Indiana Working Dogs

08/26/2024

If you don’t see your pup add them to the post

08/11/2024

This little basenji I am training is becoming Comet’s buddy!

08/07/2024

As many of you know I had to have my girl Kilbe euthanized. I took her to Paws@Rest and they were awesome! Here is their contact information.

At Paws @ Rest Pet Scattering Garden, we understand that losing a pet may be like losing a family member. The death of a pet can be an intense loss and one most of our staff have experienced.

08/05/2024

This is the day no dog owner enjoys. Today I had to have my sweet Kilbe put down. Often people think I am being an ass because I get upset when they get breeds they think are beautiful or cool. Then they realize the dog is more than they bargained for. I picked up Kilbe about two weeks before she was two. By then three owners. She would bust out to tree animals almost killed another dog for trying to steal something from her. Next owner let her accidentally be bred (ya right) but again too much dog. Third owner she would run off because she wanted to hunt. Again accidentally bred 😡! When Kristin Strietelmeier Petty and I picked her up in Colorado and I worked her on leash put her in the car and she was my dog. I taught her what I wanted to hunt and how to hunt with me as a hunting partner. She has treed squirrels, raccoon, bobcat, flushed and treed pheasant, as well killed a small hog on a hunt in MO. Her love and devotion to me and me to her was a very strong bond. When you look at the girl in this picture this is 10,000 years of breeding to do work side by side with man in the struggle of survival in Siberia. I have her grandson and I will always have West Siberian Laikas with her bloodline in it. My dear friend you will be missed we hunted together where we were in touch with each other’s simple moments without a word. God speed my good girl your ashes and I will rest together one day. The way she is looking at me in this first picture taken last season is the way she looked at me with her last breath. 😢 if you own any of her bloodline please post a picture of them with the game you were pursuing with them.

08/04/2024

Truffle never ceases to amaze me. When she came to me over a year ago I had to wear bite suit pants. Truffle’s owners do a great job. They moved to another state and Truffle had some adjustment issues. Her family was going on vacation. We worked it out and Truffle has been here for over a week. She has done awesome! I will miss her when she goes.

07/26/2024

Fly is learning to remain calm in the presence of a pack of dogs. Currently, I am boarding and training my good friend Truffle, who was experiencing some anxiety due to a recent move to her owner's new home. Unfortunately, two doodles escaped from the house and charged at her, barking loudly. To help her feel more comfortable, I will take her on outings and provide her with a sense of stability while she is here.

07/22/2024

Petty’s Dragonfly call name Fly! I can’t wait to watch what she can do. My favorite IPA gave me the inspiration for her name 😁 If you want a really intelligent and awesome standard poodle look no further than Patti! You figure I see tons of dogs a year. When I say positive things about a breeder it means they are very good!

Targa Poodles is a family based kennel, breeding quality standard poodles. AKC reputable Breeder of Merit. We are proud of our champion standard poodles and our obedience, agility, performance dogs, certified therapy dogs and beloved companions Health tested Poodle Puppies Poodle adoption Michigan

07/19/2024

Please listen to the wisdom. Linda is one of the absolute best dog trainers.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/XQp6ka79vYirDNS1/?mibextid=WC7FNe

07/19/2024

For top-notch dog collars, leashes, and other supplies, trust Briar Creek Kennels - a small business in Indiana. Say goodbye to adjusting awkward plastic collars and hello to their exceptional products.

https://briarcreekkennels.ecwid.com/

07/08/2024

I have two rules beyond just the on leash and off leash commands. A dog doesn’t leave if they cannot do their commands in a store. That includes ignoring people and other dogs. The other they have to do all commands off leash and chase after a ball to be recalled on command. That is around a major road in Indianapolis. The most important thing to most people are no leash pulling and coming on command. It is imperative you can call your dog back to you when it counts! No one wants to be dragged on a walk!

07/05/2024

The messages you like to receive from your clients.

Hanging out, off leash, outside his invisible fence helping with the gardening. 🙂

Then today they sent these!

“Kobe just got complimented at the (human) park for how well-behaved he is!”

“And now a second family just stopped us and asked "who trained your dog?!"

07/04/2024

Kai getting in some hand signal work while being boarded.

07/04/2024

We love Kai! When she is bordered she gets special love.

07/01/2024

I speak of this often. Dog language is important to understand. I use my females that have raised puppies to teach dog communication. I do think he missed one piece in this video that he stated but didn’t name directly. The non-verbal communication. Often that is eye balling the other and lip curl. As he stated you have to have a balanced dog to teach this. I have used Kilbe for many years for this but the job is now turning over to Roxy. You need your pup to learn dog language and not in some crazy dog park or daycare. A stable dog is a necessity to teach this. I thought the guy did a good job of breaking this interaction down. There were several comments on the man who own’s the Cane Corso, Bruce Wayne, attacked the bully. In fact the Corso did a wonderful job of teaching. I will put this disclaimer out there I don’t like to put pits or large breeds like Corsos in that situation. The gentleman that owns the Corso has a good handle on his dog.

Cane Corso ATTACK! Canine Behaviourist Reacts To Dog Correction. Will a Canine Behaviourist reacts to Jason Corey's recent video of his Cane Corso, Bruce Way...

06/28/2024

Wisdom from
A master dog trainer.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/xTo8EjCfjwVtBxV6/?mibextid=WC7FNe

There isn't a day that goes by where someone isn't making a comment somewhere on the internet about dog collars. What should be used, what shouldn't be used, why one is better than the other, etcetera.

