Cloud Nine Training School for Dogs

08/20/2024

Everyone had fun at last night's Puppy Agility Games! The next one is schedule for Monday, Sept. 9 at 7:15pm. Cost is $20/pup up to one year of age. Register online https://gal.re/e/NzrM7a3IOLb

08/19/2024

It's BACK! Small Dog Play Group will take place on Monday, Sept. 9 at 8pm. This activity is for social, non-reactive, non-aggressive, house trained dogs up to 15 pounds to come play in a safe, supervised environment. (Note: Boy dogs who might mark must wear belly bands.) Cost is $20/dog. Register online https://gal.re/e/l2n6aKx5bMb

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08/18/2024

The new cart was well received by this weekend’s course building crew at the Greater Twin Cities Golden Retriever AKC agility trial.

08/12/2024

So happy and proud to announce MACH 2 Paige! Susan Gahan and Paige completed their second AKC Master Agility Champion title Sunday at the Key City Kennel Club trial at Fusion, and I got to be the awarding judge, which was pretty cool. Congratulations !

08/05/2024

Looking ahead . . .

The Monday night Scent Work Cont class starts on Aug. 12 at 6:30pm. Prerequisite is completion of Intro to Scent Work or the equivalent with approval of instruction. Cost is $140/six lessons.
Our next Reactive Dog 3-week workshop is scheduled for Mondays 9/9-9/23 at 7pm. Cost is $95/dog. Dog's kennel at class is required. Register online.

We have Puppy Agility Games set for Monday, Aug. 19 at 6:30pm and Monday, Sept. 9 at 7:15pm. For pups up to one year of age. Cost is $20/lesson/dog. Register online or drop in and pay at the door.

Our next Agility Foundation Skillz 1 class will start Monday, Sept. 30 at 7pm. Cost is $140/team for the six lessons. Prerequisite is completion of Obed. 2 or the equivalent or approval of instructor. Register online.

Schedule of Dog Training Classes and Events in the Minnesota Twin Cities area.

08/03/2024

All of our rehab work with the teeter this past year paid off today when Dylan earned his first AKC Nov Std Preferred Q! Congratulations Greta!

08/03/2024

Mariah, with Bellow and Brinley, and Justine, with Mila, are all smiles after having fun and getting some Qs at the NSHGC’s AKC agility trial. Justine and Mila even earned their first title!

08/03/2024

CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS to Jeanne Sutich and the amazing Petra for becoming our newest AKC Master Agility Champion team. Well done!

07/30/2024

Note: no weave training today at 4pm.

07/23/2024

I NEED TO FEEL SAFE!

Like all living creatures, including us, dogs just want to feel safe – it’s a basic survival need.

When we think about feeling safe it’s natural to just think about not being harmed or being in danger, but it’s not just about physical safety - feeling emotionally or psychologically safe is just as important.

While physical safety may be obvious and simpler to address, emotional safety is far more complex and not always easy to recognise or identify.

The same applies to our dogs – they are sentient beings whose behaviour is triggered and driven by emotions.

So many behaviour problems that we see in dogs stem from the brain saying– “this is not safe!”

A dog that lunges and barks or behaves aggressively with another dog or person is probably doing so because they feel unsafe. They are trying to make the scary thing go away.

A dog that is guarding resources is doing so because they are afraid that the resource will be taken away – they don’t feel safe when another animal or person approaches that resource.

A dog that is reacting to fireworks or thunderstorms or other noises is doing so because they don’t feel safe. The same can be said for separation distress – the feelings of panic when left alone – “I am not safe!”.

Some dogs may never get over a specific fear, but doing all we can to help dogs feel safe in our world is one of the most important gifts we can give them.

Our first responsibility should not be about training, obedience or trying to change behaviour, but to focus first and foremost on building trust, self-confidence, resilience, creating a safe and secure base and being the person that our dogs can rely on and trust.

In the words of Dr. Gabor Maté - "Feeling safe is the treatment and creating safety is the work".

