loose leash walking outside the store and some of the more advanced, confident walkers were able to venture into the store. On the field trip we also worked on appropriately greeting on leash without jumping up.

12/19/2022

We have new puppies in class! Martin the Mini Bernedoodle and Ralph the Goldendoodle came for their first day. Little Ralph warmed up quickly and Martin came around after realizing the other puppies are fun playmates and the trainers have tasty treats.

We did find it on snuffle mats for our activity. This helps the puppies learn to use their noses, especially when we are passing other dogs and want to reward them with find it. We did leash walking prep as our individual training skill, as well as doorway greetings to address jumping up on people.

Our field trip was to the tennis court. We got some great leash walking from both our more seasoned pups and our newbies! We worked on passing other dogs on leash and using the find it skill there as well.

12/13/2022

We started the day with a long puppy play session in the yard. All the puppies chased each other and had a lot of fun!

During our activity we added a paw print to each puppy’s painting from last week. Some of the paw prints came out a little clearer than others but all of the little artists made their mark.

We worked on come touch and calling each puppy individually by name. During individual training we practiced stay. For the newer dogs we worked on a sit stay with a food bowl and doorway and for the dogs who are more experienced we did a down stay on a place bed with some distance while the trainer dropped toys and opened a door.

We went to the greenway for the field trip and the puppies worked hard to stay focused around bikers, dog walkers, squirrels, and other distractions.

12/08/2022

Heavy rain makes for muddy puppies! Everyone had a lot of time playing outside and rolling in puddles!

We worked on come touch and calling each puppy by name out of the play group. Individually we worked on sit and down.

Our activity was painting. We smear peanut butter or liver spray on a plastic bag with a paint covered canvas inside and let the puppy “paint” with their tongue. We use this as a time to work on leave it with taking away a high value item.

We went to Just Fresh for our field trip and walked outside. There is a fountain and lots of people as distractions. We worked on appropriate greeting on leash without jumping as well.

11/30/2022

A graduation and a new puppy! Storm the Pomsky is new and settling in nicely. Missy the Goldendoodle is our graduate! She has come such a long way in her social skills, comfort being in public settings, and her manners!

The activity was a nail trim. Draco was very patient and happily accepted treats in exchange for his trim. This is the activity where we typically see a lot of growth in the pups’ handling skills.

We worked on excited greeting at a doorway with each puppy individually. Missy was a major jumper her first few days, as was Lily the Lab. Both are still very excitable but are much more appropriate in choosing to sit or stand rather than jump, as that is the precursor for petting and jumping will make the trainer close the door and back away.

Our field trip today was to Harris Teeter. The puppies got to practice walking next to the trainers. We also practiced leave it with trash and dog treats on the puppy’s walking paths. The puppies had a very successful walk and leave it session in another exciting public location.

11/28/2022

A big graduation for a big boy! Sal the Saint Bernard is off to do great things! He didn’t know his name when he came to his first day of school and now he can recall out of a group of dogs.

We worked on grooming as the activity. The puppies got their ears cleaned and brushed with a brush or comb appropriate for their coat type.

We practiced stays during individual sessions. Most of the puppies got their first exposure to stay training and worked on sit stays with a food bowl and while a leash was put on and a door opened. Sal, and Missy the Goldendoodle did their second round of stay training and were very successful in holding down stays on a place mat at distance around toys and a doorway.

We worked on come touch in a group setting. Draco the German Shepherd and Brazen the Border Collie are new besties but still successfully recalled away from each other! Lily the Lab came when called and has been doing fantastic not jumping up.

The field trip was to walk in front of Tuesday Mornings. Very distracting with lots of people but very successful.

11/16/2022

Since we do pick up and drop off of the puppies from their homes, we sometimes get feedback about how the puppies are doing. Just like the puppies, we love positive feedback! Lily the Lab started on Monday and her family is already experiencing a slight reduction in jumping. From where she started, a slight reduction is still a huge improvement!

We did get dressed as our activity. Sal the Saint Bernard is officially too heavy to lift onto the grooming table, even with two trainers lifting! Brazen the Border Collie was super cooperative and posed for her photos. We also worked on sit and down during individual sessions. Draco the German Shepherd is picking up new behaviors quickly. We also practiced name recognition and come touch while playing with other dogs. Missy the Goldendoodle didn’t know her name when she came to us but now comes flying across the yard from play wrestling when she hears her name!

The field trip was to Home Depot where we worked on loose leash walking and appropriate greeting of a person on leash. This is especially hard for some of our jumpers but everyone did well! Lily, Draco, and Brazen got extra greeting practice from shoppers at Home Depot.

