Took a little time to dogsled last week in Minnesota! The Canadian Inuit Dogs are quite something! Best dog sport that I have tried so far!!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.490026907723890.108496.109655375761047&type=1

Also tried a little skijorring! This is Inga working with me, she was the lead dog on my sled! What a great sport and a great dog! She took very good care of me here! Since this was my first experience I was a bit nervous after watching her pull a sled but she was very cautious and gentle! What a great girl!

Took a week off to do a little dogsledding! These are the Canadian Inuit Dogs. The Canadian Inuit Dog is the original sled dog used by the Inuit people for polar bear hunting and seal hunting. They are a primitive breed with a complicated hierarchy similar to that of wolves. They are truly the "tanks" of the sled dog world. Our dogs were brought in from the Inuit villages and then had pups that were born at the lodge. Their natural instinct is to pull and when they are pulling and you stop the sled they become very frustrated and anxious. They love to work and are real pleasers! They were friendly and a real joy to work with.

Can you tell when your dog is stressed? This is one of the best pictures of a dog showing stress. The pictures look like two different dogs however it is the same dog.

http://eileenanddogs.com/2013/02/14/dog-facial-expressions-stress/

Our third week in Beginner Family Dog class, A fun night of exercises, play and visiting!!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.484688468257734.107499.109655375761047&type=1

Door Darting Training

We just practiced foundation exercises and walking in and out of a gate to help with door darting in our beginner class last week. Good Tips here!

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/12_7/features/Door-Darting-Training_16135-1.html

Door Darting Training

We just practiced foundation exercises and walking in and out of a gate to help with door darting in our beginner class last week. Good Tips here!


http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/12_7/features/Door-Darting-Training_16135-1.html

Scenting is not only fun but builds confidence in dogs.

Have a barky dog?! Nice video with very good step by step instructions on how to teach and help your dog to be "quiet".

Great information.... De-Bunking the "Alpha Dog Theory" http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_12/features/Alpha-Dogs_20416-1.html

This breed test that was put out for people to take is making an impact on stopping Breed Specific Legislation for the Pit bull. We have a long way to go but this is another great step! Nice news story.

http://fox2now.com/2013/02/06/fox-files-pit-bulls-wrongly-blamed-for-dog-attacks/#ooid=1nYXU1OTru90tPgI7QDbjQwkMFZ5xrgn

Excellent information about socializing your puppy or dog in the correct way! We just discussed this in our puppy classes. Socialization in the wrong way can do just as much harm as not socializing at all.

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3953

The muzzle is a very handy tool and is not just for dogs with aggression. Trained and used appropriately, your dog can learn to love a muzzle as if it was a new game to wear it!

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3948#undefined.gbpl

Good quality food plays a great role in your dog's personality and health. Nice tips to enhance your dog's diet! Our dogs love eggs and yogurt!!


http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_5/features/Improving-Your-Dogs-Diet_20260-1.html?s=FB012813

Have a barker? Some nice tips to quiet the barking!

http://dogingtonpost.com/tips-for-quieting-barking-dog/

More evidence to support that dogs are not socialized wolves. Old ideas about pack theory are misleading and don't translate well to the domestic dog or how we should teach them.


http://www.chicagonow.com/steve-dales-pet-world/2013/01/dogs-and-humans-co-evolved-evidence-mounts-dogs-and-wolves-more-different-than-we-think/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

I reshared this picture from our Saturday hike because it has great information for our clients in the confidence classes! They are building confidence in their dogs through sounds, motions and obstacles. However, we can also use other confident dogs to help our unconfident dogs push through stress and fear to accomplish a goal. Penny (the dingo) crosses bridges all the time. She started to cross this bridge but because it was an arched bridge and she could not see the other side, she froze, began to quiver and would not walk. Glacier, who is very confident, crossed the bridge but when he walked next to Penny she took a step and leaned her body completely against him and they crossed the bridge together. What a great moment of natural confidence building to capture! You can see in the photo Penny's ears are flat and she is walking close to the ground. Her back legs were still shaking. At the end of the bridge she was quite happy, almost as if she was proud of herself!

Great loose leash walking game, we played a similiar game in class at the park last week! Works great!

Why do dogs have dewclaws? Popular question!


 http://dogingtonpost.com/all-about-your-dogs-dewclaws/