Mystic Chateau Acres Dog Training

09/19/2024

This is article is worth a read by anyone trying to understand what kind of training works best with dogs. Laura has nicely summarized things for you in her post! Thanks Laura!🐕😏🐾❤️
https://www.facebook.com/1254616121/posts/10225401190357430/

09/15/2024

Congratulations to COOPER with April! They have received two MCADT Certificates for some exceptional achievements. They have completed their Advanced Program in Canine Life Skills and have demonstrated 10 Intermediate Level
Tricks completing their Intermediate Trickster Program. Nice work team!

09/12/2024

Congratulations to LULU with Carmen. They have completed their MCADT BARKELAURETTE and become Canine Life Skills Experts! ❤️🐾🎓👏

09/09/2024

MCADT Open House and Equine Tack Sale

September 13th @ 4PM - 6 PM
September 14th @ 1PM - 4PM
September 15th @ 10AM - Noon

EQUINE TACK SALE: Years of horse ownership, have left me with 3 saddles, a driving harness & bridle, halters, leads, lunge lines, bridles, bits, helmets, hay nets, leads, lounge lines, saddle pads, turn out blankets, girths, etc. that are looking for new horses to serve! Come browse and you might find that special piece that you have been wanting all summer for a great price!

DOG TRAINING OPEN HOUSE: This is your opportunity to visit the MCADT Facility to see our training barn and fields and learn about training services. Current and past clients are welcome to use the facility free of charge during the Open House. You will see how TRUSTBUILDING is the secret to training success as they use the Trustbuilding Course, Training Fields, Training Barn, and Trails along with the Agility Equipment and various props for tricks.

If potential new clients would like to bring a dog to meet Karen please call to sign up for a time when she can devote 30 minutes to you and your dog for a FREE Initial Consultation during the Open House. All dogs on grounds must present a vaccine record demonstrating up to date Rabies, Distemper & Parvo, and Kennel Cough Vaccines prior to attending!

09/05/2024

TRUSTBUILDING
CLASSES: Environmental Enrichment Focus

Sundays at 2PM (September 8, 2024 though April 27, 2025)

Location Varies within Madison County

Cost: $35 per session ($30 Cash)

Please call to Register for these Classes: 315-663-4779

The purpose of these classes is to provide clients with the opportunity to use their Attention Skills and Meet & Greet Skills to successfully socialize their dogs and puppies in various dog friendly environments. All participants are supported in specific setups as each location to grow their current skill level while keeping their dog calm in able to learn despite the environment and distractions. Instruction is appropriately individualized to help participants grow their skills while near other like-minded dog-handler teams.

All September Classes will meet at the MCADT Location to ensure participants are able to develop the skills needed to to first find success among others in a familar environment. If you cannot make any classes during September, it is possible for you to participate in the remaining classes. If you have developed basic skills on your own or at another Dog Training Facility, please call 315-663-4779 to schedule to attend a MCADT Initial Consultation to demonstrate your current skill level so you can be set up to succeed during these special classes held at other locations.

All remaining classes will be held in a variety of locations such as the Hamilton Green, Colgate College Campus/Morrisville/Cazenovia/Wampsville Sidewalks, Trails such as near the Airport in Hamiliton, the Erie Canal in Canastota, various Veterinary Offices and Grounds, pet-friendly stores such as Tractor Supply in Oneida & Hamilton, Lowes in Oneida, Parry's Hardware in Hamilton, etc.

Please call 315-663-4779 to sign up for each class at least 24 hours in advance. All participants must submit an up-to-date vaccine record for Rabies, Distermper/Parvo, and Kennel Cough Vaccines.

09/04/2024

MCADT Open House and Equine Tack Sale

September 13th @ 4PM - 6 PM
September 14th @ 1PM - 4PM
September 15th @ 10AM - Noon

DOG TRAINING OPEN HOUSE: This is your opportunity to visit the MCADT Facility to see our training barn and fields and learn about training services. Current and past clients are welcome to use the facility free of charge during the Open House. You will see how TRUSTBUILDING is the secret to training success as they use the Trustbuilding Course, Training Fields, Training Barn, and Trails along with the Agility Equipment and various props for tricks.

