Lucy-lady

Lucy is doing wonderful! She's not had any problems & she's following all her commands on & off the leash just great. Of course there's the once in a while slip up, but nobody's perfect. She gets along great with everyone; big, small, she's playing great with them all ;o) I think I'm going to schedule some time to take her to her home & work a little bit to show her momma how great she's doing. She's such a good girl & I think she'll make a great family dog from here on out!

Kitt-kat

Kitt is staying until Saturday!! Yay! More time to work with him & he's such a good boy to have around. It makes more sense for me to keep him & keep him in line than send him home before both his momma & dad can be apart of his go home lesson..... so that's what we're doing. Ruger & Jake will be sooooo happy they have a bud to continue playing with. We'll just spend the next few days polishing up everything he knows & working him around heavy, heavy distractions, continuing to take him to meet new people so he can show off his good manners & setting him up for taking things around the house. All of which he's not messed up on in a loooooong time. I'm so proud of him!

Kitt practicing place..... Tanner joining him, I guess.

Niles-the-eating-MACHINE

Boomer & Niles resting after a long day of training.

Niles is my little Mexican jumping bean. He does NOT stop moving unless you make him stop moving. The place command has been great. He's finally getting to where he'll venture outside without me & I think he might even be great friends with Boomer! They've been my snuggle buddies when work is over & we're just relaxing. He's doing okay with his obedience. He is VERY defiant & stubborn. He really likes to test the waters to see if you're going to make him follow through all the time, every time. So, we're working on that. We're going to work a lot today on him holding his commands he knows, sit, down & place commands. Hopefully I'll be able to add in more distractions soon. He's going to get a bath today, along with Chaser & Tanner because they messy, messy, puppies :o) More to come later with Niles!!

Niles practicing his place command

Niles practicing his sit(stay) command. Such a good boy!

Hello Della Mae

This is Della. She's a 1yr old Terrier Mix. She is staying the week with us learning her Basic Obedience along with socializing her. She has some fear aggression issues with other dogs & she's gotten a bit too big for her britches :o) I picked her up yesterday and right from the get go.....no issues. The whole ride home..... no issues (with other dogs in the car & her in a crate). When we got home to introduce her to the gang......no issues. And then last night before bed time she got huffy because one of our big dogs was staring at her wagging his tail & she WENT BAZURKO all of a sudden. I corrected her with the leash & collar & told her "no, no, no" she stopped immediately & then all was right with the world :0) The lawn company is coming today so I'll be interested to see if she shows her true colors with people working in the yard.

Monday, Monday

Thank goodness it's Monday and there's not more rain. We didn't have a fun weekend staying in all weekend & not playing. The dogs were restless, I was restless because they were restless, & now I just have a swampy, muddy yard so they're going to have to deal with it for one more day while this sun dries everything out :) We're going to the park for a bit today & then just working on place. I taught Niles place this weekend because he had to learn patience. He gets waaaay too excited & doesn't think about things. He's doing pretty well considering he's still a baby :) We'll be able to work today on him heeling at the park & meeting people. He's finally on a good potty schedule & no more pottying in the crate. Sometimes that working out period happens. But he's doing awesome now. He is a great snuggler. He & Boomer like to snuggle behind my knees if I'm laying on the couch. It's too cute.
Kitt is schedule to go home tomorrow. Ruger & Jake will be sooooo sad. He's been best friends with them while he's been here & now they won't have anyone to wrestle with. Lucy is doing great. Just the occasional reinforcement of "no" around toys or the water bowl but she hasn't had anymore episodes since the last one. She's such a good girl. Once the yard dries up & I can get more pictures of everyone I'll post a better update & show everyone's progress!