11/14/2022

We had a full day of big puppies! Every single one of our puppies this week will be close to or over 50 lbs at adulthood. Our new students are Lily the Lab and Draco the German Shepherd. Manny the Weimaraner graduated today! He has come a long way in his confidence, manners, and housebreaking!

We worked on find it with the snuffle mats as our activity. It’s a warm up to the walk with me prep training we did in individual training. Walk with me prep consists of having the dog come to the trainer’s side and sit.

We also worked on doorway greetings individually. We have a lot of jumpers right now, so it’s extra important we help them learn what is appropriate greeting manners.

For the field trip we went to the blue tennis court for our leash walking practice and also worked on passing another dog.

11/09/2022

The Puppy School program provides socialization and manners training to puppies under 6 months, but the younger we get them, the better! Our newest puppy, Brazen the Border Collie, turned 8 weeks yesterday, and is at such a wonderful age full of curiosity for new experiences and education! Missy the Goldendoodle was especially gentle and sweet with little Brazen.

We did vet visit prep as our activity, where we checked the mouths, ears, and lifted the puppies’ tails. Sal the Saint Bernard was so good for his exam. His little teeth are so cute in his huge mouth!

We worked on leave it with toys, chew bones, and food during individual training. Juniper the Pit Bull has been doing great with leave it for food and toys so our trainer worked on leave it with her hair loose. This has been a complaint her owners had about her behavior, and sometimes we are able to customize the training we do to specific client concerns.

We also worked on polite doorway greeting. The puppies who tend to jump on greeting got to do their doorway greetings individually to best prevent the jumping. Juniper and Manny the Weimaraner did very well with this!

The field trip to Home Goods had all the puppies doing fantastic loose leash walking past people distractions. Juniper graduates today and had her best walk yet! So confident and focused. She came as a puller, jumper, and nervous in new environments. Not anymore!

11/07/2022

With six puppies we stay very busy! With more than 200 lbs combined of puppy, we give out a lot of treats, refill the water bowl with more than a gallon of water, and do at least half a dozen potty breaks during the puppy school day. Sal the Saint Bernard accounts for at least a third of puppy weight.

We worked on stay during training, and come touch also. Livvi the Cavapoo was especially superb, which is great because it’s also her graduation day! She has come a long way in her confidence. Her family practices all her skills with her at home and we can tell! We will miss this little girl!

We did grooming as our activity. We went to the greenway for our field trip. Manny the Weimaraner and Juniper the Pit Bull have shown such remarkable improvement.

10/31/2022

We have so much variety in our puppies right now. Livvi the Cavapoo only weighs 4 or 5 lbs and Sal the Saint Bernard has probably already hit 50 lbs despite still only being 3.5 months old! We have dogs with coats of all colors and lengths. Even their tails are different. Juniper the Pit Bull has a long, happy tail. Manny the Weimaraner has half a tail, and newcomer Maggie the Aussie has no tail at all!

We worked on sit and down with the puppies in their individual sessions. For the more experienced puppies who already distinguish between sit and down on verbal cues only, we worked from different positions (trainer standing or sitting) and practiced going from a sit to a down and down to a sit. We practiced door greetings in a group. Our activity was get dressed.

The field trip to walk outside of Just Fresh but the skies opened on us. In spite of the rain, we get some nice leash walking out of the puppies in spite of them getting wet.

10/26/2022

On this rather dreary Wednesday, we still had a lot of fun and lots of learning with the puppies! Some may come home a bit muddy, but it’s because lots of fun was had as they chased each other through the yard.

We did nail trims for our activity, and worked on walk next to me prep in the individual training sessions. Then we worked on come touch out of the group. We did our field trip to Home Depot for leash walking practice. We also worked on passing other dogs.

Manny the Weimaraner got in on the wrestling today. Missy the Goldendoodle loved being chased. Juniper the Pit Bull played well with everyone. Sal the Saint Bernard trotted behind the chasing dogs and Livvi the Cavapoo watched peacefully.

10/24/2022

Sal the Saint Bernard puppy joined the Puppy School program today! At 12 weeks old he is already the heaviest puppy. We anticipate him to get a lot bigger over the next month, but with how sweet he already is, he probably can’t get any sweeter!

We did a confidence building obstacle course as our activity. While some of the puppies needed some encouragement to put their feet on new surfaces, little Livvi the Cavapoo bravely attempted every obstacle!

We practiced leave it individually with the puppies with food, bones (like bully sticks and chicken feet) and toys. Juniper the Pit Bull and Missy the Goldendoodle were doing so well with leave it that the trainers were able to throw a handful of treats at each of them without them trying to eat it!

