Kudos for Canines

09/04/2024

What is that you say, Copper? Anything is possible when you believe in yourself? Great advise, thank you! ❤

09/02/2024

Have you and your dog been in Teen Spirit class at Kudos? If so post a pic and a takeaway in the comments

09/01/2024

It's "Back to School" time at Kudos for Canines! We have classes starting for everyone in the next couple of months.

TEEN SPIRIT- Figure out how to connect with your unruly teenager and help them to become the adult dog you dreamed of! Starting Tuesday, September 3rd at 5:30 pm.

BABY STEPS- A safe place to introduce your 2–4-month-old puppy to the world and start building a lasting partnership. Starting Wednesday, September 18th at 7:00 pm.

REACTIVE RORY- For the dogs that have a hard time dealing with the outside world. Starting Friday, October 4th at 5:00 pm.

KUDOS U- Work on the skills your dog needs to be a Canine Good Citizen. Starting Wednesday, October 16th at 4:00 pm.

THERAPY DOG- Have you ever wondered if your dog has what it takes to be a therapy dog? CGC title is suggested for this class but not required. Starting Friday, October 18th at 7:00 pm.

TRICKS- We will work at your dog’s level to learn the tricks needed to qualify for AKC Tricks titles. Starting Tuesday, October 22nd at 5:30 pm.

CGC TESTING- Watch the Kudos for Canines page for more details about the CGC test on October 1st

See our full schedule and register at https://kudosforcanines.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx

08/31/2024

Congratulations to these incredible teams who graduated last night from the Therapy Dog class! Remy and Jane, Crosby and Jennifer, Missy and Shane, Rayven and Annetta, Clark and Jonelle, Samson and Kim, Rosie and Julie, and Annie and Cindy are about to make many people in our community very happy

08/31/2024

Unfortunately, many people wait until their pups are 4 months old to take them out because they have not completed their puppy shots. Puppies need to get out and see the world much sooner than that to be properly socialized. That is why we offer Baby Steps class as a safe place to socialize your puppies 2-4 months old. Our next class starts on September 18th at 7:00 pm and you can register here https://kudosforcanines.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx

🌟 If there is one thing I wish all puppy parents knew before getting their puppy it’s that they don’t have to wait until their puppy has all their shot before taking them out. This is outdated information that’s being perpetuated at the expense of puppies. 🏥

👩🏼‍⚕️ "Veterinarians specializing in behavior recommend that owners take advantage of every safe opportunity to expose young puppies to the great variety of stimuli that they will experience in their lives".

🐶 A puppies critical socialization window starts closing by 16 weeks. Coincidentally, many puppies receive the last of their vaccinations around this time. If we wait to take our puppies out until after they have all their shots we risk the chance of puppies developing behavior problems as they get older in the form of fear or aggression.

👨‍⚕️ As per AVSAB (American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior), the first 3 months of a puppies life is when sociability outweighs fear, which makes this the PRIME opportunity for puppies to adapt to people, other animals, sights, sounds, and new experiences.

🏥 "While puppies’ immune systems are still developing during these early months, the combination of maternal immunity, primary vaccination and appropriate care makes the risk of infection relatively small compared to the chance of death from a behavior problem". 📢 🐶

08/30/2024

We'd like to apologize in advance if you come to Kudos for Canines over the next few days and find the area and building a little aromatic...

Apparently our nextdoor neighbors left their front door open (like they normally do), and a local skunk decided that it wanted to start lifting weights.

🦨💨🤢😳

08/29/2024

HUGE Kudos congratulations to Briana and Abel, Mersades and Peaches, Ember, Nikki and Skye, and Jill and Bea for their hard work during the last Kudos U class! All of these teams had challenges to face and they all came so far! All four teams along with Jennifer and Crosby from a previous Kudos U class took the Canine Good Citizen test last night. Bea, Ember, and Crosby passed all test items and Abel and Peaches only missed one. No doubts they will be back in October and pass with flying colors. So proud of these dogs and people 🥰

08/28/2024

Are you and your pup ready for the new Teen Spirit class on September 3rd at 5:30? If so you can register here https://kudosforcanines.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx
(Smells Like Puppy) Teen Spirit class targets our puppies between 9 and 14 months old. This class will give you the tools to build a partnership with your teenage pup that will help to keep you connected and communicating when times get tough. We will help your pup to become a responsible family member and companion who respects boundaries, loves to come when invited, and walks calmly on a leash. Puppies learn best through play and everybody LOVES tricks, so we also incorporate tricks into our lessons so that you and your pup can earn your AKC Novice Tricks title by the end of class. This would be an option for graduates of the Puppy Kindergarten class.

