It's a great rainy morning to practice placework and calm!
Remi at Trailing Club
It's Trailing Tuesday!
You know what that means... Our trailing club is out working hard to find our "lost" people. Remi and his amazing handler just joined us this session and are already doing an awesome job!
Check out Derek and Jake as they finish a very challenging trail! This team works so well together!
And guess what, we have ONE spot left in our trailing club and if you would like to jump in midsession, we're happy to have you! The next session won't begin until late October!
Happy Monday!
It's been a little while since we talked about training goals and where Leroy is on his journey - We're still working! Leroy has come so far in his progress with working in new places, building connection and awareness, working through distractions, and even working off leash, like he is in this video.
Since being limited by our ability to give appropriate food rewards (allergies), one of the biggest goals that I strive for in training with Leroy is creating an environment of play. He doesn't do his sits and downs for the food anymore, though he is happy to take and work for kibble practically anywhere we go, he does it because of the joy of play. We do our best to have a BLAST during all of our training sessions so that when I need to ask for those skills in real life scenarios, it's no big deal.
I love watching our old training videos from even just a year ago and seeing us accomplishing goals I didn't know if we would get to in his lifetime! You've got to love those dogs that teach you more than you teach them. : )
It has been such a joy to work with you and your dogs this month! Feel free to share what your training goals are for May - introducing anything new and exciting? Continuing to expand behaviors you've already started?
And, as always, feel free to reach out if you need help. We are here to help you build a better life with your dog!
Benny working drive into new target people.
Jake-Jordan working distance and moments of no visibility during run-aways.
Elmer working engagement and drive into source.
Ellie works on Engagement and Play
Look at this lady go! Ellie came in for her Enrichment Hours session ready to rumble! She worked hard on her manners around other dogs so we took a quick break to play. Sometimes we forget how integral play is for our dogs! It is a huge factor in relationship building and thus can make a world of difference when we work behavior modification or teach new skills.
A little bit of group Impulse Control work to start the morning off right with our boarders! Great work Zion, Toast, and Snoopy!
Robbie works in public
Look at Robbie go! This guy has been working so hard on his manners in public and man is it paying off! He still struggles when we work around distractions but we are continuing to make progress in every session.
Robbie building value to the odor
Need a new way to work with your dog during these cold winter days? I have seen Nosework do some pretty amazing things for all sorts of dogs but my absolute favorite part of training pet dog detection is the relationship between the trainer/handler and the dog. The handler learns SO much about their dog and gains a respect for how they interact with the world. In return, the dog learns how to share that world with their handler and connect on a whole new level!
If you're interested in learning more about Nosework, check out Midwest K9 Scent Sports - they have some FANTASTIC classes, workshops, and trials!
Check out Robbie building some motivation for the odor, he's such a cool guy!
Ellie works on Reactivity
Enrichment Hours highlight for the week - This is miss Ellie working on her reactivity and fence running/fighting right in our backyard.
Our neighbor dogs can bring some pretty wild energy to the boundaries of the yard and we love to use those moments for training, especially for Ellie! This girl absolutely rocked her session last week! We're so excited for the progress this girl is making!
