New Tricks Pet

Two dogs under the same roof may need different things from the same human.
One may work best with motion and quick repetitions. Another may need more distance, fewer repetitions, or time to watch before joining. Fair training is not identical training. It is arranging the lesson so each animal can understand and succeed.
That is one reason I pay attention to the individual dog before I reach for a standard answer.

Sniffing is not your dog ignoring you. It is your dog gathering information.
I love a focused obedience session, and I also make room for a dog to use the nose that came with the dog. Those are not competing values. A thoughtful training life can contain both careful work and long, unhurried investigation.
Watch what changes after a few minutes of sniffing: breathing, muscle tension, pace, and the ability to check back in.

Good training can include precision and joy at the same time.
In obedience and other dog sports, I want clear criteria—but I also want a dog who knows the game and wants to play it with me. Food can reinforce. So can movement, a toy, permission to run, and the satisfaction of a familiar pattern.
Beautiful work does not have to look grim.

Settling is a skill.
Some dogs arrive at it easily. Others need us to make rest possible: lower the activity, reduce access to the exciting thing, provide a comfortable place, and notice the first small signs of downshifting.
A quiet kibble dropped between the paws can reinforce the body position without asking the dog to pop back up. We are not waiting for perfect calm. We are helping calm become easier to find.

Recall is not a test of a dog’s character. It is a history of reinforcement.
Every time coming to you produces something the dog values—food, play, movement, access to go sniff again—you are making that history stronger. Start where success is easy. Pay well. Release the dog back to the fun often enough that coming to you does not always end it.
Use a long line while the history is still under construction. That is not cheating. It is good management.

I am always grateful when someone trusts me with an animal. No one has to do that.
In-home boarding should feel less like a warehouse and more like careful participation in a household: familiar routines where possible, individual rest, thoughtful introductions, and enough observation to notice when a dog needs something different.
If you decide to trust me, I will be even more careful with your animals than I am with my own.

Who wouldn’t want free digital photos of their dog playing agility?
Join us on Saturday, July 5, at 11am. We will have our real cameras on hand to take pictures and we just might get a decent one of your dog!

Jumps with Weaves Agility Drop Ins To sign up for Thursday July 3 at 7 PM, please pay here.Sign up for next Thursday To sign up for Saturday July 5 at 11 AM, please pay here.Sign up for next Saturday Fast Facts: $12/dog Thursdays at…