Nahla came to our boarding school program with a lot of fear and anxiety but one of her family’s biggest concerns was her guarding of food, treats and chews from their other dog. To address this, we have taught Nahla to back away from an item and yield space when another dog approaches. This reduces fear in her housemate and creates a more respectful relationship between the two dogs. Now there is peace in the home without the worry of a fight.
We are here until 4pm with a great selection of donations for those people and pets affected by the fires. Please stop by for FREE dog and cat food, treats, toys, beds, brushes, dog coats and lots more!
No matter what happened this week, dogs live in the moment. They are enjoying the farm and the fresh snow and a beautiful start to the new year. #staypresent #HappyNewYear #welcome2022
We love making training fun by incorporating play!
Meet Monty! (on the left in this video) This sweet Australian Cattle Dog mix just graduated from our three week boarding school program! She came to us with aggression towards other dogs and strangers. Boy, has she come a long way!! Monty is now comfortably running with the pack, enjoying outtings in public and thriving at being polite! No more growly business! Proud of this little girl and her awesome family for committing to giving her what she needs to feel safe and secure!
This never gets old! Impulse control; it’s the key to a great dog!
This is called a good problem to have! When you call one dog and they all come running! What a cool group of pups we have right now!
Training tip of the day - passive training! Passive training is whenever you ask your dog to do something, while you do something else. In this case, the dogs are staying on place while I clean out the horse paddock. Passive training builds patience, impulse control and helps your dog to develop the ability to stay in one place even if they can’t see you the whole time. It’s important to keep a close eye on them at first to ensure they are doing as told, holding them accountable if they break, and gradually increasing distance and duration as they get the hang of it. A patient dog who has the ability to wait is a pleasure to be around! Happy training!
Andy, a very big black Lab, came to use for extreme leash reactivity. He is in his third home and has injured two people by pulling them down while going bananas at another dog. Andy has done so well with his new training that we are now able to walk him WITHOUT a leash and maintain an awesome heel! Kudos to our very talented trainers Cecilia and Cait for all their hard work with this big guy! He goes home tomorrow and his family is in for a big treat on their first walk!
A few months ago we received a desperate email from a family with an 18 month old Bulldog named Phife. He had been very sick with pneumonia as a puppy and spent some time in a vet hospital. After his hospital stay, he seemed more fearful, especially of the vacuum, anxious restless, pacing, and unable to relax.
First they tried training, with two different trainers, including another boarding school program but no improvement. That’s when they turned to a Veterinary Behaviorist for help; “who diagnosed him with generalized anxiety and so we began the pill popping journey.” Phife has been on a roller coaster of heavy duty tranquilizers, anxiety medications and anti-depressants ever since.
“They also said no negative reinforcement, only positive and redirecting, which we have stuck with because we don't want to increase his fear, anxiety. We are stuck and honestly, the behaviorist hasn't been much help. If we need help from them it comes with a big price tag . We can email issues we are having, but we can't get anyone on the phone to discuss in detail unless we schedule telemedia appt and they are very expensive for 30 minutes of time. They don't follow up and see how things are going, they just want to keep scheduling followups. Oh and they have never actually met him in person.”
During our initial video chat, I could see the sweet pup laying on their floor, heavily sedated from his cocktail of prescribed drugs. Since we are typically booked two - three months in advanced, it gave us time to wean him off the meds before he came to us for training.
What we found after the drugs were out of his system was a typical Bulldog puppy. Full of life, fun and energy but with little self control. Through training, we were able to teach him all the skills necessary to be a polite and calm family pet. Like all children, he needed to be told right from wrong and guided towards better choices. He trained up beautifully and without the need for any drugs.
Be aware,
Meet Pepper. She’s like a lot of dogs that come to us for aggression rehab; insecure, fearful and acting out. She’s bitten both of her owners, their son, and a person who came near their car. She has struggled with guarding space and people at home and when taken for a walk, behaving very aggressively when seeing other people and dogs. And did I mention she had serious separation anxiety?! Frankly, her family was a little afraid of Pepper and they didn’t know where to begin to get control of her.
When a dog is insecure and fearful, like Pepper, they need a confident handler to make them feel safe, show them better choices and advocate for them. Pepper had never really had a chance to socialize with other dogs and learn what normal behavior looks like. She was wound up, frustrated and fearful but under all that, is actually a really nice dog. Our job is to show her the way, make her feel safe and give her family the tools and techniques to gain control.
After three weeks in our boarding school program, Pepper is ready to go home and make a fresh start!