Quickie....

Very quick updates up to this point:

 Roxy-girl is home sweet home & was doing awesome!!

River had his go home lesson & is now back for boarding & live'n it up with his friends!

Everyone has been enjoying the B-E-UTIFUL weather!!

...And lots of love to top it off :o)

Estelle has joined her momma back home & Emma is soon to follow!

New trainees Pearl, Biscuit & Service dog in training - Shepherd, info to come soon!!

More Picture Updates

Emma on place by herself

Emma & Estelle both on place...too cute :)

River practicing his place, sweet face :)

River & his best bud Oliver practicing place together

Roxy in her sit-stay

...... and her down-stay

- Roxy: "haha.... I'm not on place, Oliver".  -Oliver: "haha, that's because you haven't learned it yet..."

We've also been practicing place with the doorbell......

 WATCH HERE

My Little Works In Progress

Rainy days offer up an opportunity for us to really focus on place, down-stays, & sit-stays

River practicing his "place" command and looking like a frog

Oliver holding his down-stay although that mischievous look tells me he could do something at any moment :o)

Oliver & River face wrestling on their relaxing time

Little Emma holding her down-stay. She's doing awesome

Estelle & Roxy were holding their down-stays & decided to fall asleep. That's what I would do :o)

PLAYTIME!!!

Estelle :o)

Emma, Toby & Oliver

Mason & Chip

Hello, how are you? Hello, how are you?

They love the rocks

Big boy Chip :o) Still available for adoption!

hmm.....

Boomer is sniffing the air....heehee

We're Spring Break'n It

It's that time of year again where chaos meets warm weather :o) It's a full house around here with my wonderful boarding clients & my new trainees!!! I have many updates over the last week. Mr. Luke has rejoined his family and was doing excellent!! Charlie Brown also joined his family right before the start of Spring Break & he will be testing his new skills at the lake house. I hope to have a good report card at our follow up lesson :o) I've also been joined by 5 new trainees over the new few weeks -

~ Estelle & Emma ~

The Bobbsey twins are 5 month old Great Dane puppies. They are quite the duo. Emma is a very special girl; she deaf and almost completely blind. After spending the past week with her I have found she can see close to her & she can pick up on movement at a distance but the clarity isn't great. I am of course teaching her hand signals and doing remote work with her to keep her attention because of course you can't get her attention off the leash. They both are doing very well after a rough few days in the potty training department. We are on track and they should be good to go at the end of next week!

~ Roxy ~

Roxy is a 6month old Goldendoodle puppy that is here for some MAJOR socialization with other dogs and people. She has been a little sheltered

and hasn't had the proper amount of socialization with strange people & other animals and she has extreme fear aggression towards all these things. So course of action for Roxy is to have a good solid foundation of trust in me and a good solid foundation of obedience and she will be inundated with meeting new dogs, people & scary object for the next two weeks. Now that she has already shown fear aggression, the importance of her owners continuing to take her out & expose her to new things is amplified by 10x's. Puppy Preschool is a great way to learn to set your new puppy up for success & curb behavior problems!! :o) Stay tuned for Roxy's progress!

~ River ~

River is a 9 month old Springer Spaniel and too cute for words. He's been dubbed a bit of a barker & a little unruly at home so he's with me for some Intermediate Obedience. He's been here for 5 days now & is breezing through his commands with the greatest of ease so I have increase the distraction level substantially :o) The next two weeks with River are going to be great & I'm happy to challenge the little guy and learn from him as well! So stay tuned for his progress report.






~ Oliver ~

Oliver is a 1 1/2 year old Mini Goldendoodle that's learning the Basics along with a few extras that his owners would like "fixed". Oliver is a chewer of all things and a big time counter surfer. He's a very smart guy and a bit on the mischievous side. He too has been here for about 5 days and is doing well but definitely has a mind of his own :o) Aiming to please isn't on his resume` so I'm trying to make it more fun for him. He's LOVING all the other dogs & making tons of new friends. More updates to come on Mr. Oliver.

Field Trip Day!!

Learning how to obey commands and learning how to obey commands with the excitement of a new place, new distractions and new people are two VERY different things. As part of the training we MUST have field trip days where the trainees & I venture out to fun places like the park, Home Depot, Petsmart/Co, etc to test the waters & make sure that they understand that the new *rules* don't just apply to Ms. Ashleigh's house...... it's everywhere. Teaching the dogs to obey away from home is an ongoing process & should continue throughout the life of your dog. Just like with people, if you don't use your skills they get rusty. So this field trip consisted of a run through Petsmart for some usuals & then a trip through the garden center at Home Depot. The employees LOOOVE when I bring the dogs by and they always love to see how each dog varies and tries to challenge me. Luke's biggest challenge is always accepting the fact that not everyone wants to or will be able to say hello to him (the perks of being a Golden Retriever). And Chipster's biggest challenge so far paying attention to his commands with "life" going on around him. Both pups did excellent!!

Updates on Trainees!!

