SWFL K9 College

10/01/2022

03/28/2022

💛~ Michelle

03/26/2022

I hope so

One day 🌈

03/23/2022

A prong collar is an excellent training collar but they don’t come with a training manual and many people use it incorrectly when they first show up to train

01/22/2022

Saturday Training
Tracking 7am
Obedience 10am-12noon
Protection 1pm until completed

12/23/2021

Lovely!

12/23/2021

Just a reminder to not leave your furbabies unsupervised and left in a fenced yard I’ve heard of two cases yesterday when the dog was left unattended in a fenced yard both dogs were found missing from the yard and later I know one was hit by a car and killed and the other is still missing keep an eye on your babies so this terrible event doesn’t happen and you can hold your furbabies in your arms tonight

12/21/2021

The last of the 48 survivors in the Michael Vick case has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. With his family by his side, Frodo took his place with the 47 that went before him. “The Great 48” will go down in history as dogs that not only survived the horrors of dog fighting, but came out heroes. They were rehabilitated, trained, and ultimately loved by their adopted families. Some went on to get their Canine Good Citizen Award, and some became therapy dogs. They forever changed the way we look at the Pit Bull breed. For all you endured, overcame, and all that you taught us, thank you. You will never be forgotten. ❤️
Photo credit: BAD RAP

12/07/2021

The training topic for today is teaching your dog the "NO" word. I never see a dog come in to board that understands the command no and it is very easy to teach if done correctly. The first thing I see on the training field is the handler saying NO to the dog with no physical correction and no response to the verbal command. People seem to think the dog comes out of momma knowing what the word No means. Dogs do not have an understanding of the english language and without training they will not respond. Remember that a command that comes from your mouth is just a noise to your dog and he has to learn what behavior he needs to exhibit when he hears that particular noise so the NO command can be any word you pick. The method of getting a reaction is to train the verbal command with an EFFECTIVE physical correction. Per PAVLOV, probably the worlds first dog behaviorist you must give in this order a verbal NO command then immediately give a physical correction with the training device. If done correctly it is a very fast command to learn but the physical command after the verbal command every time has to be done consistently. Im sure the majority of people that read this and want to get a better reaction to the NO command will continue to just give the verbal NO command with no physical correction and continue to wonder why their dog does not respond to the NO command. Good luck with training and hope to see you on the training field.

11/30/2021

Exactly

11/30/2021

Teaching dogs basic commands is an important part of the training process. They are the building blocks to better, more cooperative behavior patterns in the future.

11/28/2021

Just a reminder that we now offer a basic/puppy class on Sunday afternoon beginning at 1230pm for anyone wanting to train later

11/27/2021

“These two boys are from the same parents, boy on the left was paediatric neutered and the other has stayed intact. As you can see, the development the right pup has compared to the left is undeniable, from his skull width, to his chest and shoulders.
This is the development pups will lose out on when desexing before full maturity.”
Credit - Bunny French.
You can view the full article here https://www.facebook.com/100000652508503/posts/4829274297104273/?d=n

11/26/2021

Our topic for the day cover praise and punishment during training. In initial dog training it is very important to treat every noise “command” coming from you to the dog as training. This means with EVERY command given you have a reward with you to reward the dog for a proper response and a method to punish the dog for an improper response . If this rule is followed then your dog will progress the quickest it can . The lack of having a reward or a way to correct the dog will slow the dog from learning the task required or even untrain the dog. Remember that a dog starting out does NOT want to be obedient for you and wants to do what it wants to do. With proper training and bonding we can cause the dog to WANT to please us which leads to a happy obedient dog. This behavior is no easy to achieve and requires perfect training from the handler . Please feel free to post any questions you may have about this topic.this is by far the greatest failure done by the dogs handler

11/26/2021

Due to the kennels being filled there will be no tracking training either Saturday or Sunday we will resume next weekend . Thank you.

11/25/2021

We don’t do fancy posts but me and Dee from Southwest Florida K-9 Services wishes all of our followers a Happy Thanksgiving

11/25/2021

“Pets, it turns out, also have last wishes before they die, but only known by veterinarians who put old and sick animals to sleep. Twitter user Jesse Dietrich asked a vet what was the most difficult part of his job.

The specialist answered without hesitation that it was the hardest for him to see how old or sick animals look for their owners with the eyes of their owners before going to sleep. The fact is that 90 % of owners don't want to be in a room with a dying animal. People leave so that they don't see their pet leave. But they don't realize that it's in these last moments of life that their pet needs them most.

