10am?!?!
What happened to Noon?
Well, it happens to be about 6 to 8 degrees cooler only two hours earlier, at 10AM, and from some of the constructive feedback I was getting from families was that 10AM sounded better for the human pups activity schedules.
Sooooo...
We'll see you, AT 10AM, this week out at our Friends, the Perrotti's Country Barn.
For fun, one of my personal highlights from this summer so far...
"That time where Sharon Harmony got the whole Puppy Party Crew to wish me a Happy Birthday".
Thanks, Babes.
We'll see ya' all, Pup's and Hoomans alike, at 10AM this weekend.
Did we mention, 10AM?!
😉😉🤪🤪😂😂
Of course, we're on for tmrw.
Perrotti's Country Barn at Noon for Puppy Social and Noon-Thirty for Distraction Class.
This was the highlight of last week for me.
Bailey's Mom approached me after their first Distraction Class and asked if Bailey was "ready" for The Wall.
I smiled and said, "I been waiting for ya to ask".
I can't tell ya how happy I was.
It signified Lori, and Mike, and Bailey all willingly coming out of their Safety Zone to get into their Growth Zone.
I ran Bailey over the wall once or twice and then passed the leash off to Mike who copied us move for move and got a total of four repetitions in for their high moment.
Now, a dog climbing an agility wall in itself isn't a huge accomplishment.
In the context of Bailey and Mike and Lori's journey... it's FREAKEN PROFOUND.
Bailey came to the Doggy Dojo so skittish that, prior to meeting us, when one of her owners dropped the retractable they were on the sound of the plastic clattering on the pavement sent her off in flight.
She got lost, and famous, real quick.
The Animal Control from two towns, local PD, CT Dog Gone Recovery with heat and infrared drones, even local FB community forums were ablaze with ring cam sightings of her.
She dodged all of them for a few days, she's a wiley girl.
She also had some experience at this kinda stuff.
Now, to further the backstory...
Why was she so skittish in the first place?
Lori and Mike rescued her from a hellish experience.
Bailey was found wandering in the Texas heat, possibly abused, possibly feral, for several days.... WITH A BUCKET ON HER HEAD.
I can not imagine what her emotional experience had to be wandering around Texas evading humans, WITH A BUCKET ON HER HEAD.
It had to be cut off by volunteers leaving an injury and a scar on her little forehead.
So, when you watch or rewatch this video from that lens...
You'll see why me and Lori and Mike are so proud of Bailey...
And why I'm Sooooo Proud of my new, old friends Lori and Mike for getting o
Social Tomorrow!
We had a phenomenal turnout last week for the Social leading into our older and intermediate/advanced Dojo Dawgs doing their thing in Distraction.
The few minutes where the beginners, intermediate, advanced, AND Alumni Families all overlap in between the two and my whole little Doggy Dojo Community comes together at once... is just kismet for me.
It's the few minutes a week where, for me, everything is in its right place and I can feel The Universe smile back at me.
This is one minute of my bliss last week.
See Ya Tmrw!
#onelovefourpaws
It might only be Thursday, but Sunday is coming!
This is a really fun 1 minute from a really, really fun Distraction Class last Sunday.
Some of the performances were spectacular, especially in the context of where dogs like Sammy-Sue and Reilly and Kimchi were when they started.
Of course there's also our Ace, Judah Crescimano, holding Place on TOP of the scaling wall...
He must have seen some video of his GF Millie Osip hitting a wait and hold on the top of the wall last week.
😉😉😍😍
Other high points are my friend Chase, Revere's big brother, working Distraction on the squeaker toy for us and even our buddy Dew from K-9 Harmony working his best version of place in a kid and high energy environment.
It was one heck of a day for me.
Thank You to All for being part of my little Doggy Dojo Community.
See Ya This Sunday!
#onelovefourpaws
#adventuresindogging
The third of the three videos from last Sundae Social out at The Country Barn.
Video III: "The one where Pacer Serio makes it over the scaling wall for the first time and Millie Osip shows off with a hold and wait st the top".
**Active AND Alumni Families**
This Sunday we will be back out there, weather permitting.
Please RSVP?!
Should the event ever need to be canceled for weather, cold or calamity it means your RSVP'd spot will come with a cancelation email.
It will also let me plan the event(s) accordingly for weather, and attendees skill level.
Puppy Social @ Noon
https://calendly.com/trainplayrescue/puppy-social-sundae-social
Distraction Class and Adult Social @ 1230
https://calendly.com/trainplayrescue/distraction-class-adult-social
What a great day for an #adventuresindogging with the Doggy Dojo Alumni and Active crew.
I promised three short videos of today's fun, this is number two.
Also known as "The one where Kimchi steps up to being a Senpai in the Doggy Dojo and I dote on Sammy Soo and her progress".
* In a Japanese Karate School, a Sempai is one of the instructors most trusted students who helps elevate the whole Dojo to higher standards through their determination and character.
Kimchi has joined the Senpai Crew with some of the likes of Millie and Assa Osip, and our dynamic duo Henry and Libby from our logo.
All My Love, Kimchi!
I'll explain why Chris and Judah are Sensei's another day... 😊😉😊😉
#onelovefourpaws
What a day at The Doggy Dojo... errr... at the Perrotti's Country Barn...
We're gonna post not one, but three videos from today's #AdventuresinDogging.
Video #1.
"The one where I introduce Tha' Squad and explain just how awesome it is to see Carol and her new kiddo Pacer back out on Sundae's".
#onelovefourpaws
Seth and Kai.
I'm a Proud Pappa, these kids have been having breakthroughs the last week.
Seth has been focusing on using our Command Sequence.... focusing on structuring and formating his communication to Kai to increase her focus.
