Southern Dogworks

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Southern Dogworks

Our focus is the whole family. The goal is to improve the dog/human relationship through training.

23/08/2024

This is Bonnie! She’s a 13.5 week old Golden Retriever puppy. She’s in our Private 1:1 training program. Bonnie is super smart and she loves food and treats. Food is driving her to make really good choices.

A couple things we are covering in our time together. We taught her to recognize her name and that it is valuable to look at who is talking to her. Basic obedience skills and coming when called the first time we ask. Appropriate play time with her human kids is really important and skin is not delicious, aka puppy mouthiness. We are teaching her a few calming and self regulation skills. She is learning not jump on people or counter/table tops. Today, we also discussed how to travel with her safely in the family truckster.

Bonnie is an excellent student, and her humans are amazing to work with as well. I’m looking forward to all the beautiful things Bonnie has to offer her family now, and as she continues to mature.

20/08/2024

This is Otis. He’s a 9 month old Portugese Water Dog. He lives his best life every day. He truly is the life of the party and has never met a stranger. Otis has had previous training using positive reinforcement training and did really well. However, he had a few nuisance behaviors that were not being addressed well with just treats.

Otis is super smart and super fun. We have been working with Otis and his family over the last month, through our private 1:1 training program. He has made a lot of improvements. Introducing the sound “uh-uh” and the word “No” has been super helpful, in the combination with all the “Yes” moments.

As he is just a 9 month old puppy, training, supervision and repetition are still needed at this age. We have cleaned up his obedience, baseline communication and switched out his walking equipment, so he can be all around most enjoyable. We absolutely love Otis and his family. We appreciate their trust in us, to help them communicate with their dude.

19/08/2024

Macy Mae is a resident SDW alumni. We began our Private in-home training program with Macy Mae and her family in 2020. Her family settled in to all her best qualities. She comes to stay with us when her family vacations, and we love love love having her. She gives the best cuddles.

Fast forward to last week, I got a text that Macy Mae has a new sister named Cleo. Cleo is 12 weeks old, and Macy Mae didn’t appreciate sharing her space. Although outside, they were getting along a little bit, Macy Mae avoided all interactions with Cleo. I stopped by to see them a few days ago.

Macy Mae needed to know that the humans had her back, and Cleo needed to learn a few boundaries. We did some stationing with them both. Macy Mae learned not to run away from Cleo. Cleo learned not to be pushy with Macy Mae. Within a few days, a got a great progress report.

Communication can get jumbled up between dogs and humans. Bringing some “Yes” moments into Cleo’s life was a huge key. It helped her to understand what behaviors we LOVE! When I taught the family how to say “No” effectively, Cleo didn’t think the world just ended, because we always come back to a “Yes”. I’m really excited to see how Macy Mae and Cleo begin a new journey together.

18/08/2024

Cooper reminds us to take a break and enjoy the sunshine. Cooper has had a lot of changes in the last few months, while his family builds a new house. It has been a good decompression time for him to come to camp, while his family is on vacation. His housemates Reggie and Ruby are off in the distance, stretching their legs. Cooper is mastering the Stacee Brown deep breaths, and practicing being chilled and calm. Good job Coopy!

18/08/2024

Incoming cuteness overload…Say hello to Rex! He’s a 15.5 week old Brittany Spaniel. He is so so sweet and loving. We hit it off right away. Rex is beginning our Puppy Intensive Program. He will be with us for about a week.

Our goals for Rex are to build a solid foundation of basic commands, cultivate a solid come when called command, introduce calming skills and harness overall good behaviors. He’s recently began using his voice, when he sees humans and dogs. I think it’s a general curiosity. However, we want him to be confident in the exterior world, as well as welcoming friends that visit his home.

Through the week, we will eventually introduce the concept of the word “No”. We like to teach a whole lot of “yes” moments, before we begin working through the “No” moments.

This stay is the 1st of 2 weeks of training. He will return for his second week of training closer to 6 months of age. This program design helps a puppy, and their family, have touch points during specific puppy developmental phases. We are so excited to see how Rex will blossom through the week. He’s going to be a super fun puppy to train!

01/08/2024

This is Trooper. She is a 1 yo Golden Mountain Doodle. We have been working with Trooper since last Fall, through in-home training. This past week, while her family was on vacation, we advanced her skills with remote collar training.

Having an invisible fence at home, it was a good time to introduce the remote collar. Invisible fence collars and the remote collars we use feel completely different. However, sometimes the communication can be generalized from one to the other, if we are not careful. She rocked her take home session with her family. We are really proud of our Trooper girl.

