Canine Karma Training

We often consider our dogs as part of the family. However, when it comes to car journeys, the safety of our pets and ourselves can be at risk if we don’t follow proper precautions.••• 1. Unrestrained dogs in cars are a risk not just to themselves but also to all passengers. A survey conducted by the AAA found that nearly 60% of respondents have driven with their dog at least once a month over the past year, yet they do not use any pet restraint. This increases the risk of accidents, as an unrestrained dog can be a significant distraction.••• 2. In an accident at just 25 mph, an unrestrained dog can exert an impact force of up to 40 times its weight. This means a 10-pound dog can hit a person or part of the car with a force of 400 pounds, risking severe injuries or even fatalities.••• 3. Distraction is a major factor. According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 65% of dog owners admit to engaging in at least one potentially distracting activity while driving with their dog. These activities range from petting their dog, allowing them to sit on their lap, or even giving them food or water while driving.••• Driving with your dog in the passenger seat is not just a danger to themselves, but to everyone on the road. Invest in a solid dog crate and secure it properly. Your dog deserves to be as safe as you are on the road. Never neglect their safety!•••#canineKARMAtraining #DriveSafe #DogsOfInstagram

It’s hard to believe this little boy is SIX years old today, but time flies when you’re having fun. This little rat has been through a lot, been to a lot, and seen a lot. He’s been all over the country and even to Canada. My little road warrior, demo dog, protection dog, and all around ridiculous rodent.•••Happy Birthday Manic!•••#canineKARMAtraining #MightyMouse #PSAK9 #HappyBirthday #BirthdayBoy

The Foundation of Success: Engagement and Focus 🐾👀 In the journey of training and companionship with our dogs, the cornerstone of all progress lies in two pivotal elements: engagement and focus. Without these, the potential for obedience and skill execution remains untapped. 🚫🐕 Imagine the capabilities of your dog as untold stories, waiting to be brought to life. However, these stories remain untold if your dog isn't attuned enough to heed your call and act upon it. At Canine Karma Training, we prioritize focus above all else; because without it, all other talents and commands are rendered moot. 🎯🐾 It's akin to being the brightest mind in a classroom yet learning nothing due to a lack of attention. The brilliance is there, but without focus, it remains hidden and unutilized. 📚➡️🐶 If you find your canine companion struggling with responsiveness, let engagement and focus be your guiding stars. Nothing surpasses their importance. Elevate these, and watch as every command and lesson transforms from a challenge into an opportunity for growth and bonding. 💡🐕‍🦺 #CanineKarmaTraining #DogTraining #TrainYourDog #Focus Let's cultivate an unwavering bond and an impeccable focus, for it is the bedrock upon which all else stands. Best, David Herbert Canine Karma Training

STOP SAYING GOODBYE TO YOUR DOG! Stop it! - It’s the most common thing in the world and yet… incredibly problematic for the poor dog. When it’s time to leave, put your dog in their crate - or wherever you SAFELY leave them when unsupervised - and simply LEAVE. - #canineKARMAtraining #dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogtrainers

We get dogs to ride alongside us in our life’s journey. We get them so we can share our experiences with them. We get them for companionship. However, you won’t share much more than stress and frustration with them… if you don’t train them appropriately. A properly trained dog can easily accompany you on this path you’re paving through this world. They can go with you, rather than stay home. They can take that road trip, rather than be neglected in a boarding facility. They can join that vacation rather than spending $800 on a pet sitter. Train them to be a part of your life, so they can continue to improve it, one experience at a time. #MightyMouseManic #canineKARMAtraining

Our Board and Trains almost never just… “eat out of the bowl”. Every meal is beneficial. Every meal is productive in one way or another. Always. - If we aren’t feeding by hand or through interactive training, we try to do different “enrichment” exercises or activities with them. I personally love and prefer to use our “bottle pit/pool” for meals like this, because the benefits are HUGE. However, these “snuffle mats”, “slow feeders”, and “food mats” are a GREAT first step for a young puppy before they move on to the (much more challenging) bottle pool. - Storm is loving it so far, if you can’t tell. He’s also painfully adorable. - #canineKARMAtraining