Then we worked on greeting appropriately at doorways (no jumping) with the puppies broken into groups. We went to Harris Teeter to practice our loose leash walking and leave it skills. Everyone had a good walk but Manny the Weimaraner had an especially improved walk! More confidence and calm from him.

10/19/2022

Teo the Dachshund graduates today! He came to his first day of Puppy School a little nervous around big dogs and in new situations. His confidence has blossomed and he loves wrestling with bigger dogs and is much more confident on the field trips.

We did grooming for our activity. Livvi the Cavapoo and Missy the Goldendoodle both stood politely while getting brushed. We love when we get long haired puppies and can tell their owners have spent time getting them used to being groomed!

We worked on sit stays with a food bowl and while a leash is put on and the door opened for Missy and Manny the Weimaraner. For Livvi and Teo, who have both done the intro version of stay before, we worked on down stays on place while the trainer walked away to drop toys and open the door.

Our field trip is to walk outside of Tuesday Morning. The busy sidewalk often has litter and many cars pass by. Lots for the puppies to be distracted by, but they all did great!

10/17/2022

Manny the Weimaraner started Puppy School today. Initially he was glued to one of the trainer's legs but then he warmed up quickly and was soon interacting nicely with the other dogs. Juniper the Pit Bull and Missy the Goldendoodle had a great time running circles around the house. Teo the Dachshund and Livvi the Cavapoo had a great time watching and getting in on the play action sporadically.

Today's activity was find it games. We will utilize this skill on our field trip today when we work on passing other dogs on our walk. The puppies also practiced come when called and did a great job coming from big distances while playing together today. We also worked on walk next to me prep which teaches the puppies where we would like them to walk during our leash walking practice to a local tennis court.

10/12/2022

Our first dreary puppy school day in months. Luckily we were easily able to avoid the rain. Missy the goldendoodle started school today and she had a ton of fun running and wrestling in the grass with Juniper. Teo practiced good leave its with all the critter smells today and little Livvi the cavapoo was a superstar during our leave it practice today.

Our activity today was pretend veterinary visits. We checked the puppy's teeth, ears, feet and under their tails while the other trainer fed them treats to teach them how to cooperate for vet visits. We worked on leave it with toys, bones and food today and greeting politely without jumping. During our field trip, the puppies practiced individual walk next to me practice which involved passing food and trash on the sidewalk. Everyone was amazing!

10/11/2022

A gentle breeze is blowing, birds are chirping, and every single puppy went potty outside today!!! This is a big accomplishment for some of our current puppy pupils! Maddie the Havanese was initially concerned about walking on the grass by herself but today she peed and p**ped outside multiple times, just to impress us on her graduation day. Big improvement! Our newest student Livvi the Cavapoo initially tried to p**p in the house but after a swift redirection by our trainer, finished up outside.

We worked on sit stays for the food bowl and open door for the dogs who were getting their first stay introduction. For Teo the Dachshund and Dolly, who are further along in the program, they worked on down stays on a place bed to add distance while the trainer turned their back to pick up toys.

We also worked on come touch, with each puppy being recalled by name out of the play group. The activity was to finish the paw print paintings by having each puppy place their “pawtograph” on their painting.

At lunch, all the puppies crated quietly. This is a major deal for our other graduate, Dolly the Golden mix, who screamed through multiple car rides and lunch times if she did not have a well filled Toppl toy to distract her. She only finished half of it at lunch, falling asleep quietly until afternoon play.

The field trip was to the greenway, which is currently littered with acorns and leaves. The puppies got to practice loose leash walking and leave it, since those were a big draw for some of these mouthy puppies!

10/05/2022

It’s so much fun when the puppies surprise us with pure brilliance! This morning during play time, Juniper the Pit Bull saw a neighbor dog through the fence and ran toward him. One “Juniper, come!” was all it took to have her stop in her tracks and spin around to run back toward the trainers. She got a good handful of treats for that beautiful recall!!! Maddie the Havanese showed a lot of confidence and not only played with all the other puppies today, but did so on grass, which has been a struggle for her to voluntarily walk on. And she peed on the grass, which is a huge victory.

During our sit and down training session, Teo the Dachshund picked up very quickly that we wanted him to do straight sits and downs rather than rolling to one hip each time. And Dolly the Golden mix who came to school her first week not knowing “down” began to go down on just a single verbal cue!

We did our paw print painting activity this morning. During this activity we allow the puppies to “paint” a canvas by licking a treat such as peanut butter or liver paste off a plastic bag with paint inside. During this, we also work on leave it, since the treat smear is high value.

We walked around the patio of Just Fresh and worked on greeting politely on leash. This is especially challenging for Juniper and Dolly. Everyone did well!

