Herrin's Hounds

05/06/2022

For those interested in how to find an ethical breeder, here's an article to get you started:

https://positively.com/dog-behavior/new-dogs/choosing-the-right-dog/choosing-the-right-breeder/

In addition to the above, I prefer and recommend breeders that:
👉 Socialize their puppies to a wide variety of experiences, objects, places, and people.
👉 Use positive reinforcement to work with all pups and parents
👉 Allow Mom & Dad dog to be met and interacted with. She is not fearful, standoffish, protective, barky, etc. She should be the prime example of "the perfect dog".
👉 Keep all dogs in the home and as part of the family. Bonus points if the family has children or has children come over frequently
👉 Do not breed mixed or boutique dogs.

Once you've found your puppy, I recommend the below two resources to help you in your puppy raising adventures!

👉 Puppy Socialization: What It Is and How to Do It
Get the kindle version so you can watch the videos straight from your phone, tablet, or laptop!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096KVGNFH/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_gl_K26M9ERARH6YQT0MBJJJ

👉 Control Unleashed: The Puppy Program
This is a longer read, but has a ton of great information about puppy brains and how to work with them instead of against them and games to play with your puppy to help him learn. 💕

https://amzn.to/3w42t1s

Home >> Dog Behavior >> New Dogs >> Choosing The Right Dog >> Choosing The Right Breeder Choosing The Right Breeder Tweet Photo by J. Nichole Smith | www.mylittleandlarge.com If you have decided that you definitely want to buy a puppy from a breeder, it’s critical that you find a breeder who since...

03/05/2022

Give me a call, text, or email if you are struggling to communicate with your pup!

Training your dog should be like a conversation! If you feel like it's a stilted conversation, let me help you with that! 🥰

If a dog you're training isn't responding to your cues, you'll need to ascertain if you've got a "why" problem or a "what" problem.

Is the dog simply not motivated, or is he confused about what to do? This is important, because the solutions to each problem are very different.

If you've got a "why" problem, you must address motivation before attempting to train any further. Next week, we'll share some short term and long term fixes for motivation problems. But for now, test it by offering the dog a freebie. If he refuses it, you've got a "why" problem.

If he takes the freebie enthusiastically but won't work for it, then you've got a "what" problem. The dog would very much like what you're offering but he isn't sure what you'd like him to do. This often comes down to a criteria-setting error on the trainer's part.

We'll share some strategies for addressing "what" problems later this month.

02/28/2022

Happy Monday!

Annette, Wishbone, and Hoover love to play together in the morning after breakfast.

They swap Benebones, chase antlers as they skitter across the floor, and just generally bond with each other as they do their doggy things.

How do your dogs like to bond with each other? 💕

01/14/2022

This is Sasha! A 3 month old Shiba Inu.

In my private session with her parents, we discussed all the puppy essentials. One of my favorite things to discuss with clients is ✨ enrichment ✨.

Enriched dogs are happier and more optimistic. Plus enrichment is a great way to bond with your fur baby. 💕

12/20/2021

12/13/2021

Did you know you should never use a laser pointer on a dog❓

Using a laser pointer on a pup triggers their prey drive, and so they chase! 💨
While it seems fun at first, the dog is never able to "catch" the laser and so there is never closure to the game. Your pup will never get the relief of "catching" the light. 🔦

🚨Laser pointers can cause compulsive, frustrated, and obsessive behaviors in canines. Shadows, lights, and reflections are suddenly all triggers.🚨

If you have been using a laser pointer on your pup, don't fret! Throw away the laser pointer and switch to a flirt pole instead! 🎉 Flirt poles provide closure to your dog and are a safe alternative. 🎉

And if you think your pup has already started to demonstrate compulsive behaviors, reach out to a force-free dog trainer or vet behaviorist near you for help. We're here for you! 🙌

🌠The more you know🌠

12/06/2021

This is a great way to build a bond with your pup and encourage them to seek you out!

11/27/2021

If you have a dog who loves to destroy things, ask yourself,❓ is there a chance my dog is bored?

There are lots of ways to enrich a dog's life! Searching games, puzzle toys, walks and games can help enrich a dog's life and, hopefully, may cause a decrease in destructive behavior. 🤞

11/23/2021

It's getting to be that time of year! Sleigh bells are ringing 🔔, snow will be glistening ❄️, it'll be such a beautiful sight 🎄🎅 !

We all know what's happening, but if you got a puppy at any point in the 2021 year, they actually don't know the winter is upon us! 😳

They'll probably never have seen snow before, or felt negative temperatures, or been in snow banks taller than them! Oh my!

My husband and I took our puppy, Wishbone, to northern Wisconsin a few weeks back and while we were there it snowed.
Thankfully, after a few cautious steps Wishbone decided he LOVED snow! ❄️ But not all puppies will come to the same conclusion. And that's okay!

If you have a puppy who's not a great fan of snow, use play or food to try to shift their perspective. Their favorite toy, a flirt pole, or a tennis ball can sometimes take snow and make it into something fun! 🎉

Take it slow and remember this is their first winter! Let's take the time to make it a great first! 🎅

10/13/2021

Did you know ❓

Dogs can have positive and negative outlooks on life? Like humans, dogs can become optimistic about their life's circumstances and similarly they can become pessimistic as well.

Optimistic dogs are less likely to be reactive, fearful, and anxious. We can help our dogs have a more optimistic outlook by using positive reinforcement and force-free methods to train our canine companions.

Domestic dogs are trained using a range of different methods, broadly categorised as reward based (positive reinforcement/negative punishment) and aversive based (positive punishment/negative reinforcement). Previous research has suggested associations between use of positive punishment-based techni...

10/08/2021

Does this sound like something your puppy would say?

❓

Hi, my name is Dax! I'm a 3 month old Mastiff and I love my family! I especially love to play with the human children who live with me! They're so much fun to chase and bite and wrestle with! I hope this fun never ends! I love playing with them!

❓

Interacting with children well is a challenge for puppies! Puppies have it hard - learning about the world and about themselves and about their new family while having to abide by new rules in a new environment.

And puppies unfortunately don't come to us knowing they can't play rough with kids! 🥲

But no worries, we can teach puppies games that are safe to play with children and we can teach children ways to safely interact with their new puppy! 🎉

Not sure how to do that? No worries! Force-free dog trainers are here to help! 🦸‍♀️

While you're waiting for your one-on-one with your dog trainer, you can check out these resources below for some more information!

https://positively.com/dog-behavior/new-dogs/introducing-a-new-dog/introducing-dog-to-children/

https://instagram.com/dogmeets_baby?utm_medium=copy_link

09/13/2021

Pupdate: We have a website!

Want to see when we are next available?
Check us out online and schedule with us!