Rogue At Your Service

27/04/2024

Two buddies sitting outside with me as we wait for the rain

27/04/2024

I miss them often. Such good dogs

I'm asked all the time do you miss the dogs when they go home. Short answer, "yes"

As a dog trainer, I've come to realize that the relationship between trainer and dog is a special one. We dedicate ourselves to helping these animals become the best versions of themselves, and in doing so, we form an unbreakable bond. So, when it's time for the dogs to return home, it's only natural that we feel a pang of sadness. We miss them, but we take comfort in the knowledge that we've changed their lives for the better, and that we'll always carry a piece of them with us.
Dan- 3ck9Training
Stay Cool,calm, and Collected

07/04/2024

Here at Rogue At Your Service, we know the importance of getting your pups energy out in more than one way. When your pup boards with us we will make sure they get their walks, play time & plenty of obedience training in as well.

Gamino comes every other weekend for some R&R & loves it here. He completed our basic obedience B&T when he was a puppy & look at him now. His Mommy has done a great job keeping up with his training !

19/02/2024

Saw this somewhere & I thought I'd share.

People constantly tell me things like "His/Her tail was wagging I thought he was happy !" Or something along those lines.

A wagging tail isn't the whole story. When reading a dogs body language you have to read... Their whole body. The eyes, ears, face, tail, body... All of them together will tell you how a dog is feeling.

Ex:

Wide eyes, tail kind of down & wagging fast with a stiff body... That dog is unsure, bordering on scared.

Another ex:

A dog panting, with a high stiff wagging tail, staring you down... That dog is aroused. (No I don't mean sexually in this instance). It is alert & ready to take on whatever it is that has it on alert.

I'm writing all of this to say that a wagging tail isn't always a sign that a dog is "happy". There's almost always more to the story.

31/12/2023

Somethings to think about. Things that some dog owners don't think are important.

30/12/2023

This is why /I/ don't recommend "gentle" tools to my clients.

Ex: Gentle Leader, EasyWalk Harness & other "gentle" or "Non adversive tools"

I don't recommend the non adversive tools because I've heard so many horror stories of each one. Head collars causing whiplash, EasyWalk harnesses messing with a dogs gait. But now I'm seeing yet another reason I will not to use a front clip harness. ESPECIALLY on a young dog that's still developing. This is what could happen. Especially if the dog is still pulling even though you use the tool.

This post isn't telling you that the tool in itself is so horrible that no one should use it. ANY tool can cause harm to a dog if used INCORRECTLY. This post is to remind you of that last sentence. "ANY tool can cause harm to a dog if used INCORRECTLY". The "non adversive tools", if used correctly, can work, just like any other training tool. The same can be said about adversive tools. They can work on a dog if used correctly.

Please, do your due diligence when picking training tools that'll work best for your dog. Talk to your trainer about the different training tools & why you're trainer thinks a tool will / will not work on your dog. Take into consideration your specific dog, your dogs mannerisms & what the tool is primarily used for. If the trainer wants to simply smack a tool on the dog because "it works on all the other dogs" I would seek a new trainer. Your trainer should think about the tools they use to train & be able to tell you why that specific tool should work on your specific dog.

15/12/2023

Work hard. Play hard.

Everyday can be a training day.

It's ok to take any opportunity to train with your pup. Touch up what they know. Work on things they're struggling on. Teach something new !

But also, don't forget to let your dog... Be a dog.

11/11/2023

Ok ! Meet Nekiyah and Prada !

Prada has a few issues with engagement around other dogs. She's here simply to get better engagement around dogs near & far.

Before the session Prada was whining & having trouble keeping her eyes on Nekiyah.

These pictures were from 20 minutes in to close to an hour in ! Prada is a quick study & Nekiyah is a great handler. Can't wait to see them again in two weeks. 🤗

*Facebook, wouldn't let me upload the videos. Please check out our Instagram for the videos @ Instagram.com/RogueAYS

06/11/2023

Something to think about. Training tools are too aid in training. They do not teach the dog, instead they reinforce what was already taught. ANY training tool, from head collars to ecollars, in the wrong hands can be detrimental to training &/or cause injury to a dog. On the flip side, any tool from clickers to prong collars in the right hands can help a dog with training. Different dogs require different training tools. It's not a one size fits all in dog training. Also, like mentioned in the post, there are more brands of each tool than there are good trainers to help you use said tool. Pick your trainer wisely & have your trainer pick the tools wisely to aid in the trianing of the dog in front of you guys.

