Kings Heart Canine LLC

09/20/2023

Life is infinitely changing.
Some changes are small and we hardly notice them and over time they compound into something bigger. And some changes are big and sudden and leave us feeling like we got caught in a whirlwind.
Preparing myself and my pack for a newborn felt like a lot of small changes that we were adding together but once she arrived it felt much bigger, more whirlwind. The truth is that it was a bit of both. We have made a lot of small changes over the past two years that have helped in preparing my pack for this challenge. Not every change we made was specifically aimed at this preparation either, a lot of our changes were for the betterment of our individual relationships and the pack relationship as a whole.
And here we are now, figuring out all of these relationships in the midst of the whirlwind of learning to care for a newborn and relearning how to care for ourselves with this newborn.
I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t do a great job with juggling all of this, at least not yet. I’m getting better all the time as I figure out what kind of routine is going to work now and that’s really all I can hope for.

So what’s the point of this? Well change brings opportunity and so while a lot has changed for me and my pack I also see a great opportunity to build on what we’ve been working towards, bettering our relationships. It looks a little different now but it forces me to be more intentional and to focus on one on one time with each of my girls which is where I was lacking before.
So if you are in a season of life where a lot is changing and you feel like you are struggling with your dog just know that you aren’t alone and when you get through this season of change you’ll have built a stronger relationship with your dog.

06/23/2023

“A couple of weeks ago we had a bit of a setback.

Or at least I looked at it as a setback.

But the thing about dogs is that they live in the moment.

It was just a single incident to them. Not as significant as my human brain tried to make it.

Just a single less than great moment out of thousands of moments.

And if I had clung to that one “bad” moment we wouldn’t have been able to continue forward on our journey.”

We humans make things so complicated sometimes. We get in our heads and we cling to things that happened in the past. Dogs don’t do that. What is real to a dog is what is happening right now. And we do our dogs a disservice when we can’t break free of our human tendency to dwell on the past.

A less than great moment is a learning experience. We get to look at that moment and ask ourselves how we can do better in order to change how that moment could look in the future. We can make a plan and we can move forward with our dogs without putting our fear of that moment happening again on them.

We can’t go through life with our dog afraid of and dwelling on the not so great moments. If we do, there are bound to be far more of those moments than the good ones. And that’s really doing a disservice to us as well as our dogs.

Video description: several clips of a yellow lab, brown labradoodle, and red and white poodle taking part in a large field socialization. The lab, doodle, and poodle, exist with each other calmly and neutrally as they engage with their environment and occasionally check in with each other and the handler holding the camera.
The words over the video are written in the caption.

🐾

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ct1z6KStjwD/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

06/07/2023

Beginning of day 3 of RBBM Course 3.
I’m so lucky to be able to be here and to have such an awesome group of people to learn with.

Continuing education is important. Ask trainers you are considering hiring what kind of continuing education they do and when the last time was. It can help you understand if they are the right fit for you.

05/19/2023

It was a beautiful day to take the girls for a swim ☀️
It’s safe to say this is their favorite summer activity.
And guess who actually swam today! Minnie actually handled a couple of throws where she had to swim briefly today which considering she wouldn’t get in the water at all a few months ago is a huge accomplishment for her! She may want longer throws and love to swim someday 💕

Image descriptions: the first two images are of a poodle in a blue life jacket excitedly waiting the handler to throw the orange bumper. The second two images are of a yellow lab, one where she is shaking water off and one where she is sitting patiently waiting for the handler to throw the bumper. The last two pictures are of a brown labradoodle, one of her shaking water off in the camera while the handler holds her arms up to block the water and one is of her waiting eagerly for the bumper to be thrown.

05/11/2023

Mira is settling in well here. We are already making great potty and crate training progress and she’s having a blast checking out the property and chomping on everything 💕

Anyone else working on potty and crate training with a new puppy? How is it going? If you need some help, don’t hesitate to reach out! Remember, I offer virtual lessons also!



https://www.instagram.com/reel/CsHOuleJhOl/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

05/09/2023

This little cutie is here for puppy basics, early socialization, and crate and potty training 😍 isn’t Mira a stunning little lady?

Need help getting your puppy started off on the right foot? Reach out and I can talk to you about my puppy programs!

05/01/2023

We’ve been keeping a little secret but the girls are ready to share!
Our first two legged baby is on the way and Faron, Terra, and Minnie are excited and preparing for the August arrival. If any of their four legged friends have tips for them share in the comments and I promise I’ll pass them along.

04/25/2023

As dog owners, we have certain responsibilities

Responsible dog owners pick up after their dogs go to the bathroom and always use leashes in public spaces that require them.

Responsible dog owners ensure their dogs have some level of training and don’t tolerate dangerous or incessant behaviors to continue, especially if they affect other people or pets.

Responsible dog owners do not let their dogs off leash if they cannot be reliably recalled.

Responsible dog owners do not allow their dogs to harass other people or dogs in public spaces (which includes chasing joggers and approaching leashed dogs).

Really, it all boils down to one thing:

We are responsible for ensuring our dogs do not ever infringe on the rights of other people.

Having dogs is a privilege that comes with responsibilities. It’s important that we go into dog ownership with this understanding so that we can be prepared for it.