For more information about our training programs, please visit the website at www.southerndogworks.com

14/07/2024

A couple months ago, I saw a Facebook post about Daisy and her brother Dozer. Middle Tennessee Boxer Rescue committed to taking them in and volunteers stepped up quickly to get them in.

Over the past few months, both were treated for skin issues, vaccinated and her brother Dozer went into a foster home. Yesterday, Daisy became our new foster. She is 9 years old, and moves like a young boxer.

Daisy will have surgery in a few weeks, to remove several lumps on her body and assess/treat her dental needs. When I picked her up yesterday, she was ready to go. She ran to the door of the truck and hopped in like a youthful boxer. We landed a cheeseburger from the Golden Arches, a bath when we got home and walk about her new home for a while. The whole Brown family is already in love with her.

Daisy appears to be house trained and crate trained. She’s been introduced to Rubiedoodle, our resident Doodle Manager and things are going well so far. We will let her decompress a bit and start getting her into a home life routine.

Welcome to the good life Daisy 🌼.

27/04/2024

Our labradoodle Milly, loves to play and train with big Rue!

26/04/2024

Sweet Molly is an 11.5 yo old Beagle. 2 years ago, her family reached out for training. She had a few beagle tendencies that were heavily engrained. Her family wondered if there was room for improvements. She still had accidents in her home, was not crate trained and had some issues with personal space and using her mouth to make things happen (or not happen).

When I took Molly home from her Board & Train, I came back to get her within 15 mins of leaving. She reversed gears and was not interested in doing what was asked by her people. That is ok. She had practiced a certain lifestyle for 9.5 years prior to us. A few weeks at camp just wasn’t enough. She came back and spent more training time with us. She rocked her 2nd take home session.

Since then, Molly and her family has exceeded our expectations. Molly loves to come to camp, when her family is out of town. It allows us to keep an eye on the rhythm of her training. She enjoys rolling in the grass, and lives to use her nose for “smell-a-vision” every single day. We love Molly and her family, and so happy she has a lifestyle that works for her and them.

24/04/2024

Abbey is a 1 year old Cocker Spaniel. I got a call from her family back in January of last year. Her family had cocker spaniels for the last 15-20 years. They were not new to dog ownership or puppy rearing. Sweet Abbey was giving them a run for their talents.

Over the 2023 year, Abbey had a considerable amount of health issues. Her family struggled with being able to socialize Abbey, in part bc of her restrictions. They have made a lot of progress in training and they’ve definitely felt the ups and downs of raising Abbey.

This is Abbey’s first vacation away from home. We are slowly introducing her to new humans (my family) and our dogs. She has already made a connection with our oldest son. Rubiedoodle already made an appearance to Abbey’s house last year and she remembers him fondly. Today, we will introduce her to Dwight, our westie.

We love Abbey’s family and appreciate their ongoing commitment to training Abbey, even in the midst of all her medical issues. We love following a family and their journey all the way through the tears and laughter.

23/04/2024

Max says, “Are we there yet?”

23/04/2024

Sweet Rosie has been a staple around here since February of 2017. After her first training experience with another professional, they found us. I remember walking into their home for their first session. Rosie was a vibrant and adorable puppy. Her Dad wanted to make sure I knew their goals and wanted to know how we would accomplish them. We had a FABULOUS first session. All of our training together with her family was amazing.

Through the years, Rosie became a regular around our home as well. Rosalinda, as she is frequently nicknamed, is a Brown Family member when she comes to stay with us. As soon as her Mom would get her bag and bed ready for pickup, she would wait patiently at the door for me to arrive. She’s met some awesome pups along the way. She passed her AKC Canine Good Citizen class and test with flying colors. She completed our off leash program and we taught her to jump up into the truck.

Last Fall, Rosie had a nasal infection. She then began having regular nose bleeds. In September, she was diagnosed with aggressive invasive sarcoma. The only treatment option was Radiation. Her family took her to Greenville, South Carolina and she completed all of her treatments. Over Spring Break, they decided to switch their travel plans and take her to the beach. She had an amazing time.

In the last few weeks, she’s steadily declined. She is currently in hospice care. She is enjoying all the love, rubs and yummy meals, while her family enjoys the precious snuggles she continues to give. I stopped by to see Rosie yesterday. Her Mom said she perks up with guests. When she heard my voice, she came barreling around the corner and met me at the door. She had not ran in a few weeks. I held back tears through our visit.

It’s a true honor to be invited into the homes and lives of our pet families for so many years. I agree with her Mom that even though it has been a short 7.5 years to have her on this earth, they would do again for the gift of having Rosie in their life. Please keep Rosie and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

23/04/2024

Wishing Winston a BIG Happy First Birthday! See you Wednesday big buddy.