06/11/2023

Long read. But worth it.

*This is copy & pasted. But it is something I feel people sh ok uld realize about dog training

Let’s talk dog training and how it actually works.
What do you mean, you might think? I hire the trainer, and the dog gets fixed. Problem solved.

Well, not really.

First of all, a very common thing we see as dog trainers is that dog owners are not proactive when it comes to dog training. We wait until there is a problem, and THEN we start training. That actually is a bit backwards, because now we have to un-learn bad behaviours and teach good behaviours on top of them.
Here’s a nice saying I heard in the No Bad Dogs podcast of Tom Davies:
Bad dogs NEED training. Good dogs DESERVE training.
Training isn’t just there to solve an issue, but it’s also a huge relationship builder and gives your dog a sense of purpose in his day to day life.

Now, let’s say you have a dog that jumps on guests and is overexcited every time he sees a dog.
You hire a trainer. The trainer then explains what is actually going on in your dog’s head. Why he does this and not that, what is needed to change, techniques that may be beneficial. Often the dog trainer will then demonstrate how they would do it and then it’s your turn to have a go. You’re excited, it’s working! My dog is fixed!
Once you get home, it goes pretty well for a week. Maybe 2. But then we go on holiday, or it gets really busy at work or you were very tired and just couldn’t be bothered. And your dog goes backwards again.
How is this possible? I trained for 3 hours with this trainer and paid them X amount of money and my dog is STILL doing it. That trainer didn’t even do their work.

Let’s have a look at it from a different perspective.

You want to lose weight. 25 kgs. You hire a personal trainer. Your PT works with you 1x a week, provides you with coaching, a meal plan that you have to follow and stick to and also creates a workout plan.
You have to STICK with it and do the homework. No one EVER would go to a PT for 1 or 3 hours and then say ‘Hey, I didn’t lose the 25 kgs, it’s YOUR fault.’
No, what we do instead is look at ourselves. Did we not follow the meal plan? Or were we slack and only trained 1x instead of the 4x the PT told you to do?
You do not hire a personal trainer and say ‘Give me the body and the muscles’. You say: Teach me how to do it, so I can keep it up.
Just because the PT already has the body and the muscles, doesn’t mean you will get it without putting any effort in.

See, the same is with dogs. Just because the dog trainer can do it, doesn’t mean you can do it after only 1 hour.
It is YOUR JOB to do YOUR homework. It’s not your dog that’s stubborn or doesn’t want to learn. It’s not your trainers fault your dog is still reacting on dog walks because you didn’t put the training in, in between sessions. We are there to help you.
Even if you bring your dog to a Board & Train or a bootcamp program. This is where the trainer does the grunt work. We do the endless repetitions to make your life easier. But you will have to keep up the maintenance. Because if you work with a PT for 3 weeks straight and you stop after those 3 weeks? What will happen? You gain back all that weight.

We have to look at dog training as a mental mindset. Something you put your mind to, and have to stick with.. just like with going to the gym or learning a new instrument.

Dog training isn’t like bringing your dog to the garage and having them come out 3 hours later and installed a new part and your dog is fixed.
We are not car mechanics, we are trainers.

Let’s say a dog lives 10 years. That is 86700 hours.
If you hire a trainer for 3 hours of your dogs life, that’s only 0.003% of his life. You can not expect that just 3 hours of work, is going to fix your dogs problems.
We, the dog trainers, sometimes only see the dogs for that amount of time. So the rest of the hours, those are yours.

22/10/2023

Dogs parks aren't a good place to go with your dogs. So many bad things can happen.

I suggest finding a friend / friends with a stable dog / dogs & setting up play dates with them instead.

If you're insisting on going to the dog park still, the third picture has some tips for you.

22/10/2023

Please STOP doing these things.
It's not good for you, your family, your dog, etc.

STOP buying from back yard breeders.

STOP expecting trainers to be miracle workers when a dogs genetics don't comply with what you're looking for

There are SO MANY dog breeds or there that can fit your families needs. There are SO MANY GOOD breeders that breed healthy, stable dogs.

Don't but a dog just because it's cute. Each dog was bred for a purpose & not fulfilling that purpose also leads to behavioral issues

Just things to think about.