Muddy Pawz Dog Training and Obedience

11/23/2022

Please be careful what you feed your dog.

09/27/2022

When Blue came to me (he is a foster dog) he wasn't crate trained. I have been working with him for almost 2 months and now, the crate is a safe place for him and a positive place. It is important to crate train in case of emergencies, natural disasters, or just a place to go and "get away" from stress.

The first video shows me using some dry kibble as a positive reinforcement for him going into the crate. Showing a dog that it's not a scary place in the bringing is tough, not going to lie, he pitched a fit every time even after getting a treat. But the light bulb switched on ( pretty quick) that "Oh, I go in here and I get something." So, every time I would give him a treat.

The second video shows me not having a treat but using verbal praise in a happy tone. Dogs go by tone of voice and a word that they are trained too, (sorry to tell you they don't have a vocabulary like we do and understand every word... bubble popped) This phase comes AFTER they have mastered with a treat. Then you slowly go every other time with and without a treat. After a while you can phase out the treat and give once in a while. This helps to keep their anticipation up.

The 3rd video is him just sitting in his crate. He came back out after the 2nd video, but went back in on his own. This is what you want to strive for. He is understanding its a calm and safe place.

My cats even go in the dog crates to sleep!!

08/22/2022

Meet Smoky, a 3 year old Siberian Husky. He's a typical husky. 🙄 We are working on some self control, since he doesn't realize that he does have some. He would get very mouthy with the owners and their 10 year old daughter. Out of play, he had to go potty, and when grabbed by his collar. Also, he would get out and run.

Our first and second sessions we worked on sit, down, leave it, recall, stay. I also showed them a fun game to play with your dog, the recall game. All family members have treats in their hand and call the dog to them, give a treat, and then the next person calls. This gets the dog to listen to everyone in the household, tires the dog, mentally stimulates the dog and teaches recall or the "come" command.
The first session I figured out why he was getting mouthy, he doesn't like his neck touched and collar held, he needs to go out or wants to play.

So, I worked on touching his neck and collar. When he would get mouthy I would correct him (no treat), if he tolerated it I would give a treat and praise. After about 10 minutes I could grab his collar and hold it. Also, I worked with him on leading with my hand on his collar. I repeated the process with that. After about 10 minutes I could lead him by his collar. I told them they need to praise him when he brings a toy to play with and not their arms and when he licks you, not biting.

The leave it command also teaches self control. I can make a video to show how to teach that.

Being consistent and working on commands everyday is important to keep that pack leadership. It only takes once to create a bad habit, but much longer to unteach a behavior. There are no bad dogs, just uninformed owners.

07/06/2022

I am fostering this cutie pie. He is a 7 year old male, his name is Blue. He is I think, a dachshund/chihuahua mix. He is up for adoption through Kindred Spirits Dog Adoption, Inc. Message me for more details. He is good with cats and dogs and a love bug. I will be working with him on some basic obedience while I have him.

06/08/2022

Congratulations to Layton for finishing his basic obedience training. He came a long way from when I first started with him. With continued work by his owner, he will continue to be a great dog.

This is Layton. He is an 18 month old typical hyper lab. Very smart and happy lab that just needs some obedience training.
I started with him today on the "down" command. He already knew it, he just wouldn't go down in the sit position. He liked to stand up then just go down 🤷‍♀️. So I worked with him while in the sit position to go "down", and he figured it out that he was just putting one extra step in there just to go down.
I worked with him on not jumping up on people and to sit instead, he was better by the end on the session, but it's something we will continue to work on. I even was able to kneel down and he wasn't all over me.
We also worked on "heeling". He picked that up quickly too, and we will continue to work on heeling since he likes to cheat and swing his hind end around to watch you. Towards the end he was starting to figure it out that he can walk next to me and still look up to watch me.
He is definitely a handful, but such a love bug.

06/01/2022

My schedule for availability right now is Monday thru Thursday for training appointments. DM me if you want training done. Remember until July 31st I am having 10% of my 6 week lesson when paid in full. Other payment options are available.

05/05/2022

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/fruits-vegetables-dogs-can-and-cant-eat/

Do you know which fruits and vegetables dogs are safe for dogs to eat? Fresh, frozen, or canned, learn which fruits and veggies to feed and which to avoid.

05/04/2022

Congratulations to Suneai (Sunny), on completeing her Puppy Basic Training Bootcamp in 3 weeks! This little girl is so smart. Her owners have worked a lot with her and it shows. She will do a normal 6-week training this summer.

05/04/2022

We’ve got some wildly big plans for 2020! We’re working on several new and novel ways to help owners and trainers. Some of this will be in new products (the ...