You would think that one's proximity to heaven is hinged on one's beliefs about collars. I find it pretty odd that the folks condemning a particular collar's use do so not out of any real experience, but by clinging to the mantras of a loud but incredibly ignorant sect of folks who have repeated the shibboleths so many times, they lost the courage to discover the truth for themselves.

A collar is a tool, just like a leash, a crate, a dog bowl, or any other device we use. The collar itself isn't really the problem. The perception of the collar as 'cruel' or 'inhumane' is.

There isn't a device out there I haven't used. There are some I prefer, and even of those, some I use only occasionally. I am thankful I have them in my arsenal of tools.

My selection process starts with using the most 'basic' tool and judge from there. Decisions are always based on the animal in front of me, the goal, and the conditions under which the dog will be expected to perform when handled by someone not *me*.

This becomes an important distinction. Especially when the owner is a tiny woman or senior who happens to own a young dog that promises to achieve a certain size or a large dog that has grown up thinking it was the Emperor of the Universe.

I work with people of all ages and abilities, and what becomes exceedingly apparent is the necessity of helping them (the owners, not the internet experts) effectively control their dogs with maximum efficiency and authority.

I am not above putting a Starmark collar on an enthusiastic puppy or a micro-prong on a toy dog. I will counsel an owner to consider an e-collar for quite a few different scenarios, especially if there are dexterity and ambulation issues.

The tool itself isn't the problem. If people would smarten up, start their dogs' training earlier, and not wait for undesirable behaviors to emerge and strengthen, we wouldn't have half the tools we currently have. I wouldn't spend a ton of time Frankensteining a couple collars and cludging together something for a specific client to help them with application and control.

Many folks disregard the *owner's* need, fixating only on their misguided interpretation that a given device is 'cruel' when in fact, the vast majority of collars were originally designed to make training ~less~ confrontational.

Humans' misuse doesn't make the device less effective, regardless of how it's design is interpreted by folks who can only see the forest, and not the variety of trees within it.

The human equation is the unknown quantity, with their petulance and infantile lack of emotional control, and their dimwitted willingness to blame the dog's 'stubbornness' instead of their own ham-handed insistence that the dog perform to some exceedingly lofty expectation after a repetition or two of any given exercise.

Humans are the ones that made that dog that way. They continually justify their smug superiority with unreasonable physical handicaps and call it preservation breeding. They pursue unnatural aesthetics while disregarding temperament and trainability (both influenced genetically, regardless of what pseudo-science is saying), and leave the mystified owner in a cesspool of nonsense and conflict.

They have no place to turn. The information they find is contradictory and full of half-witted nonsense that leaves them confused and uncertain.

Owners are blamed for their dog's behavior, but aren't offered solutions that would remediate that issue clearly, quickly, and without fallout. They are made to feel shame for their choices, when all they wanted to do was get help.

Cruelty is everywhere. The human that chooses to kick, beat or slam a dog against a concrete floor didn't use a tool. He used his arms, hands, and feet. The girl that bludgeoned several dogs to death didn't do it with a collar. She did it with a blunt instrument.

Having the latitude to help people is the grand design of every tool known to man; to facilitate convenience, or to create additional control without having to expend additional effort.

Any of us over a certain age should remember what it was like driving some tank of a car without power steering and power brakes. Many of us recall the 'mom arm' because shoulder restraint sat belts hadn't been invented yet.

Every thing out there is a derivative of some other thing, and dog training tools are no exception. Some form of slip-type training collar has existed since Xenophon or before. Prong or pinch type collars have existed for over a hundred years, and electronics have been around since the 50's

Tools are and can be innovative. They are a gift that helps us communicate with our dogs in a succinct and graceful way. Learning about them requires more than an opinion on social media.

I deplore intellectual laziness as much as I deplore cruelty. Tools aren't the enemy. Ignorance is.

06/22/2024

You don’t need to be a bird hunter to read this. Delmar’s training book is a great resource for any dog person.

06/18/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/dF94E6gk4A5eZHcm/?mibextid=WC7FNe

06/16/2024

Remember when getting a dog to understand the genetics of what dog you are getting.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/FQd9To1djj6ZB8nP/?mibextid=WC7FNe

05/27/2024

Zeke and I got these two dogs to pass the therapy dog international test. Arlee the golden retriever and Cash the Bernese Mountain Dog. I certified Cash as a therapy dog for me as the handler. Zeke wanted to take him to places for service hours for Roncalli High School. Zeke had to pass the test for him to be Cash’s Handler. Zeke and I will take them to nursing homes and veterans events. Both dogs are owned by my veterinarian at Academy Animal Hospital Dr. Tracey Vinson.

04/21/2024

Goose was in for boarding but he struggled in public with his owner. Goose and I did a walk around Bloomington and enjoyed lunch and my favorite beer Upland Dragonfly.

04/10/2024

Cash and I day two at the Indianapolis Convention Center. He is so good at his job. Everyone loves to pet Cash and he is the star of the show.

04/09/2024

A few months ago I received a call and was told it was Microsoft wanting me to bring a therapy dog to a conference. I thought I would play along. Well here Cash and I are working a booth for Microsoft. Cash is so good at his job! He is the star. I am there just to hold the leash if needed and snap pictures that people want with Cash. Cash belongs to my Vetrinarian Tracey Vinson that owns Academy Animal Hospital. After I lost ChiChi I asked her if I could take Cash to the Therapy Dog Test. I trained him as a pup and knew he was right for the job. Great job Cash!

04/07/2024

Nimbus did a great job today ignoring distractions. He’s going to be an awesome service dog!