He’s not always very graceful, but he almost always makes the catch. Little Manic with a front facing somersault catch to save the day and almost break his neck at the same time… BUT HE DID CATCH IT! #canineKARMAtraining #Manic #JustAnotherManicMonday #HailMay #Psychopath #ZeroSelfPreservation #MyDogIsAnIdiot,ButILoveHimAnyway #WorkingDog #SportDog #WorkingDogs #SportDogs #WorkingDogSh*t #Frisbee #FrisbeeDog #Reckless #RecklessEndangerment

Karma has been doing this at least once a night, every night, her entire life. She randomly throws this… tantrum? and starts moving her bed around to another spot in the room. She does it with blankets, pillows, dog beds, and even laundry. Sometimes she does it and moves the bed so it’s clearly right next to me (and my heart melts). Other times there seems to be no rational explanation to her ridiculous behavior 🤣. I love this weirdo to death.

Been a little while but… doing some work with Lil Squeeks on his focus, heeling, and precision in the shopping mall parking lot. This is the ONLY way I enjoy going to the mall. • Do you take “training field trips” with your dog(s)? If so, where and why? If not, why not?? • #canineKARMAtraining #MightyMouse #MightyMouseManic #Dog #Dog #Puppy #Puppies #Dogtrainer #DogTraining #DogTrainers #WorkingDog #WorkingDogs #ParkingLotTraining #ParkingLotDogTrainer #TrainYourDog #PlayWithYourDog #WorkYourDog

Is it important to you that your dog is trained to take food from you - gently? Why or why not? How did you train it? I wouldn’t allow Manic to take blueberries out of my mouth like this, but Karma? She is so absurdly gentle when taking food. Always. I know its surprising that a vicious, man-eating pit bull, with the infamous lock jaws of death, is able to delicately remove a fragile blueberry from between my lips but… hey… you only get what you train for! • #FlashbackFriday #FBF #BlueBerryBooBear #canineKARMAtraining

Let's talk about trash. I have been playing in the garbage with my dogs for years now. If anyone can remember back to Manic and Zero’s puppy videos, they were constantly in exercise pens filled with recycling, metal baking sheets, balloons, boxes, balls, etc. In this specific instance, my MAIN focus was just to freshen up some foundational search skills… but there are so many bigger benefits than that. - Desensitization, in my opinion, reigns supreme amidst the ocean of benefits you get from doing this stuff with your dog. Moving around in this pool of crazy, is exposing the dog to non-stop sensory stimulation. While playing a fun game of tug, or being hand-lured through in a focused heel, or searching for a handful of food, the dog is also being desensitized to the chaos around them. Think of how many things the dog is experiencing all at once, while rummaging through your previously worthless recycling. Think of how much confidence is built in a dog who can work like a BOSS, regardless of what’s around them. I’ve had countless clients to do this with their puppies. Dogs that are jumpy, skittish, insecure, sensitive to noise, sensitive to touch, etc. etc. can all benefit significantly from absurdly simple games like this one. Exposure, exposure, exposure. - Stop throwing away your recycling. Save it up. Get a foldup pool like this, it makes it so much more convenient. I know people will ask so: this pool and the playpen balls are in the amazon list in my bio. Put this stuff to use with your dog, ESPECIALLY WITH YOUR PUPPY! Fun stuff like this is what matters the most with super young dogs. EXPOSURE! Make it a priority with your dog, and you will actually help build them into a stronger dog. - p.s. there are so many other benefits to this, its ridiculous. - #PlayInTheTrash #canineKARMAtraining

Whatever hurdle ends up in your way, get over it. Just get over it. In every meaning of the phrase. Get over it. Big walls in your way? Knock them down, step through the rubble, and keep going. Barriers? Break them. Obstacles? Clear them. No matter what, just get over it. But also... you need to just get over it. Life throws curve balls. Life gives you lemons. It happens. There’s such thing as an easy life, there’s just life. You can’t dwell on the things in your way, letting the problem fester and grow inside you. You can’t let the adversity you face, get to you emotionally, and slow you down. Struggle is normal. So get over it. There’s always a way, always a solution, always a path to success. On that path are obstacles blocking you. That’s okay, just get over it. #GetOverIt #YouWillNotStopMe #canineKARMAtraining

