Cap the Service Dog In Training

10/12/2024

Went to might epic con in Wendell falls N.C. today where Deb and cap won first prize in the adult costume contest with her pirate ship and the dread parrot roberts

07/18/2024

Semiannual Vet Bisits are complete! Peggy is in excellent health for approaching ten. Her teeth are gorgeous and don’t need a cleaning. Two suspicious lumps were aspirated, results will be in by Monday at the latest.

Peggy is 58 lbs and should be slower to 48 lbs so we’ll get back into an exercise groove next week once she recovers from her shots.

Cap is 48 lbs and a lean, muscled, excellent example of a working BC. He’s very handsome and allowed all the testing and blood draws without too many complaints.

We go back in 3 weeks for Lyme and Lepro boosters. Then we don’t have to go back for 6 months, until their next wellness check!

The practice we went to is a “fear free” practice and allowed both dogs to opt out of things they didn’t like. Cookies and attention were applied and then they tried again to great success.

So, we have two happy and healthy dogs! Just what I love to hear. Once the results come back from the aspiration test we can celebrate Peggy entering the double digits club and the NO RULES era. 😂 Not that she’s in a different era to begin with, it’ll just be official!

07/12/2024

Cap has 18 muscles controlling each ear and he’s using every single one of them to ignore me today. 😂

05/21/2024

Excuse me…. But i need a towel!

04/07/2024

got myself a 3 dog scooter today. while i only have 2 dogs, ill have to teach them how to pull it.
i do have one Djoring harness. i have to go through my supplies and see if i have an additional one

02/13/2024

CAPPY BIRTHDAY! Cap turned 1 on February 10 and had a party with the family. He enjoyed a ‘cake’ made of chopped meat and rice with cheesy mashed potato ‘icing’ and a carrot ‘candle’ for garnish!

He and Peggy demolished the cake and slept it off in happy food comas.

Such a good boy!

12/09/2023

I’m with Santa today

11/23/2023

I’m getting great advice on what to do with dad here….

10/25/2023

Ugh… the things she’s making me do…..

08/13/2023

A few days shy of 6 months old and Cap is such a handsome boy! He’s closing in on 40 pounds and is about 4” taller than poor Peggy The Service Dog. she continues to adore him, play with him and keep him in line!

In the last few weeks Cap has been to the Monmouth (NJ) County Fair, a Hot Air Balloon Festival and his first rock concert. He’s visited my different doctors with me, gone on a picnic, has visited the huge dog park nearby and played with a whole bunch of new dogs, chased a lot of tennis balls and then stared, sadly, when they stopped moving.

While he loves to chase things he’s not inclined to catch, fetch or pick them up. Cap does love to play on his own and will endlessly toss his toys in the air while running the yard. When they land he pounces, picks them up, shakes them and repeats until eventually tiring of his game and dismbowling them, leaving their innards and carcass to blow in the wind.

The birds are grateful for the stuffing as it makes their nests soft and warm inside.

He’s a lot more independent now and while still snuggly, he rarely climbs on my bed and bulldozes me for affection. Instead he comes to my bedside and politely requests my attention. It’s bittersweet but I love that my baby is growing into such a well mannered young dog.

Anywhere we go people comment on how well behaved he is for such a young dog. They ask my secret and I simply tell them, “Time, training and consistency.”

His favorite reward is still food but games such as tug are rapidly climbing the list. Affection and praise are also way up there and when I tell him he’s a good boy, his ears go back, his face gets very soft and his tail wags so hard his whole body wiggles.

Loose leash walking still needs work but I’m slowly weaning him off the gentle leader as he becomes more comfortable walking beside me instead of defaulting to trying to lead the way.

He had his first NYC trip and napped on the train, marched confidently around midtown, slept through his first play and relaxed in Bryant Park, getting rewarded constantly for ignoring other people and dogs rushing around.

As he matures it’s time to start introducing some of the easier service tasks into his training. I’m reworking my training plan to account for his strengths and weaknesses, to account for where he is now versus where I had hoped he’d be.

We’ll be moving from NJ to NC over the next 6 weeks so Cap will be getting a training break as he learns to navigate his new normal of a new home and yard, new neighbors, new sounds, sights and scents. We’ll continue work on his current plan without introducing anything new until he’s relaxed and comfortable in his new environment.

As always, it’s with tremendous gratitude and love that I offer this update into our lives. Even though I have 20+ years of training multiple breeds including BCs under my belt owning my first BC is different. I am always grateful for the kindness, support, empathy and laughter I find in the comments.❤️

08/10/2023

I’m watching deer…. Maybe i can herd them

07/21/2023

Cap hoards tennis balls, fuzzy toys, sticks and anything poor Peggy The Service Dog has! 😂

07/18/2023

Snuggly, sleeping baby. 🐾💤🐾 🥰

06/17/2023

Ignore where it says the boat was on the highway. I forgot to turn relive off. 🤦🏼‍♀️

View my boat trip: Whale Watching from Atlantic Highlands SeaStreak

06/17/2023

Whale watching trip! We spotted 5 Humpback Whales and dozens of dolphins on the Seastreak Atlantic Highlands Whale Watching Tour.

Cap was fantastic. Not concerned by the crowd or noise. He politely greeted everyone, got a lot of pets and pats and cookies! He napped, enjoyed sniffs he never sniffed before and was an all around excellent boy.

Three amazing hours of watching for whales! We saw feeding bursts, a few breaches and a few tails coming up for deeper dives. Even got a nice picture of a juvenile whale coming up for food!

06/17/2023

I’m on a boat whale watching…