We lost our Sweet Katie this past Monday morning. She was 19 years old and her 20th birthday would have been in June. She gave us some wonderful years and many laughs. She had a lot of life! Hug your dogs, make them family, let them go through the bumps of life with you instead of giving them up and give them a lifetime of love. Even with 20 years, I would take one more day... I will miss you so much, you have many that have welcomed you at the bridge!

Too True!

What is fluency?

The ability of the dog to do something with ease and accuracy. If your dog can learn how to win reinforcement, and how to fight for it despite challenges, then you will be a truly successful team. What are your reinforcers? Do they change in various environments? What is the learning history, consistency, positives, negatives? Are you building stress? Does your dog feel safe? If your dog isn't listening, there is an error in your training not with the dog...

Meet Loki!

He is a Catahoula Retriever mix! Absolutely beautiful and full of energy! Loki is in our private lesson program and one of the areas we worked on was his crate. He did not like his crate, would not go in his crate and when he did he would tear up his bed that was in it. I reintroduced his crate playing many "crate games" and rewarded a lot for any interaction with the crate and he received more treats for stepping into the crate but he was always allowed to leave on his own. When he began to stay in his crate longer and comfortably with the door open, we began to reward when door was closed for just a minute. Our rewards were a mix of food and fetching toys, going into the crate was the button that launched a toy for fetch! A bigger problem the family had was he would wake them throughout the night, so they were not getting any rest before starting their work day. This is Loki now with his crate. He rests in it during the day on his own and he sleeps in it throughout the night. Now everyone gets to rest! I am only the guiding tool, the family has done the real work through patience and being consistent in their homework throughout the week! Hats off to Loki and his family!

What a smile!

We found a new ball at Petco...time to get out and play!

Soldier Spring Park Play Day!

Well it was play day for some of our crew today. A friend recommended this park to us and it was a real gem! Everyone has been quiet and asleep for hours!

Great Sign!

Penny and Journey!

Cool tree stump!

Millie, Dixie, Fernando and Glacier Bear!

She turned around... Too steep! Came down with mom!

 View the rest of the photos by clicking Here!

If you stick to the scientific definition for dominance and then look more closely at the dog's behavior, body language, and the reaction of the animals around him, you'll find dog behavior to be much more nuanced and interesting....than the typical, my dog is dominant or an alpha. 

More on that here!
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/dominance_in_dogs_is_not_a_personality_trait