08/28/2024

The winter competition schedule is filling up and we have our first C-WAGS trial on the calendar and the premium is up!

Scent Detective Trials at Kudos for Canines We are really excited to return to hosting CWAGS trials at Kudos for Canines this winter 2024-2025. Saturday, October 26, 2024Offering Scent Private Investigator, Super Sleuth 4, Scent Investigator 3, Scent Ranger 2, and Scent Ranger 1. NO RESETS, ONE DOG....

08/27/2024

How did you and your canine companions celebrate National Dog Day yesterday? Show us some pics in the comments!

08/26/2024

Do you go to dog parks, have multiple dogs, go to playdates or doggie daycare? Then you must recognize playstyles and know your own dog's playstyle in order to avoid issues. "It's ok, my dog is friendly" can quickly turn to over-arousal or defensive behavior if energy levels or playstyles do not match. Set them up for success!

08/23/2024

These babies are on their way toward being amazing canine partners! Congratulations to our Baby Steps graduates! Toast, Milo, Sonny, and Ruby aka Milo and the Retrievers! Check out the adorable tunnel videos in the comments ❤

08/21/2024

Everything is brand new and exciting or scary for our baby puppies when we bring them home, yet we expect them to learn so much in the first couple of months! What is the solution? Taking Baby Steps! Kudos for Canines Baby Steps class will help you to build a foundation of trust and communication with your puppies under 17 weeks of age that will last their lifetime. Are you getting a new puppy? We have a class starting on September 4th at 7 pm and you can register here https://kudosforcanines.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx

08/18/2024

We will hold a Canine Good Citizen Test at Kudos for Canines on Wednesday, August 28th from 5:30 until 7. Please use this form to sign up for the test, we will then contact you to set up a time. The test is free for any dog who has had a class at Kudos in the last 6 months!

Please click the link to complete this form.

08/17/2024

Society puts so many expectations on our dogs and on us as dog owners. Love your dog for who they are and if someone passes judgment, just remind yourself how lucky you are to live with this wonderful dog rather than that uptight person. 😉

08/16/2024

The AKC Canine Good Citizen title has more value than mere bragging rights. Most Therapy Dog programs require your dog to have its CGC title. Some landlords and homeowners insurance companies also require a CGC title on certain breeds of dogs. Not to mention that these are just good skills for your dog to have! If you would like to join us in learning these skills we still have openings in our Kudos U class starting at 7pm on August 20th. Here is the link to register https://kudosforcanines.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx

08/15/2024

These four adorable Puppy Kindergartners graduated yesterday all passing their AKC STAR Puppy tests! Congratulations to Ozzie, Peanut, Eclipse, and Morty!

08/15/2024

LilBit, Jet Stream, and Olive graduated from the Teen Spirit class yesterday! These pups and their people worked through some challenges and learned some fun tricks over the last 6 weeks and all earned their AKC Novice tricks titles! KUDOS TEENAGERS!

08/14/2024

A foundation of building teamwork with your dog is the basis for meeting all of your goals! We have a Kudos U class starting next Tuesday, August 20th at 7:00 pm if you are ready to reach your goal of earning a Canine Good Citizen title.
You can register here https://kudosforcanines.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx

08/13/2024

What is your dog's sign? Post it with a pic in the comments 🐶🌞🌟🌙

Dog astrology means that within the charted stars, you can find insights about your dog. What can your dog's horoscope tell you about pet personalities and astrology?

08/12/2024

Do you sometimes need a quiet moment to think about things before you take action? Encouraging this in our dogs can help with impulse control. What do you do that allows your dog to stop and think? Want to learn more? This is one of the main lessons in all of our Family Dog classes and we have classes starting soon! Visit https://kudosforcanines.com/ for more information.

08/10/2024

Tink, Junie B, and Soda Pop at the CWAGS trial at Town & Country Kennel Club today, representing the Thursday Night Kudos for Canines Competition K9NW class with multiple Qualifying scores and 3 new titles! Teamwork is Dreamwork!

