New Blog

I started a new blog because somehow this one got very messed up and I'm in the process of fixing it. The new one www.playfulpoochesandparents.blogspot.com So check me out there also.

Park Classes are starting!

Just sent the news mail about park classes starting so check my website for all the details. If you didn't get a news mail, email me and I will put you on the list. New this year-Flash classes, puppy classes in the park on the east side, Tulip's Training Time. Back this year-Help for Reactive Dogs Class, Therapy Dogs in Training. Can't wait to meet you and your dog at the park.

Help for Reactivated Dogs Class

Cancelled for today. The darn rain has not stopped. See you next time. Lydia

Trust

Trust is something built over time. But can be broken in a heartbeat. And hard to rebuild once broken. I work hard to build trust in my dogs. Tulip has taken a while to trust me. She lived 6 places before she came to live forever with me. It will be a year April 26. She is way different than my 2 pyrs before her. But I had them as pups. I did not get Tulip till she was about 2 yrs old.  Who knows what her past was. I will never know. But we started with love and trust and she has come a long way. I now want to get her out in public more so I will be doing some classes with her called Tulip's Training Time. They will be free and in various parks around our city. I may do one next Sunday on our one year "gotcha" anniversary. But if you come with your dog, you won't be able to work close to her. Not yet.  Baby steps.....

Therapy Dogs Pic

Love this pic from this weekend. Barkley, Rupert and Libby!

Therapy Dog Teams

So proud of my Therapy Dogs in Training teams. Eight teams took my class and are getting ready to get certified. Class was so big I had to separate into two classes-morning and evening. The folks they met both in stores and nursing home were so blessed. The teams spread joy and happiness wherever they went. Best of wishes to the graduating classes! If you and your dog are interested in this type of work, another class is forming. Be sure to check my website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and here for starting date and time. Love, love, love launching these awesome teams!

Nutty Neighbors

I'm sure every neighborhood has them. Heck, my neighbors probably think I'm it. But watching some of my neighbors today, I definitely think "they" are it. They have a young puppy, by now probably 5-6 mos. I have never seen a collar or leash on this dog. It runs amok and they are forever chasing it down the street yelling "Bad dog! Bad Dog!" Wow! Upsets me to no end because this dog will dash out into the street once and get hit by a car. And the poor driver will feel so bad but all they had to do was put a leash and collar on it. It has run into my yard many times. Ugh. They don't keep an eye on him and he is just a pup. He doesn't know any better but they do. Or should. Or maybe they are just that dumb. I've told her they need to get her on a collar or leash but. No. All you can do is watch it happen. So sorry little pup. I tried.

Sent from my Sprint phone

The Wearing of the Green

At the Pyr Bunny Ranch!

Mud, mud, mud everywhere! But I'm not complaining. Much better than cold and snow. Thought I would catch a few pics of Tulip sporting her bunny ears. Got another costume lined up for St Patrick's Day. Love dressing her up. She doesn't mind. And she's my only canine girl. My human girl is 34 so she dresses up on her own. And she's beautiful too!

The New Puller Toy

• New training toy. Can't wait to try it out. Mac and Tulip are afraid of
•  them. Sage is ready to play. He always did like fetch and catch. Now the mud needs to dry up a little and we'll be all set.

No classes tonight!

It's a gamble on tonight so I decided to cancel. Snowmagedden coming so they say. I just don't want to get stuck or have a wreck and certainly don't want you and your dog to either. So all dog training classes cancelled tonight. See you all next week!