In my words (as it pertains to dogs) – It is our responsibility to put in the work to enable our dogs to feel safe and when they feel safe, this will be part of the treatment or the solution to the problem.

07/22/2024

Puppy Agility Games tonight at 6pm for pups up to one year of age. Cost is $20. Register online or drop in.

07/14/2024

06/26/2024

For those who want extra weave practice, our channel weaves are set up and available Tuesday afternoons from 4-5:30. They are slightly offset to promote footwork and pep/drive. No cost for current Cloud Nine students; $5/dog for all others.

06/20/2024

Can you tell a dog show weekend is coming up? Handling class (Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm - $10/handler, drop in or pre-register) has been busy lately with the Anoka County MN Kennel Club and the Cambridge MN Kennel Club Summer Solstice shows taking place this weekend at the Isanti Fairgrounds in Cambridge. Good luck to all entered in the various dog activities offered: the breed ring, obedience/Rally, Fast CAT, Dock Diving, Barn Hunt. Spectators are welcome!

06/18/2024

There will be obedience run throughs Saturday, June 29 starting at 5:30pm. Registration starts at 5pm. Cost is $10/dog. Contact Phil Rustad with questions [email protected].

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06/18/2024

The dog/handler teams had so much fun in our spring Activity Sampler class that we are offering it again in the fall, starting Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6:15pm. Activities include scent games, tricks, Rally O, Treibball, Doggy Gym, Flyball - try one activity each night and there's no homework! Cost is $135 for all six classes or $25 for individual lessons. Register online.

06/04/2024

A reminder to obedience and Rally folks: Run Throughs at Cloud Nine this Saturday, June 8, at 5:30pm. Sign ups start at 5:00pm. Rings will be set up as they will be for the NOC Qualifier to be held as part of the LSSC trials the end of July. Cost is $10/dog/run.

Help is needed with set up and tear down. We need two people at 4:30 to help set up and two to stay after for tear down. Free run throughs for helpers. Contact Phil Rustad at [email protected] to help or with questions.

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06/02/2024

Huge congratulations to Jodi Lauberscheimer and Otis on completing their first MACH today at the TCVESSA trial under judge Jill Roberts and becoming Cloud Nine’s newest AKC Master Agility Champion! Well done Jodi, Otis and Mark - one of the best Agility Support Spouses ever.

05/29/2024

Our summer Therapy Dog Basics class starts this Sunday, June 2 to July 14, at 2pm (no class June 9). Cost is $160. Register online.

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05/29/2024

How many times do we see someone say not to comfort a scared dog because it will reinforce their fear? This is an incredibly damaging myth, and one that will not help your scared dog at all.

Fear is an emotion, not a behaviour, and it cannot be reinforced in the same way as a behaviour can. That's not to say that how we respond can't have an effect on the dog's fear - it's important to sound and remain calm and soothing - but emotions cannot be reinforced simply by offering comfort to the scared dog.

Behaviours that we reinforce to encourage them and make them more likely to happen are the result of a conscious choice by the dog. That is how positive reinforcement works - the choice to do a particular thing results in something good, something the dog likes or wants. That could be an extrinsic reward like treats, fuss, or a toy, or an intrinsic internal reward such as being able to carry out a natural behaviour that is self-rewarding for the dog.

Emotions like fear are not based on conscious decisions. Fear is not something the dog chooses to feel. Something has triggered the dog's survival instinct, their survival mechanism, and the dog's body and brain leap into action to protect the dog from this thing.

It doesn't matter if the thing the dog is scared of is a real threat or not - for the dog it is perceived as a threat and it's important for us to help them, whether that is getting them more distance from what has scared them, or providing comfort and attempting to help them to feel safer if more distance is not possible (for example fireworks, thunder, or gunshots) or we can't see what is triggering the response.

A scared dog is not being silly or trying to be awkward. They are scared and in survival mode. They need empathy and understanding, and it's up to us to provide those for them.

05/28/2024

Reminder: No Competition Obedience class today or next Tuesday with Phil at 1:30. Class will resume June 11.

