Free State Canine

28/06/2024

🎉 We have another Sunday Specials clinic class this weekend!

When it’s too hot to play outside, having a few indoor games your dog enjoys in your bag o’ tricks can help keep them from going stir crazy.

Drop your favorite dog emoji below, and I’ll send you details

27/06/2024

Does your dog swim in freshwater? Read this post 💡

Blue-green algae can look like “pea soup” scum on the water or discolored water … but it’s actually bacteria.

It’s bacteria that can photosynthesize and grow into large colonies that form blooms, often found near shores as the wind moves them along the surface. 🌊

People can become very ill when their skin comes into contact with toxic blooms, and the same is true for your dog. It can be deadly if they lick or drink any of it. 🐾

These blooms produce toxins that can cause:
- Liver damage
- Liver failure
- Muscle tremors
- Seizures
- Paralysis

Symptoms in your dog may appear in as little as 30 to 60 minutes after exposure or may take up to 12 to 24 hours to appear. 🚨

Watch for these symptoms:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Bloody diarrhea or black, tarry stool
- Pale mucous membranes (gums)
- Jaundice (pale or jaundiced gums)
- Seizures, muscle tremors, muscle rigidity, or paralysis
- Disorientation
- Coma
- Excessive salivation or tearing
- Blue discoloration of the coat, skin, and mucous membranes
- Difficulty breathing

If your dog’s been swimming and then exhibits any of these symptoms, it's critical to take your dog to a vet as soon as possible. 🏥

👉 Read more:
https://bit.ly/3L1cO63

👉 Home test for blue-green algae:
https://bit.ly/3RLa4NX

👉 Shop blue-green algae test:
https://bit.ly/3L0lEkL

22/06/2024

Confusion =/= disobedience 🔥

Dogs, just like us, can get a bit flustered in new situations. Before you slap them with the "stubborn" label, consider if they're just feeling a tad unsure or overwhelmed. Knowing this difference is key to nailing your training game. 🐕🤔

Key Takeaways:

🤔🚫 Confusion isn't defiance. Know the difference.
🌟 Show some patience. Newbies need varied approaches.
⚠️ Don’t rely only on e-collar zaps for quick fixes; fairness is the name of the game.
📖 Master the art of reading your dog's body language everywhere. Even top dogs get distracted sometimes..

Read this article by Dog Trainer Robin MacFarlane for the full lesson:
https://www.dogtra.com/blog-and-events/e-collar-training-for-the-stubborn-dog

05/06/2024

🎉 Now open for enrollment 🎉
Introduction to E-collar, a small-group class beginning June 23

In this class we'll teach you how to properly introduce and use an e-collar (remote training collar) to reinforce key training ideas.

You'll learn to gently and effectively communicate with your dog, even at a distance, which means your dog's learning (and listening!) no longer depends on your being less than a leash-length away.

Imagine your dog having the freedom to run, explore, and be a dog, while YOU have peace of mind, knowing they'll come back when you call... ✨✨✨

leave your favorite dog emoji below and I'll send you details!

20/05/2024

Something to consider this fine Monday…

💯

Show your love for dog sports in style! ShopCanineAesthete.com. 🛍 🐾

18/05/2024

⏰ Last chance….⏰

Let’s get your dog (and you!) ready to enjoy the lovely spring weather together…

Join me this Sunday (yup-TOMORROW) for Patio Dogs, a 90 minute clinic class focused on calm, settled behavior, navigating narrow spaces and passing people and dogs, ignoring food or other items that may drop, and strategies and tactics for the humans to maximize success

🔎 Details below

16/05/2024

👀 🐶 👀 🐶 👀
LOOK at all the dog-friendly restaurants right in Annapolis! (Thanks BringFido !!)

