Are y’all hot or is it just me?
One great way to cool down (or at least feel the breeze) is a golf cart ride!
Speaking of which, you may wonder how Karma, the golf cart puppy, has been doing!
Here’s a video update sent to me by her dad.
I think it’s safe to say she likes riding on the golf cart 😂
PAR!
Meet Karma! Karma’s owner reached out to me with an interest in basic training with a side of becoming a golf cart buddy.
Living on a golf course, Karma’s owner plays golf frequently and doesn’t want to leave Karma behind when he goes. The only catch is, she must remain on the cart.
Luckily, we started Karma’s training shortly after she came home. This allowed for desensitization of the golf cart and course to begin early on in her life, giving us quite a hand up in her training process.
We first practiced on the golf cart in the garage, and then in the driveway. When we felt confident she wouldn’t jump out, we moved to the course. In the first videos, I’m holding onto her leash for safety and to cue her back into a sit if needed. Our expectation graduated from Karma holding in place for a few seconds to holding in place for a minute and a half. By the end of the six session package, we both were able to walk away from her (and her owner was nearly out of site). Karma will continue her training so that she can complete an entire course while remaining in her place.
Karma also began basic obedience during her puppy package. She’s already a pro on walks!
It is important to remember that desensitization is a large part of training; the earlier you begin with it the better.
It is also important to remember that baby steps are pertinent in reaching an end goal that will last. Slow and steady wins the race! Once we began timing Karma holding in place, it allowed her owner to really see this point in action. Seconds seem like minutes and minutes seem like hours. Always start small and build upon each step. Cliff notes and skipping steps won’t get you an A+ in training.
Do you have a unique goal you’d like to reach with your dog buddy? Let me know, I’d love to help!
When we are working our dogs, it is important to take breaks!
We ask our dogs to work so hard! Not only do they deserve a break, but it also keeps them engaged. They need to a chance to play and relax when appropriate. This is especially pertinent when we are training puppies or young dogs.
Good ways to take breaks are: swimming in a creek along a path, stopping to be petted and free time to sniff/explore.
Today, this pup worked VERY hard to ignore passerby’s in Bass Pro Shop. Since she had shown interest in the taxidermy animals, we figured she might enjoy live animals! We got creative and used the aquarium in the store for her well earned break.
She sure put on a show and brought us some heavy laughter.
Isn’t she adorable?
What do you do to give your dogs a break when they’ve been working hard?
Phoebe and her mom are quite the pair!
Phoebe recently graduated from puppy school; this video compilation shows off her final lesson. Phoebe and her mom worked VERY hard in between lessons on their homework and it shows! Most first visits to Home Depot are spent trying to teach the dog to focus; Phoebe excelled far past this during her first trip.
Let’s see if you can spot out the behaviors that Phoebe achieved with her mom. These behaviors were included in our overall goal.
1. Loose leash walking: walking right beside mom, not pulling forward or to the side
2. Checking in with mom: occasionally looking up at mom for directions, reassurance and guidance
3. Working through loud noises and tight spaces
4. Ignoring those who are talking to us, telling us how cute we are/whistling at us
Often times, many people don’t realize a dogs full potential (especially a puppy; Phoebe is just five months old!) or maybe they do but aren’t sure how to get there. Phoebe has proven that even puppies can handle themselves appropriately and respectfully in busy and loud places. She passed with flying colors, and I couldn’t be more proud of this pair!
If you’re interested in accomplishing the same goals, please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask me for help. I would be glad to help. After all, we all got dogs to spend time with them - not leave them at home, right?
When you become a client of mine, there are certain base foundation behaviors that we will work on.
One of the most useful ones (and one of my most favorite behaviors to teach) is “bed”.
You may have heard this referred to as “place”.
This behavior is SO versatile!
You can use it when you have guests entering your home and your dog is overly excited/likes to jump on them.
You can use it when you (or your children) are eating, if your dog begs.
You can use it when you’re out and about in public, and need your dog to stay in one place (like when you’re out to eat).
Below is a video compilation of some examples o have put together. Luke and Willow demonstrate how while camping and in a tight space, they can respect my husbands cooking space and my toddlers preference to eat on the floor. Mozzie proves that you’re never too wild to learn “bed” while his sister proves you’re never too young, either. Moose shows that even as a VERY young puppy, he has the capability to begin learning this foundation. Inkles gives an example of what eating out with your dog can look like.
If this is a behavior that you’d like to accomplish with your dog, please let me know! As a toddler mom, I cannot even begin to tell you how useful this behavior has been for me.
As always, happy training and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.
PSA
DOGS MUST BE ON LEASHES AT ALL TIMES IN PUBLIC SPACES.
It is DANGEROUS not ONLY to YOUR dog but to other peoples dogs and humans!
BE CONSIDERATE.
BE RESPONSIBLE.
Not ALL dogs are friendly.
