This is a great story, and testament to why closing chapters in a dogs life is SO important to their 📕.
Bruce had one of the worst beginnings for a dog that you could imagine. Bred in a puppy mill. Left in a kennel to all day, every day, not even let out to use the restroom. After he was pulled from this environment he found himself in the home of an amazing handler. One that knew she needed to shut that chapter, and write the rest of the story.
This is our second session. Bruce doesn’t like new environmentals. They scare him. Just like if you saw an alien tomorrow, he’s never seen a lot of things that go on in this world. Including big, ugly, bearded men. (Tim to a t - his own words.. 🤣)
He is absolutely killing it! The confidence from our first session to today is outstanding. It’s not perfect. It’s not where we want to be at. But this dog worked his little tail off - around all the make contractors, saws, fork lifts, everything good ‘ol Home Depot has to offer!
Prancing along like the good boy we know Malcolm can be!
We had a blast with him in our board and train program. We also ❤️ seeing him in follow up sessions!
Really tackling some of his reactivity in his new home environment, and building the stable dog that the owner can thrive with!
One of my favorite breakfasts - biscuits and gravy.
I liked this Biscuit too! Such a sweet lab! He lives on a college campus, and has started to show some light reactivity to the dogs who 👮♀️ the neighborhood!
So Ruff K9’s very own Riggs stepped up to the plate to add a nice layer of distraction in our training!
I loved watching Biscuits AMAZING owner realize how great her dogs potential is both on walks, and not reacting to other dogs with some small changes on our walk!
Having a reactive dog is absolutely towards the top of the list of hardest things to deal with when owning a dog.
It doesn’t mean you have a bad dog! Just a dog who’s missing the communication, and hasn’t learned an alternate behavior and neutrality.
Brian Griffin, and Ivy have made HUGE strides in their training.
From dragging mom to get to the German Shepherd next door, to walking past the little Belgian Malinois on their property!
♟️working on some dog neutrality!
Checkmate is such a wonderful dog. He has such a great future ahead in the dog sport world. I predict a lot of 🏆’s in this dogs future!
We are now working on neutrality with other dogs, especially in over arousal moments.
This little 🐄 🐕 is killing it! Can’t wait to keep watching them grow as a team.
Good boy Check is working on his PLACE command. His owner is absolutely crushing his obedience and in turn is building a beautiful relationship for their future endeavors.
Operations Manager Jess, was really excited to see a Ruff K9 recruit Akita, Brian Griffin.
Akitas were bred to be loyal, and fearless guard dogs. So we were not completely surprised to hear that Brian Griffin is struggling with dog reactivity.
But with some guidance our hope is to get him to be able to exist around other dogs, stop the blow ups, and create a more enjoyable walk for his owner.
Let’s talk Service Dogs;
How “Service Animal” Is Defined
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
-Ada.gov
Fun fact: there are two questions you can ask a service dog team 1) Is the dog a service animal because of a disability (but can not ask about the persons disability)? 2) What tasks or work has the dog been trained to perform.
Remember, a place can not ask you to provide service dog documentation as that is not required by the ada. Also, small dogs can most definitely be service dogs, however they should ALWAYS be under control at ALL times while in public.
Ruff K9 Recruit Grizz KILLING his exposure work.
How cute is Ruff K9 recruit Malcolm!? 🐶
Malcolm is here for a board and train to learn some basic obedience and he is killing it!
GO MALCOLM!! 🥇
Miya (German Shepherd) & Charlie (Poodle mix) have had some conflict with each other in the home. We are working on them just existing around each other for now.
Inner home conflict between dogs can be a long and difficult journey, separating them is a good start but teaching them to exist around one another without interacting is even better. If you or someone you know needs help with this, please reach out. We’d love to help!
You know what’s better than one Cavalier?
TWO!
Teddy previously stayed with us for a board and train, and he’s back but just for some boarding.
We would like to show some love to our employee of the month, Riggs. You may see him on a ride along with head trainer Tim. Riggs lends a helpful paw when our clients need another dog to work around. With dedication, structure, and guidance your dog too can reach employee of the month status! 🐾
This fuzzy cattle dog/gremlin pup won the jackpot with his new home! Everybody welcome Ruff K9 Recruit Checkmate, his mom is putting in the work to strengthen his handler focus to explore the world of dog sports.
From shelter dog to future disc dog champion 💪🥏
Let's face it, we have all had an oh s**t moments with our dog. Yes, even the ones that we consider "bomb-proof" or well behaved. It's very natural to feel mad and embarrassed at our dog, but really it causes us to step back and consider- 'What can I do better to make my dog better?'. As long as you are willing to reflect and make those steps then you are already in the right direction.
Instead of admit our training flaws let's share some wins! What has you dog/dogs done that you are extra proud of (no matter how big or small!)?
Our win is, Yeti rocking his Potty Training!! (✊🪵)
Cherokees first exposure trip to work through some nerves and start working out of the home with his handler!
Such a nice dog, and an owner who is KILLING it!
When you can’t enjoy a nice walk with your grand-pup, things have to change! He went from a liability that no one enjoyed walking, to an asset keeping everyone happy and enjoying their walks more than they would without their dog.
Had a great first heeling session with this team. Great job Chipper!
Gus Gus!
Gus has a lot of energy, and some selective hearing.
We worked hard to get him to this recall level. There was a ton of distractions in the yard: smells, critters, leaves, and things he normally takes and runs away with. This is session one on recall. Normally he’d run off, or ignore any basic command.
Lew and Gus are KILLING it!
Walking a dog doesn’t have to suck.
This pack of dogs shows it’s possible. This is our first session.
Put in the work. Be consistent. Repetition is important. Teach them to walk WITH you, not walk you.
Welcome this fluffy pack to the Ruff K9 Family! (Angel, Balto, and Stella)
An American Bully and a Yorkie walk into a bar… you can finish the joke yourself.
Had a blast teaching them to relax around each other. Mother and daughter love getting together, the dogs do too, but they’ve never truly met yet. Just from a distance. Today, we started on building a better heel with our big beef cake Bully, and started to teach her going 100mph around another dog isn’t going to get her what she wants.
Sometimes I sit back while looking at videos and pictures I take during the week - which I don’t do nearly enough of, and I promise I’ll get better, but back to my point - and ask myself how I deserve the dogs I have.
Now granted, what you see is HOURS of sweat, some tears, and definitely blood from improper bite targeting on toys, but I still can’t fathom how much my dogs have helped other dogs in just their short lifetime.
So proud of Riggs, my malinois. But so proud of Ginger (the Cane Corso mix) and her owner for their progress. This is session two. Ginger wanted to kill me, and any dog she saw. It was insecurity based, and her owner has followed the plan to a T.