Let’s get your dog (and you!) ready to enjoy the lovely spring weather together…

Join me this Sunday for Patio Dogs, a 90 minute clinic class focused on calm, settled behavior, navigating narrow spaces and passing people and dogs, ignoring food or other items that may drop, and strategies and tactics for the humans to maximize success

🔎 Details below

13/05/2024

🥳 New thing coming! (for my local Maryland peeps) 🥳
Focused-topic clinics, to help you and your dog enjoy success in specific real-life scenarios, one at a time

First up: Patio Dog

Because the weather is getting nicer, and more and more restaurants and coffee shops have outdoor seating and welcome pets, let's get our dogs ready to join us!

We'll focus on calm, settled behavior, navigating narrow spaces and passing people and dogs, ignoring food or other items that may drop, and strategies and tactics for the humans to maximize success.

✅ Link to sign up in comments

09/05/2024

Ew.
And yes, several of these can affect humans

02/05/2024

Welcome handsome (handfull!) Bodhi 😍

Looking forward to helping you make your family proud!

01/05/2024

See the progression here?

A huge majority of behavior complaints I hear could be prevented by not giving the dog more access to space than they’ve earned.

And pssst!

You as the dogs owner play a big role in helping them earn those privileges 😉

Dogs need to prove their ability to make choices that align with our taught expectations BEFORE they’re put in a position to fail. Otherwise, they’re just going to do what makes sense to them.

10/04/2024

08/04/2024

In case you miss it, here’s a dramatic reenactment

20/03/2024

It’s International Day of Happiness!
What makes me happy? Seeing how confident my students feel when they can do things that used to be hard—like walking down the street with their dog at heel, not pulling or barking like crazy at the neighbors’ dogs. And seeing how happy and proud their dogs are too! 💕

What makes YOU happy?

23/02/2024

Do the work, reap the real life rewards 👏👏👏

I love getting this kind of “boring” picture! Have a great weekend everyone, happy training 🙂

25/01/2024

Our online Life Skills for Dogs program is about to kick off! Affordable, interactive training, so YOU can teach your dog to be an enjoyable companion.

🐾 weekly instructional videos that you can watch and rewatch from the comfort of your own home-class meets when YOU want

🐾 weekly live group coaching and discussion - no need to feel like you're stuck on your own with no real trainer!

🐾 get your questions answered quickly - you'll never have to wait til 'next week's class' to ask a question or get help

19/01/2024

Friends with oodle-doodle-shaggy dogs! This is my best winter time tip: 🐶❄️

Don’t forget to check their paw-pads for clumps of ice and snow as well 😉

12/12/2023

🎄❅ Welcome to December, friends! 🎄❅
This is DOG-MAS, Day 11...

Today is another logistics day...you have plenty of time to take care of these details, so that your holidays are LOW-STRESS!

Last week, we gave you a short list for dogs who may be boarding during the holidays. This week is for you if you're traveling WITH your dog(s).

🔲 Make sure your contact information is updated with your microchip company.

🔲 Make sure you have enough of your dogs' medications to cover your trip (pro-tip: get enough to cover at least a week AFTER your planned return, so that re-entry is smooth)

🔲 Consider portioning food out into baggies for easy feeding and packing flexibility. Take extra, in case you're delayed. A probiotic supplement can sometimes help prevent stress-related digestive issues.

🔲 Carry a hard copy of your dogs' vaccination records and rabies certificate, and keep a copy on your phone as well. You may need to present this for hotel stay, or in case of emergency vet needs.

🔲 Plan your route, allow for traffic or weather delays, and figure out where you'll plan to stop for potty breaks. I like to keep a few old kitchen towels in the car to wipe muddy paws.

🔲 Use the next week or so to re-introduce crate time, if it's fallen out of regular rotation. A crate can provide a familiar, safe, cozy, spot for your dog, that (if you've used it this way) can help them to relax and be calm.

🔲 Take a few minutes to ask local friends or relatives for vet information at your destination, or ask google. Where's the closest ER vet? What are their holiday hours?

10/12/2023

🎄❅ Welcome to December, friends! 🎄❅
This is DOG-MAS, Day 10...

I hope you had a chance to get your decompression walk in, even if you had to dodge a few raindrops!
..this is the "after" for us. If you captured your 'during' or 'after' in a photo, we'd love to see it!