DISTRACTION PROOFING CLINIC FOR THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 28TH 11AM-1PM HAS BEEN CANCELLED. HAVE A DRY WEEKEND :o)

Thursday Update

I think PetSmart & Petco are starting to get annoyed with me.... Because of the not so great weather I've been having field trips to Petco or PetSmart to work with Lucy meeting people & being out around "big scary things" as well as Kitt's manners meeting people. They both are doing great & really nothing to report on in that department. The rest of today we're just going to work on Lucy being on place & Kitt not in a command but I've placed items on the floor & on low tables to see if he tries to take them. He hasn't messed up & taken things that aren't his but I just want to make sure since he goes home next week. I'll have to keep a close eye on him though as marking in the house is still an activity he's like to partake in. That's the unneuteredness speaking to him :)

Nyles..... Niles....... whichever way it is spelled (I keep typing Nyles) is doing pretty well. He is very people oriented. He certainly isn't bothered by the other dogs & definitely doesn't seem intimidated by them at all but he prefers to be around people. He's doing very well with his commands & the obedience part of the training but he's having a time with learning Independence & patience & pottying outside; especially since the rain. He does NOT want to potty outside he will save it for his kennel. It's going to take him a few days to get into the swing of things & get on a good schedule. Other than that, he is a doll & soooo sweet. He loves everyone. He's learning how to be calm & not jump on people when he meets them, heel at my left side & sit when we stop, sit (stays) & I think I'm going to do place next because he really needs to learn this whole patience thing.

The Distraction Proofing Clinic for this Saturday is cancelled due to the weather. Catch the next one in April on my events page.

RECAP

Okay, let's play a little catch up here. . . .

Monday was Jet's last day. He did SOOOO great. He's much more calm & patient than before. His family missed his so much & was very happy to have him home. He has strict instructions to keep socializing with people & practice place quite a bit to reinforce that patience I've been trying to teach him. I hope to have more great updates of Jet later on!

Kitt & Lucy are doing just great. We've been taking a lot of field trips to Petco & the park so they both can meet people. Kitt is doing very well with his manner. He even got a compliment from a man who couldn't believe he's still a puppy. Great job Kitt!! Lucy is much more accepting of people & is doing great with her off leash work.

Mesa, the Pitt has joined us for boarding just until today & then she's off for a fun trip to New Mexico. We always enjoy having her & she's been an extra love but towards me so I gotta love that ;) She & Duke have played like crazy puppies the last two days as well.

We also have a new trainee!! Niles! He's a 4 1/2 month old Boston Terrier. He is here for the Advanced Obedience & he's a complete love bug! He's not too sure of the other dogs & seems to be more taken with people than playing at this point. Yesterday I picked him up. We first fitted him for his new jewelry ;) (his training collar) & then started teaching him his manners with walking on his leash & meeting people without jumping up. A+ on both counts. He's a very smart little guy. He did great in his crate & today we're going to focus on heel w/auto sit, sit-stay, & "at ease"!! More to come on Niles...... and pictures too.

(I left the camera at the barn because we have a baby due in the new few days & I wanted to make sure not to miss taking pictures. I'll have updated pictures today!)

HAPPY MONDAY!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Too beautiful to not have enjoyed it. Lucy, Jet, & Kitt had a great weekend. We worked through the weekend polishing Jet up on last minute things.... today is his last day :(, working Lucy on her off leash recalls & working Kitt on meeting people. We had a few visitors this weekend & Kitt did wonderful. Don't get me wrong..... he's very happy people have come to see him (in his mind) but he's not longer jumping, mouthing at their hands, or goosing people. He actually stayed on his place the whole time until I released him to say hello to everyone. He did fabulous! Lucy is no longer barking excessively when people come over..... come to think of it she didn't bark at all. She sniffed the company & then went and laid down in the kitchen. I was very please to see that. She's not overly social, like Kitt, but she's not fearful & acting aggressively anymore. A+ for Luce :) Jet is a funny boy. He's doing great 99% of the time & then every once in a while he has a puppy melt down where he feels like he can't control himself. He sounds overly dramatic for about 5 seconds then he composes himself & follows through with the commands. He's such a great boy! Today we have another field trip planned so more updates later on......