When your dog is working for you, what are they focused on? Your left hand? Right hand? Treat pouch? The ball? The tug? You...? There is no wrong answer to this. This isn’t about right and wrong, it’s about preference. It just depends on what you’re looking to achieve. • I see trainers who train the dog to get hyper focused and obsessed on/over the reward. To literally stare at it like nothing else matters. In some training programs, this works beautifully and yields fantastic results. In my training program, the dog focuses on the eyes of it’s handler, and nothing else. “Everything goes through me.” On my program, this is the “right” way to do it. But that doesn’t mean other methods or approaches are incorrect. It simply means that’s not the way I would do it or that it simply wouldn’t work in THIS training program. • When you watch or hear about a trainer doing the opposite of what you do, before making judgements, ask questions. Maybe it doesn’t make sense to you. Maybe it doesn’t make sense to use in YOUR program, but their approach might work wonders in theirs. There’s a reason we all train differently. Embrace it. • #EmbraceTheDiversity #MightyMouseManic #canineKARMAtraining #TBT #ThrowbackThursday

Not the greatest video or anything…. I just love that I got the security dude on camera, creeping up on us to find out what all those squeaky noises were 🤣. - Moving a bit slowly here to work on precision with a few things as we finish up our session and get the helllllll outta there! - #canineKARMAtraining #ParkingLotTraining #MightyMouseManic

If I take my dogs to work, but don’t end up using them, I always stop to get them some training. Always. I try to stop at a completely different/random place every time so they have consistent environmental exposure and experience. I’ve been doing this for their entire lives. The benefits are endless. • #canineKARMAtraining #ParkingLotTraining #SqueekyLittleRatDog

My absolute favorite thing about training Manic in random… quiet neighborhoods…. Is how insanely quiet and inconspicuous he is! Like an innocent little mouse… you’d never even know he was there….🤦🏻 #CouldYouBeAnyLouder? #MightyMouse #canineKARMAtraining

Shaking a bit of rust off on a rainy, post-hurricane day. That was a bit of a bumpy start in the heeling but this wasn’t a session done for points, it was done for fun. No matter how smooth or sloppy, no matter how much it is loved or critiqued… every session I have with this dog is just SO - DAMN - FUN. Thats what matters to the most. #TheSoggyRatDog #RainOrShine #canineKARMAtraining

Regardless of your views on politics or masks... Covid has rocked the world as we know it. Almost every single person around you is struggling right now. Due to depression, predominantly induced from our quarantined-lifestyle, the United States is now experiencing suicide numbers equal or greater than the Covid death toll. People are struggling. Struggling with job loss, financial issues, isolation, the loss of loved ones, fear, anxiety, depression, etc etc. During this time of struggle, none of us are immune. Just like our dogs, there’s no such thing as being 100% “bomb proof”. We are not immune and despite how you may be feeling... we are not alone. You are not alone. If YOU are struggling, reach out. Call a friend, call your mom, call a mentor, call a helpline. Call! Reach out! Don’t struggle through this alone when you DO NOT HAVE TO BE OR FEEL ALONE! • •In the US, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-TALK. You can text the Crisis Text Helpline at 741741 and talk to a counselor. •You can call or text the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Disaster Distress Helpline by calling 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746. •The UK-based organization MIND has a 24-hour helpline you can reach by calling 0300-123-3393. You do NOT have to be in the UK to utilize their services. • Stop fighting this alone. You are NOT alone. • #ReachOut #YouAreNotAlone #HelpingHands #canineKARMAtraining

#Flashback to…. 7 years ago?? Damn… it’s funny how different my training and mechanics are today, than they were just 7 years ago. I’m so glad I still have these old videos to go through once in a while. #FlashbackFriday #canineKARMAtraining