Last Journey K9

09/12/2024

How we do football Sundays around here (go Chiefs!) Killian, Sebastian, and board & train pup Sterling all hanging out on place. ❤️

07/12/2024

Amen!!

06/12/2024

If your dog is “stubborn”, that means YOU aren’t stubborn enough! Persistence and consistency are your friends. You persist through the issue and follow through until the dog obeys, and be consistent in doing so, and I promise your dog’s “stubbornness” will subside. Patience is not many people’s virtue, believe me I get it. But it’s necessary and vital in training any dog! 🙏

Picture of Sebastian the Collie who needed to be reset 5 times before he finally stayed, and my 3 dogs who know “stay” very well and weren’t fond of him breaking it so many times. 😂

05/12/2024

CUT 👏🏽 YOUR 👏🏽 DOG’S 👏🏽 NAILS 👏🏽

01/12/2024

Kona the GSD puppy, who’s been doing private lessons with me! Kona is 5 months old and today we did our 3rd lesson together. She is a solid, stable, happy puppy, but we wanted to get a leg up on some training so she can turn into her best self for her Dad. We’ve addressed recall, leash manners, puppy nipping, settling, and a few other things so far that have made life much more enjoyable for she and her family both. I’m really looking forward to watching this stunning girl continue to grow into the sweet, confident, mindful girl she already is becoming. ❤️

Kona is from Auf Der Marquis GSDs here in Michigan.

29/11/2024

Ever wondered what it’s like to board a Frenchie? Wonder no more. My misery is your entertainment. 😳

27/11/2024

Very happy to report Sebastian is cat and chicken safe! He paid them no mind and never once tried to chase or even lock on to them. 🙏❤️

That cat on the other hand… he needs some ecollar training! 😂😏

27/11/2024

Be mindful of what and how much you share, if anything! 🙏

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! 🧡 Please be responsible and feed your pet's their normal diet during the holiday season. No matter how cute and irresistible their begging might be. 😉

19/11/2024

From flight risk 2 weeks ago to living his best life off-leash today. Sebastian is doing fantastic with his new structured life and is even hanging out on place while I vacuum and such (impossible 2 weeks ago). I’m super proud of this guy’s progress so far and can’t wait to watch him flourish with continued training!

He is still looking for a foster or adopter through Michele's Rescue. I would love to have someone to share his progress and journey with so they are set up to live their best possible life with this super gentle, sweet soul. ❤️🙏

Some other things we’ve accomplished:
-Not rushing doors and waiting for “free” before exiting
-Nail trimming (clippers only so far, zero issues)
-He successfully met a strange man and asked for affection
-He is crate trained and is quiet, relaxed, and clean in one
-He’s finally on a structured mealtime (he eats once per day)
-He gets along with every dog he meets and is very appropriate
-He walks nicely with other dogs on leash in busier environments (we are working on getting him capable of that on his own)
-While he does still startle at loud noises, he is no longer fleeing and recovers MUCH more quickly than before

13/11/2024

This post loves to occasionally make its rounds and I love to share it every time. 👏👏👏

Due to unfortunate messaging over the years, coupled with a lack of knowledge, and compounded by the human tendency for denial/delusion, what should be obvious and commonly accepted is anything but.

A few of the messages:
-There are no bad dogs, only bad owners. Wrong.
-Any dog can be “fixed” if you’ll get your energy right. Wrong.
-Every dog should be saved. Wrong.

The knowledge gap:
-We have a chaotic house, with lots of kids running all over, and we adopted a highly nervous but “sweet” herding breed. Bad.
-My dog challenges everyone in our family, and has bitten us all, but is great with my trainer. Bad.
-We got a guarding/working breed so it can protect the family, even though we’ve never had a dog before. Bad.

A bit of denial:
-He only bites us when we kiss/dance/move too fast/leave the house/vacuum because he had a traumatic early life. Delusion.
-She’s guards her spot on the couch, her toys, and her food, and will bite us if we get too close, but it’s only because she never had things of her own before. Delusion.
-He always growls at or bites my husband, but I’m sure he was abused by a man before I adopted him. Delusion.

Can people improve? Absolutely. Can dogs improve? Almost always. Does that mean that all fits can be made healthy and happy, or are wise? Nope. People and dogs come in many flavors, and many of these flavors work wonderfully well together, some work with certain other flavors, and some (human and dog) don’t work well at all. It’s a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless. We should be choosing the dogs we share our lives with based on an honest and informed assessment of who we are, what our lives look like, and what dog—both breed and individual personality—fits that reality best.

Ignore the silly messages, do your homework, and lose the denial.

Fairytales in dog land often end up as nightmares.

12/11/2024

Photo dump of my other current house guest, Sebastian! Sebastian is an approximately 2 year old Collie. He’s a super sweet and sensitive guy who belongs to Michele's Rescue and is with me for a total of 4 weeks to help him overcome some pretty serious fearful tendencies. Fortunately he is 0% bite risk but has, in the past, literally s**t himself. 😅🥴

Sebastian has been with me for a week and is making leaps and bounds. He’s fantastic with dogs of all sexes (even my intact male) and is learning very quickly to trust people again, even men. He thrives on very clear guidance and boundaries. Without them he tends to spiral and will try to flee. But once he trusts you and knows you will give him the guidance he craves, he sticks to you like glue.

Today was Sebastian’s first in-town outing. He did amazingly well. If we were moving, nothing phased him. Once we sat down and worked on “sit on the dog”, he struggled to settle for a few minutes but then was able to cycle down and just exist, no matter what was going on.