It always gets crazy this time of year..... the pups get extra frisky as well. How about updates on how everyone is doing--- (I apologize ahead of time for not having many pictures. I left my camera at the barn & I didn't find it until Saturday evening.)

LUKE:
Luke is doing very well. He is camping out a little longer than his scheduled 3 weeks because he's having a little difficulty not being tempted off the leash by wonderful distractions like people, food, dogs, toys.... well, you name it, he gets excited about it! He isn't trying to steal anything anymore and he's not falling for me leaving food at ground level for him to snag either :o) He should be ready to go home this Friday & I'm very excited for his family to see the new & improved, super sweet, spectacular LUKE!!!

CHARLIE:
Charlie brown is a new camper!! He is here for Basic Obedience & fixing a few bad habits he has picked up in his short 4 months of living :o) He is a Goldendoodle puppy and as always beyond sweet, super willing to please & a little excitable. He is doing very well in a controlled environment and not many distractions. He's heeling nicely on the leash & stopping when we sit. He can hold his sit & down stays for a good length of time he comes & sits at my feet when called and each day the distractions get harder & harder. This is where we're still working on things. He also will be ready to go home on Friday and his mom & dad are definitely going to have their hands full with this little guy. :o) More updates on Charlie brown to come!

MASON:
Mason has had quite the change of events happen in his life. I contacted a client that also happens to be a foster mom for the rescue organization that Mason is from. I spoke with her about her family becoming Mason foster family until he's adopted. She offers a good stable, calm environment & can continue the training that he has learned given that she's put her two boxers through the Advanced Obedience. Well Lauren is also leaving to go to the school in Ohio that I graduated from to become a dog trainer & she is going to be taking Mason as her project dog!! This is awesome for him. He'll get tons of work, socialization and hopefully even adopted!! I know she's not going to want to find him a home once she meets him. He's one in a million and I wish I could make him part of my gang :o) I am super excited for Mason & I hope to have good news to report this summer on how well he's doing!

CHIP:
Chipster is a Pitt-mix that is here for some Basic Obedience & socialization from his wonderful foster family in Lilburn. We don't know his exact age but he's definitely under 1 year old and full of personality. He was rescued by his foster momma next to a dumpster. He's been treated like a king, pampered & fed well and now he's with me learning his social skills with other dogs & cats so that he will make someone a very good companion! Pictures to come on Chip & please pass along the word to anyone would like to offer Chip a structured, loving, forever home!

Denali's Big News!!!!

I received FABULOUS news today from Denali's owner. He's been back home 1 week now after his 3 months in training as Hudson's Service Canine/Seizure detector and he detected Hudson's seizure while Hudson was taking his nap!!! Excellent news & I'm glad to see this pair is turning out to make an incredible team!!

Luke & His 1 Week Progress Report

This is Luke! He is an almost 2 year old Golden Retriever. He is with me for the Advanced Obedience. He also has taken a liking to eating anything & everything he can get his mouth on including but not limited to, pillows & cushions, pool lights, furniture, cords. Some of his favorite activities include counter surfing, jumping on people to say hello & just being over exuberant in general. He is a super sweet boy that is very willing to please but lacking in direction & structure. He has finished 1 week of his training and is now walking nicely on the leash at my left side & sitting when we stop, holding his sit & down stays, come with an automatic sit & place! We have also worked on his excessive eating of things & stealing of anything he can find. Here are some pictures of what I like to call "Attack of the bread & cheese"........

Here's Luke on "place" surrounded by a bread bag, paper, his favorite dish rags, a can of peanuts, the kitty, a slice of bread & a piece of cheese

"Hello kitty...."

The bread is stalking him
and the cheese too....

bad, bad, cheese & bread

The rag is in on it too!!

He's probably going to have nightmares of the cheese & bread taunting him forever now, heehee. He is making HUGE progress but doing wonderful! More to come as the next two weeks of his training unfold!

Mason Needs A Home

This is Mason. He is a 1-2 year old Boxer that is available for adoption through Rockin P Rescue group. He is with me for the next few weeks working on his socialization with other dogs & people. He is a nervous guy but SUPER sweet. He would be great in a home that didn't have small kids & a family that had plenty of time to make Mason a forever part of the family. He is doing very well his first week here. He is still very nervous but definitely coming around. He has a great desire to please and picks up on things very quickly. More updates on Mason's progress later on :)

"Blue sit.... good girl, Mason, sit....good boy :)

Jake's Last Day :o)

It is always bitter-sweet when a camper finishes up with training. Today is Jake's last day. He will be heading off tomorrow morning to meet back up with his family & show off his new manners & skills!! Jake is walking nicely at my left side for walks & sitting when we stop, he is obeying all the basic commands on a leash such as sit-stays, down-stays, & we did a little extra with him and added the place command. He is no longer counter surfing for goodies & no long jumping up for attention. He has new ways of greeting people that are much more inviting. Jake is still very fresh into his training & it's up to his mom and dad to take charge & keep up the consistency. The first week home is always very trying & so crucial for the mom's and dads. More updates on Jake as the weeks progress after he returns home!!