If potential new clients would like to bring a dog to meet Karen please call to sign up for a time when she can devote 30 minutes to you and your dog for a FREE Initial Consultation during the Open House. All dogs on grounds must present a vaccine record demonstrating up to date Rabies, Distemper & Parvo, and Kennel Cough Vaccines prior to attending!

EQUINE TACK SALE: Years of horse ownership, have left me with 3 saddles, a driving harness & bridle, halters, leads, lunge lines, bridles, bits, helmets, hay nets, leads, lounge lines, saddle pads, turn out blankets, girths, etc. that are looking for new horses to serve! Come browse and you might find that special piece that you have been wanting all summer for a great price!

Call now to connect with business.

08/26/2024

Nanci has a great message for dog owners looking to find the right trainer to help with their dogs.

08/24/2024

What a great read about small dogs. Many of us love and protect our small dogs and it would be nice if more large dog lovers understood why our small dogs have some pretty big needs! Please feel free to share this and check out Dog Communication's FB page. It is a great follow with so many well written posts! Thank you!

SMALL DOG, BIG SCARY WORLD

People often think of very small dogs as being anxious and reactive and to be honest, quite a few are. It’s easy for people to ‘blame the owners’ or say that they have ‘little dog syndrome’ or even that they are ‘bossy’ 🙄 Really though, we need to be understanding of what life is like for really tiny dogs.

Tiny dogs often don’t have much control over their lives- they can be picked up easily (even if they don’t want to be) and they can be made to do stuff as they are small. People notice if a 40kg dog is worried about going into a busy park or a cafe and plants their feet and refuses to move but with a tiny dog, you can just make them do it even if they don’t want as you can pull them or pick them up ☹️

Tiny dogs often get overwhelmed before they’ve even got through puppyhood and many are fearful by the time they are 4 or 5 months old 😢 Big dogs may run up and knock them over, even in play bigger dogs can be overwhelming if you are 50 x smaller. Lots of hands reach down to touch them and yes, there it is again, strangers may also pick them up (whether they like it or not). Physically they may be delicate (my yorkie’s legs are made from matchsticks 😂) and may be hurt accidentally during normal dog interactions.

Everything is big and potentially dangerous when you weigh a couple of Kg and are about 8 inches tall. The world can be a scary and overwhelming place.

It’s easy to see then why so many littlies end up worried by the world and particularly by other dogs.

Tiny dog’s signals that they need space are also ignored often; people take notice of a GSD showing it’s teeth or growling and give them space but many people would laugh or totally ignore a tiny dog’s identical communication asking for space. How many ‘funny’ videos are out there that show tiny chihuahuas showing all their teeth and people are laughing at them? 😢 It’s not rocket science that they may then escalate to actually biting if their warnings are ignored - and they get called ‘snappy little dogs’ and again, misunderstood 😢

Small dogs can often miss out on having their species-specific needs met: their need for exploratory behaviour, for social contact; their needs for enrichment and physical exercise too and this impacts on them and their ability to cope. They are still proper dogs with the same needs.

I’ve been really lucky with my handreared yorkie, she’s fabulous with people and absolutely loves dogs but it’s been a bit of a mission to make sure things have gone right. It’s taken time to get her comfortable around bigger dogs on walks and I haven’t socialised her in the same way I have my other dogs as she could easily have become fearful (and then reactive).

When she was a puppy I did let her meet loads of dogs but I was been really careful and it was almost all onlead and with dogs I know and who I knew would be nice to her. Even now she’s an adult I continue to make sure she meets nice dogs and we frequent loads of national trust places as she can meet lots of sociable dogs there who are all under control. The last thing I wanted was for her to be really scared by another dog or physically hurt (she has deformed back legs that put her at huge risk of injury). She goes to offlead places too, but generally with one of my big dogs there too (she has big body guards) 😄

I’ve had to make adjustments to life to keep her safe and make sure she has a happy life and that she doesn’t become reactive. It’s been worth it as she has stayed so sociable (but as an adult she loves small dogs best). If I’d just walked her where I walked my big dogs all the time I would think that by now she would have been flattened or overwhelmed and may have become dog reactive. It’s totally understandable why so many tiny dogs are fearful.

