Originally, I was taking this video to talk about how it’s OK for dogs to get some of their frustration out in ways that we may find odd or “undesirable”.
In my humble opinion, letting dogs get some of that frustration out in a controlled or allowed way heavily decreases it when we don’t want it. Koty loves to let loose when she plays, and we don’t discourage it (within reason) during our keep away game. In the past I would have not allowed this.. and to be honest it came out in other ways for Kota. Not to say every dog would be allowed to do this or encouraged, but for Kota, it releases a lot of feelings and makes her overall a much easier dog to live with on the daily. Not everything with our dogs needs to be shut down for fixed constantly. You’ll find yourself doing a lot of suppressing and a lot of managing.
But then after she came back, I realized Buzz was still hunting his ball. I threw it the opposite way from which he ran so he had zero idea where it went. I thought it was neat to watch him completely ignore another dog, another ball, neighbors shooting, and just natural distractions in a field of critters for his desired goal: his chuck it.
People don’t often realize how much teaching the dog to ignore things when necessary is about motivation and/or understanding of “the game” vs the actualdistractions themselves. I can’t introduce him to every distraction he may face in the world or working. Here is your reminder that play/game based training is not just about wearing your dog out. So much can be learned in that game if you approach it that way 🙂
✨ OBEDIENCE ✨
Did you know that obedience doesn’t have to flatten your dog or kill drive?! 😮
Obedience should be:
✅ Fun and exciting to teach/learn
✅ Helpful in building a cooperative relationship
✅ Used when necessary, not a constant thing for your dog to be engaged in
✅ Used to open up a whole new world for you and your dog
Buzz’s ball went down into the ravine at the property, and we didn’t want the dogs following Ben to get it. I asked for a sit, waited until I heard Ben coming back up, and then released them with a simple “ok!”. You can actually see the chuck it come flying up right before I release them if you look closely.
I want my dogs to listen when I need them to, but have the freedom to be dogs before and after that. They deserve nothing less than to hunt the mice, chase the chuck it’s freely, and roll in the dirt when their heart desires. And reliable obedience gives us that ability!
If your puppy’s training doesn’t include this… you are definitely missing out! Presley is loving his off leash freedom at the cabin. 🌲
My goal with puppies is always to bring out the happiest, goofiest, confident version of themselves. A lot of people want a perfectly trained dog immediately, and they forget about the joy and relationship that can actually come from training.
Obedience is obviously a super important part of training, but so is how your dog is feeling. Recall shouldn’t be a drag, and the basics like sit and down should be things that they WANT to do. If the dog understands and finds value in what you’re teaching, the fun never stops.
Easy enough when you know what you’re looking for!
Setting up a fun little distraction/search area for my classes tomorrow… Buzz wants everyone to know that he’s “helping”. 🤪
Umbrellas popping up can often times be super weird/startling for a dog. Fortunately for me, this wasn’t the case for Buzz. Me popping it open resulted in this ding dong trying to steal it and make a toy out of it! 😂
He is such a hoot!!
It’s the pig squeaking for me 🤣🤣🤣
Bell and Riker getting some warmer exercise in! We love the slatmill and treadmill around here, especially in the winter weather. A nice change of pace and new skill for training and boarding dogs!
And of course for Bell ball is life, ha!
In our advanced detection class we had a fun little drill to work on dogs searching, getting right to odor, and distractors for some dogs.
Decided to put an odor out for Buzz afterwards to let him work through lots of dog smells, dog food, cheese, and blank tins.
I loooove foundational exercises both in detection and pet dog training! This is where I want to work on all of my little things, so when I get to the little things made into big things the dog things they’re a breeze. 🤩
Check out this recall!!!! 🤩
My goal in training is always to give the dogs as much freedom as safely possible. I want them to experience the joys of that freedom, but also want clients to experience the joys of reliability.