10/03/2022

Two new graduates today!! Coco the mini Goldendoodle has made huge strides in her confidence level and with her training skills. Obi the bernese mountain dog mix has learned so much and been super social with everyone. Juniper the pit mix, Dolly the mini goldendoodle, Maddie the havanese and Teo the standard dashchund all had a ton of fun today.

We worked on walk next to me prep today. All the puppies practiced walk next to me on the left side. They practiced stopping and sitting when we stop walking and returning to our left sides of their back legs passes our left leg. The puppies were very eager to earn rewards for their good manners. On our field trip to the splash pad, they got to practice more walk next to me in a new environment. They also practiced leave it while another dog walked past.

Our activity today was toe nail trims. The puppies got to eat treats during their toe nail trims to build their cooperation with this activity that they'll need monthly for life. They were very good puppies!

09/26/2022

It’s fun to see all the variety in the breeds we see come through Puppy School. Puppies of all breeds and mixes benefit from a positive and consistent approach to training! Juniper the Pitbull mix and Maddie the Havanese both started their first day of class. Maddie has made good friends with Coco the Goldendoodle and Juniper has loved roughhousing with her new buddy Obi the Bernese Mountain Dog mix. Dolly the Golden mix has been a little socialite playing with everyone.

Our activity of the day was an obstacle course. All the puppies voluntarily put paws on most if not all the surfaces. Two weeks ago when Coco last did this activity, she was very nervous and looked so different from her confident self today!

In individual training we worked on “leave it” with toys, food, and high value treats such as bully sticks, chicken feet, and salmon skin. We did doorway greeting in groups of two.

The field trip was to Harris Teeter to walk in front of the store. There are usually a few food items like a stray blueberry or piece of trash on the ground but we also plant a few leave it objectives for the pups to practice leaving as they walk past.

09/21/2022

It’s such a joy to see how much puppies can grow, both physically and mentally during their time at Puppy School. Our newest graduate is Lake the Goldendoodle! He is a very active, rambunctious guy, and he came to us all gas, no brakes. While very friendly, he was a lot for some of the more timid puppies. He is now moderating his play with other pups, and has a lot more impulse control!

Stay is such an important skill. We can use it to prevent problem behaviors like begging, running out doors, and jumping on counters. Today we worked stay with the food bowl, with the leash, and with the door. If the skills we work on in Puppy School are also practiced regularly at home, the puppies will gradually be able to stay from greater distance, and when there are lots of distractions.

The handling activity was grooming. We got each puppy up on the grooming table and gave them a few minutes of breed appropriate grooming, such as combing and brushing for the longer haired dogs, and brushing for short haired dogs.

We practiced leash walking on our field trip to Tuesday Morning. There is both a stretch of sidewalk next to the road and an auto shop, and an open parking lot with a quiet side. This offers a lot of options to us based on each puppy’s confidence and ability to walk on a loose leash with distractions.

09/19/2022

Another great day of puppy training! The long and the short of it, we have a new student in class, and everyone is making great progress! Mateo the Standard Dachshund was welcomed by his peers and already made friends. Dolly the Golden mix, and Obi the Lab mix were especially welcoming.

Lake the Goldendoodle found a ball and got all the other puppies to chase him and his new treasure. Then we went inside and did our daily activity - get dressed. This activity is as cute as it is useful. It’s important for puppies to allow their body parts to be handled and their head to be placed inside or through something like a harness, sweater, or veterinary e-collar.

The training sessions focused on sit and down. Coco and Lake, our two Goldendoodles were especially snappy, being able to distinguish between “sit” and “down” on just verbal cues. Mateo made lots of progress for his first day, sitting on verbal cue and beginning to do down with a hand signal but no lure.

We worked on polite greeting at the door. Obi is such a gentleman! He preemptively sits in anticipation of getting pet. We also practiced polite greeting on our field trip to Home Depot.

09/14/2022

It's a play outside kind of day! It definitely feels like fall. After a length play session, we started with our find it activity. We use find it as both a distraction and as a reward for exhibiting desirable behaviors. When out on a walk find it can be used for walking nicely on leash, ignoring another on leash dog, and listening to other skills such as come when called or sit.

We worked on walk next to me prep today. This looks like teaching the puppies to return to our left sides and sit next to our left leg while we are standing still. Once the puppies were able to return to our side, we then practiced teaching the puppies to stop or sit when we stopped walking.

The puppies really enjoyed all the running around time in the yard which gave us plenty of opportunities to practice come when called with distractions. It's important that the puppies recognize their name and are able to be called away even if that distraction is their best friend.

On our field trip to the park, the puppies worked on putting the skills from earlier in the day into practice in a new location. The puppies did a great job practicing walk next to me at the park. We practiced passing other dogs out on the walk and used find it to help them be successful. Everyone did great!