Splash and Emilys Dog Party B day party

08.29 in and, b, day, Dog, emilys, party, splash

Mickey the Mal watches over the Pupcake table to make sure no one takes one to many. 

Kiko and Splash share a Pupcake before the guests arrive.

Splash and Kiko got to see their best doggie buds.

Splash hangs out with her wise mentors, who trained her how to be a real Border Collie! SOMEONE THROW THE FRISBEEEEE!!!!!

Kikos most favorite friend in the world Einstein shows off his tricks! 

Bark Magazine Pupcake Recipe:

by Diane Porter

Whip up three dozen bite-sized carob mini-cupcakes in less than an hour with this original recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup honey

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar-free applesauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons carob powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla

-----------------------------

There was no icing on the Bark Mag cupcakes so I made the icing from a mixture of low fat cream cheese, with a little bit of flour to thicken it. And put non-sweetened carob chips on top to decorate the cakes. 

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Rally trial day one of two Bahia Kennel Club

14.59 in bahia, club, day, Dog, kennel, of, one, rally, trial, two

KIKO ROCKS! With a perfect score of 100 and a first place. 

I was very pleased. My friend filmed for me but instead of recording during, she had the camera on standby by mistake! I thought that was hilarious.  I was horrified today about how cruelly the other owners treat their dogs. One mans dog ran away from him in the ring, and ran right out of the ring. Someone caught it and when he got it back he basically  beat the crap out of it, and I started to yell "hey! What are you doing? while the judges looked the other way, when some friend of his pulled him away. That is a great way to teach your dog to never come to you when he runs away.  Another man grabbed the hair on the top of his dogs skull and yanked it before entering the ring while the dog was doing nothing wrong, I suppose like an or else and of course, the dog didnt listen and they didnt qualify.  Someone consoled him afterwards saying "Dont give up!" and I was thinking Oh no! Dont say that!  There were so many dogs there that looked like their one wish in life was to get as far away from their owner as possible and especially NOT do rally with them.  I felt proud of my little Kiko, who did all these silly exercises for me, not because I MADE her, not because she wanted to please me, but because she ENJOYS doing them and playing our games.  She was the only dog in Rally Novice A who ENJOYED being in that ring (there were two other clicker trainers in the higher levels, who you could see the dogs were dancing through it like Keeks). 

Tomorrow we do our 3rd Leg. Fingers crossed, but who needs luck? And who cares if she chooses not to do anything? She will still want to come home with ME at the end of the day! :)

Happy training to all! 

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Schedule Day 2 of Puppy Days

02.52 in 2, day, days, Dog, of, puppy, schedule

     You have brought your puppy home she slept well through the night. She probably has to pee so let her out of her crate first thing. Next thing to do is start getting her settle in with the family. Not the entire family just everyone that lives in that household. Make sure you dont overwhelm the puppy. Second thing to do is lay out some ground rules. Decide if the dog can jump up on the sofa or has to lay on the floor. Are certain rooms just off limits? Who is in charge of walking the puppy? Make a plan and stick to it the better filled out the plan the easier it will be to find time in your schedule to train the pup.


Basic Schedule

Morning
Start with a brisk walk.
Feed the puppy.
Let the puppy out again.

Afternoon
Let puppy out
Feed puppy
If you have a break train the puppy for up to twenty minutes.
Let the puppy put to relieve itself.

Night
Let puppy out
Feed Puppy
Let out to relieve itself again.
If you are awake for a bit let the puppy roam a little and then before putting it in his crate let him go outside one last time.

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Homecoming Day 1 of Puppy Days

00.53 in 1, day, days, Dog, homecoming, of, puppy

     First of all congrats on your new pup. Im sure that you will have a great time with your new family member. Before you bring her home you should make sure that nothing is out that could hurt her. Check counters for food, knives or anything else that if she managed to get up there could get her into trouble. Make sure there is a room that she can just relax in block it off and put her bed and food and water bowl.

