Adventure Dog K9 Training

09/27/2024

Having been a veterinarian for almost 3 decades, I have seen the tide of how animals are treated change drastically. When I graduated dogs were dogs, now dogs are considered to be higher ranking than people. In our crazy world, people love their dogs more than they love their own families and they treat their dogs better than they treat other humans and I am sorry to say that we are destroying our dogs mental health because of it.

It is increasingly common to go into an exam room and have a dog that is growling at me and trying to bite and the owner is petting it telling it that it is a good dog. It is NOT being a good dog and it should not be rewarded for growling and trying to bite. It is important that we train our dogs properly and we use right language with them. Never is it ok for a dog to growl and try and bite in an exam room where nothing horrible is happening to them and feeding into that behavior does not make it better for your dog, it trains them that their fear is a good thing and it is not.

Mental disorders are exponentially increasing in our dogs and it is us owners fault. Please stop treating your dog like it is some fragile child and start treating it like it is a dog. TRAIN them and teach them commands and correct them when they are wrong and stop thinking you are going to hurt their feelings if you do. Dogs are dogs, not small humans. They need training and proper instructions or it leads to horrible anxiety issues in them and I can assure that that behavior is going to hurt your feelings way more than being an adult and training your dog to be a good dog instead of a spoiled child.

The following are a few copied excerpts from an article that I read this morning from a dog trainer. I feel like there are a good reminder for all of us on exactly what are dogs are and what they need.

"Your dog is a dog, not a human child. Constant unearned affection is a killer and creates an unhealthy addiction for both dog and owner. Your dog will love you unconditionally but will never respect you unless you give it reason to.

The most basic of basics, your dog must learn how to be still in any situation. If your dog can’t be still around any distraction, you will never have control.
Recall
Sit
Down
Walk nicely on leash
Out, meaning release anything in your mouth

You MUST have a language dedicated to your dog that your dog can learn by you being consistent and applying meaning to the words you use. Your dog MUST know what yes means, but also MUST know what NO means. If nothing comes after those words, yes equals reward for good, no equals correction for bad, your dog will never give meaning to either. Your dog’s name is not a command, or correction. NO should not be your dog’s middle name.

The training starts the second you bring the dog home."

08/15/2024

We’ve had a busy couple of weeks!

We’ve moved to a new house and have been integrating a new pack member, Harper the GoldenDoodle.

We’re back to boarding again after a few weeks off and have both Tessa (black & brindle) and Zuko (wolf dog mix) staying with us!
Both have done Board and Train before & their owners have clearly kept up with everything we’ve worked on.

I love it when we get to see client pups months and years after they’ve worked with us. 💕🐾

Now that we’re getting settled into our new place, I’m going to be better and more consistent with posting on here and our Instagram. So follow us on IG if you don’t already and enjoy all the fun dog content to come!

07/05/2024

It’s a full house this weekend. We love it when previous clients come and stay with us!

I offer regular boarding for any (current or previous) training clients. If you haven’t gone through training with us, I still offer boarding as long as your pup is crate trained.

As they will be crated at night/if I’m out teaching lessons, working a board& train client, running errands, etc.

However they’ll get to spend most of their time out playing and hanging out with myself and my pack. I always reinforce basic manners and appropriate play as well.

Boarding is $50/night! 🐾 We have openings for August and September still!

06/11/2024

Now booking for July and August!

Board and Train & a couple lesson spots available.
*we will also be offering regular boarding over the summer at $50/night. However there is no space available over the 4th of July and limited space in general - so book before spots fill up! 🐾

Also, isn’t current Board& Train Tucker the cutest?!

04/04/2024

03/09/2024

Some of our wonderful client pups so far this year 🐾

01/06/2024

Meet Rocket! Our first board & train of the new year!

Rocket is here to learn some basic manners (like leash walking, not jumping, etc), build his confidence, and work on his resource guarding! 🐾

We can’t wait to show Rocket the ropes and send him home with a new set of skills 💕 🚀

12/03/2023

Now booking/filling our Board and Train slots for January and February. Any age, breed or size!

Pricing goes up on the 1st, so Book now to get current pricing!