22/04/2024

Most of our personal dogs are great in the car. Our Fergus is a great travel companion. I travel a lot in safe and fabulous neighborhoods, and some not so awesome neighborhoods. Having a St. Bernard/Giant Poodle mix watching my every move, gives me a little extra comfort. Rocco was always good at warning people approaching our vehicle. Fergus does this well with his stoic, quiet stare. The look of Fergus shuts people down very quickly.

Don’t let Dwight, our westie, fool you though. He would take a bite out of crime, if he felt the situation warranted it. Car rides always mean a chicken nugget or plain cheeseburger are in their near future.

21/04/2024

While his family is away for the week, Mack is hanging with us and having a blast. We love seeing our SDW Alumni! Mack has been a part of our program for 6 years.

21/04/2024

Meet little Saban. He’s a 6 month old Vizsla puppy. Saban is the housemate of SDW alumni Winston. Saban came to stay with us a few weeks ago, and we noticed he wasn’t feeling well. We talked to his family immediately, and then had him seen as soon as possible by one of our partnering veterinarians. We think he had a reaction to his 3 in 1 monthly preventative. He gained some special privileges. Ummmm….he slept with me. We don’t offer this as part of our training. Lol! However, I felt like I needed to monitor him overnight. He recovered well!

Fast forward to present day. Saban is here with us again, this time for training. He is in our Puppy Intensive Program. Saban has a LOT of energy. He is jumping on everybody and everything. He is having moments of excited urination. He also struggles listening to his family. He plays really well with other dogs, but he’s a bit pushy. As he matures, this could be a concern.

We are excited to see Saban thrive with training. We are teaching him calming/self-regulating skills and cultivating an attention span. We are introducing basic skills and foundational exercises. These are tools we are teaching and repeating, to create muscle memory and a head-start for his family. Winston and now Saban are part of the family.

21/04/2024

Kona is a 2.5 yo Portuguese Water Dog. She is hanging with us this weekend. She loves to put her head on my shoulder and get/give some snuggles. We prioritize the relationship with the pup and their family. Then, the training will come together.

10/04/2024

When your first puppy client of the day, has teacup humans that love Bluey. We love to work with the whole family. 🐶❤️🐾

10/04/2024

This coming May, will mark 23 years that we have been involved in some way with Middle Tennessee Boxer Rescue. Back in 2001, we adopted our first pair of boxers. We have been a part of this organization as a foster, adopter, volunteer, board member and/or trainer ever since.

This is Beau. Since losing Rocco, this little turkey has filled a space in our heart. He is our current foster and he is a lightening bold of energy. He came to us back in March for a few days to evaluate his spiciness with other dogs. He went to a foster during Spring Break and had a wonderful experience. He came back to us after his vacation, and he was neutered. Now that he’s fully recovered, we are setting him up to be successful in a home of his own with training. We are not ready to permanently fill Rocco’s spot just yet. Right now, Beau is a good distraction.

Here are some details to share. He was an owner surrender to the rescue. He is a high energy and a typical goof ball of a boxer. He has springy legs and will try to greet you with a hug, while practicing his jumping bean skills…we are working on the jumping.

We assume Beau did not have a lot of structure in his previous home. We are working on calming skills, walking on a leash, being a good listener, playing with toys and playing with others. He actually plays well with other dogs that know how to play with him. Thankfully, our SDW 4legged crew can handle his fast paced play style.

Beau is about 2 years old, up to date on his vaccinations, neutered and weighs about 50lbs. He is house trained and crate trained. He loves food and treats. If you or someone you know is looking to add a boxer to your family, please complete an application with MTBR. We would love to help him find his new family. Please share this post.

https://mtbr.org/application

09/04/2024

We’ve worked with Daisy’s family since she was a puppy. Her family has exceeded all of my expectations. They’ve gone through all the ups and downs of raising a solid dog. Daisy is the Merle mini Australian Shepherd and is now 2 years old.

About a month ago on a Friday night, Daisy’s family reached out that little Coco was being rehomed by a family moving to Florida. They were planning to meet Coco the following day and had some questions. They were concerned about adding to the family and how to transition an adult, overweight and shy dog into their family. Coco is the black and white mini Aussie in this picture. I gave them a few things to ask Coco’s family and crossed my fingers.

Daisy’s family followed all the guidelines and slowly introduced Coco into their family. We are now training Daisy and Coco’s family on leash walking, basic obedience and impulse control for Coco. I’m so so proud of this family for unexpectedly adding a second member of the dog family the right way! Daisy and Coco are figuring out their relationship with each other. Coco is learning to live with the house cats and intentional humans.