My tiny dog also wouldn’t have had enough repeated, safe and positive controlled interactions with friendly dogs right throughout adolescence if I hadn’t carried on with all the cafe/pub/NT visits and that would have been detrimental. It’s not enough to just do this stuff when they are tiny puppies and then stop at 14 weeks old as adolescence is when if can often all start to go wrong. (It’s also a good justification for my many pub and cafe visits with Twig 😂)

We can’t forget the impact of genetics too and that’s a factor in why many small dogs are reactive; some genes for small body size are linked to fearfulness and reactivity and there may also be epigenetic factors too.

We can all be a bit more understanding too with small dogs and their owners. Don’t berate them for picking their dogs up if that’s what makes their dog feel safe- it won’t be what’s caused their anxiety and it might be what they need to feel safe right now. Don’t let your dogs overwhelm them (even in a friendly way). You’d also think it’s common sense to not pick strangers small dogs up without asking but people try to do it all the time 🙄

We have lots of anxious tiny dogs who absolutely thrive in our reactivity classes, we can keep them safe and make sure they aren’t overwhelmed and also help them to feel more confident around other dogs again.

Laura McAuliffe 2024
Photo shows my yorkie meeting two other small dogs in a cafe

08/13/2024

Champ had fun on the boat today!

07/30/2024

Congratulations to RANGER and Debby. RANGER completed his AKC Advanced Trick Dog Title! Nice job!

07/29/2024

If you want to understand how and why this happens, this is an interesting read. When we know better it our choice to do better. Force-free, Do No Harm training takes thought not brute force. Please, make good training choices for your dog and all animals.

British equestrian Charlotte Dujardin withdrew from the Paris Olympics on Tuesday when a video showed her abusing a horse. The discovery marks a moment of deep sadness for horse lovers everywhere. Fortunately, the international and national associations governing equine events acted immediately to p...

07/28/2024

What has dressage got to do with the dog training world?

You may have noticed in the news that Olympic dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin has withdrawn from the Olympics after the release of a video showing her whipping a horse.

Rightly so, Dujardin is facing the consequences of this abù⁵e.

However, it really brings into question whether her abù⁵e is an isolated incident or, just the tip of an iceberg.

Having been brought up around horse, there is absolutely no way what she did in that video is an isolated incident. It's almost normal treatment for many, many horses.

Even the use of equipment in horse training is excessive in its foʻrce and use of pà¹n. The use of the whip looked horrendous but some of the bits and spurs used are just as bad, only more hidden.

People who speak out about the horse world are loudly shouted down. The general public often think that a horse is loving a sport mearly because it is successful.

The exact same is true in the dog world. We are seeing harsher and harsher tools used on dogs to foʻŕçe submission. Educated trainers can see signs that dogs are stressed but because it's not always apparent to the general public who see a wagging tail or successful training think the use of tools are necessary and worth the outcome.

It makes it impossible to point out the true effects of pùniativè training because you get overwhelmed by a sea of people who want to believe the use of foŕçé is not detrimental.

I recently posted a video on tiktok (i have very few followers) to point out the effects of a grot collar. I got 200 comments calling me an iðiot.

Plus videos on line are heavily edited to avoid anyone seeing some of the harsher uses of tools.

I hope the Dujardin situation is not used to scape goat her and make it seem like she is an isolated evil trainer. She is what is normal in the vast majority of animal training world.

Instead we really need to start considering what is success.

For me, it's animals and people treated with compassion. It's animals who engage because they truly want to rather than have to.

We need to start being open to the idea that we might not know everything that goes on and when someone suggests an animal is not happy, we should question why that is, rather than dismiss it because it makes us feel uncomfortable.

07/08/2024

Say no to shock collars.

https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/pet-owners/pets-and-their-people/pets-and-their-people-blog/what-do-the-boy-scouts-of-america-and-u-s-dog-trainers-have-in-common/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3ymM3GCe8GH-GRHo_wMj2WcF_-7cdoq1U2xHcZCmLSQgUvwqhPxpE2PP8_aem_5908iNFu9bu939_lprOXRw

A Lot, the Fox Is in the Henhouse

07/08/2024

PLEASE....Just say no to allowing your dog to walk on pavement with the high heat and humidity we are experiencing this summer!