Ronni is a new pup in this family and she is honestly one of the most fun puppies I’ve worked with. She’s exactly what a springer should be and has an incredible temperament. I had the pleasure of working with their other dog, Archie, a couple of years back as well and he is also just a wonderful dog! Archie is an Aussie/cav, but predominantly Aussie type desires.
Restricting both of their access to freedom would be a disservice to them, but having that freedom means we need to make sure they are reliable and understands what we are asking.
Good puppies!!! 😍😍😍
JANUARY CLASSES UPDATE!!
We have:
💥ONE spot left for CSD: Intro to Search and Odor (Saturdays at 12pm, except the last session)
💥TWO spots left for CSD: Advanced (Saturdays at 8am, except the last session)
If you’ve reached out but we haven’t confirmed a spot, please reach out again. These classes are always first come, first serve so make sure your spot is reserved!
Excited to see another group of motivated owners and dogs learning the art of detection. Makes my heart so happy!
Look at this boy gooooooo! Douglas was voted most improved (by me, lol) in this intro class. He started our very first class looking at us like we were absolutely bonkers for asking him to hunt his favorite toy 🤣 fast forward a few weeks, and this dude has some really nice hunting skills! He knows what he’s looking for and is learning his TFR to really tie it all together. I am so proud of him and his family!
Look at this amazing team!! 💪
Holmes is taking our CSD: Intro to Search and Odor class starting in December but we got a head start! He excelled in the hunt drive for his toy, so we started him on a new odor: birch.
He’s done scent work before but had a habit of picking up the tins or scratching at them until he got paid. Terrriers, LOL!! We chatted about the pros and cons of that behavior, and decided to 1. Add a cleaner TFR when he’s ready and 2. Move away from reinforcing those behaviors at odor until then.
We cleaned them up pretty quickly and moved to the blocks for a line up. You can see when his nose really kicks it into high gear as well, which is a really neat part of the conditioning process and dogs learning what pays vs what doesn’t!
I cannot wait to watch this dude and his owner in the class. He’s going to be so dang fun. 🤩 he also currently had a bout of happy tail, so dont mind that! 🤣
SOUND ON FOR THOSE SNIFFS!!!! 📣📣📣
Wally is taking our CSD: Intro to Search and Odor class. His nose is wild, and his owner has always been super impressed by the power of it!
We are too!! He got some extra practice in with his last stay here, a “nose bootcamp” if you will. 🤣 Honestly, please send me all of the dogs that want a “nose bootcamp” because I would be in heaven all day long!!!
Wally and I worked very hard to make his odor the best thing on the planet, and then to take it to the wall. I love watching dogs work on the wall because the sniffs are so intense and it’s a process to teach the progression of it, which is amazing to see come together.
This dude is so fun and exactly the type of dog that benefits from taking his nose to the next level. He doesn’t have a TFR yet, so just marking nose to odor. 🙂
Maizey doing a quick run on the wall before our CSD: Intro to Search and Odor class!
I got into detection because I wanted to learn how to utilize what a dog is is innately capable of doing with their nose. Little did I know it would send me down the path of certifying three dogs (one bed bug and two explosives) and being able to go to work with them.
Starting this journey in 2021, I NEVER would have imagined that I would have gotten to work NBA luggage sweeps, Broadway plays, March Madness, music festivals with 15,000 in attendance, and so much more. It has been one of the most rewarding things to teach my own dogs and watch the incredible process unfold. This skill and talent is by far one of the most fun that I can teach an owner and dog, even if working is never in the cards for that dog.
Maizey is the dog that started this all for me. She’s the dog that I went to my first detection seminar with (thanks for giving me the addicting detection bug K9Sensus Foundation 🤣), the first dog that I certified in a professional discipline, and the dog that made sure that I never failed and only learned in the process. She has always made me look so good, and I hope our detection life I’ve made her look half as good. 😂💛
I am SO excited to start this class on a new, fun, and fulfilling journey of sport detection with their pups! 🤩
If you didn’t get to sign up for this class, don’t worry! It will be offered again in December, along with a more advanced class. Stay tuned for details!
