Category : Dog Videos

My Favorite Dog Obedience Sport

I have recently mentioned my resurgence into the dog obedience and trialing world.

The first time I trialed and showed, I was egged on by my client who challenged me and my dog to an “obedience dare” to see who could title their dog first.  I REALLY, REALLY didn’t want to, but I had help to get her ready for her competitions and she wanted company IN and around the show ring.

I never wanted to trial my dog or get titles, I never cared and was terrified of competition and getting up in front of people.  But the irony of the situation is that the trainer she left me for fashioned herself as a competition training aficionado.

I happily admit I took her up on her dare and not only did I title first, I beat her former trainer   But, for me its not about the competition it is about spending time not only training with my dog but also the short time spent in the ring together!

I intend to get as many titles on my little girl “Fury” as I can!  It is my challenge to myself!

And, my favorite obedience sport, you ask? Read the rest of this entry »

The Dog Training Secret’s New Video Vault

I love to read!  When I was a baby I got a vaccination that almost took my life.  I am sure my mother was terrified.  I have some memories of lying on the couch very sick.  My mother would read to me for hours, and at that time (before DVDs or VHS…ahhh I hate aging myself) Disney movies came on record.

I would sit and listen to a movie over and over until I had basically memorized it. In some ways I am grateful for all of my experiences they have shaped me and who I am as an adult.  Because of that one shot, my immune system was never quite able to fight off infection and I did get and still get every flu bug that goes around. I grew up loving reading.   Reading was my way to escape into another world and to learn about…well, anything I was interested in at the time.  My mother did not allow video games, and TV was restricted

This love of reading followed me to college when I double majored one being in English.  I still love English Literature (I know I am a nerd).  But, in many ways these are all the reasons you are reading this article right now.  If I grew up playing video games, I probably wouldn’t be writing or reading to entertain myself.

I am able to learn by reading, and I have hundreds of books lining a book shelf to prove it.  I enjoy reading and breaking things down; highlighting important points for further study.

Part of the beginning of my successful dog training career came from reading just about every dog training book I could get my hands on.  Almost 20 years ago it was difficult to find any kind of dog training on VHS or to see anything visually that wasn’t learned at a class or a seminar.

Much of my learning took place at night reading one book and then another. Read the rest of this entry »

Teaching Your Dog His Name

 

I have a 9 week old puppy!!  Life is certainly exciting at my house right now, especially with two dogs under the age of 1!  So I thought I would write a puppy training article about teaching your new puppy his name and then I realized…how often do people have trouble getting their ADULT dogs to come to their names?

So I shifted my focus, to a reinstatement of dog training commands, going back to literally “Square One” and teaching your dog his name, in most cases AGAIN!

We get a new dog and after we name him, we promptly assume he knows his new name.  This is what I am finding with my new family.  I say “new family” because we, too are new at being blended and they don’t come to dog training with the knowledge I have.  We named our pup “Jovi “(I am a huge Bon Jovi fan).  And, it was as if automatically everyone assumed he should know his name!

“Jovi this” and “Jovi that” has been uttered since, but no one has really taken the steps necessary to TEACH him his name and what it means!

When I get a new pup, I wait a few days before doing a lot of puppy training.  I want my pup to be able to acclimate to his new environment and his new siblings before adding much more to his plate. But, with that said I do work on teaching him his name at any natural moment throughout the day.

I believe to build a firm foundation in the beginning of dog training you must pair his new name with his food and his treats! Read the rest of this entry »

How Dog Agility Can Help You with Dog Obedience

I just got back from the AKC National Agility Championships in Virginia!  Wow, what a fun experience it was to watch canine and human work together to achieve such fun goals!  I must admit it gave me a little bit of “agility competition fever” or at the very least “agility fever”!

I took my first agility class almost 10 years ago when I lived in Colorado.  I was training Service Dogs and raising a young Malinois puppy and he needed a little help with socialization and something to entertain his mind.  Now, at over 11 years old he still gets excited to see the equipment come out!

About Agility

 

 

 

 

 

Dog agility is a sport in which the handler directs a dog through an obstacle course, in a race for both time and accuracy.  Dogs run off leash with no food, or toys and the handler is not allowed to touch either the obstacle or the dog at any point.   The course changes with each competition and each judge so there is no set course to study; the dog must be controlled by the handler’s voice and body language in order to successfully complete the course in the allotted time.

The courses are complicated enough that the dog cannot complete it without the guidance of his handler, and care must be taken on the handler’s part to guide the dog correctly.  Many strategies and training programs exist to compensate for strengths and weaknesses in both human and dog teams.

In order to make sure competition is fair (Mastiffs are not competing against Border Collies) the classes are divided by jump heights, meaning same sized dogs compete against same sized dogs.  Dogs are measured at their shoulder height.  A dog may jump a class higher than his shoulder measurement, but never lower.

There are many classes or types of agility and there are several levels of competition;  Novice is for dogs just starting in agility and there are 13-15 obstacles, Open is for dogs that have earned the Novice title and there are 16-18 obstacles, and Excellent is for dogs that have completed the Open level and there are 18-20 obstacles and that is just a start!

