PNW Nice K9 LLC

03/19/2025

What a wonderful text to wake up to after our session yesterday. It took us 2 full 60-minute sessions to finally get Capone to stop biting the leash every time any pressure happens. On a flat collar, he pulls, and he is a strong boy. So we put a prong collar on, TBH I wasn't sure if it was a good or bad idea because he gets so mouthy when he there is any pressure. I had a lot of ideas for helping him
1. A muzzle. Mine was too big, it would have worked to take the option of biting the leash go away but also added stress to learning. I didn't like that.
2. Dumb corrector spray. That was a quick no, he wants to bite anything that startles him.
3. An ecollar (that's still on the table, but I dont think he is ready)
4. 2 leashes

Normally conditioning a dog in my barn is how we start because there is no distraction, but for Capone, he focused on the leash. So we went out to the field and used 2 leashes, if he started to bite one, his owner dropped it, which takes away the fun. It didn't take long for Capone to stop biting the leash using that method. Once we got over that hump we needed to reinforce that when he responds appropriately to the pressure, he will be rewarded. The last five minutes, he was loose, wagging his tail with pride as they walked. He is true to being a bully, he is sweet, he is smart, and his way of dealing with conflict is being mouthy. Therefore, I take time teaching him to trust that something good will come once he learns it. His owner is awesome because he enjoys practicing what we work on. I am always impressed when we review what I have taught them.
GO Team!

03/17/2025

03/17/2025

A. Is an Ecoller- it uses a stim, like a TENS unit. I can feel it at a level 17 in the palm of my hand. Bruce works at a level 6, he is a working line german shepherd. I have client dogs that work at a 4.
B. Is a shock collar- the shock fu***ng hurts even at a low level. It hurt at level 2. I would NEVER use this. I HATE SHOCK collars.

Let's talk about Ecollars. I LOVE them, my dogs love them. They get so excited when I put them on, I think its because they know they will be doing something fun with me. I have learned several ways to introduce and use this tool. My favorite way is the way The Monks of New S***t and Marc Goldberg teach it in their book. I will never forget the week I spent learning from them. It's not quick, conditioning the collar for communication takes time, but it's worth it. Most dogs start getting it in the first week, but it should take months to really be sure the dog understands it. It works great on strong dogs, soft dogs, and nervous dogs because it takes our emotions and conflict out of the picture when used correctly. It works because I teach the dog what it means, it works because dogs understand pressure better than English.
I have a lot to say, I will break it up into more posts. Posts with a lot of words annoy me. ☺️

03/08/2025

So proud of these two! I have really enjoyed being a part of Mearas basic training and certifying them with their CGC. Sally is a very expirenced handler in SAR and Meara is a unicorn dog 🦄 so it's no surprise they passed their certification. HUGE congratulations guys!

02/11/2025

I have been going to a k9 fitness course to help my dogs avoid injuries. It's also really good for Wilson as he ages to keep his mind thinking. I think this is an awesome way to spend time with your dog and build your bond. It takes 15-20 minutes per dog, and they absolutely love it. In this photo, they are doing a bridge.. they hold it for 15- 60 seconds, depending on where in the routine we are. It builds their core strength. I am still learning, but we are really enjoying this new thing to do together.

02/06/2025

Snow days are the best days!

02/06/2025

02/03/2025

Raw food... so much push back from the veterinary field. Rightfully so, you have to do it right. You can't just throw some ground beef in a bowl and call that raw dinner. You can't feed them old meat that sat out too long.. Vets only see the sick ones that are malnourished or sick from poor meat handling. I get it.
What I struggle with is a vet will tell me how healthy my dog looks and how great my 10 year old dogs teeth are but will cringe when I say I feed Raw and DIY fresh food. A client told me the other day her vet was so happy to see how healthy her dog looked, and when she told her vet she is feeding Steve's Raw food, the vet didn't like that. Come on!
I like to follow the Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF) diet. Created by Dr. Ian Billinghurst

What's in a BARF diet?
Muscle meat: Provides protein, amino acids, and water-soluble vitamins
Raw edible bones: Provides calcium, phosphorous, and other essential nutrients
Liver: Provides fat-soluble vitamin A and water-soluble vitamins
Vegetables: Can include carrots, which are high in beta-carotene and vitamin C
Fruits: Can help with a dog's diet
Seeds or nuts: Can be included in a BARF diet
Herbs: Can be added to a BARF diet
Oils: Can be added to a BARF diet

The raw food I buy has ground bones and organs in it. I add fruits and veggies (in the photo, I cut up strawberries and included the greens) I also added pancreas (yes, you can buy that). The Just food for dogs DIY food has all of this also.

I share this not to make your life more confusing but to try to make you think about what you're feeding your dogs.. maybe just adding some fresh food is all you want to do and that's GREAT! It's better than just kibble.
One website you can check out is perfectlyrawsome.com
🐾

01/22/2025

100% agree

01/20/2025

Nutrition continued. Last week, I posted the DIY homecooked food I make for my dogs. This week, I want to share the book that opened my mind about dogs and nutrition. I have listened to this book 3x. I also follow both and and they always have good information.

If making DIY food is not something you want to do, I get it.
*Try just adding real food to your kibble. Leftovers are great, fish, chicken, any meats. You can also set some aside before you cook it and add it.
* I also add eggs. When they are from my chickens, I include the shell, but if they are store bought, I crack it over their food and pull off the inner white lining and toss the shell. You can also scramble them if you want.
*Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, Kiefer
*frozen or fresh blueberries, green beans, spinach, kale
*sardines, clams, tuna, salmon
*probiotics are a must for me. Bruce was a p**p eater. The enzymes in the probiotics are why he stopped (i think)
*salmon oil
* fermented foods.. saurkraut,

These are some of the many ideas. Adding real food to your dogs' diet will improve their health.. TRY IT!!

