Category Archives: play with your dog

Pretty sad around here

Fran on Friday

gg_premoveYup, it’s pretty sad-looking here. The mats are up. Most of the non-inventory items are gone. Many of the shelving units are gone, too. The filing cabinets are gone. While we’re excited about the move, we can’t help but be sad that we won’t be here any longer. We’ve had some good times, some frustrating times, some happy times and some sad times. Such is life.

We’ve had fun playing with our dogs, training with our dogs, meeting new people and their dogs here, laughing at the dogs in meetup groups’ antics. We’ve hosted some great parties here, too. For our obedience training club, for rescue groups and shelters. There have been some wonderful classes here, and we’ve gotten a lot of work done.

The new space is almost ready, which is good because we move in just a few days. The walls and ceiling have been patched, and there’s new paint. There are new light fixtures. There will be a new floor in a couple of days. It’s exciting, but intimidating at the same time.

I know we’ll have great times in the new space. We’ll meet lots of nice people and their dogs. We’ll have some great conversations about dogs and their training, I also know that any dog who comes into the shop will leave much better-outfitted and with some yummy treat samples. But it won’t be the same.

21 Days to a new dog training habit

Fran on Friday

Teddy practicing tricks

Teddy practicing tricks

Does your dog have a behavior that you don’t like? Does he bark at the mail carrier? Does he resist when you tell him to sit? Does he ignore you when you call him? These are annoying traits, but they’re not insurmountable characteristics. If you want to, you can change them!

It just takes consistency. I always tell my students that the three keys to dog training is patience, practice and consistency. Patience, because you’re dealing with a dog. Someone who doesn’t even speak the same language as you do (although sometimes I wonder if they’re just putting on a blank look to watch us make fools of ourselves). Practice and consistency because you as the trainer need to get better, and get to know your dog better.

It takes 21 days to form a new habit. If you start training your dog for just 5 minutes every day, at the end of those 21 days you’ll look forward to training. And you’ll be amazed at what 5 minutes a day can accomplish. You and your dog will have formed a bond like no other. Your dog will sit when you tell him to. He’ll come when you call. And you can start thinking of new tricks to teach him!

Snow got you down? Play with your dog!

Fran on Friday

Tango in the snow.Here in the Chicago area it’s been a crummy weather week. Cold and rainy and snowy. Sleeting and windy. Graupel (?!) falling from the sky, as well as big, fat flakes of regular snow. And it’s April. We didn’t have a bad winter, it’s true, so I feel kind of bad complaining about the weather now. But a week without sunshine is bound to get anyone down. And snow in April? On more than one occasion? Let’s go on strike!

bookertugfox1Better yet, play with your dog! Inside, sure – because it’s not snowy inside. And the temperature is controlled. Get down on the floor and play with your dog. Run around and chase your dog. Let him chase you! Throw a ball and race him to it. He’ll win, but he’ll love you even more for trying! Then throw the ball and let him chase it alone. Maybe he’ll bring it back. If not, go chase him! You’ll both have fun. You’ll smile and act like a kid. You’ll reinforce the bond that exists between you. And you’ll have a tired dog at the end of it. He’ll be ready to take a nap, and you can have that well-deserved cup of hot chocolate. In April. Ridiculous.

It takes work to tire out our dogs

Fran on Friday

Getting the dogs to relax is hard work!

Booker, Teddy and Torque

Little angels, right? Ha! That’s what they’d like you to believe. It looks like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths. Perfect in every way. In reality, our dogs are little terrors. Booker bounces on me to get my attention. Tango licks my pants (yuck!). Teddy barks. And Torque … well, Torque is still very young!

So, how do we get them to relax? Training and play. We find that obedience training, or any training that makes our dogs use their brains, is exhausting for them! Five minutes of heeling practice for Tango (essential in Rally) completely tires him out. Booker needs a little more – we practice his stays and stand as well as heeling. Plus he’s learning a new trick – “Roll over!” So a few minutes of all that tuckers him out. But we balance brain work with tugging and fetch. Tango is not really into playing with toys, so I scritch his tummy. He likes that! Booker can play fetch for hours, but after a few minutes of brain work his tongue is hanging out and he’s had enough.

And then when we’re done, I can tell them to go to bed and I can get some work done! Except that I’m tired too…