Draco's Lair Dog Obedience

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Draco's Lair Dog Obedience

Over 10 years experience training dogs/instructing group obedience classes. He would bark and lunge at the other dogs, especially when they were close to him.

One of my dogs began as a 5-year-old reactive dog and became a registered therapy dog with Pet Partners and earned 11 AKC titles in Obedience, Rally Obedience, Trick Dog and CGC My name is Hollie and I spent over 10 years working with my dogs and competing in AKC Obedience and Rally Obedience Trials. I also spent much of that time volunteering as an instructor for group obedience classes at a loca

l obedience club and visiting nursing homes as a registered therapy dog team with 2 of my dogs. I also coordinated "dog demos" at area assisted living/nursing home facilities and I have been an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator since 2015. My Dogs:

CHICO (Chico RE CGCA)

The first dog I began formal training with was my AmStaff Chico. He was an easy dog to train, he enjoyed working and got along well with people and other dogs. He was a registered therapy dog with Pet Partners (Delta Society when we began as a therapy dog team). We also earned 3 AKC titles in Rally Obedience and the AKC Canine Good Citizen and advanced CGC titles. BLUE (Kenny's Baby Blue CD PCDX BN RE CGCA CGCU TKI)

Training Blue was quite a challenge and an amazing accomplishment. I started really working with him, trying to take him to classes in about 2012, when he was 5-years-old. He was reactive to other dogs, especially dogs his size or larger (and Blue wasn't exactly small, he was around 80 lbs). By 2019, Blue had earned 6 AKC titles in Obedience and Rally Trials (and received 7 out of 10 qualifying scores needed for a Rally Master title), 2 AKC Trick Dog titles and the AKC Canine Good Citizen title, as well as the advanced CGC and Urban Canine titles (2 higher levels of the AKC's Canine Good Citizen program). Blue was also a registered Therapy Dog with Pet Partners. I don't remember how long he was registered, but he re-tested at least twice (testing every 2 years). He tested at the higher of 2 levels, which meant we could visit places like hospitals. Upon a request, we visited a patient in the cardiac unit at Essentia Hospital. So that's 11 - pretty close to 12 - AKC titles and a registered therapy dog for at least 4 years. Not too bad for the crazy, vocal, reactive (to some scary) 5-year-old I began training with to have accomplished by 12-years-old. ZEUS (Chico's Thunder And Lightning TKN)

The last dog I was working with was Zeus. Zeus was reactive to both people and dogs, so he was quite the handful to work with and, like Blue, caused many people to be afraid of him. Unfortunately, Lymphoma took Zeus when he was 4-years-old, before we were able to reach his full potential. While he became quite reactive as he reached adulthood, he did earn his Novice Trick Dog title from the AKC. He was a smart boy and in our short time together he had learned some advanced obedience level exercises. I wish I could have seen the dog he could have become. DRACO (no registered name)

Draco is almost 3-years-old and really smart. But I have had some struggles in my personal life, which caused me to step away from dog training for awhile. When it comes to training, I have failed MISERABLY to this point with my current dog Draco. Don't get me wrong, he is a GREAT dog...at home, with people he knows. And I fully admit that I should have done a lot more with him - from socializing him with people and other dogs to training him even basic commands - all things I KNEW I should be doing with him, but just could not get myself to get up and do. With Draco I am not focusing on formal obedience. Our focus is on communication and him being a great family dog. No titles needed. I know its not always fun or easy for us to help our dogs be the dog we want them to. I know it can be A LOT of hard work and frustration. Its not always "Nice Job!" or "Good Boy!", sometimes its corrections and "Let's try again". But I also know even if you don't get the result you want as quickly or easily as you would like, the work trying to get there gives you something else...YOUR dog! It gives you time with your dog, connecting with your dog, bonding with your dog....and it gives your dog something he cares about so much more than himself......it gives him you.

20/06/2024

I was organizing some files the other day and came across this. I can't believe it was 9 years ago that I became an AKC CGC Evaluator!

16/06/2024

You can also follow on Instagram to see more.

19/12/2023

Pajamas and no makeup...because it's dog training and I promise, the dog doesn't care. But sorry that I look exhausted, lol. Draco Muffins

05/12/2023

Blue: Before and After

Blue's Story: I started really working with Blue in 2012, when he was 5 years old. Blue was very reactive to other dogs. He would bark and lunge at them. Some people were afraid he would hurt them or their dog.

But with hard work and dedication to our training, Blue became a wonderful dog that I could take anywhere. He loved people and most people loved him too.

This video shows a time in our journey (2014) when Blue was able to enter the ring, just sometimes not stay there because he would bark at me. Usually this would happen in Obedience, he was a little better in Rally.

The video also shows several years later, in 2019, Blue on a Masters Rally Course. Blue earned up to the Preferred Companion Dog Excellent (PCDX) title in Obedience and the Rally Excellent (RE) title. He was almost halfway to his Rally Masters title, but the required jump heights just were too much for him as he got older.

Blue also earned the titles of Community Canine (CGCA) and Urban Canine (CGCU) in the AKC's Canine Good Citizen program as well as the Trick Dog Intermediate (TKI) title.

He was also a registered therapy dog for about 6 years, visiting nursing homes, schools and hospitals.

It wasn't easy, and it didn't happen overnight, but it was worth the times of anxiety and frustration I felt as I was training him to have the dog I did in the end.

I miss all my dogs that have passed, but Blue was very special to me. He showed me that the work might be hard at times, but the experience and the end result can be something truly amazing.

