Zen K-9 Academy

06/24/2024

Anyone interested in ths beautiful girl? This is forwarded from a friend:

Looking for leads on a NorCal Doberman rescue. Caston, maybe you know of one that's active? Context is that a friend's daughter with a big heart took in a 2-year-old female Doberman because it was about to be surrendered to a municipal shelter. She thought for sure she'd be able to rehome her but has not been able to. She has until July 3rd to find the dog a place to land.The dog is said to be a 2-year-old purebred with natural tail and ears. She's good with other dogs, can be suspicious of new people. People. Not clear if she's had any rigorous training. She is not spayed but there is a possibility to get her spayed at VCA for friends and family discount. There's also a possibility that the whole spay could be covered but I don't want to over promise.

04/29/2024

Guess who these guys are named after.

02/19/2024

Ouch! Your new puppy is constantly biting you. How do you make him stop?

Not so fast.

Did you know that there’s a reason that puppies bite when they play and it’s not because they’re teething?

My favorite times of year are spring and fall when we have more puppies to train at the same time. We block off the kitchen (or the deck if the weather is nice) and let all of the puppies play together. There is constant biting, rolling, jumping and running.
There’s an occasional yelp, which is a good thing.

When a puppy bites another puppy too hard, they yelp to let them know to soften their bite. This is an important part of their development. Puppy teeth are needle sharp and their jaws have not developed a lot of strength yet. By biting each other and getting feedback, they learn to control their bite.

In the absence of other puppies, guess what…you become the playmate that has to teach your puppy bite inhibition. When your puppy bites you and it hurts, yelp loudly. Most puppies will pause and come back with a softer bite. As long as it isn’t hurting you, let your puppy bite you softly.

The occasional puppy that doesn’t respond appropriately to the yelp would be avoided by the other puppies for awhile and then given another chance to redeem himself with softer bites. If you are that other puppy, just gently place your puppy in a secure location such as a crate or pen with some toys and give him some time to calm down a bit before interacting again.

If this was helpful, thumbs up emoji in the comments.

Tag someone who needs this.

03/31/2023

He was framed!

10/29/2022

I need some help here for a very special dog. This is Yeti. He is a not quite 2 year old, 75 pound Great Pyrenees mix. He is beautiful, but his backstory is tragic and he needs the exact right home.

Yeti's family was murdered. There's no easy way to say it, but the reality is that Yeti's world was rocked in a way it's hard for anyone, let alone a young dog, to process. Whatever Yeti was like before he lost his people we do not know, but he was deeply affected by the violence he saw and the time he was alone in the house with his people before he was rescued.

Yeti has been with us for many months. He is healthy and he is happier, but the spark in the eye is still not there. He needs to go home and it must be the right home. Yeti is scared of new people and we don't blame him. We have worked really hard with him, and I do not know if this is a life long thing or a for now thing, but he backs away and growls if he feels scared. With a little patience and a willingness to wait for him to come to you, he will reward you with a tail wag and he will come for petting and attention. I suspect he will bond deeply with his new owners.

When he goes to his new people, he needs a home with no small kids because they tend to screech and this is a dog that needs low key. They also tend to bring lots of new people home which will scare him. Initially, he was shy with new dogs but would play with them so long as they weren't jumping all over him. In the past few months, he has been less tolerant of dogs and we are not sure if he will be OK with them out of a kennel environment or whether he needs to be an only dog. He has been fine with cats. He is well mannered in the home and he is quiet and watchful. I kind of hate that. I am hoping in a home that is his he will have the confidence to do dog things like toss a toy or run through the house like a loon.

This dog will need a very very special placement for very obvious reasons. Anyone wanting to adopt him will need to be the kind of person that can let a dog chill out and observe and not push the dog to be his best friend. It will be a long while before this dog is going to be comfortable with new people coming in so people adopting him need to be OK with slow intros. I do believe in time this dog will be OK with new people, but it won't be instantaneous. He absolutely will have to have a home with a securely fenced yard and very mellow people.

Yeti is in Nashville. If you are interested in this dog, please email [email protected].

08/19/2022

https://www.gooddog.com/health-hub/early-spay-neuter?fbclid=IwAR1kAMbxcA6vQw6Bc6gASkZS-grHg-CXAoDHc25Xz7lVFFU-VKZzYC2-OH8

In the movement to reduce the euthanasia of shelter cats and dogs, early spay/neuter became a common practice.

04/07/2022

I’m frequently asked with board and train if the dogs will listen to the owners. The answer is “yes, if you follow through”. Here is a perfect example of good owner follow through. Zazu was only home for a day when this video was taken. Kudos to Alana! Great work!

09/09/2021

I love this

04/15/2021

I love this