How To Do Everything Right and Still Get In Trouble

One of my clients recently told me this story that just happened to them. They adopted a puppy, took it to vets , got all the shots, joined puppy classes, whole family participated, carefully selected its food, house and crate trained it, earned the AKC Star Puppy Award, took it on lots of walks, played with it a ton. So why did they receive a visit from Animal Control and they gave them the third degree and stressed them greatly? After all they did everything right?  A neighbor saw the dog covered in snow (it was snowing at the time, when hasn't it been in Cincinnati this month?) and called Animal Control and told them he was neglected! Seriously? Wow. I am shocked and dismayed. Glad the neighbor is observant but could she have talked to them first? Tulip comes in covered in snow because it seems it's always snowing and she loves the snow as does this dog. Wow. I'm still in shock......this family is one of the best puppy owners I know (as are all my students!) And take the very best care of it. All the kids walk it and they had completed 9 puppy classes at that point. Which says a lot. Only about 3% of dog owners EVER take their dogs to any formal training. So they are part of an elite group. My advice: just keep doing what you're doing and ignore nosy neighbors. You have done it all right and I'm proud of you. 

Here's the pic!

Sage posing.

Sage is posing in what I hope is the last of the snow pics. So sick of snow and we are getting more on Sunday. Ugh. I know it is still winter but I'm so ready for spring. I can't wait for park classes. Tulip can't wait for you all to join us for some training. We will set up some ground rules so everyone can be successful. Tulip's Training Time. Various parks around town, Sunday afternoon or evening, selected dates announced in advance and best of all free! You will be helping me train her and her timid self. I am visualizing Spring in hopes it gets here soon. Join me.

All classes cancelled today

Decided to cancel all classes today. Still snowing at 12:44pm alternating with sleet. It's a hard decision as some live close, some far, some classes were our first Therapy Dogs in Training class. Ugh. I labor over this every time the weather is inclement. I don't want folks to travel in inclement weather with their canines in their car. And I need to get home safe to teach another day. Seems like since we had a relatively mild winter, Mother Nature wanted to pack all her Winter Fury in to one big punch this week. We got the message, Mother Nature. We are so over it. Bring on the Spring! And the flowers! And baseball!

Just another cold snowy day.....

Can't take much more of the snow and cold though Tulip doesn't seem to mind. Spring is just 28 days away. Park classes aren't too far behind. Tulip's Training Time is new this year and will start just as soon as the weather warms up. Even though she does not mind the cold, I do. Hate it.

This last pup-Nàvi. She looks most like her mom Tulip. Her former name with me was Dora the explorer. She would wander off and get lost and I'd hear her crying and have to reunite her back to mom. She's beautiful!

Two more of her pups-one year later.

Here's Samson and Gunther aka Fred and Mikey. How handsome they are! You done good Tulip. Fred was named after Fred Murtz from the I Love Lucy show. He was the fat foodie of the bunch. Always shoving the others out of the way to eat. And Mikey was named after my nephew as he has tattoos and this one had a distinctive mark on him like a tattoo. Looking good boys!

One of Tulip's pups one year later.

This is Misha aka Sophia. One of Tulip's pups. She looks a lot like my Smokey who you see at the top of my blog. Adorable! All her puppies got wonderful homes thanks to SAAP. And I got to adopt Tulip. I think there were many adoption applications for her. I kept bugging them and I sent them 40 referrals. Lol. Not sure how I got to adopt her but so glad I did. I remember getting the text during a training class that I got to adopt her. I was so excited I couldn't stand it and almost couldn't believe it. I had 2 Pyrs that had passed away and missed having one so much. Now a year later-she has been such a joy. Not at all like Mary and Mo my other Pyrs. But a beautiful and wonderful personality that I am still getting to know. Love you Tulip!

Sage in the snow.

