No Monkey Business Dog Training

01/28/2025

Show me the last picture you took of your dog!

01/25/2025

If Custard was a police officer, this is exactly how he would be.

Very Funny

01/22/2025

I say this so often but I need to say it again.

Dogs are not like an iPhone, a laptop, a piece of equipment that you can simply program and set the settings on and they will be in that setting for the rest of their life.

Dogs are sentient beings, that can be mercurial and capricious, especially through periods of growth and change. Custard is changing on the outside, why would I not expect his insides to change too?

We are quickly approaching 6 months of age, and I swear to God just as he’s losing his puppy teeth he also loses brain cells. Happens to all puppies at this age. Running and pouncing on the slider door like he’s never had manners in his life, trying to counter surf, looking at me as though I’m speaking Chinese when I ask him to do something he’s done 5 million times since 8 weeks old.

There’s nothing “wrong” with him. He isn’t being “bad” or naughty. He’s just developing. His soon to be very teenage brain is growing and just as his body grows and develops and I have to size up his harness, get him a larger crate, etc, I have to then adjust my own “settings” to meet these new ones for him.

I focus on the things that ARE consistent. His kindness, his tolerance, his ability to settle himself down even when he’s excited. His willingness to adhere to my stupid human requests to please not grab the toilet paper out of my hand and run off with it. All the wonderful foundation characteristics he has are still there, he’s just growing up and growing into them while also battling new hormones and interests in smells and a feeling of independence and excitement to be alive. I will not compromise his wonderful spirit and kind temperament to simply get “obedience” based on my own ego and weird human expectations. All that will come, I just have to be consistent and patient.

Dogs lives everywhere would be MUCH easier, and they would be far less likely to suffer the consequences of harsh and punitive training methods, if we just took the time to understand developmental biology and behavior. We’d also be much happier, because we’d realize these periods aren’t because we aren’t doing the wrong or right things, it’s just part of the process. We set up management strategies and training that fits for them in these moments and patiently wait for the brain cells to come back in, just like their adult teeth.

This boy is truly one of the best puppies I’ve ever had. He doesn’t have a mean bone is his body, and some days he also acts like he doesn’t have a brain either, but that’s 100% okay because truthfully I am the same way a lot of the time. We’ll get there together.

We love you Custard Mustard Pudding Pop. Keep being your floppy goofy self.

01/22/2025

Can confirm this works

01/21/2025

The agony of finishing your chew before your brother and then having to watch him enjoy his.

01/21/2025

If anyone ever needs a stock image of a mature adult dog with an adolescent dog I’ve got you covered.

Legend and Kettle

01/20/2025

For January’s Saturday Sniffari, we celebrated Pirate Month! The pups set sail to uncover Barkbeard’s hidden treasure! With maps in paw and tails wagging, they sniffed out clues and found the loot, they are having a blast!

What will February bring? Sign up and find out! Registration is open!

01/18/2025

The two “old” boys- Legend and Messner. Legend will be 6 in a few months, and Messner is going to be 9. Both are in that beautiful phase of life that when they aren’t doing something like playing or exercising, they are perfectly content doing nothing, especially if it includes laying on the couch and watching for potential doom out the window. It’s my favorite period of sharing lives together. Not puppies or adolescents, not seniors or geriatrics yet. Just, friends that I know well and they know me, and we’re content.

01/18/2025

King of the couch. Aslan.🖤

01/17/2025

Three of the best working dogs you could want. Possum, Everest and Cloak.

These three live outside with the stock 24/7 and love every second of it. We often rotate them to different pastures to help them keep their smell current to ward off any predators. We have a large group of very curious coyotes that still can get too close for comfort, so we sleep much better knowing these three are out there doing their jobs.

01/12/2025

The odds of getting killed by one of your chickens is slim.

But never zero.

01/10/2025

Frankie and Abe getting some skill work in this morning in boarding.

People ask all the time what the structure of the boarding looks like here and the answer is always it depends. We are VERY small in how many dogs we take and so our daily structure depends solely on the dogs we have at that time. Frankie and Abe are brothers so they get lots of out time and playtime together; but they also get daily work on their skills and practicing self control too.

Dogs that are older, more shy, or less comfortable with other dogs get different kind of interactions and out time. They may go for a trail walk, hang out on the sofa while we clean or answer emails, or simply go out to p*e and then go back to bed! Some get to play with our own personal dogs, some get enrichment walks around the farm.

And yes. We have carpets and sofas and music playing and radiant floor heating. We know that most of the dogs that stay with us do so because traditional boarding is too stressful for them, so we try to make it feel as “home” as possible while still staying conscious of cleanliness and hygiene and safety.

I’m also a huge believer that stability in footing makes a big difference in confidence and comfort in dogs - especially in new or unfamiliar places. Carpets may be more work to clean but they also add a feeling of familiarity, and security in movement that I think makes a lot of dogs feel safe versus slippery or glossy flooring in many places.

How cute are these two??

01/10/2025

When you’re trying to be an annoying little brother but you’re too tired so you just melt.

01/09/2025

Does the shirt have a dog on it? Betting mine does.

01/07/2025

I know Plum, that’s enough internet for the day

01/06/2025

Why yes my dog would LOVE to say hi, but I’m still going to say “no thank you” and move on. Why?

1. Because I want my dog to learn that every time we see people it doesn’t mean it’s a party for him. I’d like him to continue his focus on us together as a team and not create conditioned excitement and expectation every time we are approached by someone.

2. Because I don’t know what saying hi means to you. Will you politely touch him? Will you allow him space to move away if he wants? Will you put your face too close to his? I don’t want him to have a negative experience so I’m going to avoid that by continuing our walk.

3. Because maybe I feel overwhelmed or stressed in public places and conversations with strangers may make me uncomfortable, so even though you’d like to talk and meet my dog, I’m protecting myself too.

4. Because we’re in a rush and have to get something done quickly.

5. Because I said no. Even social, sweet, friendly dogs and their handlers have every right to say “no” to a request to meet and be touched by people. This shouldn’t just apply to reactive, worried or bubble space dogs. Dogs are not public property, and saying “no thank you” to touching my dog shouldn’t be regarded as rude or unkind, any more than if a stranger asked to hold my baby.

Please normalize hearing “no” OR even better, normalize ignoring more dogs in public. Let them carry on with their handler and admire them from a far. It would do a world of good for dogs and humans everywhere, trust me.

- Helen St. Pierre