Canine ACE

Dog Trainer - Fernando Gustavson
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Like/follow for Dog related content. D
(5)

05/24/2024

Back in PS after the "Pet Boarding & Daycare EXPO" in Vegas! 🤘🐾🔥

It's been such a stimulating conference!
Tons of great ideas & plans for the future.

Heather Beck did great as the opening speaker, and set the tone for everyone to challenge their comfort zones and share with each other! 🎉

Very interesting topics being covered by the speakers, and equally interesting to discuss a wide range of situations & experiences with other attendees involved in the Industry... From how they handle Staff challenges, to how they've set up their Socials & Boarding according to their needs, goals and comfort zone! 🤔🐺🎭

*Heather will tell you that I went there just to hang out with her... 😉🤣

05/10/2024

The dogs and their humans had a lot of fun at the GRC Workshop in Utah!
*GRC = Gameness☆Relationship☆Control
💪🐺🔥🐾🤘😻🎭
Always heartwarming to see dogs finding outlets for their "Dogness", and gaining confidence as they learn & understand the rules of the games.

05/07/2024

Great to see Jay at his first seminar after the accident, and grateful for the chance to see him coaching & Playing with Dogs... 💪🔥🐾🐺🤓

04/26/2024

I'm a big fan of Playgroups & Play, and dog socials can look very different, depending on their purpose and resources available... 🤔🎭😻🐾🐺🐺🐺

This sort of social (video) with dogs and owners constantly navigating together was great to watch, since you could see some dogs trust in their owners growing, and the same was true the other way around... 💪

For the purpose of enrichment, and to reduce stress in shelter environments with limited resources (to keep dogs mentally healthy and thus adoptable)... Aimee Sadler's Dogs Playing for Life program should be the standard... 🔥

Though I haven't had the chance to see it in action yet, Heather Beck's K9 Lifeline structured daycare program seems like the best alternative to keep things comfortable for daycare staff, and to safely give more dogs the chance to be part of Playgroups... 🤘

Lya Battle's Territorio de Zaguates (Land of the Strays) is a sanctuary in Costa Rica that keeps over 1800 dogs living together, and even allows a limited amount of visitors/volunteers to interact with the group... An extraordinary place that I would like to visit sometime... 🙀

I've implemented structure to social groups in daycare, encouraging social interactions between the staff and the dogs (I joke that Aimee & Heather would kill me for that)... It's worked, and it generalized to other handlers with minimum involvement from my part, but for a while now, I've had a hard time picturing how to empower others to safely maintain the structure as they expand the group, without my involvement (end goal).
*Grateful for some insights gained on this trip, to make changes moving forward... 🐾

Long story short... Dog socials can be extremely useful, and they can have different rules & boundaries... Some set by the dogs, some set by the humans... Being mindful of them, and allowing/using them with purpose is the responsible thing to do.

03/15/2024

Baby steps of Otto's off leash recall... 🤔🐾💪

It's important for me that the dog feels comfortable exploring and being away from me while off leash.
*Otto - 2/3

03/13/2024

Otto's favorite game is Tug, but we've worked on his fetch skills, so that he has more options of fun things to do with his parents.
💪🐺🐾🥎🤘 - Otto 1/3.

03/11/2024

Took some Big Dogs on a field trip to the Small Dog room, and little Charlie couldn't be more excited.
🐺🐾😻
Many dogs can handle being around dogs of any size, so sometimes the decision of which grpup to have them Play, comes down to their preferred playstyle and/or how fragile they might be... 🤔

*Some of the big dogs in the video are usually rowdy players, but they are adapting and being more gentle around the little ones.

12/22/2023

A reminder from Otto, to enjoy the time of Yule!
❄️☀️🔥🐾🐺🍻🎭
If you need an excuse to reflect and/or think of cycles & rebirth... This is that time.

12/21/2023

Bear is ready for the change of the season and the cooler weather! Go Play with your dog!
🐺❄️🐾🎭😻

12/04/2023

It might not look like it, but the main focus for my one-on-one sessions with Polo was on "calmness" and "toy neutrality"... 🤔😅

And he was such a good boy helping me spread the love for Tug (Possession Games) as an Enrichment & Training tool, specially for some shelter Dogs like him.
💪🐺🐾🎭🥰
*Polo is up for adoption through Dogs Playing for Life!

12/01/2023

Personally I find that the more I understand Animals, the more I understand Humans and Myself... And the more I understand Myself and Humans, the more I understand Animals.
🤔🎭🐾🔬🐺
Neurodivergence, Animal Emotions and "Learning" (Theory, Strategies, etc) are very present for me, so it's always interesting to hear/read different views on those topics... Grateful to get a chance to hear Temple Grandin's insights from her Autistic perspective and experience.

09/25/2023

I met a very solid Husky... 🐺🎭🐾🔥😻
Tons of play & drama (of course!), would have loved to get more time with him (Only 1 night + 2 play sessions), honestly curious of how much of his mouthiness & "resource guarding" would be left with satiation and clarity of when/how it's appropriate to "play"... 🤔

If any experienced Husky owners are interested, he is up for adoption! Met him at Dogs Playing For Life Canine Center Florida.