Image description: a semi transparent image of a yellow lab and a brown labradoodle sitting on a dirt road looking at the camera with green trees all around them.

🐾

04/17/2023

One year ago this wasn’t possible.

I could walk with all the dogs but not like this. It was a very strict and structured walk with everyone in a heel, two dogs on either side of me. If we stopped everyone sat and I would give one dog at a time the chance to sniff and potty.
It “worked”, but it didn’t really. It was what I thought I needed to do to manage the issues I was having in the pack. I thought maybe over time I could loosen up. But Minnie especially was pretty stressed out by the intensive structure. And on top of her being stressed by it, it wasn’t a very enjoyable walk for me or for the dogs because I was doing whole walks asking them not to do dog things like sniff and explore. And I was tense! I’d try to shake it off, but managing that amount of structure on long walks made me tense no matter how hard I tried to loosen up.

I was starting to get worried about the pack dynamics. Whether or not it made sense for me to keep trying to “force” this situation on them. And then I had the opportunity to take the second Relationship Based Behavior Modification course with CHRI last Fall. When I came home I knew I needed to change several things and I had a revised plan for helping my girls.

And now here we are taking casual sniff walks together. Existing together, moving together, exploring together. The body language of all three of them has changed drastically, partially because I’m no longer so tense and partially because I’ve changed the dynamics of my relationship with each of them individually and as a group.

My life with these girls has changed and keeps changing towards better and better things and I’m so grateful for them and the lessons they continue to teach me.

Video description: several clips of a yellow lab, brown labradoodle, and red and white poodle sniffing through tall grassy areas and walking together as a group.

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04/13/2023

Yesterday I got to do temperament evaluations for a beautiful poodle litter 😍

What are temperament evaluations and why are they important?
A temperament evaluation is a series of observations and interactions with a puppy or dog that helps us to determine what their strengths and weaknesses are in that moment. “In that moment” is an important part of that information! A temperament evaluation is not the end all be all of who a puppy or dog is, but it is an excellent way to let people know what areas they may need to focus training and what things their dog may naturally enjoy and excel at. For example, we may notice during an evaluation that a puppy is sensitive to sudden and/or loud noises so it will be important for their new home to pay attention and actively work on desensitizing to common noises they will be exposed to. Or say we see a puppy who LOVES to carry things around and naturally brings them to you when you call them over. Well it’ll be easier to teach that puppy to play fetch than a puppy who doesn’t really care much about the toy or who prefers to show it off and play keep away with it.
We can see things like if a puppy or dog is hesitant around strangers or if they are extremely excited and pushy when they greet a new person and we can see if they prefer to explore a new environment or want to check in with the human right away.
All of these things can help a new home to focus in on what that puppy may need most right then and over time these observations can change entirely! Yep, that’s right. A puppy who is really noise sensitive in an evaluation can become a dog who is totally comfortable with sudden and loud noises when their new home knows to work with them on that specifically. And that is one of the reasons that temperament evaluations can be so valuable, because even though it isn’t a final look at who the puppy will be as an adult, it is a look at who they are right now and how we can help them to live the best possible life they can have.

A big thanks to Independence Poodles for having me out to play with puppies 😍

04/10/2023

Let’s talk about guarantees in dog training.

A dog is a sentient being. They are capable of making choices without our input.

Through training we work to convince a dog that what we want was their idea and therefore is worthwhile for them.

A dog is not a robot. Even when training is done exceptionally well, a dog can make the “wrong” choice sometimes. They can have bad days just like we do.

When a dog trainer makes a guarantee about the outcome of their training methods it means the dog may not be given the grace to have a bad day.

A guarantee means that when a trainer feels pressured by a timeline to produce results that they may be willing to be more heavy handed in their approach to your dog.

A guaranteed outcome may pressure a trainer into “teaching” your dog that they MUST listen, rather than that they WANT to listen.

This kind of approach to training is more likely to produce a dog that is shut down. One that doesn’t look eager to work with you. One that doesn’t enjoy your time together.

This approach to training damages the relationship you have with your dog. It damages the trust you need your dog to have in your leadership.

What I’m saying is, if you want a guaranteed outcome in training you need to consider why. It’s likely your focus is not where it should be: improving the relationship you have with your dog. Behavioral improvement comes with improved relationship.

A dog is not a product that should “work” a specific way. They aren’t a broken fridge or microwave. There is no real way to guarantee the behavior of a living being and if a trainer offers this to you, you should be very wary of what that could mean.
A professional trainer will be able to tell you what good goals are, what some possible outcomes are, how to troubleshoot if we aren’t seeing results like we want to be. But they won’t ever tell you that they can guarantee X, Y, and Z behavioral changes because each and every dog is different.

Really consider what it could mean for your dog if you decide to go with a trainer who “guarantees” the final product to you.

03/27/2023

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqTdLvepUYp/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Holly is still available for adoption!

She is an affectionate girl who loves praise and is eager to please. She’s been doing very well with training and her biggest struggle is being a bit overly excited when greeting people, she can get so excited that she forgets her manners sometimes but we are actively working on this.

If you or someone you know may be interested in giving Holly her forever home please reach out for more information!
Find the application here: https://www.abandonedpetproject.org/dog/ &page=shelterluv_wrap_1601482166167%252Fembed%252Fanimal%252FAPPR-A-509