Believe it or not, not EVERY person likes dogs. What if the person take measures to defend themselves and your dog loses their life as a result? It doesn’t matter if you think your dog is friendly - the person could be afraid, and that’s fair.
There are children who can easily be KNOCKED OVER.
My dogs have immaculate recall. You know what I don’t do? Let them off leash on a public pathway.
DON’T. DO. IT.
Leash laws exist for a reason.
GOOD REASONS.
Point blank, dogs are animals and animals are unpredictable.
PUT. DOGS. ON. LEASHES.
Of course, recall work is just as important as my PSA. If you need help with recall, leash work or your dog behaving in public spaces, please don’t hesitate to reach out for help either with me or someone else. All of these behaviors and rules could save a human life and a dog life.
When you think about training your dog, the first thing that probably comes to mind are basic behaviors such as sit, come and stay.
Training these behaviors are necessary and builds the foundation of training for our dogs.
However, training goes so much deeper than this.
Over my career, I’ve had a few requests from clients who have dogs that are terrified of the car and car rides. It’s something that you don’t really think about; dogs should just be able to get in and enjoy the ride - right?
If your dog is afraid of car rides, you may have ended training too soon after basic behaviors.
You may not realize it, but you’re actually training your dog 24/7. Your dog constantly looks to you for confirmation, affirmation and guidance. If you aren’t giving them information, they are left to navigate the world alone. It may be in ways that don’t make you happy or make you worry for them. Let’s go back to being afraid of the car for an example.
We help our dogs learn how to calmly ride in the car through positive reinforcement and desensitization. It can be a very slow process, but that’s okay. Slow and steady wind this race.
Dolly is a very nervous pup. Her mom reached out to me for help. She couldn’t get Dolly in the car without picking her up and she would pant and drool excessively on any car rides. Dolly has since been learning how to interpret and appropriately react to different sounds, surfaces and situations. You see, learning to be okay with the car is more than just learning to be okay with the car. It’s also about learning how to be okay with lots of other things. The more you work your dog through, the more confident they become in every other situation they may be presented with. This is because you’ve taught them how to navigate similar situations previously. They still may need some guidance, but maybe not as much. Give your dog choices and gently guide them through; you’ll be amazed at the outcome.
If your dog is afraid o
Let’s talk about the word “no” today.
“No” is NOT bad word.
“No” is not mean.
“No” does not equate to “bad dog” (which I would NEVER use).
It’s okay to use it. It is another way to fill in the blanks for our dogs. If you only ever say “yes” or “good”, then how will your dog ever know when they made an incorrect choice?
“No” is a word.
“No” gives direction.
“No” gives guidance.
“No” helps teach your dog how to make choices.
“No” gives communication.
“No” is a word.
Food for thought today.
I’d be grateful if y’all could do me a solid and like and share this post.
Happy training!
Do you have a hard time getting or keeping your dogs focus when you’re training? There are a few tactics that you can try to help with this.
1) Reduce distractions. Be sure your dog has truly learned a behavior before introducing distractions. Distractions can be as small as the wind blowing! Remember, we need to set our dogs up for success before moving to the next step.
3) Play the staring game. Ask your dog to “sit”. Stare into their eyes while saying “wait”. As you treat your dog for maintaining eye contact and remaining in a “sit”, say “good, wait”. When you’re done, give your dog their verbal release word. This teaches listening and patience skills.
3) Take a break. Nobody likes to be asked to do a task repeatedly, especially if they’re making progress or doing it correctly. Be sure to break up your training sessions. If your dog has worked hard, they deserve to have a few minutes to relax! Water fetch is a great option, especially with summer coming up. Be careful not to overheat yourself or your dog this summer! If I had flip flops, I would’ve been in the creek with Lucy!
Happy training, y’all!
Have you practiced basic recall training with your dog and are now ready for another challenge?
Today, let’s up our game!
In this video, I talk about blind recall training.
Tips:
1) ALWAYS positive! You should NEVER use recall as a way to punish your dog when they come to you after getting caught misbehaving.
2) Have an upbeat, exciting tone. Remember, your dog is choosing to leave all of the sights, smells and sounds to come to you. You have got to be more exciting than everything else
3) Communication, communication, communication! Say your dogs name to get their attention. Then, say “come.” This is where most people stop. Don’t! Be encouraging! Otherwise you will likely lose your dog to distractions. Say things like, “yes, good, come on! Good job!” for the entirety of your dogs return.
4) Pay your dog!! Coming back to you is a HUGE accomplishment. It shows that your dog not only made good choices but also has great listening skills. Treat them like it!
Recall training is something that you should practice throughout your dogs entire life. My dogs are 9 and 12 years old and we still practice blind recall training. It wears them out mentally and physically. They find it to be a fun game and it has paid off in saving them from their own prey drive. I am confident that they will return to me in any situation. That, is the best peace of mind that there is.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.
Thanks y’all, have a great spring afternoon!
Do you remember Ava?
Ava is under a year old and is learning FAST!
