California Training Trip
We finally made it to California! Now to enjoy a few days of much needed downtime before starting a round of board and train dogs. 🤩
September Early Bird Special
If you’ve been wanting to get the high quality results of a board and train program but cost has been inhibitive, now is the time to consider taking the leap. Up N Atom Dog Training is offering TWO discounted training spots for the month of September. Please click the link in the comments for instructions on how to take advantage of this one-time offer.
Dog owners that want to take advantage of this discount must put down a deposit for a dog training program beginning between September 8th and September 16th, 2024.
**Programs booked during this special offer cannot be rescheduled at the discounted price should change of plans occur.
**Available programs are first come, first served.
Obedience Progress with Tennessee
8 days left and Tennessee is putting the training pieces together!
Summer romp with graduates Jack and River. 😍
Public Access Skills with Tennessee
There’s a possibility that Tennessee may move into Service Dog work when he’s older, so I’m starting to set a foundation for some of those skills he’ll need. Teaching him to lay down under my legs is going to be incredibly helpful should he ever visit planes, trains or even restaurants in the future.
Step by step tutorial on how I teach a dog to sit-stay while I circle behind them. 🙂
Most dogs are initially worried when their owners disappear out of view and go behind them. By utilizing a lot of food and going methodically, you can quickly teach a dog that they don’t need to be concerned and that staying in position pays.
Tennessee Progress
Just under a week into training, and Tennessee is showing some very nice progress. Good job buddy!
Working on house manners with Loki, then our session was intruded upon by 👽 🐱.
A little group nature walk with Archie and the malinois!
We love a German Shepherd or two that WANT blow dried! 😅
Working on building a foundation with Tennessee. Teaching a dog how to properly lure for food is an important step in my training system. I want to be able to place the dog where I want them using food, and then heavily reward that position so they want to be there. Since most dogs come in having been taught almost every skill from the front (sit, down, name recognition, leave it, etc) this can be a difficult first few days. You can see here that after a few good repetitions, he is starting to pick up how to follow food, and that remaining in position pays well. However, he is still checking out regularly, looking for food on the ground, and getting stuck during luring. Over the next few days he will master this skill set, and be able to advance on to the next steps.
Enjoyed a canoe trip with one of my own dogs on this gorgeous summer day. For me, this is what makes good training important. I want to experience life with my dogs, rather than just live with them. A dog who is off leash reliable and under control can do more fun things, and be enjoyable at home.
This heat is killer but we’re taking every opportunity of cloud cover and cooler temps to get some exercise! Off leash life = best life.
Sunday Funday with Bella and Ashley.
Happy Fathers Day to all of you #1 dads out there! Enjoy it!
Let’s discuss why I try* to start every training dog with engagement training. Engagement is about paying attention because the dog WANTS to. This isn’t an obedience command; it’s about teaching our dogs that they control whether or not they gain access to movement and rewards through their choice to “opt in”.
*Dogs with low food drive, extreme reactivity or high levels of anxiety sometimes need to start with obedience training first, as they will NOT take food even with low distractions around. Ideally, it’s still an exercise we can come back to once they’ve learned to work in a training system for food rewards. With these dogs, sometimes we need to start in even less novel places, such as the living room or the backyard!
At the end, I demonstrate how you can use this type of reward event with a dog who is further along in training. By implementing the same routine (“YES” - motion - reward event) you can jackpot good behaviors you like, increasing speed and motivation.
Columbus park training field trip! #gooddogs #columbus #dogtraining
It was a gorgeous day for training dogs at the park! Rocky, Chase, Rosie, and Venom had a great time working their obedience skills around real world distractions.
What’s the one piece of training equipment you’d have to pry out of my cold, dead fingers before I removed it from my toolbox?
LONGLINES!
Most (untrained) dogs have no idea what it feels like to be out around distractions without leash tension. Leash tend builds frustration, which fuels reactivity. With dogs prone to aggression, this is ⛽️ on a 🔥!!
Oliver did great around dogs for his first time during his training stay. We will need to continue building his skills before making the “distractions” more unpredictable (see: real life) but this is a great first step for him.
