Reform School K9

20/02/2025

📣 Folks, we have a big need! One of our adopters is struggling and needs to find a new farm for her two LGDs! 🆘 We rescued Frazier from a bad situation in South Oregon with his siblings, known as the “Baker’s Dozen.” He’s almost 1 year old and becoming a true working dog, good with chicken, geese, cats and other dogs. He’s very protective so a quieter farm would be best (maybe not a lot of visitors in and out constantly). Their other LGD is Thaiya and although not one of our dogs, we would love for them to go together. Thaiya is a 14 month female old who is good with fowl, goats, cats and other dogs. She’ll need a spay and does best with her sport dog fence which can go with her. Older respectful children (or none) would be best. 🙏 Please share to your farm friends so we can find them a new gig to protect. They are both such good dogs and deserve the best. 💔. Inquire here or email us at
[email protected]
🐾

06/02/2025

SUCH a sweet boy!!!

21/01/2025

A huge reason why I advocate for including dog bite prevention in school curriculums for children!

What do you think when you read the quote above?

Does this statement surprise you?

Our very own Jennifer Shryock and John D Visconti have teamed up together to create an incredibly informative column included in the APDT Chronicle of the Dog Winter 2024

We are looking forward to sharing more from these columns over the next few months and the information that these two educators have to share with the community!

07/01/2025

Meet Atlas🐾! This bouncy trouncy flouncy pouncy 18 month old boy is still brimming with puppy energy! The best home for Atlas will have a large, confident younger dog who who can play hard and give as good as he/she gets. Atlas also wants a teen-to-adult "people pack" to hang with and from whom he can demand the required number of back scritches and belly rubs needed to support his best life. He is a fan of hanging out with his peeps (and searching for any dropped popcorn🍿) during Netflix binge watching sessions.
Atlas had a rough start and still needs significant leash skills development. He also can have a reactive / fear response to unknown people and situations that can look like aggression. It will be important for potential adopters to see this behavior in his foster🩵 home before committing.
Atlas will bounce after smaller animals if they run. There are two chill kitties🐈🐈‍⬛️ in his doggy foster home🏡 who can manage his energy and one which can not, so high energy, dog saavy cats only, if any.

He is an excavation expert--if you need a culvert put in or drainage added around your house--he's your guy! Atlas also encourages good household habits--no more leaving dishes for "later" in the sink or food out on the buffet with this fellow around.
Atlas can not abide a crate, but he sleeps😴 through the night🌙 and stays on his own bed🛌 in the bedroom he currently shares with his foster moms and pyr sister. Should you need supervision as you move throughout your day, this guy will happily watch👀 every step you make--mostly to be sure he's not missing any cheese🧀 tax--but also so he knows you're safe in the shower🚿!

Atlas is currently being fostered in Oregon and can be adopted within Oregon/Washington. To fill out an application, head to www.greatpyrsandpaws.org!

09/12/2024

Shoutout to Pyrs and Paws for networking my boy Odin! It’s been so great to meet others here in Oregon who are passionate about Livestock Guardian breeds!

📣 Folks, our friends at reached out for help with this 1 yr old who was found in South Oregon tied to a pole. 😞 Meet ODIN! Odin is a big playful & bouncy boy who is good with other dogs and people. He walks well on a leash and is clearly thinks he’s a “lap dog.” 😂 They think he may be an Anatolian mix and we also think he could be a Leonberger mix? Regardless, the staff say he’s the SWEETEST big boy who deserves a loving family of his own. If you can foster please fill out an adoption/foster application at www.greatpyrsandpaws.org.

To adopt, contact the Greenhill Humane Society at 541-689-1503. Thank you for all your support!

25/11/2024

This is the kind of stuff I’m talking about when explaining how training with this guy has influenced my approach to behavior modification. Everyone says “I should be able to take stuff out of my dog’s mouth whenever I want”— but when you have a highly possessive dog that will injure you over resources, you have to set the foundation for making that possible without constant conflict. This training approach always feels like a “hack” because a dog that you initially couldn’t take an object from is now excitedly OFFERING it to you because that keeps the game going.🐶

12/11/2024

“Fear-Free” has better marketing, but hands-down Low-Stress Handling techniques are more successful with the dog I have and those I choose to work with. Some dogs who struggle in a veterinary setting are not reacting out of fear, and that’s where I see clients and veterinary staff struggle the most. I have observed that people have infinitely more sympathy for a fearful dog than one who is reacting to handling with defensive aggression. But both are coming from a place of feeling threatened, and both deserve empathy. It’s such an important distinction! Great discussion 👇🏻

20/04/2024

Check out the link below to see a video where I discuss the potential connection between "problem behaviors" and pain! (it's a re-upload....Facebook decided to only post 1 minute of it last time, which was basically useless 😅).

I also include a reference in the video description of a study where they found a SIGNIFICANT number of dogs who were seen for behavioral concerns actually had a physiological disease process going on! 🤒

It is never a bad idea to take your dog to the vet 🏣 BEFORE contacting a trainer just to confirm they are not actually communicating discomfort with the behavior changes you are seeing! Some of the big ones I talk about in the video are suddenly stopping play 🥎, becoming increasingly "grumpy" with other dogs and humans, or isolating themselves from others!

https://youtu.be/O6Y4noS_kdM

17/04/2024

Today I talk briefly about Reactivity, and talk about one of the FIRST homework assignments I give owners who are just starting out!

This video covers some basic info about Reactivity and one of the FIRST homework assignments I give clients who are in the thick of it!

14/04/2024

Great resource on Michael Ellis talking about the "how" of using play in training! 🥎

After studying at his training school (while it was still in-person!) I now use this type of functional play in training with almost every dog I work with, ESPECIALLY working breeds. Often incorporating structured play is one of the missing links in a well-balanced training program ⚖️!

In this clip, Michael Ellis describes the rules of play and what skills he looks for in a dog before play can be used as a reward. Understanding and establis...

11/04/2024

❗️It's National Dog Bite Prevention Week! ❗️

So let's do some preventing!

While many other trainers are talking about the myriad of topics surrounding dog bites, I'm taking a moment to share a couple of resources that I refer clients with kiddos to ALL THE TIME! 👶🏽👧🏻

If you are either pregnant or plan on having kids in the future, I just want to make sure that you at least hear this: ⚠️PREPARATION is KEY⚠️ when combining dogs in the home with small humans. I'm serious. Small children move "strangely" to dogs, and that can elicit a myriad of responses from them. 🥸

Anyone who has referred cases to me knows that I don't work dog aggression cases where there are young children in the home. There are many reasons for this, but one of the biggest reasons is that the stakes are INCREDIBLY high for not only the young child(ren) but also the dog. In many cases, these become either straight "high management" cases or re-homing cases. For the dog, not the children.

There are two fantastic 💯 businesses though that I've taken trainings from who specialize specifically in kids and dogs:

🐶Family Paws Parenting
www.familypaws.com

🐶Pooch Parenting
poochparenting.net

These are two trainers I feel very comfortable directing families to; I have seen both handle cases with the grace and experience that can only come from specializing in this area for years. They also offer some free resources on their sites! Check them out!

Family Paws Parent Education Ongoing support for families with dogs and babies.