Yes a new puppy!! Ravioli, or Ravi for short, is a sighthound called a Windsprite. Why a windsprite? I had been crushing on Koolies, and some herding dog mixes but realized that it wasn't the right time in my family's life to add more oomph to our house. My household is "a lot" right now with the kids, and Loot already struggles with it at the intense times. And even a playful lab or golden is a bit too much. Vaughn was a great foster and wasn't bothered at all by the kids, but he was also...
20 days ago • 1 min read
Photo by Ben Moren It's June! And I am on my way right now to pick up a fluffy package! In the meantime, here are some training videos from the month of May. May Training Videos Here are 7 videos from the past month's daily uploads of training. Just click on the picture to be taken to youtube. (And if you prefer the music free versions, head to facebook or instagram!) I hope these videos give you some helpful tips to try or inspire you to train something new! Vaughn stars in a lot because...
29 days ago • 2 min read
I am splitting my monthly email in 2 this month because there is just so much! This email will be an update on the household, next one will have my normal monthly videos. Goodbye Vaughn! We said goodbye to Vaughn this week. We had Vaughn for just over 2 months to evaluate his temperament as a service dog and then put some skills on him! And he made it easy for me as with a little bit of patience and knowing how to break things down, he blossomed. Not the fastest learner at the start, but very...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
I wrote a blog! So many people are hesitant to toss treats with their dogs for fear that it will suck them into sniffing thoughts! And it might! But we can also work on that and train it so tossing a treat actually interrupts thoughts of sniffing. With a well trained pattern, I actually use a cookie toss to stop sniffing and activate that pattern to turn back to me. Then I can decide if I do actually want to cue them to "go sniff", do some easy focus work, or go back to whatever I was...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
We welcomed a new service dog in training to foster for a little while while I evaluate and get some skills on him. A big golden boy named Vaughn who is very eager and a pretty blank slate in terms of "skills." Many of my daily videos are showing what he's learning as there are just so many skills to train and so much progress to be made in those early steps!! If there is something in specific you want to train, I probably have a youtube playlist for it! I am (slowly) adding old videos! These...
2 months ago • 3 min read
March went by fast! I took Loot to our vet to discuss medications in order to help stop his anxiety from coninuing to generalize to new locations/new sounds. We still have a month to go until we can visit the vet behaviorist, but I am happy with my choice to start right away on meds. We need to put the breaks on things getting worse as the 1st priority. And then figure out what will put him in the best state for learning to actually take place. People often say meds should be the "last...
3 months ago • 3 min read
February was a long month for Loot. I will link to a post I made in the ring confidence group of his obedience trial last weekend where he was heavily stressed outside of the rlng. And managed to pull it together for very nice work IN the ring, including a 200 score on sunday. But based on this trial, and some signs of his panic associations starting to generalize to different locations and different noises not at all connected to dogs, I set up behaviorist appointment. About a 2 month wait....
4 months ago • 4 min read
This is the last reminder for my obedience followers for my TEAM to Trials: Novice Obedience class. If you have been meaning to work on heeling, fronts, exams, finishes, or some trial prep then don't forget! Thic class runs once a year. All levels welcome! If you are new to obedinece, the main skill you will want is a pivot on a perch. If you are super experienced, then you also know that heelwork and fronts require lifelong maintance ;) TEAM to Trials: Novice Obedience Ginny's Magic Wand...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Let's just skip right over January. Happy new year? Ring Confidence Posts I have a Ring Confidence training group on Facebook! This last month, I posted was a bit busy but still a few good posts! 1. Work on focus through cookie toss patterns! Teaching the dog to expect running back to you fast for another treat! This makes it easy to diminish sniffing between reps and makes it easier for us to be clear on when we are still "working" and when we are cuing the dog to take a break. Click here to...
5 months ago • 4 min read