Summer Blast #2

Hi folks,

Welcome to my 2^nd Summer Blast.  I hope you are all having a great summer!  I know we are.  I am still working on the final draft of my training manual (too many nice weather days!), those who have requested updates will get them before September.  I am also working on a major update to my web site, so if you go to (or send someone to) www.ppdt.biz right now you will be redirected to my blog.  Hopefully it won’t take me too long to get the new web site up and running again.

The good news is – I have loaded the REGISTRATION LINK FOR GROUP CLASSES onto the blog.  For those of you who are anxious to reserve your spot in class here it is.  http://www.supersaas.com/schedule/Proper_Paws_Dog_Training/Proper_Paws_Class_Signup Please feel free to contact me (email works best) if you have any questions about how group sign up works.  All the instructions are detailed at the top of the page.

For this edition of my Summer Blast I would like to encourage you all to bring fun into your relationship with your dog.  Remember that training while necessary, should also be fun not only for your dog, but for you!  With that in mind, below are some of the fun games I’ve gleaned that you can play with your dog or puppy.  If you are working with a new puppy, remember to make it easy so they don’t get frustrated and give up.

One note about games:  Don’t play any game to excess or it starts to look and feel like a training exercise!  Remember you never want your dog to walk away from a game, always quite while they still want to keep playing, that keeps  the game fresh and fun and they will look forward to playing it again the next time you offer.

Hide and seek

If you have two people – have someone hold your dog while you find a place to hide (remember to keep it easy for beginners). When you are ready, call your dog and wait until he finds you. When he does, make sure that you praise him and reward with a favorite treat.  You can play this in the woods off leash by waiting until your dog isn’t looking and hiding behind a tree.  If they need a bit of help call their name, clap your hands or make kissy noises to get them started.

The Run Away Game

This is a simple game to reinforce the dog for coming to you.  In a secure area (fenced in yard or big field) let your dog wander a big, then show the dog that you have yummy treats, when he starts toward you drop a couple treats at your feet and immediately run away.  The dog will likely run and eat the treats and when done look up to see where you’ve gone.  As soon as he looks up click or say Yes! And drop a couple more treats at your feet and run away.  Pretty soon the dog will be automatically eating and running to wherever you are and you will likely not have time to even say yes.  The game ends with lots of praise and treats when you can’t get away from your dog!

Keep Away/Monkey in the Middle

This is a two person game and is one for dogs who like to chase things.  Get a ball that your dog really likes to play with.  Sit 10-15 feet away from the other person.  Show your dog the ball and when he comes for it roll it to the other person.  Remember that nobody likes to be monkey in the middle all the time so you may have to let your dog get the ball a few times to keep their interest.  Also, when your dog does get the ball PARTY!  Yell happy noises and celebrate with your dog, after a minute or two, offer your dog a treat for the return of the ball so you can continue to play.

I would love to hear about games you’ve found that work with your dog and encourage you all to post any additional games on my blog where this notice will also be posted.  http://properpaws.blogspot.com/

Have a happy, fun filled rest of your summer!

New Website Underway!

If you have reached this blog via my web site at www.ppdt.biz rest assured you are at the right place!

While my website is under construction please find all the salient information about my services here in my blog.

Welcome to Proper Paws Dog Training, a service dedicated to helping you develop a loving and mutually enjoyable relationship with your canine companion.  Proper Paws is located in Concord Ma. and is owned by Judy Bernard CPDT-KA.

Involved with dogs her entire life, Judy has trained her own dogs to be successful in obedience competitions and as therapy dogs.  In addition, for over 15 years, she has trained many dogs as family pets. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Certified Tier 2 Wag it Games Instructor, a Professional Member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, a member of the Pet Professional Guild, and an approved Evaluator for the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program and AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Program. Judy and her dog Winter also hold a Therapy Dog International Certification and regularly visit local nursing homes.

Judy has experience with many different types of dogs and creates a customized training plan that is fun, simple, and effective, reflecting each owners' unique goals and needs. She specializes in households with children and understands the unique challenges of raising puppies with children present.

Judy takes a positive approach to training the dogs as well as their people.  She has the experience to help you train your puppy right the first time or fix any issues that have developed with your dog over time.

Summer Update

Hi folks I hope you are all having a great summer.  As you may know my summer is being filled by travels and travails.  So far I have managed to get my son off to his summer adventure in Colorado and begin re-writing my training manual as well as visit friends I haven’t seen for a long time.  If you are interested in receiving an updated version of the manual, please let me know and as soon as it is done I will send it to you.  It is going to have some new games, video links and an expanded tricks section!

Just a few reminders for pet safety since we are now in the heat of summer;

-          Never leave your dog in the car even for a few minutes with the windows cracked!  Cars can heat up extremely quickly and our dog’s cooling systems don’t work like our making them extremely susceptible to heat stroke!

-          Make sure your dog has plenty of fresh cool water available when you are exercising them on a hot day.  The only way for a dog to cool down is through panting or drinking cool water.

-          Keep your dog off the hot pavement – it can burn the pads of their feed and cause them to overheat quickly.

-          Never shave your dog thinking that will help them to keep cool.  Actually, double coated dogs with a thick undercoat like Goldens, Shepards and Sheep dogs are kept cool by their thick undercoat and shaving them exposes them to sunburn, bug bites and overheating. 

-          Don’t soak your dog with water (especially their back) as the insulating properties of their dense undercoat will be rendered useless if you do. 

-          Ways to help keep your dog cool include:

o   Clipping the hair of their underbelly and underarms

o   Providing cool and/or wet items for the dog to lie on like towels soaked in cool water

o   Providing shallow wading pools for the dogs to walk/lie in

o   Providing plenty of shade for them when they are in the heat

o   Providing plenty of air circulation (fans) in warm areas

o   Give your dog an ice pop!  Add a bit of chicken broth to water and freeze into ice cubes, it makes a great treat when the dogs are hanging out in the heat!

For those of you who have been helping me test my new group class scheduler – a big thank you!  I believe it is very close to going live now.

For those that are looking forward to training again with me next fall there will be a few changes to my schedule.  Lesson appointments will extend from 8 am – 3pm next year, as I’m shifting my schedule up by half an hour and adding another appointment block from 2-3 pm.  I will also be offering a couple of new group classes in the fall – Puppy Kindergarten Group Class with the option to combine that class with 2 private sessions, a Beginner Obedience Class for people with older dogs, rescues and/or puppies over 6 months old who need the basics and Manners 1 which is a more advanced obedience class targeted toward those who’ve done Puppy K and Graduate Puppy who want to concentrate on taking those behaviors they’ve learned to a whole new level (lots of field trips in that class to public areas). 

The class schedule is already posted on my blog at http://properpaws.blogspot.com/p/group-class-schedule.html and I will soon have an all new on line scheduling program ready for you to reserve your spot in those classes – like me on Facebook for updates on schedule availability https://www.facebook.com/Proper.paws.dog.training .