10/25/2023

One of the reasons I fell in love with training is because it makes it so much easier to include my dogs in my outdoor hobbies and adventures.

I’m not a big person, I’m only 5’ tall and all of them have me beat by 80lbs when you put their weight together. Copper is eye to eye with me and Nitro is even taller when on their back legs.
So they could easily hurt me if they were all together and pulling, being difficult or even just jumping on me.

So as my pack grew from just Max to eventually 4, I knew I wanted to not only be able to include them, I wanted to be able to manage all of them, easily, and safely so outings could still be just as fun and stress free.

The training took consistency, was definitely not always stress free, it took patience, time, and with each dog I had to adjust what I was doing, or how I was doing it. They all have different personalities and all struggled in different areas. Sometimes we had to take some steps back to move forward.

But now?

Now I’ve done countless hikes, road-trips, camping trips, hotel stays, and adventures with them. They also assist me when I’m working with clients.
They’ve visited more places and states than some people I know and we’ll only continue to add onto their adventures for the next 10 plus years.

Training = more freedom for you and your dog and the work is 1000% worth it. 🐾

10/20/2023

These gorgeous pups are Winnie and Rocky!

They’re Rhodesian Ridgebacks, a breed that were initially bred to help hunt lions and other animals in Africa. Although these two are big softies and are previous Adventure Camp graduates.

So they’re just here to visit for a couple of days. 🐾

09/21/2023

How handsome is Onyx?! 🐾

He’s only had a couple of lessons and we’re already seeing some great improvement on his focus and leash manners!

09/20/2023

🍂Now Booking for the rest of October! 🍁

Now is the time to start training to ensure you’re pups manners are under control in time for the holidays! We have both weekend and weekday lesson slots available still and one (one week) Board and Train slot left available.

Set up a consult or Book now (slots fill up fast) and make it easier to live life with your dog! 🐕

08/04/2023

07/22/2023

Our local shelter is full!

If you’ve adopted a dog from The Tacoma Humane The Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County this weekend and you’re looking to set it up for success with you and your family, reach out! Its totally normal for rescues to show some behavioral problems, anxiety or have some trouble adjusting in a new home. So, If you show proof of adoption you’ll a 10% discount! 🐾

The number of pets in our care is OUT OF THIS WORLD! 🚀⭐️🪐

We have 62 adoptable dogs, 62 adoptable cats, and 15 adoptable critters looking for loving homes! All adoption fees are waived until July 23rd 💚

View all of our adoptable pets on our website: thehumanesociety.org/adopt

07/04/2023

Happy 4th!!

Just a reminder while we all love the fireworks, our four legged friends usually don’t!

Todays a day where we see a lot of run away pups trying to get away from all the noise. So make sure you walk them before fireworks start, supervise them in the yard, and most importantly leave them inside and at home for the shows & festivities!

Seriously.

Do not bring them with you to parties with fireworks or out to the fireworks. This is for you AND not your dog.

instead leave your dog in a safe/familiar place such as their crate (remove collars) or a room. If they’re scared give them a busy toy like a kong filled frozen peanut butter or sweet potato, maybe a puzzle toy. Turn up the AC and turn on the TV or Radio. Give them their meds before the fireworks really start if they have them, so there’s time for them to kick in. CBD products can work great for some, but not all and I wouldn’t rely on them to last an extended amount of time. So keep that in mind.

Do not let your dog out to potty off leash (even if you have a fence, just do me a favor and keep the leash on at night when fireworks are going off). Even confident dogs try to run if one goes off too loud or close, and they’ll try even harder to escape if they’re frightened. It’s not worth the risk.

Just be careful, there's too many lost dogs already and almost every year without fail I end up picking up and returning an escaped dog or two personally. The shelters, clinics, and rescues also end up with a huge amount of lost pets coming in during this holiday.

The time to have done training was months ago, as was the time to ask your vet for meds. If your dog has issues with fireworks and you don't have a plan then I'd stay back with them or at least do the things mentioned above.

Happy 4th, be safe and have fun.

07/02/2023

Now booking for July/August!

07/02/2023