31/03/2024

Rocco almost made it to 8 years old. He was given to us by a family, when he was about 5-6 months old. He was a bully and pushy, even for a boxer. He grew into a perfect training assistant and companion with our other dogs. He’s trained many puppies over the years…puppies were his favorite.

Rocco loved to eat socks. When he came to us 7 years ago, I watched him p**p out 13 kid socks. New Years Day 2023, he had obstruction surgery bc he had fallen off the wagon, and ate a knee length sock from the boys Christmas stocking. He loved paper products of any kind, thankfully he p**ped those too. He was an equal opportunist for anything food related. He recognized the Golden Arches in the sky and could create the largest slobber bubbles that wouldn’t pop on their own.

This past February, he woke up on Sunday morning, with heavily enlarged lymph nodes. Our mobile vet was able to come the following day, and diagnosed him with lymphoma. This was a heavy blow, as we know what that means. It means we are on borrowed time. From that point forward, we added into his meals an “All dogs go to heaven fat” diet, and he enjoyed as much golden arch food as we would buy him.

Today, he woke up with symptoms that were obvious to us, his lymphoma had progressed. We said goodbye to him at noon. While we were laying him to rest, we played Jimmy Buffet’s Cheeseburger in Paradise over the trucks sound system. I’m 100% sure there are Golden Arches in heaven, and I am also sure he is first in line. Rocco is loved and he is missed.

30/03/2024

Recently, a few folks ask about sweet Ginger. This time last year, Ginger was with us for our Puppy Intensive Program. We donated our training time, to develop a solid puppy foundation of socialization, household behaviors and expectations.

Ginger went to an amazing family. They proactively continued training, once she was home with them. Ginger is thriving and a complete joy to her peeps. Over Spring Break a few weeks ago, she made her maiden voyage to the beach. We are so happy for Ginger and her family.

30/03/2024

Mabel would like to take a minute to wish her SDW dog friends a Happy Easter Weekend. Mabel is a Havanese and is almost 1 year old. She brings so much fun and joy to her family. Mabel completed our Puppy Program last summer. We get together every couple months or so, to progress Mabel (and her family) through normal age appropriate, developmental obstacles as they arise. She is brilliant and learns exceptionally fast.

Mabel’s mom is a family therapist. Her goal is for Mabel to help her clients, like her older Havanese brother Magic, in her practice. Mabel has a bit more training and maturing to accomplish. She’s getting her administrative skills in practice now. lol!

29/03/2024

Say hello to Hank! Hank is a 13 week old German shepherd puppy, in our Private 1:1 in-home Puppy Program. We are working on basic obedience, crate training, house training, loose leash walking and learning how to work through his mouthiness.

The GSD breed lends to him being mouth oriented by genetics. Teaching Hank what to do with his mouth is important at this age, so he can be a well rounded adult dog. His family is sleeping through the night (YAY!) and making wonderful strides in their puppy rearing.

We are so happy to be invited to help navigate all the developmental ages and stages of Hank. His family will encounter changes of behavior over the coming weeks, months and years. For information about our programs, please visit our website at www.southerndogworks.com

14/01/2024

With the New 2024 Year, come new puppies 🐾!

Meet Broly! Broly and his Dad are starting off the year building their relationship through proper engagement, training and foundational obedience. The first couple of weeks, Broly’s Dad felt overwhelmed and a bit confined to his puppy. This is normal and puppies definitely need more focus in the first few weeks.

To say Broly and his Dad are over achievers is an understatement. They both are eager to learn and process their homework very well. We are currently working our way through the Puppy Program. This is a private “in your home” training program. I’m really excited to see them excel in the coming weeks and months!

For more information about our programs, please visit the website at www.southerndogworks.com.

13/01/2024

Over the years, we are thankful to call so many of our clients and their dogs…family. Jackson, the giant Goldendoodle, aka THE Ambassadoodle, began training with us in 2016. He was 4 years old back then, and quite full of himself. His main issue and kryptonite, he would eat his Dads flip flops. After several pair went into the trash, his Mom called me.

Jackson aced his training, and in the process, became part of our Southern Dogworks canine team. When I needed to help a family pet with social skills, I could swing by and pickup Jackson. He is a great team mate, and he has helped many dogs over the years. He accepts payment in the form of plain cheeseburgers or chicken minis.

Yesterday, he had a major health scare. It landed him in the emergency room. He was triaged and treated quickly at Veterinary Medical Group in Cool Springs and released. I went by to check on him today and he perked up a bit. I was soooo thrilled to see he’s making good progress. As I was leaving, he thought he was going with me. I gave him a big hug and kiss as I left.