01/13/2025

I still have a couple spots left in my 30 minute Stay and Heel classes as well as Beyond CGC.

Monday at 10: The Stay class is the perfect first class. It's 30 minutes, we focus on the most boring yet necessary skill of stay. I teach marker words to help your dog understand and make learning easier. All this while making dog neutrality the primary goal.

Heel: formal Heel, I like the dog to understand the Heel position before movement. This class is geared more towards competition style heeling but can also be very helpful if you would like a nice heel while walking.
* this is not loose leash walking

Beyond CGC: I have a few clients who would like to do therapy dog work with their dogs someday so this class we will practice the test for therapy dogs. All of these skills are great everyday life skills even if therapy dog is not in your future.
*CGC required

Let me know if you would like to join..

https://www.pnwnicek9.com/book-online?category=b7f55913-d5bb-45bb-990a-ebffce74d0d1&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1qDZ2xkvyCmNpYuko8RO8hIWjswfNyrfQ582uf-YnLrIVjjff5S7Ojmo0_aem_D_Cn9ZQT3EK1sYtiYDh5Rg

01/12/2025

Let's talk about dog nutrition .. I am not an expert, but I can tell you I have tried a lot of different kibbles. I really wanted to believe what vets recommend is the best, but I could really tell it was not. My dogs energy level was poor, they looked unhealthy, their cognition was not the best. The deeper I dove into nutrition, the more I became aware they needed some whole real foods. Crazy to think just feeding them processed kibble isn't good for them 🙄
I started here, with Just Food For Dogs DIY. The additives in the pouch make their DIY recipe a balanced diet. I shred the potatoes in a food processor, buy frozen green beans and peas and carrots, add the meats to the crockpot and voila.Once it's all cooked I add the apples, oils and additives. One batch lasts me 3-4 days with the 4 dogs mixing with Kibble. Just adding some whole foods is better than nothing.
I want to keep this easy and not overwhelming. I will post once in a while about what I have found works well for my dogs. I currently use premade raw for 1 meal and Just Food For Dogs for the other as well as add some extras almost every day. One huge thing that has come from eliminating kibble is Wilson only needs and allergy shot 2x a year instead of bi monthly.
Start slow, it does take a little extra time and costs more, but I would rather spend money on their health than at the vet.
Next up: The book that started this way of thinking and things I randomly add to their food.

01/05/2025

Bruce and I attended a K9 fitness workshop today. Each session is 3 hours of learning and practicing. The class has 10 dogs in it, and we did half sitting and listening, then half moving and working. All the dogs did well during the down times, non of them were rude. This made me think about my stay class. This class will have the most useful takeaways from it. Dogs understanding to be calm, patient, and "bored" around other dogs is something most people don't want to teach their dog but at the same want them to be able to do it. I also think this is a great first class because it's low energy, and it's clear with expectations week after week, and it's 30 minutes.

01/02/2025

Happy New Year! Today I spent all day adding new classes to my website.. should that take all day? NO but it's getting easier.

I have 2, 30 minute classes:
Stay
Heel (competition not loose leash)

I have a class for teams that have a CGC to practice more public manners skills.

I have a couple more up my sleeve but I also want to catch up with emails and new clients.

All my classes require teams to have done some privates with me or classes. Please ask if your not sure.

12/14/2024

No way! Wow! I am so shocked 🙄😉 I hope they didn't spend too much $$ to figure this out.

Dogs generally pull about 60 per cent harder on a leash when wearing a padded harness compared with a collar, even when the equipment is marketed as “anti pull” – putting the people walking them at risk of injury.

Some dogs – especially smaller breeds – pull with a force more than twice their body weight on the collar, potentially damaging their throats, says Erin Perry at Southern Illinois University.

“It’s really very shocking,” she says. “The dogs are almost choking themselves on that collar repeatedly. But the harnesses in our study just didn’t inhibit pulling in any way, and that’s definitely a wake-up call – especially because of the risk to owners.”

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2459747-dogs-pull-harder-on-the-leash-when-they-wear-a-harness-than-a-collar/

Image: CBCK-Christine/Alamy

12/06/2024

Today was the first time my friend Lisa and I have ever walked all 4 of our dogs together. These dogs all have strong foundations, and it's easy to walk all of them downtown. They are neutral to the environment. They do not see other dogs as threats or excitement, they simply don't care. They understand how to sit and wait without being reminded. They understand how to come to our side when we ask them. I personally don't mind my dog walking in front of me if:
A. They are not pulling me
B. They come to a heel when asked. Which is EVERY time I see a person or dog walking our way.
They earned that privilege. They have all spent much time walking by my side. I start my walks with them by my side til I feel they are calm. No sniffing, no pulling.. just getting your brain together.
I love walking my dogs, and my dogs love going for walks. It's about us being a team together, and we are walking. I do not do sniff walks, ever. I am not saying they don't sniff as we walk, I am saying they don't get to pull me around on a leash doing what they want. Its their job is to walk with me and they love work.
Anyway, get out, be consistent, go for a walk.

11/28/2024

Congratulations to these 3 teams. All three of them did the stay class, and they did so well. I asked if they wanted to practice and then do a CGC test. Tonight, the stars aligned, and they all passed beautifully. I am so proud and honored to be a part of each one of their journeys in this awesome dog world. 💫🥇