DogSmarts

03/05/2022

I wanted to let people know that Angela Bata of Two Harbors is offering classes that start in June. Angela is an excellent trainer and is hoping to work into a full-time dog training business. I think that would be an outstanding addition to the North Shore and hope you will consider checking out her classes.

https://serenitydogtraining.com/two-harbors-group-classes

Local Group Classes Beware of Emperor YouTube’s deceptions and don’t let Darth Google betray you. Prevent your pup from joining the dark side. Happy you will be. Manners your dog will have. Show you the way Serenity Dog Training will… Puppy Jedi TrainingSave Your Pup From the Dark Side before ...

10/08/2021

Please sign our petition!

https://www.change.org/SilverBayCOLA

Silver Bay, MN needs an off leash area for citizens and their dogs!

03/07/2021

We have a new Australian Shepherd puppy, current call name Moxie, who will be 8 weeks old on Tuesday. Because of her age, I can’t take her to public places until she has more vaccinations. I am looking for other people who have puppies that would also like to socialize in a safe place. In Silver Bay, I don’t know anywhere I would be comfortable except in someplace like a private fenced yard like my own, where I know no wild animals of concern or unvaccinated dogs have been.

At her age, my puppy needs other puppies of a similar size and development, since she has only played with her own littermates previously. For example the Golden puppy who lives next door to us is 4 months and a larger breed and so is a bit too rambunctious for Moxie right now.

I’m also going for the 100 people in 100 days goal that will help ensure she generalizes all humans as part of her social group and want to get her into as many different situations as I can to ensure she is comfortable in almost any setting as an adult and so would like to see a group that can have multiple safe locations to meet - I.e., safe yards other than my own fenced back yard.

Secondly, I am also wondering if anyone is interested in informal training sessions outside perhaps in conjunction I am thinking of something like a day and time of the week where interested people would meet up and work together on training. I will be doing clicker training with my adult dog Bolt and the puppy and would be open to helping teach other people who are interested in that method. I am not able to offer formal classes at this time due to my own health and lack of venue.

I am also going to try to figure out a way we can have a reactive dog class. I am discussing this with my fellow dog trainer, Angela Bata, in Two Harbors who is doing some work with online classes. I think a combination of an online class where people can learn without the pressure of other dogs plus an opportunity to practice what is learned in a supervised setting might work. I get more calls for individuals with dogs with leash reactivity than I could possibly help individually. Another way to do this would be to meet part of the time without dogs to cover what needs to be done and how, then have other sessions for practicing what we are learning.

Does anyone have other ideas? I am also working on ideas for some other dog activities and am curious what people wish they could do with their dogs here, without a long drive. I am doing competitive nosework, herding and want to do some informal agility - that would be something like having agility type equipment and teaching the dogs to use it but only for fun, not competition.

So that is 4 things I’m wondering if people have any interest in doing:
1. Safe space Puppy socialization
2. Informal training like a training club
3. Dog activities/sports
4. Reactive dog rehabilitation

And anything else you would add. What do you need or want?

29/04/2021

Dominance theory resulted in decades of harmful ideas about dog training. When I got my first German Shepherd puppy, the most recommended book I was given was The Monks of New Skete’s How to be your Dogs Best Friend. Their training methodology was anchored in dominance theory. The results, for me and my dog, were disastrous. After starting search and rescue in 1996, I also started relearning training theory, studying how dogs learn and essentially restarting my education in dog training from scratch.

And yet, despite the emergence of positive reinforcement as a best practice model, with people such as Karen Pryor and Ian Dunbar leading the way in the world of dog training, still decades later, these old inaccurate ideas are still deeply rooted. Karen Pryor, previously better known for training dolphins, wrote ‘Don’t Shoot the Dog’ in 1984 and went on to hold the first Clicker Expo in Chicago in 2003. We were there. We being my two search and rescue teammates, Robin Greubel and Julie Wood and our 3 search partners, Domhnall for me, Talyn for Robin and Barette for Julie.

The number of science-based, positive trainers exploded last century. Unfortunately, popular culture and entertainment also embraced e-collars and Caesar Milan, leaving many dogs and their owners stuck in a punishment and dominance theory past.

It didn’t help our understanding of wolves either. Fortunately, among wolf researchers though, the old, incorrect, understanding of pack social structure has been mitigated due to solid research on wild wolf packs. This article is a good overview.

You may have heard that a wolf pack is led by an alpha pair.