09/08/2023

I enjoy helping the "stubborn" (and often misunderstood) dogs, and Play-Training with the wild & murdery dogs, but I also get to Play & Train often with all sorts of quirky dogs (and humans), with all sort of challenges & goals.
🤔🔥🐺🎭🐾😅😬😻🤣

08/21/2023

Took some time off to enjoy a dog training seminar in Santa Ana! 🐺🐾🔥

My main goal was to see how different popular trainers coached/trained the Humans they worked with, it was definitely insightful.
*Bringing a Dog would've made this harder, though I met a drivy murdery dog that I really wanted to bring, but they moved away... 🤔😅
**I'm super grateful for everyone that let me love on their dogs & Play with them while I was there! 🥰

I'm a socially awkward kid in a candy store when I get the chance to see people working dogs with in-depth Play training ideas in mind, and/or geeking out on those same ideas & concepts... So I always enjoy the way Jay Jack sees and works with the dogs. 💪🐺

I want more people that can view & help dogs with those ideas in mind in my life, so I'm always happy to meet new people that do, and to help others that want to get into it. 🎭🐾🤓

It would have been a friend's birthday the day the seminar started (Willan, August 18th), just last year we were talking about implementing some Play training ideas for some rescue dogs, and planning to try to get some training with Jay Jack together... Missed you for this one buddy, you left too soon. 🔥

08/10/2023

Is it Play?... Is it Train? 🤔
They can be one and the same! 💪🐺🐾🎭🔥

08/07/2023

For me, motivation has both... 🤔

Encouragement should always be present when/if possible... Remembering that each individual has their own notion of what they find encouraging and rewarding.

And if you are motivated to change, you will turn to discipline when/if needed... If you don't, then you weren't motivated, you were fantasizing.
💪🐺🐾🔥🎭
*When it comes to helping Dogs, as the one responsible for their wellbeing, you might face a situation where you need to resort to discipline, to help them change unhealthy habits/behaviors.

Definitions for Clarity:

1) Discipline...
"A rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity."

2) Motivation...
"The general desire or willingness of someone to do something."
*"Intrinsic Motivation comes from within, while Extrinsic Motivation arises from external factors."

04/14/2023

Is obedience the goal in training?
🤔🚫🐾🙀🐺
For me, the answer is NO... Freedom should be the goal in training, obedience is one way (of many) to teach skills to a Dog, and to manage them while you show them how to handle their freedoms responsibly.

For me, a dog should get as many freedoms as they can responsibly handle, and ideally, they won't need any instruction or feedback from me to do so.

*Enjoy some vids of back when we invited Ted (GSD) for a training session with Grace (Airdale)... 🐺😻🐺

04/06/2023

These two have a wild disposition, and their parents active lifestyle has a lot of potential opportunities for them to be free & enjoy it.
*They both travel back & forth from Alaska to Palm Springs, and are from different households.

For that, they needed to be responsible with their freedom... Blu (Catahoula) has had several encounters with porcupines while roaming free in Alaska, and Grace (Airdale) has the "call of they wild" and would run off to the mountains to hunt if allowed... 😅

We've built some clear communication, made the behavior of coming towards us very motivating and Playful, and for the last stretch when testing full freedom, we introduced a remote collar, to interrupt them & reel them in, when the motivation to chase an animal was too strong (very rare now).
💪🐺🐾❄️⛰️
Happy to say that Grace can now handle her freedom responsibly (no strict obedience), she has a "big bubble" that she likes to explore, but is constantly checking where her owner is & navigating the wild together... And last I heard from Blu, he was skiing with his owner in Alaska. 😻

03/30/2023

I trust Ted a lot cause he's shown to be very responsible for me... We have a healthy relationship with clear boundaries & great communication.

His challenge is that he can develop obsessive relationships with people & things, and that has brought some anxious behaviors in the past.

Play and some structure in Play is always a great baby step, while enforcing some basic boundaries.

*Something that wasn't helping him... He had full access to his "favorite toy" (herding ball), and the way he interacted with that toy, was just making him rehearse his obsession/anxiety... 🤔

03/24/2023

*** Cuteness alert *** 😻
This is Poppy, and cuteness aside, I have to point out that this is an important part of "training"... 🤔

Having a healthy relationship with the dog is very important if you want to help the dog develop and learn... The goal should always be for the dog to feel safe & comfortable with you.

03/22/2023

I really enjoy when a dog wanders off to explore when given the freedom to do so... Grace here has the "call of the wild" and loves to track & look for other animals.
🐾🐾🐾
Her "social bubble" is also big, so she could be "far away" from us, and still feel like she is walking with us... 🤔

Given her dispositions, it is important to be able to reliably call her off from challenging situations, and here we are starting to work on that.

