Puppy, Please! Dog Training, LLC

11/24/2022

Happy thanksgiving from my Turkey to yours!

11/17/2022

Hey all! It’s been a hot minute! Gus is amazing, as always. He turned one last month! My kids are deeply involved in sports at the moment (travel hockey and soccer!). All of Gus’ trials are on hold for now as we are at sport events every weekend. Not the end of the world, we will get back to them when the sports seasons change. And I’m back to work in a vet office again, which has been really amazing. I’ve missed it so much. Gus has been doing a ton of hiking and beach days, and I’m so proud of his recall and ability to work around more or less anything we’ve encountered in public. He began a Canine Good Citizen class this week and will be taking the test next month. That’s the first official step towards therapy dog certification. Today is my one day off and I’ve got it jam packed with errands and training!

07/02/2022

It’s been very busy around here lately. Gus is 8.5 months now and working like an absolute rock star. Last weekend he earned his Intro and Level One titles in WCRL Rally, both with Awards of Excellence. Today he earned his CDSP Obedience Starter Novice title! Today was really special for a few reasons. One, the judge (who also trials Labs) had very nice remarks about Gus and his future. That is always really cool to hear from someone who knows the breed and the sport very well! But even more because we were at this facility a little over a month ago for a rally trial and Gus struggled in the building. Not stress, but excitement and distraction of a new place with lots of sensory overload. Today he walked in there like he owned the place and threw down two lovely runs with far more connection and attention than I would have dreamed possible at this age. A key message I walked away with today was “you’ve done the work, now trust your dog”. Run one I was nervous and blew a few points over handling him when I should have just sat back. Second run I gave him my trust and he paid it back in spades with a 198 out of a possible score of 200! Not bad for a baby! As I said to his breeder this afternoon, his future is so bright, I gotta wear shades! 😎

05/08/2022

Hey all! I recently realized that I haven’t popped in here in a really long time! Life has been a whirlwind and we have been full throttle! Gus is growing like a w**d. He’s almost 7 months and 50 pounds now. He has his first rally trial in a few weeks and can’t wait to see how that goes. He’s a great worker, tries so hard and loves to work! Ruby is having a blast doing agility and hiking as often as possible. I hope you are all doing well. I miss hearing about your lovely pups! I am teaching in both Concord and Manchester a few times a week so I’m still around if you want to get in for some rally classes! Drop me some pictures of your pups!

12/23/2021

I’ve always said a wild puppy is quite often overstimulated or overtired (or both) and that’s a definite time to give them a rest. I just commented to Gus that he was being a wild man tonight and I looked over to see his crate door was closed. He regularly puts himself in there to rest. I opened the door and he leapt in and flopped down! It was such a clear example of a puppy who needed to rest, even he knew it! A puppy who is over the top will more or less always benefit from some quiet time. So often people see a dog with a lot of energy and think they need to exercise it out of them. Sadly that frequently backfires badly. Not only does it wind them up further, but it makes them fitter. It might appear to work in the short term because they finally collapse in utter exhaustion. But in the long term it just makes them a fitter, stronger, tougher athlete who will require more and more exercise to settle. It’s a slippery slope. Yes, dogs need adequate exercise, both mental and physical, but it should almost always lean more on the mental side when you want to tire them out!

12/22/2021

One of my awesome students caught this picture of me with Gus on his very first rally class last weekend! I can’t to someday have a grown up version to compare it to! ❤️

12/21/2021

This is what the Kong Wobbler looks like in action! It’s like a giant Weeble filled with a portion of his lunch. As he smacks it around some kibble will fall out in varying amounts.

12/21/2021

Today’s adventure is figuring out how to work the Kong Wobbler!

12/21/2021

Easy puppy enrichment. All of Gus’ toys were put in a shallow Amazon box. He chews the box, he had to figure out moving the flaps around, he pulls the toys out, he climbs all the way in! It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated, just different!

12/20/2021

Gus has been having a blast in the snow!

12/19/2021

Puppies, puppies, puppies. So much energy! Letting them take that energy out on some puzzle toys is good for them and a nice break for us! Gus’ current favorite is a Holee Roller stuffed with a tennis ball, a tug toy and even some toilet paper tubes! He loves rolling it around and trying to pull everything out.

