Mac!

Mac!

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Quick fix

Everyone wants a quick fix. From car problems to computer problems to you guessed it-dog problems. But did you notice the first two did not involve living beings. When dogs do things we don't like, we need to see it as a training opportunity. A citronella collar, shock collar, can of air , or many of the other quick fixes out there don't teach your dog what you want him to do. At best they scare them into stopping. But you take the risk of damaging the trust bond you've worked so hard to build. At worst it can cause aggression towards you or someone else.

So before you reach for that can of compressed air or can of pennies, or even smacking your dog, stop and think. What is this teaching him really? What can I do to teach him what I want him to do instead? Your dog is a living being, with feelings and emotion. And very capable of learning. Take the time. Your dog is worth it.

Need help? Take a class with your dog and you both can learn a better way. Make it your New Year's resolution. Stop and think and you'll do better. Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

One More Day

One more day to save on training classes. Go to www.playfulpoochesandparents.org for all the details. Can't wait to meet you and your dog!

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

What I Do

In a previous post I talked about why I do what I do. So here is what I do. Or maybe more like how I do what I do. Positive. Force-free. Reward based. That's it. No prong collars, shock collars, or choke chain's. No hitting, pinching, shoving, kicking or smacking. I just don't. Why not? Because no dog learns that way. What they learn from that is fear, mistrust, confusion and eventually learned helplessness.

You never hear me say words like: dominance, alpha, submit, pack leader, balanced, stubborn. They are not in my vocabulary.

What I do is build relationships between people and their dogs using positive, force-free, reward based methods. Science has proved many times that this is the best way for dogs to learn. And people too for that matter. It's my passion, my life's goal to bring this way of training, this way of thinking, this way of communicating with your dog to as many folks as possible.

Sometimes I feel like I'm not getting through. Like the force trainers are winning. And that's very sad for dogs. Indeed.

My dogs and I have an awesome relationship. They respect me but do not fear me. I have never used a prong, shock, or choke chain on them, never hit or smacked them. I teach them. They learn. It's just really not that hard. And that's what I want you all to experience with your dog. I want to teach you a better way.

So my goal in the new year is to get as many of you as I can on board with a better way to train your dog. Because I won't be around forever. One day in the not so distant future I'm going to retire. And you all will carry on my positive, force-free, reward based training on into the future.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Happy Holidays!

Another Christmas coming 'round the bend. Are you ready? I'm not. I'm a last minute shopper. Last minute like Christmas Eve last minute. But I don't buy for that many. The last couple Christmases I've spent in peace and quiet at home. My choice. Had invites but I love the peace, quiet and solitude. So all this to say-here's the schedule for classes for the holidays. No classes Dec 24-27 and no classes Dec 31 and Jan 1. Looking forward to the new year. I have some great things planned for all of you! Stay tuned.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Why I Do What I Do

When I get discouraged or want to quit (Yeah, me....) I just need to look at why I do this line of work. It was not for the money. I made much better money in my last job that I worked at for 30 yrs (yes, I'm that old). But I wanted to show folks a better way. That they didn't have to hurt their dogs for their dogs to learn. Dogs are really quite easy to teach. Humans, not so much.

There are so many (so called) dog trainers out there now. The internet is crawling with them. Their language is elusive, lots of word that don't really say anything. My website has my picture and my dogs pictures on it. I introduce myself and what I'm about. Your friendly shock collar trainer lots of times does not even give their name or pic. I'm proud of what I've built in 14 yrs. And I won't hurt your dog. Ever.

So why are folks flocking to these shock collar trainers? Two words. Quick. Fix. But quick fixes don't last and sometimes(or most times) back fire. Badly. Just saw a former student of mine today walking her tiny dog.
Wearing a shock collar. Five pounds at most. Sweet dog but the owner wanted the barking to stop. Now. Right now. So sweet dog gets shocked if she tries to communicate. Ugh.

All this to say that sometimes it's discouraging. Slick Big Box trainers with big budgets and shock collars are winning the war. But at least I can sleep at night.



De-stress Time

It has been a rough week. So Friday comes and my best de-stressor: A trip to the Bass Pro with my Puppy Class! They are so much fun. Titen the French Mastiff and Lia the Irish Wolfhound. Here's some pics for you to enjoy. My stress was gone after our awesome trip. Lots of folks wanted to pet them and learn about their breeds. These two were so good with kids. Santa left before we could get over to him but I bet they would Wow him too. Great work, teams!