*Alaska "Wild & Free" Series... Grace pt1... 🐺

03/09/2023

This is the kind of attitude I would like to see from a dog on an "on-leash recall", before I move on to an "off-leash recall"... 🤔😻

I have a healthy relationship with the dog, communication is clear, and he is very motivated to Play the game of coming towards me... 💪🔥

*Alaska "Wild & Free" Series... Blue pt1... 🐺

02/08/2023

This is an interesting one for me... 🤔🐾🐺
I am not against the use of any training tool, even though my main "go to" tools are Flat Buckle collars, retractable leashes & tugs/balls.
*To be clear, I do use other tools.

With that said... From my perspective, most of the times, the dog is Having a problem, not Being a problem... Some dogs might not be meeting their lifestyle needs, some might need extra clarity/information, some might be frustrated by "poor handling", etc.

My ultimate goal for the dogs is that they can have as much freedom as they can responsibly handle... I want to help them gain skills (impulse control, self-regulation, delayed gratification, etc), engage in healthy habits, understand boundaries, effectively communicate/understand others... Basically to develop mentally/physically healthy.

So yeah, someone telling me that they are "balanced" or "force free" trainers tells me nothing about if we'll relate/align as fellow trainers.

*Image by Chad Mackin.

11/29/2022

Belle was rescued from a dogfighting ring in Ontario, and is now a sanctuary/dorm dog at Dogs Playing for Life Canine Center in Florida. 💪🐺🐾

She can be picky with who she likes, but is very tolerant & Playful once you are part of her tribe... Thankfully I was able to kidnap her as my roommate last time I was there... 😉😻🔥

The center strives to help dogs with behavioral challenges from different shelters around the country, and to educate the humans that work with them.

I'm thankful for organizations like Dogs Playing for Life , that promote Play & reducing stress, to improve shelter dogs quality of life & adoptability.

08/23/2022

Sometimes training is not about "obedience", but about patiently helping the dog feel Playful, comfortable and/or relaxed in certain situations and/or environments.

This little lady is usually fearful and shuts down while indoors, so getting her to Play was a huge win... Paying attention to the individual dog's playstyle, and taking the time to use Seeking behaviors (Curiosity, Novelty, etc) to get them out of Fear and into Play is key.

I always encourage people to massage (rubdown) their dogs, and in this case the goal is to make relaxation happen, while in an environment she doesn't feel comfortable with on her own, and later on we could even associate the relaxing state with a word (CR), to help her in other settings.

Aspects of Play (Playstyle): 🐺🐾🎉
(Dogs tend to prefer ones over others).
*Search, Stalk, Chase, Fight (tug), Celebrate & Consume.

Address

Palm Springs, CA

Telephone

+17604986221

Website

http://www.canineace.com/

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Videos

It might not look like it, but the main focus for my one-on-one sessions with Polo was on "calmness" and "toy neutrality"... 🤔😅 And he was such a good boy helping me spread the love for Tug (Possession Games) as an Enrichment & Training tool, specially for some shelter Dogs like him. 💪🐺🐾🎭🥰 *Polo is up for adoption through Dogs Playing for Life!

I met a very solid Husky... 🐺🎭🐾🔥😻 Tons of play & drama (of course!), would have loved to get more time with him (Only 1 night + 2 play sessions), honestly curious of how much of his mouthiness & "resource guarding" would be left with satiation and clarity of when/how it's appropriate to "play"... 🤔 If any experienced Husky owners are interested, he is up for adoption! Met him at Dogs Playing For Life Canine Center Florida.

Is it Play?... Is it Train? 🤔 They can be one and the same! 💪🐺🐾🎭🔥

Rough & Rowdy but Shy... 🐺🔥😻

Another video of this "shy rough & rowdy" girl. Yes, you read that right. 🐺🐾🔥 Every dog has a natural inclination for certain playstyles, that makes them feel fulfilled, but for some, their shyness & insecurities makes it hard for them to find outlets to express it. We need to make it clear to the dog, that it's safe to Play like that around/with us... After that, we can develop the game further & get them more motivated for it. Be careful not to quickly decide that the dog "doesn't like to..." do certain things, or play in certain ways... Some dogs just need a little help in the beginning. 🤔😉 *Very rich video on dog body language.

Playfulness in Training...

Is your dog as motivated to preform their "obedience" as this happy girl? 🤔😻🎉🐾💪🐺🔥 I personally prefer to make a Game out of my "obedience commands" (Sit, Place, etc), and progressively add challenges... (Even if "X") happens, we are still playing the Game). How you teach the commands matters a lot for the experience of the dog while preforming them... You don't want them to feel helplessness or fear, you want them to feel Playfulness.

"Attempted Murder"...

If you look close enough, there's an "attempted murder" here... 🤔😅🤣 This guy is the sweetest cuddlebug with humans, but also has a strong desire to hunt & kill animals... One Skunk down so far, wich is a testament of his willingness to get the prey... 🐺🐾🔥 Him holding his sit calmly, in proximity of small animals is a big win! 🎉😉