Blue Creek Canine

06/01/2026

Was playing around with Murphy yesterday with a shaping exercise. If you are not familiar with shaping, it’s a training technique where you teach your dog a new skill/behavior by breaking it into smaller manageable steps. Only when your dog has fully understood the current step and performs it successfully consistently, can you “raise the bar”/ go to the next step. You no longer reward the initial step- instead you wait to see if your dog will offer you a new behavior slightly closer to the final goal.

In this video my final goal is for Murphy to not only knock the cup over but also knock it off the chair.
This is how a training plan might look like and what I will be marking and rewarding:
Step 1: look at cup/chair
Step 2: move closer towards cup/chair
Step 3: touch cup - preferably with a nose touch but he can paw it
Step 4: knock cup over
Step 5: knock cup off chair

A long time ago I must have done something similar with Murphy as he immediately went to step 3. Not a problem, then we just start from step 3.
When I changed my criteria from step 4 to step 5 Murphy got a little frustrated , especially as the cup got stuck on the back of the chair and he did knock it over. So I had to help him out and move the cup closer to front part of chair where he could reach it.
Another time, I would use a different set up.
When he managed to perform the goal behavior, we had a big “party” ( several treats).

Note: I toss the treat on floor to reset him so he has to move towards the cup/chair again and thus perform the same movement/behavior. It gives me a better chance to see if he does it with determination and confidence aka he knows what he is doing OR if it was just a “lucky accident” that he touched and knocked the cup over.

Note: For shaping exercises I do prefer to use my clicker as a marker, but you can still use “yes” if that is what you are currently using as a marker for your dog.

Give it a try at home 😊👌

05/31/2026

Just a few snapshot from puppy play today ( sorry for the puppies I didn’t get a chance to take pictures off!) …. Aspen the little papillon is soooo fast that most of her pictures are blurry 😆

05/28/2026

The new group class schedule is up and ready for you to choose a class, sign up and attend 😃
Just a few notes that might be helpful in choosing your next class:
The BAM class is a great class for any puppy that has been through the Puppy/Basic Manners class. This is a class that will not only build confidence and new skills in your dog, but also prepare your dog for other fun activities, as an increased body awareness simply makes it safe for your dog to run, jump, fetch, run agility and much more.
The Intro to Rally is a fun class, where we will practice all the Novice signs so, if you want to, you will be ready to compete in the upcoming Rally Obedience trial in August. Even if you are not wanting to compete, you will still enjoy the benefits of learning a fun new sport with your dog AND get more focus and a tighter heel, sit, down, stay and front with your dog.

I hope this was helpful otherwise feel free to contact me directly with any questions you might have at [email protected]

To sign up, please go to the Online Shop: https://www.bluecreekcanine.com/online-shop.html

Looking forward to seeing you in class 😊

05/27/2026

Meet Murphy.
Murphy is looking for a new home.
The reason is quite simple: Murphy feels very insecure around men. He is not aggressive, he just barks and moves away. But this has been quite stressful for the family as well as for Murphy, which is why they decided that the best solution for Murphy is to find a new suitable home for him.
So, preferable a home with just women.

I did meet him a few times and worked with him, and even though he is big, he is an absolute sweetheart: social, friendly, curious and just lovable. He quickly picked up on the training and really enjoyed that part too.
He is a teenager and when in the yard he loves to run around like a big silly goofball. Just be aware that he can come in a bit “too hot” as he hasn’t quite mastered body awareness yet 😁
Please know that this family adopted him but they did not know nor cause his issues with men.

This is what the owner wrote about him:

Murphy (Mastiff-Cane Corso)
Born 2-19-2025
110 lbs.
Neutered, chipped, and up to date on all shots.
Looking for a good home with lots of love to give, he is such a loving sweet dog that loves to play, go for walks and loves to go on car rides.
Murphy is potty trained and listens to commands such as sit, come, shake, and lay down.
He is crate trained; in fact, we bought one big enough for him that will accompany him to his new forever home.

If interested, contact me at [email protected] and I’ll then give you the owner’s contact info.

05/27/2026

Tonight was graduation. Unfortunately this class has had a lot of handler health issues, puppy health issues, dog in heat, family emergencies, which is just a reminder that life still happens outside the class room walls. So tonight only Griz was able to attend his graduation. But that gave him the one-on-one attention he loves and a chance to really showcase all of his skills. He is such a wonderful puppy and his family has already done a great job with him. Congratulations Griz 🎓

05/15/2026

Now the weather is nicer, how about a bit of extra enrichment outside in the yard?
It’s one of my dogs favorite game 😉

This is a fun and easy outdoor enrichment activity, which both of my dogs absolutely love. And throughout the day they will go back to the tree and double ch...

05/13/2026

A new Puppy/Basic Manners will start on Sunday at 12:30 pm and a new Balance, Body Awareness, Movement (BAM) will begin right after at 1:40 pm, and if interested, I have a few open spots in each class.
The facility is temperature controlled, so on a hot day like today, you and your dog will enjoy the perfect temperature while working together on mastering the ladder and wobble board and improving your skills 😁

To sign up, go to https://www.bluecreekcanine.com/online-shop.html

I hope to see you soon 😊

I’ve included a few pictures from previous BAM classes

05/13/2026

Yesterday I had the pleasure of having Miss Allie, a 6 month old Labrador, for a day training session. With the weather being perfect for being outside, I decided to take her downtown so she could practice being calm and focused around traffic, when walking past people and other dogs, sit and patiently wait at light intersections and learn to settle when she was in a business/store. And she did amazing 🤩

Isn’t she just the cutest?? 😁

The more we expose our dogs to stimuli and help them be successful in these new environments, the easier it will be in the future to bring our dogs with us when on day trips or longer trips to new places and cities.

(Videos of her at Rock Creek in the comments. They were roasting coffee beans so it was quite loud in there.)

05/13/2026

If you are planning on taking your dog to the river or a lake this summer, first make sure your dog knows how to swim!!
Contact Sienna Bell and set up a private session.
And if your dog loves the pool, maybe you should give Dock Diving a try… so much fun 😊

05/11/2026

We had 4 new graduates 🎓 today. Unfortunately we missed a few teams today, but I can confidently say that all the teams in this class did amazing and we saw great progress with them all. Keep up your good work 💪👌🙌