When you are at the rescue pick the dog not by its looks but its personality. A dogs look will change as it gets older its personality is what you will fall in love with and can determine how you teach it. Personally I dont think that one dog is born smarter than another. I believe that one is more willing to learn than another. I also do agree that a dog can be born bad. If people arent born bad than why could a dog.

Anyway, before you bring your dog home make sure that you are ready. That you have all of the training stuff and a crate for her to sleep in and dont stress the dog out to much with training just remember dogs learn more off of repetition and consistency to anything else. Also if a dog does something willingly it is likely want to do it again.

Dogs will be dogs. 
Dont expect to much.

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House Training Day 3 Puppy Days

13.58 in 3, day, days, Dog, house, puppy, training

HOUSE TRAINING
House training a puppy takes a lot of patience. Puppies have to relieve themselves every 2 hours. Like babies they do best with a routine. Just pick a spot in the yard where they can relieve themselves and praise them after they are finished. Never punish you puppy for using the bathroom in your house. When you have to go you have to go and you never got punished for that. If you shove your dogs face in it or punsh it she may not want to go until you leave and then you have a bigger problem on your hands. If you feed you pup at regualar interval then you can predict when she will have to go.


If you have any questions or issues training your dog comment below or email me at. bcdogtrainer@gmail.com

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A Successful Day

01.35 in a, day, Dog, successful

Saturday was a great day of progress for Brody. Weve been working up to it the whole time he has been training, building foundation, building trust and creating meaning for the clicker.  Saturday was the culmination of everything we had worked on, and the true beginning of his counter-conditioning training.  I was worried about how Brody would react - while hes done very well so far, there are lots of things that can go wrong once all the cards are on the table and he comes face to face with his nemesis. 

I was worried that he would get stressed out and refuse to take treats, that he would start to ignore the sound of the click, or that I wouldnt be able to keep him under threshold.  Those are all common road blocks when working with a leash-reactive dog, so I had reason to be concerned.  But all our prep work (and my thoughtful planning of bringing several different kinds of treats) paid off.

The park we picked to work in on Saturday was perfect for what Brody needed.  It was busy - with a sunny, mid-70s spring day that wasnt a surprise.  Lots of kids and parents, noise and activity, but that wasnt what we were there for.  I got Brody all set up, leash clipped to his harness, my treat bag and clicker ready, and we headed to the edge of the park, by the sidewalk that ran around the perimeter.  Thats where we found what we were looking for - a woman walking her dog.  The first dog we spotted was small, which was fine for a starting point. 

I got Brody to a distance that I thought was just close enough (or just far enough, depending on how you want to look at things!), then proceeded to click and treat at all the right times.  It was a fantastic exercise - textbook.  My timing was good, and I managed to keep Brody just under threshold all but one time (which I caught so quickly it didnt become an issue).  We made it by that dog without a single bark, so I gave him a little break and grabbed a few pictures.  Once Id spotted the next dog I again set Brody up at a distance that felt right, and we again had a very successful session.

Throughout the couple hours we stayed at the park Brody got to encounter many dogs, and he continued to do very well.  If you think two hours sounds like a long time to train a dog, youre right.  Its too long.  But sometimes you have to take advantage of situations that are ripe for training, so I kept Brody from getting frazzled by mixing things up and taking lots of breaks.  A little work passing another dog, then some time to sit in the shade and relax.  A walk around the grass for sniffing and exploring, a trip over to the car to get a drink of cold water and some fresh treats, then scoping out another dog and taking up our position.

Its wonderful as a dog trainer to have things go well, especially when you have eager parents putting their trust in you, hoping that you will make great progress with their dog.  We still have a long way to go, but right now Im very happy with how Brody is doing.

Have you ever had a dog that was reactive (towards dogs, people, cars or anything) when on leash?  What did you do to change their behavior, or what did you do to deal with it?

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Happy Valentines Day

11.23 in day, Dog, happy, valentines

Apple wishes all her boyfriends and girlfriends a most happy Valentines Day.

Kisses and tail wags,

Love, Apple.

?

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