A Down Day...

Yesterday was a down day for everyone. I was sick, sick, sick all day. So the dogs got extended playtime..... all day :) They were pooped & now everyone is need of baths. A happy dog, evidently, is a dirty dog. So, this morning will be bath day. I did work a very little bit on Lucy's recall off the leash & she did awesome! Her favorite thing is to explore up in the woods. I could call her, give her a remote collar correction if she thought she didn't have to listen & she would come running as fast as she can to sit in front of me. Yay, Lucy!! So today it's back to business & instead of having the weekend off, we'll work through the weekend. I'm going to take Kitt to PetSmart & the dog park today to work on his off leash commands around heavy, heavy distractions & see how he greets people off the leash with out me right there. I'm excited to see how that plays out. Jet needs some work on heeling off the leash. He's still pulling ahead. He's kind of a do now & think later kinda guy. He has to learn to sloooooooow doooooown & think about things for a half a second. But he's sooo sweet & such a good boy.

OH! BIG NEWS!! Happy, the 1 year Golden Retriever I trained a while back was in need of a home. The family is thinking of relocating to a new place (not supposed to say where) & they needed a good home for her. So, we're taking her...... well sort of. He's technically going to be Jack's dog but he'll visit whenever Jack is here. Every 13 year old boy needs a dog to grow up with. He's been in looooove with Happy since I trained her so it's a perfect match. She's going to spend the rest of this week with me so I can refresh her manners, which she's doesn't really need much of, & then I'll spend some time teaching Jack everything about her & her schedule. So, super exciting news for Happy!

Well, I hope you enjoy playtime pictures!

Kitt - Week 1

Kitt has been here 1 out of his 3 weeks & he is doing fabulous! He is very stubborn & you have to be direct & firm with him but once he knows how things are he's very willing to comply! He's very excitable when meeting new people, but he's no longer jumping, mouthing or humping them!! He worked on place all weekend, because of the rain, so he's doing excellent at that! He's following all this obedience commands around heavy distractions with very little slip ups. We have a new PetSmart opening here so he'll get a field trip to work on meeting people again this week! He's super responsive to the remote collar & ALWAYS comes when called. He wasn't bad at coming when called before he just hesitated & sometimes preferred to come at his leisure. Now he runs as fast as he can & sits down in front of you waiting for his praise. Such a sweet, good boy! More updates to come on Kitt!

Jet's 1 week update!

It's been 1 week of Jet's training now! He's come a long way this past week. He is heeling at my left side & sitting every time we stop. He does his sit & down stays pretty well. He's better in a down that in a sit. His little butt propels him when he's in a sit :) He's coming when called & sitting in front of me, he's doing his place command very well. Since it rained all weekend & then some, I had plenty of time to work on place with everyone! Hopefully it'll dry up so we can start the off leash part of his training. He's doing very well coming when called if he's outside playing so I don't expect much trouble from him. He'll be super responsive to the advanced obedience if his family decides to go that route later on! So, Jet is right on track & will be ready to go home next week!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been so beautiful these last few days I've been busy, busy, busy with the dogs. Jet is coming along very well. He's a very, very smart boy. He plays great with the other dogs but he actually prefers people, me specifically :) He's such a lover. Over the last few days we've covered heel with an auto-sit, sit-stays, down at the side, down-stays & all around distractions. He's doing very well. Here he is holding his sit & his down command. Such a good boy! I cut his nails today. It started off great, until he realized what I was doing & then he had a melt down. . . . full out tantrum. We quickly worked past that & I finished cutting his nails & ended with a massage :) I don't think he realized he got a massage with his pedicure. We'll start adding more distractions over the next few days as well as teach the come with an auto-sit, & the ever popular "place" command!!

