Bark to Basics

Happy national dog day to all our furry pals we work with…and many more! 🐾

Update on the Nail file training with the Basset Hound! It’s amazing what you can achieve with your dog with a little practice! This is Wilbur’s third ~5 minute session with the nail board. Session 1 - we reinforced interacting with the board would pay off! Session 2 - we introduced the cue “scratch” and putting paws on the board. Session 3 - we began targeting longer/more scratches per click to build duration and only accepted scratches when nails hit the board (vs just touching the board with a paw).

Teaching a dog how to file his own nails? 😲💅🏽 Yes! It can be taught! It doesn’t have to be a struggle or frustration between you and your dog. THE DOG can be in charge of it himself. Awesome concept isn’t it? It’s as fun as any other behavior taught and it gets a job done without stress. #nailfilingdogtraining #nailfilingfordogs #nailfilingtips #dogtraining

Zoe learning to stay at a very lively park area. Adding in distractions slowly to your dogs behaviors (such as stay, place, wait, look, etc.) can greatly help in real life situations where you need your pup to give YOU attention to continue to guide them in doing what you’d like them to do. If you go too fast adding in these distractions we sometimes see dogs not able to do anything but get distracted as the stimulus is too much for them to handle. Go slow, see what sets them off more, and give rewards!

It was a beautiful day to work on Lady’s loose leash walking with her mom and dad out in Irvine today!

@embark_oc Casper going on a walk without any reactivity feels so great! He would spin out of control on walks lasting longer than a few strides down his street, and redirecting towards his owners, jumping up/nipping and even biting down hard at times. We started 5 sessions ago working on what triggers him, changing out the tool we walk him on, and really getting in some good heeling and obedience (outside AND inside the home). This is one of the first times the owner felt safe and relaxed walking him in public. So proud of them! #aussie #australianshepherd #aussiepuppy #reactivity #dogtrainingpaysoff

@embark_oc Tofu here was having big problems MOVING on their walk. He would plop down, dig his heels in the ground and refuse to walk. The owner would try dragging him, picking him up and just ending the walk. Thus, Tofu never got to go on actual fun walks outside. The owner wanted to also use his harness and nothing else on a walk as he has a sensitive neck/throat area. We worked with him moving with positive reinforcement, making it fun and worth it! Also he was reactive when outside, and it was frustrating for the owner. This is his very first walk - and he did almost a mile! Saw dogs, and just kept moving! So proud of these two. And look how Happy this little fella is! He wants to go now!! #walkingisfun #dogwalking #pomeranian #pompuppy #youcandohardthings

Spent some time walking dogs at Bonnie’s Beach Rescue today. Surrounded by pups and that view... 😍 ANIMAL RESCUE BONNIE BEACH

One of Wilbur’s favorite things in life is to be dried off (even if he’s dry!!). After we got stuck in a downpour today on our afternoon beach walk he learned how to DIY the process. 🤣

The hounds were kind enough to ask me to speak on their behalf about Spring Games this Saturday at Mason Regional Park. They were so good and completely stole the show! Hope to see you there! Basset Hound Rescue Southern California #BHRSCspringgames2017 #abc7 #eyewitnessnews

Cooling off after a long hike Idyllwild Mountain Park, Idyllwild, California