SO PROUD of Kee!

Check out the video I did for default "eave it" if food is on the floor for my Fresh start blog........I haven't put a bowl of popcorn on the floor before, and my veteran beagles knew the drill. Daisy was so funny...I could hear her..."that's soooo mean! I don't want to back up!" but she did of course :P George is such a sweetie, just was fine going with the flow. Kee however...well just take a look. I'm AMAZED at his self handicapping. Got to work more on leave it training tho :)

what do you think...

Shadow Handling my guys get this without having to say a word, and it is sooo helpful when you're out on trails and they're off leash.

TWIST on Zen....KISS it but don't eat it ...and George "IN" sooo cute!

So much fun this lunch hour with dogs!!!!

Doggie zen progression to reinforce eye contact gives him access to all sort of great stuff...plus it's a game we play together..Here's Keegan....this was the first time I thought of adding to kiss or lick but don't eat before adding movement by dropping it Daisy also added herself into the mix....Daisy...don't know what I'd would do without her.  She added the dog in your face while you play this game with MOI...part of the game.

This sort of training will help with Kee's distraction training around other dogs.

* I would not play this with a resource guarding dog...I have played a TON of zen games SLOWLY leading up to this point.
 I had a foster who would make the hair stand up on my arms and give me goosebumps...we worked up to this point but it took weeks of very very careful timing and rewarding his impulse control and TRUST in me that I wouldn't do anything to harm him or push him beyond his emotional limits.



Here's George and me helping him generalize "AROUND" AND "WAY TO ME" AND new one "IN". He's such a scardy cat that when I can help him work through his fears or apprehension about something, I LOVE taking the time to do it. I noticed that he was worried about but at the same time really interested in how much fun Daisy was having jumping in and out of this tunnel...so I took the opportunity to show him ...if he's worried about something YOU can COUNT on ME to let you know what you CAN do with stuff you're worried about...then I just helped him out with "IN"


YAY!!! HE got BRAVE and did it! Now I can't get him to STOP..it's too much fun!

People must think we're NUTS!

I know some get a kick out of us and have stopped their cars, to watch us, or some even have stopped to chat about how they can't believe beagles are so obedient. Then there's Keegan, who is just the biggest goofball EVv'a...who if left to his own devices will have you shaking your head and laughing at the same time..or pulling out your hair ;)

I took video yesterday on our walk to keep track of some of the stuff we do out and about to fill up my Fresh Start blog with ideas for training opportunities while out and about to reinforce polite social skills.

Here's another recall game I thought up yesterday to help reinforce that when I'm still...it's time to come chill...with me:) I didn't want to recall Keegan. I wanted him to figure it out on his own. Daisy did of course! At first you can see her expression......"okay...are we coming or going..." and both sort of thought..."I know we're going this way, so we'll just wait her out ;) Anyways...it will be worth repeating, I liked that at the end I bent down, and that's when they came to see me. It's been a bit of a trend that I've noticed that helps calm them right away. It's been awesome for George's anxiety too.


Shadow Handling w/ George while out and about, walking first, reward "go sniff" then once he checks in, I start running so we run together on the side I'm looking over my shoulder, then I stop...and he stops beside me to chill :)


Reinforcing that when bikes and screaming kids ride around...we chill out, practice for Keegan!  I've go to set up some training sessions where bikes race by us or in the distance while he chills with me.  Next step is to have dog racing by us and Keegan chilling with me to reinforce ...just because other dogs are racing after a ball or WHAT'eva...Kee can stay by me UNLESS its safe to go play CHASE with the other dogs.   I'm still shaken up at the thought that he'd race after something fast moving. I've also got continue globalizing the herding cues...that may help him wrap his head around what TO DO with moving objects better.

SO much FUN in the woods today!

Keegan's still in bootcamp, YOU can tell he's IRKed about it :)
My beagles make me proud :) I made the mistake of giving Keegan too much off leash time in the woods this past year....don't get me wrong...he's AWESOME but...he still has adolescent brain and after 2yrs of not chasing anything ( because of all the WORK we did )...he took off after a biker, because 4 other dogs we were walking with DID.  He just circled the biker while 2 dogs barked at the biker.. and REcalled back to me, no biggie..BUT the fact that he JUST got caught up in GANG mentality... IS NOT SAFE.  So....back to the drawing board and bootcamp.  THAT was the ONE thing I didn't practice training...HAving him stay close WHILE OTHER dogs RUN away and take CHASE...Its dangerous having a dog that races off to chase.  My beagles were on a long line for 2yrs, and just off leash for quick recalls and THEY ARE crazy AWESOME now!!! So I am soooo NOT EVER going to repeat this mistake again.  You can tell by KEEGAN's ears and body language...he's irked at being on leash while beagles are off leash.  TO BAD, SO SAD :) 


The beagle and the aussie :)


pups n walk it


I LOVE nature...UNLIMITED source of REWARDS and FUN...no need to worry about running out of TREATS :)

Here we go....intro to how I go about "training" a dog from scratch

Step by step.

http://fresh-start-dog-training.blogspot.com/

I'll use Happy Houndz to continue logging the fun and crazy stuff we get into...but thought it would be helpful to those who want to start from scratch...to have a place to go for my Coles notes on building a strong communication foundation; built on trust, fun and games...in the name of "dog training".

I couldn't have gotten to this place without all the BRILLIANT trainers (listed through out this blog and on my Mentors links)  I've been so very fortunate to have worked with some, studied with, read their books, bought their dvd's, read their updates in their blogs, been to seminars with...really so very very thankful for their time and sharing their expertise.

I feel like I have found that magic between me and my guys..each personality different from the other and together...we have SO MUCH FUN...

We respect eachother limitations and the best part is...we're here to help eachother out.  It's an awesome feeling, to know my guys have my back...when I'm feeling blue, and I'm the first to step up, when they need a hand to learn to work through something overwhelming.

My rebels...make me shake my head DAILY...

It's hard not to let go and enjoy their antics even on our WALKS..I'm sure people think we're NUTS...SO WHAT... if we're not perfectly behaved all the time...as long as we're PERFECT for EACHOTHER...that's all that matters to me.