Modern Canine

Happy 6th Birthday, Storm!! Storm is the best puppy raiser, baby raiser, clean up crew, and cuddler there is. She’s forever known as the “peter pan dog” as she often gets mistaken for a puppy. Storm is one of a kind. 🖤

Clips of Splinter’s brevet from BARC’s trial. Awesome videos from @annarose_videography

Heeling with remote pay and forward downs with Rooster!

Phil & Rooster workin on those fancy feets 💃

💜Jade! Throwback video of Jade doing some French Ring bitework as well as demonstrating some off leash obedience in a public setting. Jade obtained her French Ring 1 title in 2021 and is now helping train both beginner and experienced decoys better their skills!

Babies and dogs. Boundaries we’ve put in place while our dogs adjust to a new family member. 1.) Dog is never allowed to tower over the baby. If the baby is on the floor, in a swing, etc. the dog must respect the baby’s space by a foot or more. 2.) 1-2 second rule. When we feel comfortable letting the dog near the baby, the dog is allowed a quick sniff for 1-2 seconds, before being recalled or redirected and praised. In this situation, baby is being held by one of us or protected somehow (like in a stroller) and dog is on leash. 3.) interactions are NEVER forced. Dog has no interest in baby? Great! We don’t need to force them to meet purely for a cute picture. 5.) No licking the baby’s face. Dogs mouths are NOT cleaner than a humans. 6.) Dog is crated or separated if baby is fussy or crying. A crying baby sounds like a distressed prey animal. 7.) Better safe than sorry. In the end, baby and dog don’t need to be best friends. At each stage of a baby’s development, the relationship between her and the dog should be re-evaluated. The dog may be used to a tiny, useless newborn, but what happens when that baby learns to use her hands, and reaches out and grabs the dogs ear with all her might? Different developmental stages will require new rules and boundaries. Our dogs are part of our family, but a dog should always be respected for what they are… an animal, and we love them for that. They are not a human dressed up in a fur coat. By creating boundaries early, we’re setting up our dogs and our baby to have a happy and healthy relationship and respect for one another in the future! Here are Splinter and Emma enjoying a walk in the park together. 4.) dog and baby are NEVER left together unsupervised, even if we’re just going in the next room for just a second.

Splinter jumping max height (1.2 meters) on the hurdle with ease. The hurdle is in levels 1-3 in French Ring

Here’s a reminder that you don’t need to use compulsion to get control. Phil & Nitro are practicing a down-stay, and some heeling all for tug reward. Check out Nitro’s body language. He is having FUN!!! We use training tools to reinforce behaviors, not to teach behaviors.

Check out Rooster learning the ropes! Tug play on a new field, utilizing markers and a down in drive! 🐓🥘 #roostercogburn

Introducing the muzzle with Nitro! *There are many ways to teach a dog how to be comfortable with wearing a muzzle. This is just one of those ways. * This is Nitro’s very first time seeing a muzzle. This is a 10 minute long training session, condensed into a 40 second long video. I went into this training session with a food reward, a clicker, and a TON of patience. Patience is key when you are shaping a behavior. All I’m looking for, is for Nitro to acknowledge the muzzle. If he sniffs it, nudges it, or looks at it, he gets paid. In the beginning of the video, he is unclear what I’m asking and offers behaviors he’s familiar with, which is a normal part of the process. Once he gets rewarded for nudging the muzzle, we up the criteria. Eventually, Nitro learns that sticking his nose near, and then eventually, IN the muzzle gets him the reward. We ended the session on a high note, and will continue with the same thing next session. Slowly we’ll ask for more duration. Every dog learns at their own pace. Nitro is a natural problem solver, making this process way easier. Some dogs require more patience, but we have found by using this technique, that in the end you get a dog who not only is comfortable with the muzzle, but has learned how to be a better problem solver!

Do you speak dog? Here’s a throwback video of Phil and Loki communicating through play!

Focused heeling for a toy reward with Nitro

Nitro has been with us for two weeks. In that two weeks, he’s learned that training is fun! Main points of focus in his training thus far have been 1.) charging the marker 2.) name recognition 3.) engagement Nitro has learned that our time is valuable. At this stage, we’re showing him how much fun it is to learn, and in return he’s able to ignore his surroundings and focus on the task at hand. We haven’t “named” any of his behaviors, and still may not until he’s offering them on his own. Some dogs learn faster than others, and Nitro is proving to be a very biddable dog who learns quickly!