As we progress in training and start to fade food out and proof off the leash, drills like this are extremely valuable to find and holes and correct non compliance. She has learned place and recall very well but in drills like this she tries to anticipate. She has come a long way already and we cannot wait for her owners to enjoy a much more confident and relaxed 🐕
The structured walk is such an important part of training, especially for anxious pups like this little girl! The structured walk allows us to teach the dog how to be calm and relaxed and defer to her handler. There’s no need to worry about what is going on around her, just pay attention to the person on the other end of the leash and they will take care of everything! Piper has just now reached the one week mark in her training and is starting to catch onto the fact that she doesn’t have to be concerned about the world around her! She has a long way to go in her confidence building but she will get there on step at a time ❤️
We are excited to introduce Piper to our board and train program!
Piper is here to work on her separation anxiety! She was not crate trained by her prior owners which has created a lot of issues for her current owners. While Piper is very sweet she becomes very anxious when left alone and has broken out of crates. During her stay here she will be learning that it is not scary to be alone and the crate is a wonderful safe place. She will also be working on her reactivity when first meeting new people! We will be working on confidence building in many areas to get her to a solid state of mind so that her owner can enjoy her while being able to leave their house!!
Lloyd is doing an amazing job relaxing and ignoring his surroundings on place! Looking back at how anxious he came in for training this is such a beautiful sight!
Na’vi will be living with another dog once he returns home so it was very important that we ensure he can walk nicely with another dog!! Rowen is always happy to assist and receive an extra walk 🥰
These two boys love their structured walks! Teaching pups to walk nicely and calmly on a leash is so important!!
Combining commands outside can be very difficult for dogs! At this stage we do not expect perfection we only ask for progress!! This little guy is doing awesome!!
Pickles and Rowen love their structured walks together 🐕❤️ daily structured walks are a great way to exercise your dog and yourself while maintaining training!!
Lloyd is sure to bring a smile to your face during his sessions 😂 this floppy young boy approaches everything with his all!! Once he caught on to the “down” command he excitedly drops to the floor when asked!!
This handsome boy loves to learn! Down is one of the last commands I introduce, using extremely light leash pressure and a food reward! As we progress in training the food will be phased out but an important step in training is the dogs learning to work for their food!
Please help me welcome Lloyd! He is here for some help with his anxiety along with learning off leash obedience! Lloyd's new owners just adopted him and want to set him up for long term success! He came to them extremely anxious and unable to calm down on his own! He is an absolutely sweetheart with people and has a wonderful temperament but has never been taught how to relax! We are so excited to see his transformation so his new family can enjoy their well behaved new addition!
First on the list was leash and crate manners! This young boy has eaten through a number of Leashes so learning that Leashes aren't for eating was very important 😉
Please help me welcome Joel! He is here for some help with his anxiety along with learning off leash obedience! Joel's new owners just adopted him and want to set him up for long term success! He came to them extremely anxious and unable to calm down on his own! He is an absolutely sweetheart with people and has a wonderful temperament but has never been taught how to relax! We are so excited to see his transformation so his new family can enjoy their well behaved new addition! First on the list was leash and crate manners! This young boy has eaten through a number of Leashes so learning that Leashes aren't for eating was very important 😉
Please help me welcome this handsome husky (new name being determined)!! This little boy came directly from the shelter to training (my favorite scenarios)! He came from the shelter with quite a bit of anxiety to work through but as we have been working with him we have found he is an absolute doll who loves to learn!! I can’t wait to see him come out of his shell more and become a wonderful addition to his new family! Starting with the basics of leash and crate manners is so incredibly important for these pups state of mind! We cannot wait for his new owner to enjoy this little spunky boy once he has learned how to be calm and well mannered ❤️
We spent this weekend working on mozzarella being around cats without wanting to chase them! Now it’s time to proof her commands!
One of my favorite times to proof place is when cleaning. It is the perfect amount of distraction!! Mozzarella rocked this hour long session!
Arrows returned home today!! ❤️
Once my half of the work is done I love seeing the teamwork that evolves once we begin our go home lessons. Watching the owners step into the leadership roles that their dogs need and the relationship dynamics come together!! Arrows owner did a phenomenal job taking the instruction she was given and immediately putting it to practice! While he is a dog who is very eager to please, he still has his moments where he chooses to object/test to see what he can get away with (just like a child). Arrows owner took it all in stride and is up for the work!! My training means nothing without dedicated owners who will fulfill their end of the equation!!
Way to go team Arrows, I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you two!
Ella and I took advantage of the beautiful weather for some outside sessions today! Due to Ella’s relationship with cats it is extremely important that both her place command and recall are rock solid. While we are still in the very early stages of training, outside sessions allows us to bring some distraction into our training. You can see a number of times where she needed to be directed back to place, but overall she did amazing!!
This little girl LOVES to learn!! I often hear the phrases “old/older dogs can’t learn” and “small dogs can’t really be trained”! Mozzarella is proof that both of these are VERY FALSE!! I love working with little dogs and I love working with older dogs. Yes, it may take a LITTLE longer for some dogs to learn, but this is true of large, young dogs as well! You can always find an excuse not to train your dog but these stereotypes just aren’t the case. Each dog has its own learning style and as long as you are willing to work the dog in front of you it is possible!
We are slowly introducing commands with food and then adding in the all important leash pressure to mozzarellas commands. Without leash pressure is very difficult to find a way to follow through on commands when the dog chooses not to comply! Today mozzarella was learning what leash pressure means with the dog command. She had learned the down command with food, now it is time for leash pressure so that we can add duration and prof the command! She immediately picked up on the slight leash pressure and happily worked for her dinner! Great job baby girl!
Is there anything that compares to a walk with two well behaved dogs on a beautiful day?
Arrows and Mozzarella went on their first walk together and did absolutely wonderful! There were a couple cats that we passed and both dogs did a very nice job working on their impulse control!
Structured walks are a very important part of a board and train. These can be very difficult for dogs as there is no sniffing, no pulling, they must pay attention to their handler, and they are to ignore the distractions that they are passing!! Of course there are separate times where they are told “break” and allowed to sniff and potty, but a structured walk is just that - structured!!!
Mozzarella has begun learning the place command, along with the break command, the word “no” and how to work for her food!
I like to start combining these concepts with place. If you are unfamiliar, the place command is simply an object with four definable boundaries, a cot, a dog bed, ect. The dog is told place and to begin with only needs to place all four paws on the cot. Later on the dog will be required to lay down when sent to place. The dog must then wait on the cot until released. This is where we can start teaching the word “no” and the break command. Each time the dog leaves the cot before asked to, she is told “no” and gently guided back on. Once she begins sticking to place we then toss a piece of food out on the floor after saying “break”. Eventually she will learn that “no” means that she has done something incorrect or broken a command - this also means she should return to the command she has broken.
Teaching this point of training is one of my favorite parts! This is where there dog understands the commands and we start to incorporate commands into everyday activities like cooking dinner.
This was a somewhat tough session for Arrows. There was a dog directly outside the sliding glass door to the right, and to the left my husband (Arrows ADORES my husband) was coming in and out of the front door and then sitting on the couch.
All of these distractions were enticing for him and he needed help only a handful of times for a TWO HOUR session!! Incorporating commands like place into everyday scenarios is so important and it is one of the many reasons I love training in my home vs training from a facility!! I can’t wait to see Arrows owner using these commands and enjoying a well behaved pup!