And if you didn't, have a look at your upcoming week's calendar, and figure out when you can get it in--that's right, put it in there, IN PEN if you need to 😉
See you back here tomorrow for day 11!

10/12/2023

🎄❅ Welcome to December, friends! 🎄❅
This is DOG-MAS, Day 9.

It's been a week, and tomorrow will be another decompression-walk day...so as you start to plan for where and when you'll do this walk, let's talk about one of the big benefits...

PROPRIOCEPTION

In case this isn't one that comes up regularly in your vocabulary, it refers to how the dog perceives its position, movement, action, and location in space.

When we take our everyday walk through the neighborhood, typically on the sidewalk or pavement, moving pretty much in a linear manner across more or less uniform, level surface, our dog's position, movement, and action don't change much.

Which means not a lot is going on in terms of different muscles and muscle groups being engaged, or neurons firing in the brain, either....

yawn 🥱 😴

When we take the trouble (like on our decompression walks) to find a natural surface, with maybe some uneven terrain, roots or rocks to navigate over or around, inclines to work our way up, think of all the different muscle groups that are engaged, AND that engaging those muscle groups actually makes different parts of the dog's brain fire.

No wonder they're wiped out!

Have a great walk tomorrow 💕

09/12/2023

🎄❅ Welcome to December, friends! 🎄❅
This is DOG-MAS, Day 8.
It's trick day! 🌟🤩
Here's a quick session with Zelda, working on the next couple of steps of our 'ta-dah' trick. You'll see we're far from perfect! But with the marker-reward motivation, Zelda keeps on trying, even when she earns a "whoops, try again!"

Let's see how you and your dog are progressing!
(If you haven't been following along, the first steps of this trick are posted on Day 6)

08/12/2023

🎄❅ Welcome to December, friends! 🎄❅
This is DOG-MAS, Day 7.

🎁 Your turn--what's your favorite gift idea for dogs? Either one you're giving this year (we won't tell! 🤫), or one your dog has gotten and especially enjoyed...

07/12/2023

🎄❅ Welcome to December, friends! 🎄❅
This is DOG-MAS, Day 6.

trick day! 🌟🤩

What's one thing you want to learn with your dog?

05/12/2023

🎄❅ Welcome to December, friends! 🎄❅
This is DOG-MAS, Day 5.

Tomorrow's going to be a fun trick day, so let's use today to charge up that reward marker from last week, a little more!

Today we'll be taking just a few minutes to use that marker sound and a handful of small treats or part of your dog's meal, to teach a "boop" hand touch.

Don't go more than 5 minutes! It's better if we leave the dog wanting more, and you can always do another session (or two) later in the day.

If your dog is a quick study (aka: too smart for their own good), experiment a little with the placement of your hand, and with the placement of your reward. Can you get your dog to follow your palm for a few steps?

Need some help teaching this skill? Video link below

23/06/2023

Whose dog struggles with noise-sensitivity? 🎆🎇⛈️⚡️

Who has a young puppy, and would like to make sure they don’t DEVELOP noise-related fears?

I’m thinking about holding an online workshop to teach owners how to change that, starting now. Just in time for holiday fireworks, but also summer storms, loud landscaping equipment, garbage trucks, and other big scary noises.

Wanna know more?

22/06/2023

If you’ve followed this page for a minute or two, you’ll have noticed I don’t often recommend specific products. But this app? It’s a game changer because it satisfies one of the most important criteria for distractions: you can control it.

👍👍 highly recommend 👍👍

There’s still time to make some significant impact for your dog before the every-weekend-all-summer fireworks extravaganza really gets going!

20/06/2023

Working fast and “engaged” is Brady’s sweet spot! 💃 🕺 But, like many dogs he may not choose “slow” on his own…so we teach him how to find it.

20/06/2023

Here’s another tiny task you can complete in just a few minutes, to help ensure your pets’ safety this summer!

19/06/2023

Happy Juneteenth! Brady says “let’s get this party started already!” 🥳