Veterinarians ask the owners to be close to the animals until the very end. ′′It's inevitable that they die before you. Don't forget that you were the center of their life. Maybe they were just a part of you. But they are also your family. No matter how hard it is, don't leave them.

Dont let them die in a room with a stranger in a place they dont like. It is very painful for veterinarians to see how pets cannot find their owner during the last minutes of their life. They dont understand why the owner left them. After all, they needed their owner’s consolation.

Veterinarians do everything possible to ensure that animals are not so scared, but they are completely strangers to them. Don't be a coward because it's too painful for you. Think about the pet. Endure this pain for the sake of their sake. Be with them until the end.”

- Tricia Mo’orea

Photo credit: Travis Patenaude.

11/14/2021

I was asked a question regarding the placement of the tracking flag at the start of an IGP track in relation to the scent pad and looking at the Schutzhund rules and regulations it states that the start flag be always placed to the left of the scent pad. The tracklayer shall remain on the scent pad for a short period of time then proceed at a normal pace off the scent pad. Thank you for the question. Hope this helps you.

11/13/2021

Congrats to trainer joe Galan and k9 niko for achieving their IGP1 this weekend with impressive scores of 95-94-100 in Ocala Florida

11/11/2021

Today is our second principle of dog training which is CONSISTENCY. Consistency is required to create set behaviors. One of the best dog training tips is to make sure there is ongoing training/conditioning with the intent to create ritual behavior. It means promptly reacting the exact same way every time to a dog's behavior in all situations. In initial training you must treat every command you give to your dog as a training situation. If you are not consistent with your training then you can never expect your dog to be reliable and consistent. You must keep in mid that your dog is always learning from you and that proper habits will never be created until a dog has displayed repeated behavior without motivation for at least thirty days. That means there is a window of training time to teach new behaviors and a supervision time frame to create these new behaviors as habits. In the beginning every command given MUST be either rewarded for proper behavior or corrected for improper behavior immediately. Failure to be CONSISTENT will result in an unconsistent dog.

11/10/2021

The first topic of Principles of Dog training is TIMING. It is the amount of time needed between the behavior exhibited and the reward/correction for the dog to connect one with the other. Any behavior a dog acts out must have a immediate response by the handler. A correct response to command must have a positive reinforcement reward from the handler and it must happen immediately after the response for the dog to connect the behavior to the reward. Positive reward may come from treats, toys, or praise. An incorrect behavior from a command must immediately be corrected by the handler. The reward/correction must come within 1-2 seconds for the dog to connect the behavior given to the reward/correction. Poor timing will result in a dog being confused and not understanding if the action was correct or incorrect.

11/10/2021

My very first topic on our updated facebook training page is PRINCIPLES OF K9 TRAINING. It is so important that everyone training their dog understands and masters these principals. We will be discussing each principle over the next few weeks. Remember that the quality of training is critical and quantity is not. If you are performing each exercise wrong it will slow the training process and may even do damage to the dogs training. I can get much better results from training my dog perfectly for 15 minutes than from training in an unstructured manner in the wrong behavior. We can tell every week how much correct training has been completed by the handler between classes. I hope you enjoy this first topic and please feel free to ask questions and post comments;

Principles of Dog Training:
1. Timing
2. Consistency
3. Motivation
4. Direction
5. Situation

Stay tuned we will start with timing in our next post.

11/10/2021

I would like to introduce our instructors who will be adding content to answer your training questions and also offering their expertise to you to help with your dogs training and any dog questions

Dee Graham is our primary trainer here at Southwest Florida K9 Services. She is also a certified vet technician with 23 years of experience in both fields. She instructs from basic to advanced obedience and is currently moving up from basic to our development stage of training. She will be a frequent provider on this page and we hope you take advantage of her knowledge.

Stephen Ford was my first K9 Trainer at the Lee County Sheriffs Office. He gave me a chance to become a police dog handler and later a K9 trainer and this is the man I owe everything I do with K9s. His knowledge is tremendous. Along with being a super K9 handler he is an incredible K9 Trainer. He has accepted my request to help by offering his K9 training tips and answering any questions you may have about K9 training.

We hope you keep this page busy with questions. Please take a minute to like us and friend us to follow us on facebook

R

11/10/2021

11/10/2021