Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! With the holidays so close, it gets crazy with last minute shopping and guests and everything. Sometimes I get away from blogging at those moments. I just wanted to take this minute while I drink my yummy coffee on a snowy Sunday morning to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May it be all you want and wish it to be!

Best Christmas presents for your dog

Best gifts for your dog? Exercise, routine, training, rest and fun toys. More exercise instead of less during the holidays. I know it's hard to fit in and cold outside. But a tired dog is a good dog. Especially when you have company coming. Assign one family member the task of: long walk for dog before company gets here.

Next, keep their routine as close to normal as possible. This is also hard during the holidays but believe me, it will really help as dogs thrive on routine.It will help them to remain more calm and stress free. Also, keep up your good training during the holidays. Don't let the excuse of: too busy, too tired, out of town guests, parties and etc keep you from practice. Just let it be a part of everyday stuff. And have company help you. Show off what your dog knows. And be sure he does not jump on company. Sit to be petted.

Which leads to the next one, rest. Be sure he gets some time to chill away from all the hustle and bustle of the celebrations. That way you don't have to keep a constant eye on him and he can be successful and good too. Give him a good chew or stuffed Kong and retire him to the crate or spare room. You both will benefit.

Lastly, fun toys. There are so many interactive toys out now. Thinking toys that are fun for dogs include kongs, food dispensing balls, balls that you can record your voice, puzzles that they figure out how to get the food, little squirrels hidden in a tree trunk, rope and bottle toys that include food and many more. These kind will keep them busy for a longer time than a plush toy with a squeaky that lasts one minute.

Jerk and yell method vs Reward based training

Would someone please explain to me why oh why people still use the jerk and yell training method? It's proven to hurt dogs, hurt your relationship with them and is not very effective and can even make dogs more aggressive? They don't want to use "food" because somehow this is going to hurt their dog? What is it that they eat and need every day? Food. What is it that most dogs love? Food. Why not use something they need and love as a reward for work well done? Why is this a bribe? Does your boss "bribe" you to come to work? No, he rewards you for work well done with something you need and want-money. I am so tired of seeing people yell and jerk their dogs around. And with a metal collar no less. It's medieval and unnecessary. I want my dog to be my working companion, my team mate, not my slave or robot-obeying because they have to. I want my dog to listen because he wants to, because I hold the key to all that he needs and wants. I guess some people will forever jerk and yell at their dogs, I just don't want that kind of relationship with my dog. I want a happy face like the dogs in the picture above. Dogs deserve it.

Fix it

Vacation has been full of fix its. Sage chewed the cord on the Shop Vac, toilet leaking and new smoke alarms need installing as my furnace is old. Shop Vac was easy enough-put on a new plug and dig out the extension cord from the garage. Toilet possibly needs a new seal-simple but not easy. I've not done that before and will need a strong person to lift it but it's doable. Smoke alarms I'll put where the old ones were. Always something isn't it. And, got to play some with my dogs. That's always fun. We play every day but more so on vacation.

Also we play outside everyday as I pick up the dog doo every day. You know I have multiple dogs so there's multiple dog doo. And you can't just leave it there. You would think it just dissinegrates into the ground and I guess if you had one small dog that would not be an issue. But we have piles every day so every day I pick it up. At least then we can run and play and not step in it. And also keep the neighbors happy.

Tis the Season

Tis the season for me to take vacation. I haven't taken much this year and many people are busy this week anyway so attendence in class is down. I will be closed Monday 11-23 thru Sunday 11-29 resuming classes on Monday 11-30. Just cleaning and resting are the plans. I just need a break to catch my breath. I also rest so I can clearly and creatively come up with more exciting things to do in class. I plan to also get out with Sage on the foot trails so I can plan that class also. We may also do some beginning scent tracking this spring. I think that would be fun. Sage is a natural at it. Have a great Thanksgiving. Christmas is just a few short weeks away. I can't believe it but I love it. This season is the best.

Good bye sweet girl.

Just got an email from a client informing me that they put their dog down over a bite incident. I'm sure it was serious and I'm sure they thought long and hard before putting her down. I take it very hard when a dog from my class is put down. I always wonder if I could have done more, said more, trained more, warned more. She was a beautiful little aussie and just had a problem with kids and strangers. A big problem. Her owner worked and worked with her but I still think we could have possibly saved her somehow. People will argue-why save the problem ones when there are so many good ones with no home. Because all problem dogs started out as normal puppies and a human messed them up somewhere along the way. Usually not intentionally just misinformed. I'm going to miss you sweet girl.

Back to Blogging

Took a break from blogging as other things have kept me busy. Such as out of town company, brochure designing (having a terrible time with it) and just general busyness. I'm working on two new classes for after the first of the year: Therapy Dog Training and Adventure Trails. I have to do tons of research for both to get ready. I was inspired by Moments with Baxter, a 19 yr old therapy dog that passed away a couple weeks ago. If you go to YouTube.com and search Moments with Baxter you will find a few videos of him. Lots of my clients want to do therapy work with their dogs but do not know how to get started or certified.

Adventure Trails was inspired by my Leash walks in the Park which no one was interested in but every one needs. We are going to hike the foot trails of the Hamilton County Parks. There are lots of them and Sage and I have to go and explore them first so I can plan the classes. Each course will be 5-6 weeks and have a one time charge. Possibly $60 or $70.

Other concerns for me have been clients that just don't get the whole positive training thing. They still yell, jerk and worse and their dogs keep misbehaving. They don't understand that their dogs aren't being stubborn (they're just puppies). The pups really don't get it yet. It takes repetition after repetition after repetition in a calm, confident tone with lots of rewards. Lots of practice over lots of time. Dogs are easier to train than people, unfortunately.