🐾🐾

07/02/2024

Unleash your inner adventurer and join us for an uplifting Trailwalk this Friday at 6pm! We had an incredible time last week with Axel, Cooper, and Champ, and we're eager to make more memories together!

Just text Karen if you would like to come. It is a Trustbuilding Class so if we can't walk because of the weather we will take class inside the barn for some fun games!

06/30/2024

Understanding how to manage your dog's long coat during summer months really can be confusing. But, this may help you proceed if you are thinking of taking your long haired or double coated coat dog for a summer cut. Whether you do or don't, it is important to keep your dog cool during summer months. Get into AC and make the fun stuff outside happen when it is cooler between sundown and sunrise!

06/25/2024

Some good info about heat and dogs!

A few weeks ago Skip and I were in a trial when it was in the high 80’s and humid. Very little breeze. In short, awful. Of course, I was worried about Skip, given his bad heart, and wouldn’t have run him if the course hadn’t been a short one. I got him in the […]

06/14/2024

Joanne and FELLOW Celebrate Completion of MCADT Advanced Program and AKC Advanced Trick Dog Title. Congratulations!

06/04/2024

Another great resource!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/PwpwAZyk5UDCupJp/?mibextid=oFDknk

05/15/2024

ALFIE and Kathy have successfully completed the MCADT Barkalarette program, demonstrating their expertise in Canine Life Skills. Additionally, ALFIE obtained his AKC Novice Trick Dog Title. Congratulations!🎉

04/28/2024

Congratulations to SEBASTIAN and his family! They have successfully completed their MCADT BARKALAURETTE program and are now recognized as Canine Life Skills Experts. Additionally, SEBASTIAN has accomplished his AKC NOVICE TRICK DOG TITLE.

04/23/2024

Transform your dog into a well-behaved companion by attending our informative sessions.

Welcome to Mystic Chateau Acres Dog Training! Karen is a certified Animal Behavior College Dog Trai

04/12/2024

Trailwalking or Obedience with a Twist T-Class Fridays at 6pm April 19th - October 18th. Cost is $35 unless you receive a discount as a private lesson participant. We won't fight the weather. If it is beautiful weather for Trailwalking we will take advantage of the trails for some parallel walking exercises. If not, we will play some games to work on proofing Obedience and Polite Manners Skills in the training barn! Just let me know if you plan to attend at least 24 hours in advance. We must have 3 interested participants to run the class each Friday.

04/12/2024

Great advice!

As many Americans are having more and more deliveries brought to their doors, delivery drivers are at an increased risk of dog bites.

These interactions have the potential for trouble, but with a little planning, training and preparation, dog owners can make sure these interactions are safe. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re expecting a delivery person to approach your house.

Learn more at avma.org/DogBite

04/10/2024

Congratulations to FELLOW and Joanne! They completed their MCADT DOG Intermediate Level. They are now Masters of Canine Life Skills.

04/08/2024

Our EggHunt T-Classes were fun for those who braved the cool weather. Looking forward to more T-Classes in the future!

04/03/2024

Congratulations to ALFIE and Kathy. They have achieved their AKC STAR PUPPY AWARD!

04/03/2024

Polite Manners Class Continuous Enrollment

Thursday at 6:00 PM

This is a continuous enrollment class so you can join us at any time. This class will concentrate on the basic manners that all dogs need to know to successfully navigate on our world. We will focus on Attention and Impulse Control, Sit, Down, Stand, Recall, Leave It, Stay, Polite Walking Etiquette, Staying with Another Person, Appropriate Meet & Greet Behavior, Grooming & Appearance, and Simple Tricks. Each week we will focus on 1 or 2 behaviors from these topics.

Please call me to get more information and sign up! 315-663-4779

04/03/2024

Loose Leash Walking Class
Wednesdays 6:00 PM
$35 per class
Continuous Enrollment Class so join us anytime. Must have 2 participants to run each class.
Force-free training.
Call to register and learn more. 315-663-4779.

03/18/2024

It is time for our Egg Hunt T-Classes. Two different sessions are available. Friday March 29th and Saturday March 30th starting at 11am. Please text me ASAP to sign up!