Kai had been working on "place", relaxing her mind on that kuranda bed indefinitely until verbally released, to focus her mind.
We're using a "recall with finish", "recall into place" drill to give Seth a chance to get some repetitions in and build his mental muscle memory.
Somewhere around the 2.5 minute mark you can see Seth have and "Ah-Ha Moment".
Those are the little parts of my day that make me smile.
I dubbed in a live track from one of my favorite bands in the land because, well, it's a lot more interesting than the banter between two Bro's talking about dog training.
😉😉🤪🤪
One Minute.
60 seconds of pure smiles.
When it hits about 44 seconds, if your not grinning ear to ear you need to go ask Mr. Grinch where your heart is.
😉😉
After making his way out of a hoarding situation down in Texas to A Stone’s Throw Dog Rescue this guy was understandably poop'ed out after his commute and seeing all his siblings adopted.
After a nap in Sharon's arms, a nap on my desk and some treats, our Cotton, short for Cotton Headed Niny Muggins, needed to stretch his legs.
I'm pretty sure he needs to figure out how to use 'em first.
Check it out, this kids hops are reeeeeediculous.
🤪🤪😍😍
Social!
Distraction!
Workshop!
Tmrw, 11am to 130pm!
A few moments from our session last week.... where I call out:
The entire country of England for their absurd treatment and near genocide of XL Bully's.
Uninformed Rescue operations that adopt out sibling puppies together.
Trainers that sell Board and Train, especially ones less than 6 weeks, as the work free cure to your pup's "problem's".
I was fired up.
🤫🤫🤪🤪😜😜
To no one's surprise, we're going to ask that everrrypawdy stays home today and enjoys the warmth of your home and the love of your dog.
We can NOT wait to see you all next weekend at our next Weekend Workshop and Social.
We also can't wait to get back out to Perrotti's Country Barn when the warmer weather rolls back in
So we dug through the archives with Sharon Harmony to find an oldie but goodie from a couple of years back... and much nicer weather.
Mary and her Berners, Kyra the XL, Liz and Juni...!
One of our first Sundae Socials that the Perrottis were gracious enough to host.
"Those were the days".
😉😉🥰🥰💙💙💛💛
... and now your Daily Doggo Moment of Zen.
Or, six seconds of smiles, however you want to look at it.
Lil' Rosie is at home working her Doggy Push-Ups. Except, in her case with the little statue pose at the end, it's more like a Doggy Burpee?
Rosie and her Mahm have made some ridiculous strides in Rosie's domestic behavior patterns by developing Rosie's "Willingness to Please" through Train and Play time. In other words tapping into Rosie's desire to make Mahm happy results in a new "Domestic Tranquility" that makes them both happier souls and better housemates.
You can tell by her exuberance it's working.
As for me, I'm sticking to yoga.
😉😉😆😆🤪🤪
The smile and Hi-5 Sunny lands on his Dad at the end of the video is priceless.
I get to see Kai and Sunny this week.
I miss these kidz. Lol.
A little surgery on Kai's behalf meant that they were both off their weekly spot on our roster for a week or two.
Their "lure technique" is spot on, like they showed in a previous video.
Re-imagining all the teaching tools and training drills we have at The Dojo for the mind of a child has been one of my favorite and most invigorating of all the little passion projects I have going on right now.
Everything from how we approach teaching things like child and puppy safety, to explaining canine body language is getting rethought and tweaked for the human puppies in our Dojo Community to take away the most useful knowledge we can pack into their craniums while we happen to have their brief but undivided attention.
The parallels between how the kids and how the dogs learn is... quite remarkable... when it comes down to it.
Check out the sense of accomplishment in both Kai and Sunny and that Hi-5 Dad gets to collect at the end.
A Kid and their Dog....
A Dog and their Kid.
Peanut butter and jelly.
Red, White and Blue.
Pancakes and syrup.
Joy and Laughter.
Some things are just meant to go together.
The Check-Ins I get from my Dojo Dawg Family?
Maaaaan, somedays it's what keeps me Dogging.
#adventuresindogging
#onelovefourpaws
"LIVE from Rocky Hill, It's... Sunday Morning...?".
So, it's not New York and it's not Saturday Night Live... but, Maaaaan do we have some fun on Sunday mornings at The Dojo!
These "proofing" sessions are growing bigger and better every weekend.
While we learn at these sessions, they're not actually for teaching.
Every attendee inevitably walks away with some new piece of knowledge or a new tool for their "Dogging" toolbox, but these sessions are meant to test ours and our dog's life skills and patience under some simulated real world pressure in a controlled environment.
The growth that they facilitate in both the human and canine members of The Doggy Dojo is just spectacular.
To all of the families that came out this weekend, I am so proud of you and Thank You for being a part of our little Dogging Family and Doggy Dojo Community!
I'd call this a breakthrough.
Kim and Daisy had some nerves about being on the leash and around other dogs.
They just weren't feeling it.
Sometimes in the midst of the moment we start fumbling with leashes or get tongue tied barking commands at the dog, add into the moment that the dog is having a moment too on the other end of the leash and... now we got a lot of momentous moments going on.
We needed to get Daisy to believe in Kim and Kim to believe in Daisy.
They needed to be more deliberate, more succinct. So, we went to work on Kim's delivery of verbal commands. We also went to work on leash work.
We found that the length of the six foot leash, that I usually almost always require of our Doggers to have, was actually contributing to the fumble of the moment because it was just too long for Kim to manage comfortably.
We changed it up to a shorter one hanging on the rack.
It changed up the game.
Their confidence and even their aura blossomed in moments.
Kim, I am so freaken proud of you for hanging in there. Socialization starts, next session.
Daisy, you are just a sweetheart beyond words.