Jackson and his family mean a lot to our family, and we love them dearly. Saying a prayer that he continues to improve over the coming days.

16/08/2023

I had a refresher visit with Pappy and Tito. Pappy is a 4 year old Bernedoodle and Tito is an almost 2 year old mini Bernedoodle. We’ve worked with them both, since they were tiny puppies. Pappy has a laid back personality, while Tito is a bit more energetic.

In our session, we talked about adding structure back into their daily routine. Impulse control and over excitement can be an Achilles heel of everyday life. Calming the brain and focusing on the elevated state of mind, are key points to well behaved dogs.

I’m super proud of Pappy, Tito and their Mom. This morning once the kids were dropped off at school, she came home and got right to work. Sometimes, training needs to go back to basics, to move forward again. Training is like practicing for any sport. Practice keeps your pups skill level on point.

14/07/2023

Meet Lucy and Henry! They are 10 month old sibling mini poodles. Some of their not so awesome behaviors include…jumping, escaping the front door, demand barking, separation anxiety, escaping the harness on walks, leash walking in general, plant eating (eating most anything) and they get a bit rowdy when they play with each other.

Lucy and Henry are actually awesome dogs. Prior to training, conversations between them and their owners were confusing. They didn’t understand what behaviors we love, and their humans didn’t know how to stop the behaviors they didn’t love.

We are teaching their family to interrupt poor behaviors and recognize good behaviors. Recognizing good behaviors is an organic approach to seeing effort and saying “good dog”. Most families get wrapped around rewarding orchestrated obedience commands, not behaviors. That’s a key element to consider.

I’m soooo excited to see the hope and confidence in their humans. They have a direction to providing the appropriate amount of structure, so they can truly enjoy the enhanced rockstars these 2 mini poodles can be.

12/07/2023

Do not adjust your screen! You are in fact seeing one of the cutest bulldogs on the planet. He’s real, it’s not your imagination! Let’s lean in a moment…

This is Moose. He’s a 7 month old English Bulldog. Moose has the classic napoleon syndrome that many bulldogs exhibit. Moose has 3 housemates that are older and well established in the family routine. Moose has guarding issues with things he values.

In our second session with his family, we set some boundaries and expectations for Moose and crew, and discussed strategies to add more structure and relevance to his humans.

I love Moose’s family. This is their 5th dog over the years that we’ve been invited into their home, to help train their 4 legged crew. I’m really proud of their continued work to re-establish harmony to their crew.

11/07/2023

Brin is a 1 yo Catahoula that was rescued from a local shelter, 4 months ago. We have been training with Brin and his family for the last 3 months. Today we ventured out again into public spaces. Our goals are to create a confident and neutral experience for Brin and his family. With guidance, I was able to get his family into a calmer headspace. This in turn helped them to switch the headspace of Brin.

They have a lot more training goals on their wishlist, and of course Brin likes to keep them on their toes. I’m really proud of Brin and his family.

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Videos

I realized this week that some folks did not know my husband Brian and I train together with our pet dog families. Brian is responsible for our Board & Train pups that come in for training. Brian also has a few personal goals. Po, our Belgian Tervuren and Brian have completed Level 1 in French Ring. They are currently working towards Level 2. I’m inspired by his dedication to get out there and have fun with Po, while driving into his passions. Thank you to Dave, for the use of his practice field for training. Here are quick video of Brian training with Po. The food refusal and jumping ability always amazes me. #potheterv #tristarringclub #chapelhilltn #belgiantervuren #poisbriansdog #ringsport #brianisalwayscoolerthanme

Sweet Molly is an 11.5 yo old Beagle. 2 years ago, her family reached out for training. She had a few beagle tendencies that were heavily engrained. Her family wondered if there was room for improvements. She still had accidents in her home, was not crate trained and had some issues with personal space and using her mouth to make things happen (or not happen). When I took Molly home from her Board & Train, I came back to get her within 15 mins of leaving. She reversed gears and was not interested in doing what was asked by her people. That is ok. She had practiced a certain lifestyle for 9.5 years prior to us. A few weeks at camp just wasn’t enough. She came back and spent more training time with us. She rocked her 2nd take home session. Since then, Molly and her family has exceeded our expectations. Molly loves to come to camp, when her family is out of town. It allows us to keep an eye on the rhythm of her training. She enjoys rolling in the grass, and lives to use her nose for “smell-a-vision” every single day. We love Molly and her family, and so happy she has a lifestyle that works for her and them.