08/08/2024

I am SUPER excited to be bringing Dave Conroy and Todd Johnson to Alexis Fire Equipment for two days of learning and training. I have always enjoyed discussing training with them and can't wait to hear their insights and suggestions on training for competition. Click on the link here for more information on the seminar and sign up!

Location: Alexis Fire Equipment, Alexis, IL.
Date: September 14 and/or 15, 2024.
Skill level: All dogs solid on odor are welcome, from ORT to Elite/Summit

https://kudosforcanines.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/events.aspx?event=914

08/08/2024

Yesterday in our Family Dog classes we discussed whether or not you should consider yourself a Dog Mom/Dad and your puppy a Fur Baby. The consensus was that of course, dogs are not humans and should have their dog needs met, but especially as puppies, we have a parental relationship with our dogs as we teach them how to make good choices. What do you think?

08/08/2024

I realized that I never got around to posting full thanks to everyone. Firstly, thank you to Lori Timberlake for setting some great searches for all the teams. I love, love, love the searches and thought that they were great fun. Thank you to our judges Doug Holman and Nate Harves, I really enjoy working with these gents, they're just so positive and encouraging about the teams. Thank you to Anne Leone Anderson in score room and keeping the paperwork flowing.

The biggest thanks goes to Kim Lane, our VC, Master at Arms, and a consummate professional, everyone wants to kidnap her and take her to VC at their trials, but she's mine. ;) Thank you to Kristin Nott for hosting the NW2 so that I could play with Scram and bring home so much blind. Lastly, thank you to Cindy Birdsall for setting up the AMAZING display, it's great to see so many pictures of people with their dogs on the feed.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their weekend to volunteer and help out at our Altamont trial. We couldn't have done it without you! 💜💛💙

08/07/2024

Let them sniff on walks! Provide them with unique odor opportunities often! The nose knows 🐕🥰

08/06/2024

Understanding and meeting your dog's needs will help them to be happy cooperative members of your family. Want to learn more?
Join us in one of our Family Dog group classes by registering here!
https://kudosforcanines.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx

08/05/2024

Is all of your quality time with your dog like eating prawns? What a great perspective on how we may be frustrating our dogs by challenging them too much!

Prawns made me think about frustration in dogs today. Here's why it's important for you to think about.

For context, I went out with some friends for a meal tonight focused around prawns. I had never eaten prawns 'properly' before, and so it was a new experience. For those of you who are uninitiated, to eat a prawns you have to remove it's head, pull off the front legs, then pull off the rest of the shell to get to the edible bit inside (please accept my apologies if I got anything wrong, prawn purists).

This was fine, and the food was good, but it could be thinking about the amount of effort it took to actually obtain a single morsel of food. If I had to work this hard for every meal to get just a little bit to eat, I'd get annoyed by day two.

So, what's this got to do with dogs?

Three points.

Firstly, consider what enrichment should be - enriching. Very often I'll hear caregivers deliver all their dogs meals via training and/or enrichment toys. In moderation this is fine, but imagine having to work for every single bit of food to eat, for every single meal? That can actually build frustration.

Secondly, enrichment should be challenging, but not difficult. If your dog is having to work really hard to access it, I'd argue it's a training challenge, not an enrichment tool. Reading a book, watching a movie or playing a game needs to be more accessible than tricky if we actually want it to be beneficial. It's the same for our dogs.

Thirdly, think of how much our dogs have to do to access rewards in their day to day life. How much do you push your dog before you give them food, or toys, or sniffs, or fuss? If you're always pushing them to the next level, frustration can build. Focus is built by consistency, not by raising the stakes. Feed well, play often!

Not everything needs to be a challenge, and not everything needs something in order to access it. Not every meal has to be prawns.

07/22/2024

If your dog is on target odors (birch/anise/clove), I have some drop-in classes available in August on the 10th, 17th, and 24th. If it's not too beastly hot, we'll head out and about for searches, so be prepared for all weathers.

07/18/2024

A Call for entries and a Call for volunteers! We have LOADS of space in the Level 1 Interior and the Level 1 Container trials in Altamont, IL on August 3 & 4. Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested in entering. I can also take 2nd and 3rd dog FEO spots if you'd like a great opportunity to give your other dog some practice. Additionally, we are hurting for volunteers! If you're not entering, then please consider volunteering.

Please click the link to complete this form.