Tons to see here. First, let me state that I let a lot of this go much longer than I usually would because there was so much cool communication going on. Loon is a high energy, sensitive, intense dog who is pretty easily overwhelmed and copes with feeling overwhelmed by movement if possible. So she will try to turn something into a game of chase because she is very fast and feels less trapped in movement. I’m working on her feeling better about standing her ground and remaining calmer, but we have a long ways to go. She has recently started facing off and backing dogs out of her space if they insist on overwhelming her, and I allow it to a degree because I believe it improves her confidence. Mars, the young German Shepherd, is very pushy and rude, and is much too intense for sensitive Loon. Loon tries to use movement to lower the pressure, but Mars doesn’t back off her intensity. It may seem like Loon is inviting Mars to play, but she’s actually trying to diffuse the intensity from Mars through play until it doesn’t work. Enter Whimsy, my brilliant happy-go-lucky, middle-of-the-pack mediator. You can see her repeatedly stepping between to diffuse. Sometimes she corrects and body checks. Other times she tries to draw attention to herself into play, all to diffuse the energy. The other mixed breed Callie tries to help with that. She’s also a good middle with great social skills. And finally, you see the Jack Russell Billie come over and mount Loon, trying to bring her energy back down. She stays there long enough to see Loon settle a bit. Most of the time I will intervene much sooner to keep the energy from becoming that intense. But if I miss something, these helper dogs are quick to let me know that the energy needs to come down. In the case of Loon and Mars, Loon does not have the natural confidence to effectively match Mars’ intensity and effectively shift her energy. So I will be stepping into back up her communication right away so that Loon feels sa
Tahoe friends! Looks like too much weather uncertainty for me to make it up this week. The next class will be planned for two weeks from now. Stay warm!
Sacramento friends! We have a drop in class this Sunday morning at 9:00 in Old Sac. Cost is only $20/dog. Established clients may join to work on your leadership and communication skills, while improving your dog’s leash manners, impulse control, social skills, obedience, and urban agility, all while navigating the distracting environment of Old Sac. Please comment below or text me before me 8:00 p.m. Saturday evening if you plan to attend.
Sacramento friends! If you are interested in attending our drop-in class, please comment or text me before tomorrow (Saturday) evening at 8:00. Due to lower attendance lately, I’ll be asking for sign ups by Saturday so that we all know if class is going to happen ahead of time. These classes can be a lot of fun and very helpful, especially if we have enough dogs in attendance. If you have done any lessons with me, please join us to fine tune your leadership skills. We cover a lot of different issues, and help build confidence. Class is planned for 9:00 Sunday morning at William Land Park behind Fairytale Town. Please comment by 8:00 Saturday evening.
Highlight videos from our vacation. The dogs had such a good time.
Tahoe friends! With this mega storm, there will be no drop-in class tomorrow evening. I’m hopeful next week may work, so stay tuned. Be sure to engage your dogs with mental work when it’s too difficult to get out and walk. Happy shoveling. 🤪
Sacramento friends! Looks like we are getting rained out again, so no class tomorrow morning. Stay warm and dry everyone. And don’t forget to work your dog’s mind more when you can’t get out for a walk.
Tahoe friends! With the weather as it is and more snow expected throughout the day tomorrow, I’ve decided to postpone my trip until next Monday. Stay warm!
Sacramento friends! I’ve decided to cancel class for tomorrow with the expected rain and especially high winds. Stay safe everyone!
Class in Sacramento. Everyone did great!
Brenda practicing an awesome off leash heel with Piper while others hold their stay. Piper and Whimsy are good friends, so they both struggled to ignore each other as she went by.
This was two weeks ago. We set up a little agility race between Luna, Ezra, and Whimsy. I think Luna won by a nose. Ezra cheated. 😂 But he was smart enough to jump back up on the benches for his grand finish.
This was awesome! Group stay with all the people moving. Awesome job everyone!!!
Sacramento friends! We have a drop-in class tomorrow morning at 9:00 at William Land Park behind Fairytale Town. Cost is only $20/dog. Established clients may come and work on socialization, providing leadership, communication, impulse control, urban agility, obedience, and more. Please comment below if you plan to attend.
Sacramento friends! There will be no class tomorrow due to the big storm coming in. Stay warm and dry!