Kitt has made great stride over the last few days. I've been spending time having him greet women specifically because he has some dominance issues we need to work through although getting him neutered ASAP will help to ensure this behavior subsides & isn't a continuing issue. He is now greeting people with a sit & being calm. He's figured out he doesn't get to say hi until he holds up his end of the deal :) He's a very sweet boy & super smart! We've refreshed his heel with an automatic sit, sit-stay, down at the side, down-stay, come with an auto-sit, & his place command. I don't think he knew what "no" meant, so he's definitely making great progress in understanding what that means. He hasn't had any more issues with marking in the house but I don't trust that this issue won't happen again in a new environment or back in his own environment until he's neutered. He's an intact male, acting like an intact male...... can ya blame him :) He is not stealing random items around the house now. I think that behavior stems from boredom & wanting attention...... he was getting attention, just in a negative way. Today we worked on him following his commands around distractions. He was told to stay on his place command with enticing items placed around him (treat container, vacuum running, chain, shoes, closed pocket knife, socks, paper, etc). He did great. Then I released him from his place command & he had to make the decision to continue ignoring the items. He sniffed them all & walked away. Great choice Kitt!! Now that he has expectations of him, rules, boundaries & a job he's falling into place wonderfully! I adore him & think he's going to make a fantastic pet for his family.

Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. Lucy had a productive day to say the least. She's really starting to come out of her shell & show her true colors & I'm able to correct the serious behavior problems that her family was concerned about. She's food & toy aggressive (or so I heard) but she hadn't showed that until today over the water bowl. She lost her mind on Diesel today & she had to be put in her place immediately. I'll set the same scenario up tomorrow & see if we made progress. I've taken her to the park since it's been so nice. I'm having people come up to her & pet her. She's super hestant but tolerates it because she has to. She's no longer barking at strangers or acting aggressively if people approach her in her crate. That's tremendous progress for her considering her first day......

We'll continue the park visits & meeting new people & kids. She's doing great with her off leash obedience. I'm working on that around the heavy distractions of playing with the other dogs & being called inside. She's doing pretty good. She hesitates but is learining quickly :)

P L A Y T I M E!

Ruger, Diesel, Lucy, Boomer & Kitt Lucy & Maddie Boomer & Kitt.... Kitt doing his favorite activity....sniff sniff
Playing chase!
Tanner & Kitt...... sniff, sniff, sniff.....again

Run Boomer...... Run!

Kitt loves exploring Lucy & Kitt finishing up the day with "place" command. All that play made for some tired pups :)

Lucy Pictures..... Can you believe it!!

It took me 20 minutes & quite a few corrections to keep her from turning her head away form the camera but I got them...... Here's Lucy!! I'm going to try & get more of her tomorrow playing since it's supposed to be so beautiful again! We're also going to make a trip to the park to work with Kitt's manners around people so it's a perfect time to have Lucy out meeting & greeting people as well! She's doing so great. This week everything should come together & she should be ready to go home pretty soon. If I can get a helper I'll try to get some video of Lucy working & being social! :)

Hello Jet!

This is another new trainee today, Jet. He's a 4 month old Rotty pup! He's a doll. This is his first time away from his momma but he's done fantastic! He came late this afternoon. He loooooves the other dogs. He's beside himself to play with everyone, which is great. He's with me for the next 2 weeks for the Intermediate Obedience. I'm just going to let him get used to his surroundings tonight & then it's time to start work tomorrow!!

Hello Kitt....

This is Kitt! He's an 8 month old Golden Retriever. He is staying with me for the Advanced Obedience. He needs a little brushing up on his manners as well as his obedience. We spent the morning running a few errands & then we went to PetSmart to pick up dog food for Duke. That was a great way to start the day off. He had a great lesson in learning to follow all his basic commands with all the great smells & people. He did pretty good. But we definitely need to go again & work on things. Of course everyone wanted to say hello. Who could resist that face. Once we got home I observed Kitt as he explored where he's going to be for the next 21 days. That was a great lesson in NO MARKING THE HOUSE!!!! He walked in the front door smelled the floor & lifted his leg right in the doorway. Then on the table right a the front door & on the recliner; in a matter of 60 seconds. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. After that Kitt met the gang! He was out of his mind excited to see everyone & he played soooooo hard. Then he pooped out behind the recliner & slept hard for about an hour. He had a great afternoon lesson refreshing all the commands he know & we'll be ready to start his remote collar work very soon! Tomorrow morning we'll go to the park & meet some people so he can work on how he greats people! More to come on Kitt....

