March Manners Class Change

We will achieve great things in Manners Class!

I know you are all anxious to get your pups in for training!  Due to the snow storms that hit us in February,  as well as my time spent with my son in the hospital, we will be completing our current Manners Classes on February 9th.  As a result, I unfortunately need to move
Manners I and Manners II which were to begin on 3/9th to begin on 3/16th.


I apologize for this change and hope it does not inconvenience anyone.


3/16/11 Manners II will begin at 5:00 p.m.
3/16/11 Manners I will begin at 6:15 p.m.


Looking forward to working with everyone!
Judy

Small Dog Socialization is on Today 2/27/11

Yes, Class is on today! Small Dog Class at 14 Main Street in North Yarmouth (Jennz old Grooming Building).  This is an ongoing session each week, so if you miss a week, no worries, we will be there each week with different small dogs.

We will gather each Sunday from 11:00 to 12:30. Please make sure your dogs are up to date on all vaccinations and all Checks should be made out to Canine Behavior Counseling, LLC.  The fee is only $50 for 6 sessions or $10 per session if you prefer this option.

You can feed your dogs before they come, but we will certainly be rewarding good behavior!   We will divide the dogs up based on their comfort level, as building your dogs confidence is essential.

Looking forward to helping our little friends not only build their confidence, but learn
better greeting skills!

Hope to see you there!

Judy

Small Dog Socialization Begins Tonight!

Just a reminder we start out Small Dog Class at Tender Touch Veterinary Hospital, Scarborough, tonight!!  This is an on going session each week, so if you miss a week, no worries, we will be there each week with different small dogs.

We will gather from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the up stairs room!  Please make sure your pups are up to date on all vaccinations and all Checks should be made out to TTVH.  The fee is only $50 for 6 sessions or $10 per session if you prefer this option.

You can feed your dogs before they come, but we will certainly be rewarding good behavior!

Looking forward to helping our little friends not only build their confidence, but learn
better greeting skills!

Hope to see you there!

Judy

Update on Justin

Thank you for all the Get Well wishes and cards for Justin, he is in good spirits and never complains!

Justin is home which is great, he does have to have IV antibiotic medicine (Vancomycine and Cefepine) 4 times per day, (5 bags of IV antibiotics in total).  With the IV pole and pump it looks like a triage in our basement!  I just pray I pump, fill the line, flush with saline and heparin at all the right times!

While not painful as the PICC stays in his arm it is time consuming.  The Vanco takes a bit over an hour and the Cefepine takes about 30 minutes to finish.  We administer the meds. at precisely 6:30 am, 2:30 pm, 7:30 pm and 10:30 pm.  The last one is a killer as I always fall asleep before it is done!  This is way past my bedtime:)  Justin can sleep while I hook him up, he is sooo trusting!

He did go to school a bit on Monday and Tuesday, rested on Wednesday and has gone part of today. We did see the Infectious Disease Specialist yesterday and did get a good report!  As of now we are scheduled to proceed with this current process for 4 more weeks. 

Alex is doing fine, he did have an accident on the snowmobile on Sunday, going a bit too fast to go see his girl friend.  He rolled it over him, somehow he went one way and the sled landed about 25 feet ahead of him.  His neck is sore but his head is fine!  He was dazed, and upset as the sled took a beating.  It will not start and will need some repair on the fiberglass sides and top.  (He reminds me so much of my brother Bill! He has been recognized lately with college applications from Tulane University, RIT, Wentworth Technology and a few others for his high PSAT scores.  This reward has come at a great time since he is not involved in a sport and really putting a lot of effort into his schooling.  

Miranda is great!  Living softball each week and doing well in school and keeping plenty of home baked goodies on the table near justin.

Robert and I are both fighting colds, but it could be much worse.  Robert was in Hanover, NH this week, but made it home last night for Justin's 18th birthday!  Alex will be 16 on Sat.!  We are very proud of all the kids and pleased that they are all stepping up to help with Justin's recovery!  It is certainly a family effort!

Take care everyone and again,

THANK YOU for all the calls, face book notes, and emails, they are all greatly appreciated!!

Judy 

Can You Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?

Sophie learning to lie down at 6 years of age!

What do you think?  Have you ever tried to teach an older dog a new behavior?  Yes, you can teach an older dog basic behaviors like sit, down, stay, leave it, take, carry, off, wait, and many, many, more.

What do you need?  Patience, good timing and something valuable enough for the dog to "want" to try and earn.  When a dog is motivated he is trainable.  If you offer a piece of kibble to a dog that has already eaten and try to lure him to lie down, he may just look away.  But if you use a piece of cheese, I bet he will be more interested and at least try to earn it.

If you rescue an older dog that does not know how to do basic cues, try using a high value treat or piece of food and lure the dog into a sit.  Taking the treat right to his nose and up over his head, this will encourage his head up and his haunches down.  Pop the treat in his mouth as soon as he sits, be enthusiastic "good sit!"  Repeat the lure several times in many different locations until he is performing 80 % of the time, then add the cue "sit" just before you move the lure.