05/22/2024

Our next CGC workshop and evaluation will start Monday, June 24 at 7pm. Cost is $100 and includes the eval. Register online.

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05/14/2024

Imagine the bites we could stop and the prevention of behavioural issues if this myth was shattered once and for all.✅😊
Some people are shocked that their dogs acted aggressively....because their tail was wagging at the time.
Dogs under stress can wag their tails and it is often misread as this dog being happy.....so they are not removed from the stressor.
A wagging tail does not always mean a happy dog, in fact it can mean just the opposite.
Everyone loves a wagging tail from a happy dog, but unfortunately many people only ever use a tail to decipher a dogs emotional state...it can mean so much more.
Dogs wag their tails in EVERY emotional state and may do this in many different circumstances....happiness is just one reason.

⚠️Scared dogs can wag their tails and people view them as being approachable....and the consequences can be life altering for the person and the dog.

⚠️Children especially are told this myth and continue this myth into adulthood.

⚠️The whole picture needs to be taken into account....never just a tail.

The whole body, face, ears, posture and context should be taken into account when deciding on a dogs emotional state, because a wagging tail just isn't a great indicator....especially in a dog you do not know.

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05/13/2024

Looking Ahead . . .

We have Puppy Agility Games tonight, May 13, at 6:15pm for pups up to one year of age. Additional dates/times are June 17 at 7:15pm and July 2 at 7pm. Cost is $20/pup.

There will be a Doggy Gym activity on Wed. May 15 at 6:15pm where dogs of any age can try a little agility. Cost is $25/dog.

Get a handle on bad walking manners (pulling) in our Pleasant Pleasure Walking Micro Class on Monday, May 20 at 6pm. Cost is $25/dog.

See get a taste of Flyball (a session in our Activity Sampler class) on Wed., May 22 at 6:15pm. Cost is $25/dog.

Our summer Therapy Dog Basics class will start Sunday, June 2 at 2pm. Cost is $160/team.

Obedience 3 takes place on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at 8pm and Wednesdays at 11am.

Rally Run Throughs take place the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 8pm and Wednesdays at 10am.

Puppy Social for pups up to 16 weeks of age happens every Thursday at 7:15pm. Drop in or pre-register. Cost is $20/pup.

Conformation handling class is held on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm. Drop in or preregister. Cost is $10/handler.

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05/04/2024

One of my favourite things to see is when people give their dogs as much time as they want to sniff. Smell is the primary sense our dogs use to navigate, interpret, and make sense of their world. They can tell who has passed by and how long ago, and update themselves on their canine version of social media picking up the messages left by other dogs who have been there earlier.

The part of the dog's brain that is dedicated to analysing scent information is a huge proportion of their brain compared to ours (around 40 times the size), and they have up to 300 million scent receptors while humans have around 6 million. These facts alone highlight the importance of olfactory information and sniffing for our dogs.

Sniffing is one of the most instinctive and natural behaviours our dogs possess and giving them time to sniff is a free and incredibly easy way to add enrichment into their lives. Sniffing is also great brainwork as they hunt out and interpret the differents scents they encounter.

A 20 minute period spent out of the house sniffing and interpreting the scents they discover (a sniffy walk or 'sniffari') can often tire a dog out as much as an hour's 'normal' walk, and is also really good for younger dogs (post-vaccination or in safe areas where dogs of unknown vaccination and health status don't go) and senior dogs who aren't quite as mobile and fit as they used to be.

The more time I spend watching my dogs investigating and interpreting their world through their noses the more fascinated I become by observing them, and the more clearly I can see how much enjoyment and pleasure they get from having time to carry out this most doggy of behaviours.

So let them sniff - they will appreciate you even more for giving them the time and opportunity.

You can help tell the world about the importance of sniffing with some of the designs available at the GG store 😊 Find it here: https://good-guardianship.teemill.com/

05/02/2024

No conformation handling class tonight at 8pm. Cancelled due to instructor illness.