I will continue to post Sebastian’s training journey here and am happy to answer any questions anyone may have about him. For training or foster inquires, please contact Michele’s Rescue. Our only real stipulation at this time is that he go to a home without children as they would certainly overwhelm him.

Potential fosters/adopters will also be vetted through me and will be kept in the loop on his training progress and what he will need and thrive with best in his new home. ❤️

Please feel free to share!

09/11/2024

Kya went on her first pack walk yesterday and absolutely rocked! If anything, she pulled to go appropriately say hi to the other dogs (which I also don’t allow but it’s a stark difference from how she used to be). No barking or fearful behavior! Big things ahead for this pretty girl. 🥹❤️
Thank you Katie and Kristen, and the girls! Ginger, River, Willow and Siren 🫶

08/11/2024

“No trainer can bring out what a breeder didn’t put in”. 🙌

Buckle up, hope you’re ready for another red flag Friday 🚩🚩🚩
I heard something that made me chuckle the other day, coming from a breeder (not a trainer), she said “any great trainer can get any dog to do anything”. She was disappointed that her Malinois mixes (who have never done bitework and are not from working lines) just weren’t cut out for bitework/protection.
Not all dogs are the same. Genetics are powerful and make a huge difference in what you can expect from a dog (behavioral, mental, and physical traits). Any good breeder should know this.
We’re seeing so many backyard bred dogs with undesirable traits. Can training help with this? Absolutely. Will the genetics flowing through their blood magically disappear? 🫠 I wish it was that easy. Who’s suffering? The dogs.
Dogs are not carbon copies of each other just because they are the same breed, they are very much individuals just like you and me. That’s why researching breeders is SO important. Meeting the parents of your future puppy can tell you so much! Know what you want AND what you’re getting before bringing home the puppy! But no matter what: Love the dog first, and the sport second.

Pictured is baby Havoc 😍

08/11/2024

“Train the dog in front of you.” Agreed.

Also, FEED the dog in front of you. Let me explain.

This isn’t an issue I see in many dogs. Most dogs would happily eat themselves into obesity and diabetes and an early death. Looking at you, Sterling. 👀

But sometimes a dog isn’t a great eater. They just aren’t. You can use training, exercise, mind games, competition, different foods, all the things. And all things I’ve tried with this dog.

She’s not underweight per se, but at 18 months old I’d like her a touch heavier than she is. A few pounds at best. But that’s nearly impossible when every single day I’m begging and pleading with her to eat a cup of damn dog food.

So listen. I’m a dog food snob too, and I genuinely believe we (and our dogs) are what we eat. But when my dog is scraping rabbit s**t out of the yard and turning up her nose at dog food that costs $90+ for 35 lbs, you feel defeated. Maybe even confused.

So… buy the Purina Dog Chow. Buy the “crappy” food you swear against and give it a shot. I don’t want kids living on McDonald’s but it’s better than not eating at all. In fact I’ve yet to see a dog too thin or with a poor coat or overall health that eats Dog Chow every day. So alas.

You win some, you lose some. It’s okay to go out of your own comfort zone to get s**t done sometimes. Choose your battles and give yourself grace. Sometimes these animals are confusing. 😅🙌

All the thanks in the world to Zwinger vom haus Huro for this dog and for being a great friend and mentor and helping me get out of my own head with silly stuff like this. ❤️🙏

(And don’t even come here to suggest raw. This dog eats around raw meat, I’ve tried. 😂)

06/11/2024

Meet Kya! Kya is a 9 month old GSD who is spending 3 weeks with me to work on some dog reactivity. Kya had a hard time at puppy classes and found them more traumatic than helpful (puppies were allowed to interact in said classes) and has struggled to trust dogs since. I’m super happy to report that 9 days into her stay, Kya is making HUGE strides towards trusting her handler and strange dogs again, and is even on the verge of making her very first dog friend! 🥹❤️

04/11/2024

World, meet Luna. Luna is an approximately 1 year old GSD who I just finished 4 private lessons with. Luna is one of the greatest successes of my career. Here’s why.

When Luna and her owner came for an evaluation, I didn’t think much of Luna. She sat, muzzled, next to her owner watching me, unsuspecting. Out of nowhere she exploded. I was actually taken aback by how sudden and extreme her reaction was. We executed a few trial exercises and I had major doubts about this dog ever being safe. We even had a serious talk about euthanasia. It was absolutely on the table for Luna.

So despite Luna’s rather extensive bite history, we moved forward with 4 private lessons. The thought process was this: let’s put some work into her and see. No second mortgage, no opening a high interest credit card… all to end up with a euthanized dog anyways. I don’t want people to go into debt to end up without a dog. It’s not fair and goes against all my morals.

I’m ELATED to share that after 4 private lessons working on recall, place, handler engagement, and some other foundational respect and boundaries, Luna is a brand new dog. Can you run up on her and give her smooches? No. Should you do that to any dog? Hell no. But Luna is controlled, more confident, and far more neutral to the things she formerly found scary and worthy of shredding.

The biggest takeaway and success? Watching her owner absolutely blossom. I watched Luna’s mom at the evaluation, defeated and sad. She knew she was at the end of her rope and was down to try anything I said in a “Hail Mary” to save her dog and her sanity and the safety of society around her. Now, around 5 weeks later, she is confident, smiling, laughing, enjoying building her dog back up (we had to bring her down a few pegs initially), and also ready to handle business if need be. Y’all, the way this woman CARRIES herself is different. She’s the true definition of a bad bitch.

Anyways this is getting long. I’m really proud and happy for both of these living beings and I just want to say you don’t need to spend a fortune to make progress. You just need to be committed and willing and open to change. I’ll help you with all of that. ❤️

Oh and Luna nosed my hand today to ask for a pat on the head. 🥹