My Furry Valentine was this weekend. I worked a few hours Saturday and came back Sunday to look around and brought my neighbor. It is so thrilling to see so many dogs get homes. I think well over 500 wow. And the great thing about it is now the rescues can take in more. It's what they do and they work endlessly and tirelessly every day. This event would not be successful without the hundreds if not thousands of volunteers. I was amazed and awed by it all. Make a difference-volunteer at a rescue. You don't have to foster if that's not your thing. You can make homemade toys, scarves, blankets and more. You can volunteer at adoption events and walk dogs. We volunteered at the SPCA years ago and washed dogs before their adoption event. Try it and see. You might just save a dogs life today.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just sent out a new newsmail about training your dog and all about My Furry Valentine coming up this weekend. If you didn't get one , check out Facebook and you can read it. Also email me and I'll add you. Love sending newsmails! Got some new pics I'll add here too! Tulip's pups all grownup. Adorable. My names were Fred, Mikey, Sophia and Dora. Renamed Misha, Samson, Gunther and I can't remember the other. Then new owners renamed them. All good. I would have too.
Hope you have a great Valentine's Day. Maybe I'll see you at My Furry Valentine. Sharonville Convention Center Sat and Sun 10-5 pm. All free all fun!

Sent from my mobile.
_____________________________________________________________

   Buster graduated Puppy Class! He has come a long way. Love the Beagles!   

Sent from my mobile.
_____________________________________________________________

   Schottzie a future Therapy Dog graduated Puppy Class!   

Tulip and the Bully Stick-Epic Fail

So I watched this video by Dr Sophia Yin about trimming dog's nails (excellent by the way-look it up on Youtube) I thought I would try it with Tulip but since there's only me I tweeked it and used a big bully stick for her to chew on whilst I trim her nails (which she HATES in case you didn't know) She's never had a bully stick before and once she tasted that deliciousness, was not eager to let me take it back when she didn't want her nails trimmed. Let's say she did not give it back. She growled and refused. Uh-oh. No good can come from this scenario. I blocked her in the room. Let her chew her stick and now we shall work on "Give" and "Leave it" with less delicious items. Sheesh Tulip....A dog trainer moment. A dog trainer learning moment. Back up and start with something she can "give" and "leave it". Okay so the dog trainer gets a training lesson today. Point well taken Tulip!

Sent from my mobile.
_____________________________________________________________

Therapy Pets Unlimited Evaluation

My first Therapy Pets Unlimited Evaluation yesterday. Megan and Connor. I knew within a few minutes he would pass. He's just that kind of a friendly, happy dog that warms your heart to see him. A tri colored Border Collie that some folks mistake for an aussie. Great work you two! Go make the world happier!

Sent from my mobile.
_____________________________________________________________

   Tulip in the snow!   

So cold outside-what about those outside dogs?

This came up on FB yesterday. Dog has lived most of his life outside. Owners in a divorce and no one living at the home. Dog has shelter and food but sub zero temps coming. What to do? Some want to steal him and take him to a no kill shelter. Nice thought but he's 10yrs old. No one will adopt him and you just traded one prison for another for him. The most humane thing and best for the dog right now today is keep him warm (lots of straw in his shelter and warm food) and fresh (not frozen) water. Try to contact the owners to see what they plan on doing with him and take it from there. Many folks think they will be safe at the SPCA. The larger percentage is put down. There are just not enough homesfor all. Most all the rescues are full. Always are. I personally tried to get strays I've found into rescues. Denied time and again. That's the reason I no longer help strays. I'm not getting stuck with them. Folks just have outdoor dogs for whatever reason. I would never. They are a part of my family. But folks do.

New Year's Thoughts

Holidays come and gone. Now here we are in 2015 already. Some of my biggest joys of the past year: of course Tulip! Rescuing her and her pups and getting to adopt them was a joy! Working with all of my clients-a joy! Some classes I especially am proud of are my Reactive Dogs classes and my Therapy Dogs in Training classes. Glad to be a part of Therapy Pets Unlimted and also The Pet Professional Guild. This is my 13th yr in business and I still enjoy my work as much as ever. I strive to learn more all the time and to make my classes the best ever. My park classes are so much fun for me as I love working outside and there's so many different things you can do with all that room plus the realty of being in a public park. So much interaction with folks. So stay with me, stay positive and keep training your dog this new year and beyond. Happy 2015!
.