For the down, put the treat to the dogs nose and take it straight down to the ground then out a few inches, luring the dog to lie down.  Be patient!  When his elbows go down, reward, repeat several times and again, add the cue after he has it most of the time.

What if he will not lie down? Add a prompt like placing your other hand on the dogs shoulders, gently encourage the dog to go down while still luring him with the food.  Once he is getting this, fade your hand to just over his shoulders but with no pressure, then fade this hand altogether.  Once he gets it, try bending over but not touching the ground, then just leaning over.  Repeat in many locations, use plenty of high value rewards and reward in a timely manner to make your training go faster!

Our Scottie just learned to lay down this week at 6 years of age.  She is a rescue that we have owned for a year, but there were many other behaviors more important to change first.  Like to not "bite" anyone!  Miranda did most of the training, great job Miranda!

Patience and Thoughtfulness

First I want to thank everyone for the Good Wishes you are sending my son Justin, they are greatly appreciated!

Just a quick time line:
October 2010 Justin, my 17 year old son had his ACL and meniscus repaired, which unfortunately became infected early January.
January 11th, 2011 he was back in surgery to have the incision cleaned and taking major antibiotics.

Unfortunately last week we noticed his incision was infected once again, yes the dreaded St....,

So Monday February 7th, he was back in surgery to once again clean the infection out, but has come down with a nasty virus in the process.

Today is Wednesday and I write this as I sit by his hospital bed hoping at any moment he will say "I am feeling better and I want to go home."   The good news is he has not had a fever in 8 hours so they may be able to put his PICC line in his chest today and maybe get to go home!  He will have the PICC line in for 6 weeks to make sure the infection from his knee does not come back.

Why am I telling you this?  Because I am a bit tired, I forgot the cleaning lady was coming yesterday, I forgot to cancel a clients appointment last night and I am wondering how many messages are at home that I have not returned.  I do not want anyone to think that I do not care about their needs because I do.  Any small business owner  knows that one unhappy client who say's "Judy has not returned my calls" can effect my business as much as 10 very happy clients.

So, I ask for your Patience as I play the balance card of being a mom first and a trainer second during this time.

As for classes tonight 2/9th I do plan to be there as my wonderful husband is home this week.
Thanks again for all your prayers and good wishes!

New Small Dog Socialization Class in Scarborough

Dogs 35 lbs and under are welcome, unless personally invited by Judy.

Socialization Classes are held Thursday evenings 5:00 PM at Tender Touch Veterinary Hospital

Sunday afternoons 11:00 AM.  14 Main Street, North Yarmouth

• Beginning Thursday 2/24/2011
• Updated Vaccinations  -  Required including the Kennel Cough
•  No Registration required - Only $10 dollars per session or $50 for 6 sessions if paid up front!
• Dogs will be seperated based  on their temperament needs. 
• Plenty of space available.

In my experience most aggressive behavior by

dogs is not due to “dominance” but is due to an emotional reaction, fear and frustration being the most typical. A dog that is afraid is a dog under stress and like a person under severe

stress can react very irrationally and if they feel threatened very forcefully. Sadly there are still

trainers that tell people to punish their dogs for

growling or advise them to force the dog into a

sit-stay and allow people to pet it or worse hold

it down while another dog sniffs it. This would

be like taking a person afraid of tarantula and

tying them in a chair and allowing tarantulas to

crawl all over them. This approach is certainly

not humane and is more likely to make the fear

worse.

Dogs with emotional issues can be helped, but time, patience and positive associations will be needed.  Step one is to help your dog feel safe, in doing so you need your dog to Trust you. We want our fearful dogs to think we are protecting them, not the other way around.

Undesirable behaviors in dogs that are attributed to “dominance” are not due to a pack driven instinct of the dog, but rather are due to our failure to take responsibility for the dog’s needs, and to humanely train ourselves and our dog. Building your dogs confidence is key in changing his/her fearful behavior. 

Socializing your small dog in a safe environment with many repetitions of positive associations is very helpful.  Rewarding your dog every time he walks past another dog, or sniffs or offers a play bow or allows a dog to sniff him is a big win win for both your dog and you.  

Keep in mind, if you have rescued a small dog that barks and lunges at other dogs and has been doing so for a long period of time, take heart it is behavior which can be modified over time using Positive Associations.  Is there a quick fix? No, the more reactive your dog is the more frustrated or fearful he is.  Punishing him will not only make him worse he will become unpredictable,  fine one moment and explode the next. Why? Because you are only punishing his response, you are not changing his emotion which created the response.  Unconditional love, patience and lots of Positive Reinforcement Training is the key.

Strive to be good dog owner, when trained properly, you can be your dogs best friend!

No Classes 2/1 or 2/2, 2011.

Taken  2/1/11

Due to the incredible amount of Snow we are expected to receive with this storm, I believe driving conditions are very dangerous, therefore we will not have classes Tuesday or Wednesday evenings February 1st and 2nd.  


Bundle up and take your pup for a walk instead, the snowmobile trails are great to use in the winter!  See everyone next week!