Woodside Dog Training School

03/11/2022

01/28/2020

We
Would like to welcome the newest member of our team. Mr Basil May become a show dog but right now is rocking the housebreaking
Skill

01/24/2019

This is a good time of year
To get your dog trained since it is the slower time for boarding

01/24/2019

What a winter-
Snow, ice, endless rain.
Temperatures up and down.

01/24/2019

The sun is finally shining and it is great
To be outside with my Jacks

01/22/2018

Now that the holidays are over it is time to have your dog trained or groomed.
Planning a mid-winter vacation? Send your dog to Woodside Dog camp to learn, play
And have a great Vacation. Your dog will come happy happy, rested, Better behaved or sparkling clean.

12/19/2017

This is the story of a little dog named Pudgie. It could be the story of any of our dogs unless we learn and make arrangements ahead of time.
Last summer I got a call from a lady named Latisha. She explained that her friend had become ill and had to move to a nursing home. Latisha had agreed to taker her friends dog home since the dog couldn’t come to live with her owner in the nursing home.
But Pudgie needed a good grooming since she was matted and dirty.
Pudgie was grumpy and quite uncomfortable being groomed. After her bath I had to clip her down since her coat was so heavily matted.
I combed and shaped her face hair. Pudgie got what is called a ‘Teddy Bear’ cut. She was nice and clean and looked cute. She looked proud of herself. Pudgie is a shih tzu .
Last summer her weight was good and her energy level normal. Latisha was happy and took Pudgie home:
Last week, mid-December, I got a call from another lady, Pamela, who explained that Latisha had become ill and was in the same nursing home as Pudgie’s first owner. Latisha thought she would only be gone a short time so she had the neighbor come over and check on her dog. She left Pudgie with an automatic feeder that dispersed dry food into a dog bowl. The neighbor agreed to take Pudgie out a couple times a day.
But Latisha ended up having a foot partly amputated and spend a couple months recovering from that. So Pudgie ended
up alone for months in the house by herself. Pamela is the pastor of the church both owners of Pudgie used. Pamela was visiting her parishioners when she learned the plight of poor little Pudgie. Pamela asked me to groom Pudgie and we set up an appointment for the following day. Pamela drove up and exited her car with a little black and white sick, emaciated and shaking dog. Pudgie was in such bad Shape she couldn’t stand on her own anymore. I was stunned by Pudgie’s condition. Pamela looked apologetic as she explained that Pudgie had recently stopped eating and she hoped that if she brought her home she would perk up. However, I have seen animals in this shape and realized that Pudgie had had problems for weeks to get this skinny.
Pudgie’s face was sticky and matted
By a discharge from her eyes that had dried and caked her face. I carefully cleaned and bathed her in warm water. I turned the heat on high and carefully blow dried the poor little dog. I let her lay on towels and changed the towels so she could lay on a dry surface.
Her ears were also caked and infected. I took care cleaning them and put my own dog ear meds in them. I combed, and brushed her and got the matts off of her.
While I was cleaning her up I offered her water several times and some of my dog food soaked in water to make it easier for her to chew. She drank some water but even if i added tasty things to her food she wouldn’t eat. Her body condition was beyond skinny. I could feel her spine, ribs and hip bones. She was nothing more than a living skeleton.
I feared that help had arrived for Pudgie too late. Dogs rarely survive when they are left to starve like this. Especially older dogs. While Pudgie seemed to be able to hear her watery eyes were clouded so I doubt she had much vision. She seemed to have cataracts.
When Pamela picked up Pudgie I gave
her one of my spare dog coats for her ematiated little body.
Pamela said she would talk to her sister in law who was a veterinarian but no money would be spent on Pudgie. They would simply keep her as Comfortable as possible.
I offer to waive my grooming fee if that would help her to seek care for Pudgie.
Pudgie went home with Pamela. She and her family tried to feed her but Pudgie wasn’t hungry, and was too weak to try to eat much.
This was on a Friday.
2 days later Pamela’s family took Pudgie to church. While one of the parishioners held Pudgie in a towel, still with the coat on that I gave her Pudgie passed away.
Latisha arrived at the church but was to see Pudgie but it Was Too late.
I felt so bad for little Pudgie.
This shouldn’t have happened.
I am making arrangements for my own dogs care just in case I get sick and have to be away from home for some time.
Don’t let this happen to your own dogs.
Make plans while you can.
At least in the last few days of her life Pudgie was shown love and care.

07/14/2017

Lately I have noticed how some dogs seem to not be able to make decisions for themselves.
Like learning a dog door. It seems so simple.
They can go in and out on their own. What dog wouldn't want that option? You can come into a heated or air conditioned area. You can go outside (hopefully in a safely fenced area).
You can eliminate outside any time you want.
Some dogs get the door thing right away. Some seem to struggle with the concept that they can go in AND out whenever they wish.
So what? What's the big deal about a dog door? After all, most dogs don't have a dog door. They have to wait for the human to take them outside. Some never go outside except on a leash and only to 'potty.' No ability to sniff around, and just be a dog.
Have we humans taken a dogs ability to make simple decisions away? Imagine living in a world where from birth everything you do is micro managed? Everything you do must be at the approval of someone else.
Dogs are, by nature, a bit nomadic. They would live in a certain area but have a route to explore and follow every day. The route would start and end at 'home.' These days with leash laws and the large volume of cars traveling at fast speeds this isn't allowed. This is especially true for urban and suburban dogs. My own dogs have perhaps 5 acres to roam. That area is fenced for their own safely.
My dogs are luckier that most.
As a dog trainer I am seeing more and more dogs that can be classified with behaviors that mimic human mental disorders. I am beginning to wonder if one of the causes is how we manage our beloved canine friends.
There are other causes too such as lack of exercise, an inconsistent schedule (that is a whole other topic), lack of social interactions,
And taking away their ability to make decisions.... are we, the loving owners, inadvertently creating stressed out unstable dogs?

06/04/2017

Besides
Training we also board and
Groom. Send your dogs to a place where they can relax and play

02/03/2017

I just finished training a very nice, friendly young dog. Nillo, a Pit Bull mix, was recently adopted by his family. Just before adopting Nillo The family had a trip planned to visit Brazil for 3 weeks. They contacted me about having him stay with me for boarding and training.
Nillo did very well. He is a smart, eager to please young man. While I am careful about mixing any of the fighting breeds with other dogs Nillo at this stage of life got along with both males and females. As he ages and becomes an adult that could change. But for now he is playful.
When Nillo's owner returned to pick him up I stated how friendly Nillo was towards
Children. Owner said 'yes, even when his son hits him with a stick in the face he was alright.'
I was aghast. Hit him in the face? And owner
just watched it and did nothing? Owner answered yes, Nillo was fine. I swallowed, took a deep breath to compose myself
And said 'under no circumstances will that ever happen again. Oh, and if the dog is sleeping or eating the kiddies must always leave him alone.' Poor Nillo. He would be blamed for defending himself and possibly put to sleep: How does a dog defend himself? By
Giving The look, then a growl. If that doesn't work a bite can come next.
The point is that children must always be supervised when around a dog. They must be guided and taught how to handle them.
They must also be shown how
To play with dogs so that their running and screaming doesn't mimic a prey animal. They must learn to play with a toy, ball,
Etc. Anything but their hands and bodies.
In the end it is the adults responsibility to make sure a dog is not hit in the face with a stick, pushed, jumped on or
Kicked.
That all seems so obvious but over and over I have to repeat this lesson to parents. Dogs and
Children can be great together. We as adults have to show Both dog and child how to interact.

12/23/2016

Merry Christmas from Woodside
farm