01/12/2023

What a good little jumper! Zeus was on his way to mastering the broad jump

01/12/2023

My favorite way to teach "Leave It"

29/11/2023

28/11/2023

Blue

22/11/2023

Just playing around with a few more logo ideas....

19/11/2023

Still trying to get a logo for Draco's Lair totally figured out. Opinions welcome :)

12/11/2023

I am working on making an online Beginner Obedience course and hope to have it available soon. More information will be available when the course is finished.

03/11/2023

Here is the only other instructional video I have done. It is from 2018 with Zeus.

03/11/2023

So orginally my idea for Draco's Lair was to offer in person small group classes in my backyard.

While I am still considering this, if there is some interest, another thing I may possibly look into doing would be to offer instructional videos. I put together a short "pajama training" video with Draco.

Of course there were things I noticed I forgot to say in this video. Like that I often use "people food" treats for training, like string cheese, turkey hot dogs, or summer sausage as I do put them in my mouth, as shown in the video.

I do apologize for the poor camera angle in Draco's video, I need to find my tripod.

01/11/2023

This is Zeus (Chico's Thunder and Lightning TKN) (2017-2021)

Zeus was reactive to dogs and people. We were working on this and slowly making progress, however Zeus developed Lymphoma and passed at only 4 years old.

He was an extremely smart boy, learning some advanced obedience skills. But as with most reactive dogs, it was like he forgot all training when his reactivity was triggered. I know that had I had more time with him, we would have worked thru it as Blue and I had with his reactivity.

Zeus did earn his Novice AKC Trick Dog title. I believe he would have earned many more titles had he just been given more time.

27/10/2023

Meet Blue (Kenny's Baby Blue CD PCDX BN RE CGCA CGCU TKI 2007-2022)

So Blue was not always the well behaved dog you will see in his videos. He was reactive. He would bark and lunge at other dogs. Some people were afraid of him. But with A LOT of HARD work, Blue became a registered therapy dog with Pet Partners, visiting hospitals, schools, libraries and retirement living facilities. We also competed in AKC Obedience and Rally Trials, where Blue earned many titles (as shown by all the letters after his name).

27/10/2023

Hi, I'm Hollie and this is Draco Muffins.

A little about us:
Draco is 2 years old and he is a good boy. But as with any dog, he has some issues we are working on. Draco suffers separation anxiety and isnt as well trained obedience wise as my previous dogs (you will see posts with them at a later time).

I have worked with my own dogs and competed in AKC Obedience and Rally trials with them. However, I have not been very active with dogs in the past few years.

Around maybe 2012 or 2013 (I don't really remember) I became a volunteer instructor, and later, training director (also voluntary), at an AKC obedience club until June 2019.

I have also been an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator since June 2015.

I would love to be able to assist people with their dog's obedience training again. So I thought possibly a few dog/handler teams would like to take group classes in the back yard of my home. Of course this wouldn't work too well in the winter, but could possibly be done in the warmer months.

Please contact me at [email protected] if this is something you may be interested in or have any questions. Please list "CLASSES" in the subject line. Tentative start date for beginner level class is Spring/Summer 2024.

Address

Telephone

+13036168305

Website

http://dracoslairdogobedience.square.site/

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Videos

Pajamas and no makeup...because it's dog training and I promise, the dog doesn't care. But sorry that I look exhausted, lol. Draco Muffins

Blue 2014 - Excused 2019 - Masters Rally Course

Blue - Before (2014) and After (2019)

Blue: Before and After Blue's Story: I started really working with Blue in 2012, when he was 5 years old. Blue was very reactive to other dogs. He would bark and lunge at them. Some people were afraid he would hurt them or their dog. But with hard work and dedication to our training, Blue became a wonderful dog that I could take anywhere. He loved people and most people loved him too. This video shows a time in our journey (2014) when Blue was able to enter the ring, just sometimes not stay there because he would bark at me. Usually this would happen in Obedience, he was a little better in Rally. The video also shows several years later, in 2019, Blue on a Masters Rally Course. Blue earned up to the Preferred Companion Dog Excellent (PCDX) title in Obedience and the Rally Excellent (RE) title. He was almost halfway to his Rally Masters title, but the required jump heights just were too much for him as he got older. Blue also earned the titles of Community Canine (CGCA) and Urban Canine (CGCU) in the AKC's Canine Good Citizen program as well as the Trick Dog Intermediate (TKI) title. He was also a registered therapy dog for about 6 years, visiting nursing homes, schools and hospitals. It wasn't easy, and it didn't happen overnight, but it was worth the times of anxiety and frustration I felt as I was training him to have the dog I did in the end. I miss all my dogs that have passed, but Blue was very special to me. He showed me that the work might be hard at times, but the experience and the end result can be something truly amazing.

What a good little jumper! Zeus was on his way to mastering the broad jump

My favorite way to teach "Leave It"

Blue

Here is the only other instructional video I have done. It is from 2018 with Zeus.

So orginally my idea for Draco's Lair was to offer in person small group classes in my backyard. While I am still considering this, if there is some interest, another thing I may possibly look into doing would be to offer instructional videos. I put together a short "pajama training" video with Draco. Of course there were things I noticed I forgot to say in this video. Like that I often use "people food" treats for training, like string cheese, turkey hot dogs, or summer sausage as I do put them in my mouth, as shown in the video. I do apologize for the poor camera angle in Draco's video, I need to find my tripod.