12/16/2021

House training. A phrase that makes many people shudder. I’ve got to say, it doesn’t really phase me. I’d potty training a hundred puppies over a single child any day! 😂. I have a pretty solid system that revolves around prevention, scheduling and having everything I need ready to go. My puppies only get access to my kitchen for quite a while. There are walk through gates in the two doors and his day time crate is in here as well. I use the crate anytime I have to leave the house, and possibly even the room if I think there is a chance he is close to going out but either hasn’t or you need to get something done first. It’s not ideal, but when Rious was a puppy, my daughter was three and my son was 14 weeks old. Sometimes the puppy just had to wait a second. The floor is easy to clean in case of an accident and it is much easier and far less stressful to keep one room designated as a puppy proofed zone than trying to keep the entire house that way. Let’s be real, with two kids it’s unlikely to happen. On the counter we keep a canister of the good treats (Gus really likes Ziwi Peaks!), a leash and a head lamp. The kitchen leads to a breezeway to the backyard and everyone has a pair of boots that can be stepped right into there. From there I take young puppies out constantly. After every activity change, meal, drink, nap, if they are playing and suddenly stop, if they do much as look at the door we go outside! And we take them out immediately. At a super young age, by the time they recognize that they need to go, they really, really need to go! Speed is key. Having everything available to grab in one swoop is so helpful. I take my puppies to a specific spot in the yard each time AND I take them on leash even though I have a fenced yard. In the long run they may or may not keep going to that spot, but that’s not my immediate goal. My goal is to create a clear pattern of events that the puppy can learn from. I use the leash to prevent them from getting distracted and wandering off or trying to play instead of potty. If my puppy does go then I reward them as soon as they are *done*. That is an important key. I do NOT distract a peeing puppy! I don’t want them to stop and then need to go in another few minutes. Let them finish, then say “yes” and give them them treat. It took one day of this for Gus to stare at us intently while he peed! With consistency, rewards and patience this phase can go quite quickly. Some puppies will get it faster than others. But with clear routine, good rewards and preventing as many mistakes as you can, it can be something that doesn’t make you want to cry!

12/15/2021

Gus had his first vet appointment today. He’s gained two pounds since his health certificate visit last Thursday! They grow so shockingly fast at this age. He also finally convinced Ruby to play with him a little bit today. She’s typically leery of other dogs and mostly tries to avoid them when she can. She’s made a few hiking friends since we lost Rious, but it took time and being on her favorite hiking trails. Today she was avoiding him and giving him dirty looks in the yard while he followed her around. He’s quite respectful of her, shockingly so for a Lab puppy! He kept offering gentle play bows at a polite distance. She finally got a glimmer in her eye and she began to race around the yard. He gleefully tried to keep up, but she’s fast and he’s short! Each lap she would check in with him with this look on her face of “keep up kid” and then dash off again. She’s not sold on him fully yet, but it’s nice to see the picture shifting!

12/15/2021

Hey all! It’s been a while. Things have been super crazy over here. I’m teaching classes at No Monkey Business in Concord. I also recently began working for Operation Delta Dog, training service dogs for veterans. And last bit certainly not least, Saturday we added a new member to the family. Please help me welcome Gus, registered name Semper-Fi Serious Approval. He is the most marvelous addition to our family and I will try to document what we are up to as I go along. I do love raising puppies! There is quite a story behind him, his name and how I’m certain Rious put him in my path. All to come! But for now, I need to go to bed in case this monkey needs to be up overnight. So far so good. Only on wake up a night and last night he had his longest stretch yet from 11:30-5:30!

10/20/2021

This is impressive! The time lapse shows a 16 minute search a dog did of 27 acres to find a person! Dogs are incredible!

10/13/2021

I hope you are enjoying your day as much as our friend Frankie is enjoying this mud she found on our hike! 🦛😂

10/12/2021

I enrolled Ruby in a pre-agility class to build her confidence and find something new and fun for us to work on. Last week she was a shaking mess when we arrived. She settled on her mat and was able to work, but it took a little bit. This week she walked right in, got right to work, and ever confidently walked away from me with the instructor when she asked to borrow her for a demo. She glanced back a few times, but none of her panicked digging at the floor to get back to me. This is painstakingly slow work because it is what Ruby needs. She is NOT a dog you can rush, and most likely never will be. I’m 100% okay with that. I love “Dog Led Training”, especially when it comes to fear. When the dog controls the pace and the handler follows accordingly, the dog will feel safer and progress faster than they would if they are being dragged into situations that scare them. Progress is progress, no matter how slow. She will probably never be like your typical Lab who wants to greet everyone with a pulse, but if she can trust that I won’t put her in a scary situation and strangers are not here to hurt her, that is all I need!

09/15/2021

This is an excellent graphic to understand what is going on while you are waiting at a pet ER. If your pet is stable enough to wait, trust me, you are VERY lucky. Someone else is currently wishing they could trade places with you.

Our hospital is continuously working to improve the triage process so that patients are seen based on the severity of their condition. We're sharing our Patient Severity Index so that you can see, as a pet owner, what we mean!

Save our graphic below to read through before (or as you wait) for emergency services for your pet. This triage system is what our team uses in the ER. There are many times when the ER is taking in an increase of critical cases and so Levels 4 and 5 are encouraged to see their regular family veterinarian for an appointment or seek out Pet Urgent Care options before considering emergency rooms where you could see longer wait times.