One spot remaining for our November CSD: Intro to Search and Odor! Watch this video to see Buzz smoke a hide we set out for training 💣
Come have some fun with your dog and teach them something that will not only help you keep their bodies and brains busy, but utilize their innate and natural sniffing abilities.
Classes will be held on Thursdays at 6pm (skipping Turkey Day). $175 plus tax and fees for the class.
We have dogs that will be doing clove AND a dog that will be doing sheds… lots of learning for everyone with different disciplines! 😍
A quick clip that shows what it’s like living with Buzz… but he sure makes for great distractions with training dogs! Sound on for the calamity that that laundry basket caused 😂😂😂
Skip is working on place after some good exercise. I’m painting one of our inside doors, so while I tape the windows off is the perfect time to practice hanging out on his cot. My dogs are up free, as added distraction and they’ll go lay down on their own. Buzz just couldn’t believe he was about to miss an opportunity to investigate downstairs LOL.
Proud of Skip for not giving in to peer pressure and holding place. 🤩😂
**Also, I don’t use place for hours on end. Place for me is a nice way to keep a dog in a spot if I need to do something or to facilitate things like relaxing after play. I think place has been taken to an extreme by a lot of trainers, where dogs hold it for hours when they are out of their crates and call it training. It’s a useful command IMO and I love teaching it in a way that doesn’t create a prison for the dog day in and day out.
So excited for the last night of our very first puppy class!
These pups are going to be putting all of their new skills to the ultimate test in our obstacle course! 🤩 they’ve learned all about introducing new commands, release/marker words, confidence building, but most importantly these teams have learned how to have fun and cooperate together.
There is still time to get signed up for our next class, starting April 10th at 6pm. Register below to get in on the fun, while teaching your puppy super important concepts! 📚
📥: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=18219619&appointmentType=42293404
Questions? Email [email protected] or [email protected]
Brave New Dog K9 Training
NEW YEAR GIVEAWAY WINNER!
I enlisted some professional help to pick our basket winner. Well, semi professional. 🤣 she is working on not eating the winning ticket, LOL.
And the winner is……
Sarah Lier 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you all for participating and sharing our giveaway!!
Olive and Peanut are rocking their down stays while their lil bro eats breakfast! If you have kids or have been around kids, you know that food flies a bit in the beginning. 😂 as much as the dogs would love to play vacuum, that doesn’t need to become a habit.
This is a perfect example of how training is implemented in the real world. Yay!! I love watching dogs and owners utilize their training to make life so much easier.
As many of you know, I rehomed Peanut to a pet dog family this month. I’m incredibly lucky that one of my all time favorite clients wanted to make him apart of their family, and that I still get a ton of updates. I’d say he’s loving his new job as a family man! 💙
Carson Carotenuto
Tucker decided last night that playing fetch with my slipper was probably the coolest thing ever. 😂
Back in the day, I absolutely would have put a stop to that and said, “but if I let him play with the slipper, he always will be trying to play with my shoes. And probably destroy a few in the process.”
That couldn’t be farther from the truth. It’s not the object that this game is about. It’s about the joy that handler and dog take from the game, the relationship that is continuously budding from an enjoyable interaction, and the desire that he’s fostering to chase, catch, and retrieve things.
I’ve learned over the years to loosen up a bit. Do I want him playing with my shoes long term? Not really. And as he grows, it won’t be a problem.
But honestly I’ll take playing with my shoe over squashing some nice drive to do what labs do: hunt and retrieve. Even if it’s a shoe. A good puppy he is!
#trainlikeivan #trainingwithoutconflict #labpuppy #workingdogintraining
Week officially made!! 🤩🎉
The cutest boy came back for some confidence building… not that he really needs it, he’s confidence as heck! But little dude got to experience new things, textures, noises, and of course give me all of the puppy love. 🥰
Good boy, Achilles!
