Falls Lake Kennels - Obedience & Behavioral Training

11/29/2024

I wanted to thank all of you voting for me again this year. I actually hadn't realize I had won for several months! Winning three years in a row has been amazing!

I cherish my clients and their awesome family dogs!

10/21/2024

10/20/2024

This is Bear ready for a training session at Tractor Supply! Click on each picture for details!

09/18/2024

I met "Blu" this afternoon. She's a 14 month old German Shepherd. She enjoyed meeting my Pyrenees (Belle and Caleb) through the fence. Everyone was very polite and mannerly.

Hope to see her again soon!

09/13/2024

This is going to be an adventure! Meet Autumn. She is a Pyrenees/Poodle that will turn 5 months old in a couple of days. Her energy level is off the charts. She has a very committed owner.
Autumn is a bright, sweet girl. We will be working on the basics as she matures. The long term plan is for her to become a Service dog.

09/09/2024

Devastating news coming from the Creedmoor Police Department

Creedmoor Police Department has lost its newest member, K9 Dex. Dex was a 19 month old German Shepherd and joined the department on August 19, 2024.

The Creedmoor Board of Commissioners agreed to fund a K9 partner in the 2024-2025 budget for the police department. K9 Dex began his training on August 19, 2024 and was set to graduate at the end of September.

“The loss of Dex is devastating to our entire department, especially his handler Officer DeSantis,” stated Chief Troy Wheless. “Dex was the first dog that I saw when I went to pick the K9 for the department. I looked at several dogs that day but came back to him because he was the perfect fit for our mission and to participate in our commUNITY events.”

We are waiting on the results of the autopsy to determine the cause of death.

A memorial service will be planned, and the details will be announced at a later date.

Please keep Officer DeSantis and the rest of the department in your thoughts.
RIP Dex. We thank you for your service.

08/21/2024

Zinnia can be a social butterfly when out in the public. She wants to say hello to everyone and tends to pull on her leash like she is attached to a freight train. Her owners are very patience with her. They have been instructed (by me) to stop and not allow Zin have any success getting where she wants to go as long as there is pressure on the leash. They have done well. Only problem is that Zin is determined to meet everyone.

So what did we do? We had a session at Lake Rogers! There is a play area for children. The ground is slanted. There were a number of people of all ages enjoying the morning. Some people are fishing.

Zinnia was taking it all in. She was quietly watching until we headed across the parking lot.

Long story short -- by the time we finished Zin was walking much better with none to very little pulling. She got to investigate the play area and had a blast!

Distance from people and objects helped tremendously. With Zinnia showing us where her limits were we could reward for the behavior we were looking for. Distance is important when trying to teach a dog that is excited. Great puppy and committed owners. We opened the door to the beginning of success.

08/17/2024

Harley was a sweet girl at Tractor Supply today She was pulling some on her harness but we can help her get over that. Overall she was quite the "little" lady. Good girl Harley!

07/27/2024

This is Harley. She is a just turning 5 month old Cane Corso puppy at her first session.

The owners have had her for 2 weeks. They had researched the breed a lot before purchasing her. A very smart move on their part. Not every dog is a good fit for every family. I feel that Harley will do well in this family because they have made the commitment to her future. Yes, there will be ups and downs but that is normal with all new dogs and puppies.

Everything is new for this girl. She has to comfortably evolve into her new home. Now is a wonderful time for training to begin before other unwanted habits develope. I'm looking forward to this adventure!

Once she discovered the Kong Wobbler she loved it. It is a good tool for an active pup. She did take a quick nap in my cat's chair. She is still a baby. Babies need quiet moments from time to time!

07/09/2024

Meet Stella! She is one of the 3 siblings I'm working with. All have different families. All have committed owners. All live in different counties.

Stella is quite a "livewire"! We let her play and investigate to release some of her energy before starting.

Stella already has a nice "down" command but doesn't understand that she has to stay down and pops right back up. I demonstrated to her owner that she needs to stay closer to Stella. Not to try getting any distance at this stage.

After giving Stella a down command I just stood in front of her softly praising the great eye contact she offered (we had previously worked on). Then swayed gently from right to left without moving my feet. Rewarded both verbally and with a slow touch. Then gave her a release word as I backed away a couple of feet. Rewarded her with touch and praise as she got to me and finished up with a SMALL treat. This first time was done in about 25 seconds.

When working with a dog, especially a puppy, you take what you want to accomplished and break it into small pieces and train each piece of the whole.

07/05/2024

This is 4 month old Zinnia playing with a Kong Wobbler during her first session. Very nice puppy with a lot of potential. We were working on her becoming accepting of the new sights, sounds and smells of my office. It is part of her socialization in new environments.

I've been blessed to not only have Zinnia to work with but two of her siblings as well -- Angus and Stella. All three are nice puppies. All have committed owners. Excited to see how they all progress!

A Kong Wobbler is a great tool for developing a dog's ability to stay focused and exercise their brain.