Seger

Seger, who is from our C-Litter, has been returned to us and is looking for his forever home.

Seger, who is from our C-Litter, has been returned to us and is looking for his forever home. Seger is a sweet affectionate boy who enjoys people, playing ball, going for walks, going bye-bye, visiting stores, treats, and attention. He would be a super sweet addition to a wonderful family’s home & hearts. *History on Seger: •Born September 3, 2021 •Placed in first home at 8 weeks old •3 months later he was returned to me by first family because they did not have time for him. •In the three months they had him he literally never left the house. Was never even taken to the vet so truly zero car rides, zero classes, zero experiences, zero socialization, zero exposure, zero training. •I had him for the next two months (from 5 months old to 7 months old)…. •During this two month window Seger spent a month of it at a Puppy Board & Train Program to help catch him up on everything he missed. And a month with me where I applied my tools & resources of owning a PetSitting business with Daycare to do similar training and work with Seger. •At 7 months old Seger was placed with his new adoptive family, and spent the next two years with them. •This family was wonderful, but they had two existing chihuahuas in the household who severely struggled with a Big Puppy Presence joining the family. •The situation never improved with the chihuahuas as Seger grew-up, and it was decided to bring Seger back to me. I have had Seger back since May 11, 2024. He has melded back into the family very well and the family routine. He is great with our little French Bulldog so I do not feel small dogs are the issue but more a personality conflict with that particular chihuahua. Seger does great with both our cats. He is out free in the yard with all the girls, and inside the house he lives directly next to three intact males with just a short simple expen separating them. All boys do very well living in close neighboring proximity of eachother. They can literally tou

Challenger tested out my new Treat&Train today while practicing the Place command!

Enjoying the beautiful weather today on our walk!

First time pack walking with two other dogs! It’s a little hard to focus on the walk when you’d really like to be playing with the other dogs!

Challenger had a good time this past Wednesday playing with the daycare dogs, including his half-brother from the B litter, Cooper.

Here’s a sped up clip of Challenger’s tether training the other day. IMPORTANT NOTE: Only practice this with direct supervision. Some dogs, especially if they are new to being backtied/tethered, will tangle themselves up and could panic and injure themselves if someone is not there to help untangle them. But with supervision, tethering is an excellent exercise that teaches the dog a number of valuable skills, including: * Coping skills - how to deal with just being bored, without being constantly entertained by you * Separation anxiety prevention - your dog learns that it’s okay to have distance between you - he doesn’t have to be underfoot just because you’re nearby * Respect for the leash - the reality is that the average wall is a better dog trainer than most people. You rarely see a dog continue to strain and pull into their collar when the leash is tied to something secure. They test it a few times and go “oh, the wall doesn’t move” and then for the most part, stop pulling and start learning how to respect the end of the leash. * Settling - most dogs will eventually just settle and hang out. Tethering teaches them how to regulate their energy level and settle at appropriate times * Household manners, preventing bad behaviors - using a tether allows you to secure your dog where they will be unable to chew, jump, steal things, or any other number of household behaviors you may want to prevent, while allowing you to keep your hands free and get stuff done I will generally tether a dog at least until they settle a little bit - whining, spinning, barking, etc. doesn’t get you released from the tether. I’ll tether a dog for up to an hour, maybe more if they’re experienced with it and very relaxed there, often less for dogs who are new to this. Obviously, you also have to have something secure enough to be able to tie the dog back without the thing moving or breaking. In a home, I would typically use a sturdy doorknob to secure my leash aro

Challenger learned about polite leash walking on a prong collar today. Up until today, we used a harness for walks - on a harness, pulling is allowed and position doesn’t matter, so he could get out and walk without causing bad habits in a collar. In addition to preventing bad habits by using a harness on walks, we have also been putting in some important foundation work: In separate training sessions with less distractions, we introduced that a pop on a regular flat collar meant he was going to get a food reward. So while collar pops may still be “corrective” to some degree, the first association with it is a positive one, so that “corrections” down the road will help build focus and relationship rather than just suppressing behavior. We’ve also worked on tethering. I use a leash tied to the wall and attached to his flat collar, and he just hangs out there. He learns that pulling into the collar is useless, because the wall isn’t going to move. He learns to respect the end of the leash. Then we’ve applied that skill to me standing on the leash - same idea - the leash isn’t going to move, so just hang out and respect the amount of leash you’ve been given. And yesterday, on our walk on the harness, we started introducing the skill of how to fix the leash if he walks on the opposite side of a pole or other object as I do. Because of all of that foundation work, we were able to do a pretty quick prong collar introduction, and then head out and start teaching proper behavior when walking in a collar rather than a harness. I don’t see an issue with this guy transitioning back to a slip lead or regular flat collar in the future. Here’s one clip from today - I’ll add a couple more in the comments, since I can only upload 1 video per post. Please excuse the bumpy camera work - it’s a little tricky to handle an inexperienced dog and video at the same time. 😅