There are also many organizations (not just AKC) that put on trials and all have different rules and regulations, and many accept the entry of mutts! USDAA and NADAC are very common but always take care to study new rules and regulations prior to trial!

How Can Agility Help Your Dog Training Program?

As stated earlier, agility is an off leash dog training sport and therefore takes a lot of training and work!  Good obedience is a must with agility, but what makes it different is agility is FUN!!

When I taught doggy obedience classes, agility was my most popular class simply because it was FUN; fun for the dog owner and fun for the dogs!  Everybody won, including me, because everyone was having such a fun time together.

Even dog owners that were struggling with their dog’s obedience at home often excelled in my agility classes because they were both enjoying the time they spent together!  Instead of focusing on what the dog wasn’t doing or how frustrated they were with their dog, they were relishing the fact that their dog was so fast or so willing to excel at difficult things like tipping the teeter totter.  They were able to see their dog in a new and exciting light; AND their dog was learning that mom or dad could be super fun and it gave him more of a reason to listen to commands and the guidance given.

No one like monotony!  Monotony is boring whether at work or in your personal life and let me be the first to tell you…your dog often finds obedience boring and monotonous!  Most of us don’t stop to realize how boring we must be for our dogs!

I liken this theory to having an accelerated and extremely intelligent child who is simply bored in a regular school room.  Sometimes these children are accused of having ADHD and not paying attention at all because they aren’t challenged.  I think our dogs are the same way!!!  I think our dogs ignore us because we aren’t exciting and they fall into a habit of not listening.

Something as simple as taking an agility class or adding some agility equipment to your training program can be crucial to how well your dog listens to you.  As you become more exciting…you become more important to your dog.  I know that sounds sad, but the fact is it; is true!

If your dog thinks that coming to you when called might end up in the ability to play his favorite game; I guarantee he will have improved listening skills! The more exciting and more fun you are, the more apt he is to be obedient!

With all types of training comes obedience; that is the great part…its like you are having too much fun to realize you are both actually WORKING together towards a goal and you are both LISTENING to each other!  This working and listening becomes habit and you will soon see the benefits around the house and in other areas of your life together!

The goal is to have fun together working on obedience as a game and enjoying each other’s company.  The more time you spend together, the more training you accomplish, the better behaved your dog will be and the happier you will be!  So get started!  Find an agility club or class and start bonding, even if you never compete you will relish the time you spend together!

We Are Going Viral!

Hello everyone!  We are going viral…no, no that doesn’t mean I have a virus, thankfully I kicked that bug a few weeks ago, we are taking our information and knowledge to share on Facebook and Twitter!

I know what you are thinking, you have a busy life and even if you are already have an account with Facebook and Twitter you are wondering if you have the time to add something else to your plate and your life.  I completely understand!  I feel the same way every time I click “Like” on my facebook page.  I make a concerted effort not to add anything I am not truly passionate about on my page.

But I am here to convince you to join me!  Not only will all of our new articles and services be added immediately to our account, but I will also be adding fun facts, services, and new and upcoming items to our pages!

Today, for instance, I added a link to get free pet supplies!  Who doesn’t like free stuff?  Some of the things offered are coupons to get money off items you are probably already purchasing and some offer free treats and items to the first 150 people!

Yesterday, I posted a link to one of my favorite videos a Man vs. Dog eating contest!  I simply love this video, it brings a giggle and a smile to my face every time I watch it.

I will be posting news articles, rescue information, articles, pictures and cool doggy supplies on our pages!  It is my desire to find the coolest stuff and share it with you!  I also encourage you to join me and send me links you would like to share and leave questions and comments for me.

I will do my best to answer your questions and give you the best, and the most fun information I can!  My passion in this life is to truly enjoy the time I spend with my family and my dogs!

So PLEASE join me, so I am not Tweeting and Facebooking to myself!  Share the links and encourage your friends and family to join us!

Join Our Facebook Page!

Follow Us On Twitter!

I look forward to building a more personal relationship with you and finding the coolest dog stuff around!

 

PBS Series: “Through a dog’s eyes”

Coming to PBS on April 21, watch this heartwarming series on the impact that service dogs have made on the lives of those they serve.

Video: Through a dog’s eyes

By Daniela Caride, Publisher, www.thedailytail.com

The PBS series “Through a Dog’s Eyes” will surely be wonderful. With premier scheduled for April 21 at 8 p.m. E.T., the series follows the journey of service dogs and the people whose lives they change.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dog and Deer

Delightful video… Take notice of the two cats sitting idly by, as usual, on the railing toward the end of the clip!

Dog Laps Water in Slow Motion

You might find this little video clip interesting if you thought that a dog laps water a little differently from what is actually shown here.

Doggie Lullaby

Dog Sings To Soothe Crying Baby – Watch more free videos

‘There’s Dog Hair In Everything I Do’

You’ll love this tune by Randi Breese. I think it pretty well sums it up for the majority of us.