Hard day days play makes for a tired puppy!

Pat on the Back....

Congratulations to myself for hitting a 5 year marker for Georgia K9 Academy. I am also officially Georgia K9 Academy, LLC - officially a sole proprietorship & my logo has been trademarked!! Thank you to all my clients that have continued to refer to me. You guys are the reason I am still in business & so busy. Thanks again & I look forward to the next 5 years!

It's FRIDAY!!!

It's been a crazy busy week. Lucy is coming along pretty well. Still working on her socialization. Her obedience is pretty good. I've been taking her with me to all my lessons, evals, random trips out, just so she gets the exposure. She's no longer barking at people but still very timid. Hopefully we'll have a relaxing weekend & enjoy the beautiful weather!!

Luuuucy -Goooosey

Lucy had a big socialization day yesterday! She went with me to a follow up lesson with Gus, the German Shepherd. We met at Collins Hill Park. Gus needed work around small, screaming kids that come close to him. So Lucy got a lesson in it as well. She did very well. She was very alert but never barked, growled or seemed too distraught about the situation. I even had Gus' owner, Abigail, take the leash with Lucy for a while, while I worked with Gus. She didn't seemed too bothered at all that Abigail had the leash. She's still a bit hesitant for other people to touch her but I've got that in the works to get fixed. We're going to do what's called a collapsing circle with Lucy. I need to get 12-15 people together to do it though. The gist of it is, I'll have to muzzle Lucy for safety purposes in the beginning. We'll do a series of tasks teaching Lucy that people aren't out to hurt her. She'll then have to meet & let each person touch her & we'll continue the process until she seems to be a bit less stressed & willing to let people touch her without giving those funny looks I don't care to see. I'll update you more on that when I get a group of volunteers together of people she doesn't know. On a side note, I'd like you to notice, since I've pulled the camera out to take these pictures, Lucy refuses to look at me...... what a stinker.

Stella & Vinnie's momma as well as Laila & her owner (a trainee from 2 years ago) joined us at the park to take advantage of the opportunity to work around the great distractions. They are doing wonderful & it's always great to keep up with past clients & their pups! Vinnie got cold & needed a bit of warming up thought ;o)

Bye Bye Rafter :'(

Yesterday was Rafter's go home lesson. At least one of the two of us was happy to for him to be home. He knew when we pulled onto his street where he was. He could barely contain himself. We got there a bit early so we worked in his neighborhood, which was great..... wait. Rewind back to yesterday morning. Rafter & I had a follow up lesson at Tribble Mill Park with Shelly, the Bichon Puppy. We had hoped to work on her distraction proofing but of course it was 32 degrees & maybe 3 people in the whole entire park. Rafter lost his mind at first when he say Shelly. I had no idea he liked her so much. So it was a perfect opportunity to work on him. So fast forward back to when I worked him in his neighborhood. He was great! It's so funny how his outlook on life is (in the best "which way did he go George" voice) "I'm Rafter & you must be here to see me, yep, yep, yep. Ooooh, that dog in that fenced in area.... for me. That car driving by slowly.....for me." He's such a goof ball. He did very well. He of course tried his old tricks but his mom did fantastic is reinforcing the techniques I taught her. He's so much like a Golden Retriever in the sense that he likes to bring you things & he's quite pleased with himself because of it. We'll have a follow up lesson next week or the following to see how Rafter is making out now that he's back at home.

Rafter was so excited to get his soccer ball & PLAAAAY!!

Isn't he handsome!!