Remember when I posted the first time Willis played with a toy? Well now his nightly routine includes taking every single toy (that I just picked up) out of the toy box, to obviously make sure none have gone missing, and playing with his big friend.
This boy is coming out of his shell so much. He comes to agility class with me to watch the other dogs and say hi to people and has been gaining quite a bit of confidence!
Willis has started to come out of his shell on day one. He spent today with me watching barn hunt lessons, being calm and observant as people and dogs came through. He slept through the night in his crate and just a few minutes ago discovered the wonderful world of toys!
Maggie
Little Maggie is a 5 month Australian Shepherd puppy who has been regularly coming to private lessons for the past 2 months to work on all of the skills to be a good member of her family. As of now she can loose leash walk, sit, down, go to her place and wait and is working on settling in busy environments and not rushing out of her crate and doors. When we start training at a young age we are able to work on teaching the dog all of the helpful skills and behaviors they need to know with a clean slate instead of going back and fixing bad habits they have formed as adults. Maggie and her family have been doing great and keep up on training and working at home!
Poppy the doodle!
Watch poppy the doodle pick up barn hunt in her first lesson!
Barn hunt!
He figured out this whole rat hunting thing in his first lesson. Speed will come with time and more exposure but he has a very nice alert of freezing and then pouncing. A great way to fulfill this guy’s natural breed instinct!
Playing rough
I play rough with my dogs. When I start the game, and only when I start it, they are allowed to jump on me, bite and mouth me (within reason), and wrestle with me. This type of play helps build our relationship as it’s something they enjoy doing with me. I only allow this high intensity level of play because just like I can turn it on, I can turn it off. When I say “All done” it must immediately stop. The expectation is that when they hear their done command they stop and either come to me to get pets and relax or go lay down/do something on their own.
Even the best dogs have the potential to be dangerous animals. This type of play is great at building a bond with your dog, but can turn unsafe if you do not have control over it. If you want to play like this, you need to make sure you can turn it off in an instant.
Dog training should be fun for both you and your dog! Whether it is teaching house manners, loose leash walking, or just teaching your dog a new trick, the more fun you have, the more engaged your dog will be and the faster they will start to learn.
Take the time, bond with your dog, do something enjoyable!
Here Oakley is on her 5 session learning to stack rings. Is it practical, absolutely not, but it gives us a reason to work together and have a little fun!
We only have 1 more spot left for our leash walking workshop! Here Oakley is show the loose leash style of walking that will be taught. Unlike heeling, loose leash walking means that she has the whole leash to walk around but she has to respond quickly to leash pressure and not fight against it. This allows her more freedom to sniff and explore while still being under control!
Message us to sign up for this 2 day opportunity to get your dogs leash walking under control!
We only have a couple more spots left in our leash walking workshop June 30-July 1!
Here Journey is showing a structured/heel style of leash walking. This is just 1 of the 2 leash walking styles taught during the workshop. This is a great opportunity to teach your dog the foundations to get their leash walking under control!
Week 4 of group obedience class!
The dogs did great in class today working on recalls, loose leash walking, and stays with the distractions of food, toys, and other dogs close by! We don’t expect the dogs to never make mistakes, but we do expect them to correct themselves and recover quickly which is exactly what they did today. Awesome job everyone!
Heeling at her owners pace next to a small dog!
I had a client recently reach out to me about her 8 year old dog, who is very sweet, loves people, and is ok walking on a leash, until she sees other dogs (especially small). This client needed help with her reactions because she has decreased mobility due to a knee surgery, and needing to use walker. After our first private lesson this week, she went from lunging at a small dog, to heeling next to her owner right by the same exact dog. I’m so proud of how these two are working together and how far they came in just one session!
Show us how you and your dog are staying cool during this hot week!
Oakley’s go to is playing fetch in the lake!
