Loyd Park Hike- February 2014

We had a great turn out and the weather was perfect! This is a beautiful park with a lot of woods! We want to go back in the Spring when everything is blooming! Dogs had a great time, it is always fun to hike and spend some time with new friends and our dogs! Thanks Jodi Hutchens and Jim Elkins for the pictures! Thanks Mary Justin for the wonderful cookies today!

Michele and Mike with Isis and Carly! Showing off new loose leash walking/hiking technique! LOL! You guys rock!

Cowboy and Roxie with Michael!

Jodi and Stella!

Penny, waiting to get into the park! Where is everybody?

Haha right before the posed picture that we never took! LOL!

Emmy and Bill checking out the other side of the river!

Lucy working for a little lunch!

backpacking!

We made new friends along the way!

Cowboy and Roxie ready to go!

Great picture of the Hines family!!

usanne and that is Journey that came on the hike today!

Our sweet boy Journey very interested in what is in my hand!

We are off again!

Sweet smile of Roxie!

Jim and Penny!

Susanne! We love having her along, she always helps us learn about the plants that we see!

Danita and Maverick!

Wild clover! It is very pretty with a deep purple spot in the center of the leaves!

We decided to picnic in this beautiful area. It was full of wild clover!

Just chatting!

Stella ready for a water break!

Mary and Lucy!!

Susanne and Bill, Emmy working for lunch also!

Penny!

Time to pack it up! Maverick waiting patiently!

Everyone just enjoying lunch and the warm day!

Stella loving her day!

Sweet smile of Roxie!

Danita and Maverick!

A Great Message from 2 Great Clients!

A message from Lynn and Ellen Sowers, clients who began training their Bella when she was 8 weeks old in our puppy class. Here she is today, a full adolescent dog! Adolescence is the most difficult time of training, so many ups and downs until maturity. This can be very frustrating but they are messaging to tell you to keep training, work through it, be consistent and you will have a great dog through the years. Training never really stops but you are on an unbelievable journey throughout the years as long as you train respectfully and consistently! Here is their message-- This is our precious Bella. She's just at a year old. This was our first experience with a puppy and proper training, and she has been a handful. Her dad is a Boxer (the playful side), and her mom is a Beagle (the "nosey" , distracted side). We've had her in training with Terri since she was 10 weeks old, but started socializing her when she was about 8 weeks. Consequently, she is quite the social butterfly. She loves pretty much everybody and most other dogs. She has a BFF and fave gal pal from Puppy I class. These 3 girls have been together for almost a year now. They work so well together and have such great confidence when they are working together. It's always good to compare notes with the other moms. It takes a lot of work and patience, and there are times when you think it's just never going to work. Then one day something clicks!! She gets it!! It's such a rewarding feeling when that happens. And it happens time and again. It makes it all worth the time and effort we have put into it. We're all still working at it and still learning. The training has been as much for mom and dad has it has been for pup. It has been a long process, but well worth our time and effort. Bella is turning into such a great pup. We're so glad we found Terri. Without her and the wonderful training and all that we have learned, we might have been one of those families that gave up and re-homed ou

r girl.

Join us on March 8th!

We are gearing up for our next seminar! This seminar will address dog nutrition and health! Angela Byers Jones will also be our guest speaker teaching about the benefits of essential oils. Please click on the link for a complete and wonderful biography. I will also discuss Dodger's cancer and how the oils have helped him fight this terrible illness.

More info can be found here! 

http://www.tamingthewildside.com/home#!__seminars-and-workshops

Seminar Went Very Well!

We had a great time spending this morning with Michael Kapin, Phd Physiology & Pharmacolgy. His discussion about bloat was informative, slides were so interesting and the conversations with everyone was enlightening. We all walked away with a better knowledge of symptoms, causes, risks, preventatives and the beginning of a plan on how to help our dogs before and during the onset of bloat. A little bit like a fire escape plan.Thank you Michael for all of your time and for bringing sweet Roxie to visit with us, thank you Mary Justin for providing our breakfast snacks and thanks to everyone that came to make our session happen today!  

Interesting Dog Fact

I get asked about this a lot on my Basset Hounds...The occiput in dog terms is the bump or protuberance clearly seen at the back of the skull in some breeds like the English Setter and Bloodhound. However, in other breeds it is barely perceptible. Myths in dog folklore believed that size of the occiputal protuberance was somehow a measure of the dog's sense of smell. So to this day it is prominent in most Scent Hounds. However, technically the occipital bone extends right down the back of the head to where it articulates with the neck. So when breed standards refer to the length of a dog's skull, they rarely include the occiput in this measurement. The Occiput has many nerve endings and stimulates calming effects to do with the flight or fight system. It used in canine therapeutic massage to calm the dogs.

Interesting Dog Fact!

This is Bella! Bella has attended several classes at TTWS since she was a puppy and now into adolescence! Not only has she learned her obedience skills but also has learned to stop attacking mom's slippers when mom is wearing them, how to walk nice on a leash and she has even learned to stop barking and chasing cars! Here she is enjoying some down time from training with dad! Stay tuned to hear more about Bella!

Building Confidence!

A little fun in confidence class! We are pushing balls, knocking pyramids of cups over and standing on fit paws and making them wobble! Rewarding the dogs for creating sounds and movement! it starts out as simple as rewarding for a simple touch on an object! The best part is... look how happy they are! We allow them to make choices and the right choice is the one rewarded!

Lucy has a paw on each disc! She did great!

Now we add a very small movement to the disc!
 As soon as it moves a reward is given!

Our sweet Madison! She loves to tough the disc with her paw!
We are working her towards standing on it! We have a nice paw lift her that we rewarded

BlueBell loves the disc... standing on and making them move!

Sweet Lola! Standing out with a great paw touch! We did get one stand on the disc! Way to go Lola!