Huskies are an extremely intelligent breed. Intelligent breeds can present quite a challenge, as their brains are always working. You must learn how to become a team and to train them to look to you for direction. This helps prevent them from coming up with ideas on their own.
One great exercise to practice this are silent training sessions. In a silent training session, the owner gives their dog subtle clues as to what they want their dog to do. Therefore, the dog must play very close attention to the owner. This type of session really works a dogs brain. Many owners know that their dogs need physical exercise, but what they don’t realize is that dogs also need mental exercise.
Intelligent breeds tend to start getting into trouble when they aren’t worked mentally. It can be as simple as a ten minute training session every day. It can be learning something new or even switching up what they already know. For example, your dog may know “sit” very well. But can they sit on a mat? What about between your legs?
Ava learned to sit between my legs just before this silent session. Yes, she’s so smart she learns the basics to a behavior in just a few minutes!
Do you have a smart breed that you’re struggling with? I would love to help you become the team that you always imagined. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Let’s talk about Littermate Syndrome.
Many families decide that they would like to bring one puppy into their home. So, they find a litter of puppies to choose from. Maybe all of the family members can’t agree on just one; maybe there are only two left; maybe you think about the puppy being alone while you’re at work and it makes you sad. So, your family ends up bringing home two puppies instead of just one.
Initially, this may ease your feelings. But oftentimes, it ends up causing behavioral issues.
1) It can cause unhealthy attachment issues between the littermate.
2) It can cause aggression issues between the littermates; sometimes towards people.
3) It can cause bonding issues with the owners.
4) It can prevent the littermates from reaching their full potential.
Are you in this situation? It’s okay! Do not fret. Most people are not aware of this syndrome. It is possible to work through it with careful management practices. It will take dedication and a willingness to learn and understand dog training and behavior.
Sam and Chase are littermates who are nearly one year old. When I first met them, they were overall behaviorally sound. However, they did exhibit aggression towards each other whenever their routine was different or they became overstimulated.
Thankfully, his owners were dedicated to managing these boys correctly and reached out for help. After only a few sessions, these boys aggression was extinguished. Again, this took routine, consistency and training on his owners parts. They did their homework, strived to understand and even identified aggression triggers so we could solve the issues quicker.
This video may not look like much, but these boys laying calmly and patiently was an enormous part of their training. When you have high energy animals, they become overstimulated and aggression can then arise. The owners job is to then teach patience, calmness and adaptability. This can help extinguish over excitement issues and t
Meet Ava!
Ava is twelve weeks old. She began her basic obedience training at eight weeks old. It’s never too early to start training your puppy! In fact, it’s best to have a training/routine plan set in place BEFORE you bring your puppy home. By beginning a training/routine plan the day that your puppy comes home, it ensures that everyone in the home is set up for success.
For example, who will be in charge of potty training the puppy? If you don’t designate someone, signs that puppy needs to go potty could easily be missed, resulting in potty training taking much longer.
Another prime example is puppy biting. All puppies tend to do it; how will your family correct it? Not something that you want to be trying to figure out while puppy is expressing it. Ouch!
If you need help formulating a plan before bringing puppy home (or if you just brought puppy home and still need help), that’s something that I offer. Please message me for details; I would be glad to help!
Below, watch Ava in her first session with “leave it”. This behavior is a great one to have, for safety reasons. It also teaches patience and control. Ava was having a hard time not rushing her food bowl, so we worked on “leave it” outside with a low value food as well as inside with her bowl and kibble. This behavior can not only be used at feeding time, but also if you drop something that your dog shouldn’t have (ex. a pill). I started training Ava for this behavior while she was focused. The next step will be for us to drop food while she is minding her own business, so that we can simulate more of a real life situation. For now, I’m pretty proud of this amazing little girl!
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. Let’s give a round of likes to this sweet pup!
*P.S. Huskies are GREAT dogs! But they are HARD to handle. I feel like I need to give a PSA because she’s so cute! Please do your research before adopting a pup!
So, you got a puppy!
Now you want to take that puppy on new adventures, right?
Of course you do!
How are you going to get to the adventures?
That’s right, a car!
Sounds fun, right?
Maybe not!
What does a puppy see when they see a car?
A large, loud, moving locomotive.
How does it feel when they ride in it?
Unstable, disorienting and dizzying.
Not so fun, right?
Most puppies start off a bit hesitant in the car. So naturally, we want to pick them up and put them in it. But what happens when that puppy gets too big to pick up? What happens when they’re so large, they flail or put their brakes on and just won’t move?
Pippin is a great example to follow. Pippin would not even go out of the front door or walk down the driveway when I met him. No matter how positive the adventure was in the end, the car was just too much. With some positive reinforcement, encouragement and high value reward, Pippin now confidently jumps right up into the car! We broke down each and every step of getting to the car and into the car and made sure that Pippin was comfortable at each one before moving on to the next. Now Pippin can truly enjoy all the doggy adventures! Way to go, buddy!
