Dogs, Kids, and Stress oh my!!!

A post from Oct of 2018

One of the things I’ve always tried to do is to be totally transparent with my training. I’ve shared with you all the struggles I have had training my own dogs and in my own life. It’s one of the things I have always prided myself on.

So you guys all know the issues that my son was having with Loki, some of that is carrying over to Yadi. Most everything with Yadi is easier because he is so much smaller than Loki was. However, he still gets nervous when Yadi is trying to herd him or get’s in his face in the car.

Ian and his best buddy Yadi

One morning this week, I had a thought since our biggest issues are in the car when Ian is strapped in and can’t get away, we should do some training in the car. Ian loves to give treats to the puppies, he always has so this morning as we were getting ready to go out to the car, I grabbed a handful of treats and stuck them in my pocket. I put Yadi in the back seat and buckled his seatbelt harness strap and then went to put Ian in his car seat. I then took out the treats and put them in the door pocket for Ian. I told him that they were for him to give to Yadi on the way to daycare. Yadi tried one time to jump up in Ian’s face and I told Ian to make Yadi lay down. He did and Ian loved it!!!

This will be something we repeat on a daily basis so that Yadi is learning more to lay down for Ian rather than jumping on him, and I’m afforded a little more sanity before getting to work. Ian also is learning that he can control Yadi, and Yadi is learning to listen to Ian. It truly is all about the little bits of training that you fit into your daily routine that make it life easier.

Comments

The Kona Diaries - Secondary Fear Stage and Vet Visits

This morning I had a plan. I was going to take Kona to Hollywood Feed for some social interactions. Since spending all this time at home with the COVID-19 Shutdown, she has regressed a lot on her social skills. My intention was to do some filming of her while we were out, however that was quickly abandoned. At first, she did pretty well, she walked with me and would every now and then forge ahead of me but would come back to heel when I asked. Not once did she try to take anything off the shelves though. I was very proud. As we made a loop around to the front counter she caught sight of this sign spinning in the air and she just lost it. She never once barked at it but she crouched down and her legs were shaking. We have definitely had a setback. After a nap to try and get some relief from a migraine that had started making me feel sick, I went out with the pups and found a huge blood smear on my patio at first I thought Ko...

Interactive toys and games for dogs.

Our dogs need physical exercise, we all know that. You hear all the time about how you should be taking your dog on walks every day to meet their exercise needs. Do you know though, that you need to meet their mental stimulation needs as well? A lot of our dogs stay home while we are at work or school during the day. When we do not meet our dog's energy outlet needs, they tend to find a way to get rid of that energy. Usually, it's by doing something we won't like, such as playing tug with the curtains, playing with the oversized stuffed toys on the sofa, (throw pillows) or scavenging for super yummy treats that were hidden in that tall can thing in the kitchen (trash can). There are ways that we can help our dogs burn energy mentally just like we do physically. A lot of the time mental exercise can be even more exhausting than physical exercise. The following are interactive food toys that you can get on Amazon. Snuffle Mat These are used to feed your dog their ...

And just like that the wold fell apart

But my dogs still needed training!!! Within a couple weeks everything has ground to a halt and I went from doing 25-30 appointments a week, to not having left the house in two weeks. This time, it was not because of my depression or a mental breakdown it was because of a world wide virus that is spreading across the world like wild fire. So I jumped into to brining my students into online dog training but I failed to realize that this was going to showcase a big fear that I have been hiding. That I couldn’t do it anymore. This pup right here was my soul pup. Trainers often talk about that one dog that taught them so much about being a trainer. Well that was Tazie for me. This little dog put me though the wringer of emotions and taught me everything from how to teach basics to how to care for a dog with a neurological problem. We had a wild journey that took us from Atlanta, Ga to Rochester, Ny to Birmingham, Al and finally to Jonesboro, Ar. He ...

Conversations with a Dog Trainer

Search This Blog