Loose Leashes Dog Training

Today at social, we learned that Kodi had a new skill that’s pretty amazing!

During camp this summer, the children have been learning how to properly meet a dog. We all know that not all dogs want to be touched by other people, and sometimes kids might put themselves in a bad situation by running right up to a dog and reaching out to them even after asking the owner. Each group made a video explaining how to interact with a dog they don’t know. It’s the 2 second rule where we give the dogs a chance to come up to them, pet them for two seconds and if they walk away and then come back to you, you could continue to pet them, but if they walk away and don’t return, they’re just not that into it and there’s nothing wrong with that! Love these silly kids!

For starters, this is just adorable. Toby is a new Loose Leashes “student” and he came to his first social today. What makes it even more special is the story that comes with it. Toby’s mom will always hold a very special place in my heart. In 2017 we rescued 17 dogs from the Redlands, which is where some of my personal dogs came from and there was this one dog named Guapo at the time that was an extremely bad shape and was completely feral. Nobody knows exactly what happened to him, but he immediately had to have surgery when we brought him back here and he had to have multiple drains in his neck. On top of being in physical pain he was scared of every single thing so I took him in to foster/rehab/ train him. I thought for sure I was going to have to adopt him because I did not consider him adoptable due to his deep fears. Along came Carol who applied to adopt him and I figured it would never work out. She came to my house to meet him with a pocket full of chicken and knew not to approach him and instead see if he would come to her. We spent a lot of time together and I thought wow this might actually be a good home for him. She knew that this was something we had to take very slow so I kept him a bit longer and worked with him some more to get him passed some of his fears. Needless to say Carol adopted him and gave him the greatest home for about 7 years and he recently died. She dealt with having a dog that was afraid of so many things and no matter what he just couldn’t get it past it completely because he was born feral and dogs like him (and my Rupert) who were mostly likely also inbred have such a core base of fear that they can never truly be normal. Somebody was getting rid of Toby (the dog in the video) and somehow the stars aligned and Carol ended up with him. What she got was the complete opposite of Guapo, later known as Tigger. This little guy is super confident, very silly and just a joy to be around. Tigger was afraid of everything

5 dogs- 4 afraid of fireworks. One extreme fear. All snug away in their covered safety areas with a sound machine closest to the most fearful, loaded and frozen bones and kongs throughout the night rather than dinner. Not a peep from the Conway pack. Crate training your dog to the point where they know it means they are safe and they have a huge sense of security makes days like the 4th of July tolerable. Crate training is for the life of a dog. Not just for destructive dogs- more info here https://youtu.be/uLvFEOqJ6HU?si=8nIiP8YgIQxsZB4R

Yep we are still having social on 4th of July, because what else can be better for your pup than tiring himself or herself out having a blast with buddies and then sleeping the day away??? Few spots left :)

Just a cool video of Phoebe diving under the water to get her toy!

Some of the campers did a little skit on how to approach a new dog. They learned always to ask- but not to assume that dogs want to be touched by strangers. They also learned- Not to put out their hand because with that powerful nose the dog can easily smell them from where they are, rather let the dog walk over to them to see if it wants to engage first. Crouch down sideways Calmly and gently pet the dog without touching over the head Engage for 2 seconds and let the dog walk away if it wants If it comes back, pet again 2 seconds. If it walks away, let it be If it comes back, clearly the dog enjoys it and petting and engaging can comfortably continue Great job kids!

Socialization is great. Playtime, chasing, and wrestling is so good for dogs. BUT not all socialization has to look like that. Socialization is teaching your dog to exist peacefully and calmly around dogs and people. They don’t need to interact one bit. Focusing on the handler is a huge skill set that your dog should learn- because not all dogs like hyper, crazy, whiny, barking, over aroused dogs in their faces- Especially when on leashes. Leave the walk for walking. So proud of these dogs from pack walk today. Most of them have come to social groups and can play till the cow comes home, but during our walks, they know that it’s all about being neutral and well behaved. Great job!

Always love when Surfs Up Surface Cleaning gives my yard “a bath”. Look forward to dirtying up again tomorrow at social!!! Highly recommend this service!

Nobody knows what happened but apparently yesterday people were able to vote- after it “ended” on the 17th, so now today is the actual last day (which is what we were originally told). So we may have lost a few days, which means it’s extra important to get your last vote and share in for Loose Leashes Dog Training and Sophie's Circle Dog Rescue. https://news-journalonline.gannettcontests.com/2024-Daytona-Communitys-Choice-Awards/gallery?group=485723

Muffins arrival at social. She’s the happiest little rescue dog on earth. We love that the grand entrance included a hop over the hurdle.

The Conway Pack is great with sharing…. They share our yard, toys, pool, agility equipment and me….. BUT the ONE thing we aren’t willing to share is FLEAS. Monthly flea prevention is a requirement for social groups. My job is to protect both my own dogs and yours, so please, if your dog is not regularly on prevention, do not sign up up attend. I’m sure you all understand this :)

You have all been so great voting daily, thought I’d share a silly video of my dog Lesh as a thank you. 4 more days of voting! https://news-journalonline.gannettcontests.com/2024-Daytona-Communitys-Choice-Awards/gallery?group=485723

Since we are all up anyway from tornado warnings….. time to vote! 6 days of voting left. https://news-journalonline.gannettcontests.com/2024-Daytona-Communitys-Choice-Awards/gallery?group=485723

You all have been great support!Apparently this contest goes on forever and doesn’t end till the 21st. 10 More days Time to vote for Loose Leashes and Sophie’s Circle dog rescue!! https://news-journalonline.gannettcontests.com/2024-Daytona-Communitys-Choice-Awards/gallery?group=485723

Day 4 of 10 Time to vote for Loose Leashes and Sophie’s Circle dog rescue!! https://news-journalonline.gannettcontests.com/2024-Daytona-Communitys-Choice-Awards/gallery?group=485723

Time to vote for Loose Leashes and Sophie’s Circle dog rescue!! https://news-journalonline.gannettcontests.com/2024-Daytona-Communitys-Choice-Awards/gallery?group=485723

Fence fighting is never fun. The worst is that you can’t control the one on the other side of the fence and you can’t control when they let their dog out. What you can do is teach your dog to mind its own business and to avoid even going near the fence and being involved. Little Benji here was going to get himself in some big trouble. In fact, he already did when he stuck his face too far into the fence and got bit. One would think that would teach him a lesson but not at all. Instead, we used an ecollar to correct him for charging the fence constantly and then once we did that we were able to start rewarding him for NOT charging the fence and this is the result. Now Benji is safe and his owner is happy :)