One person in line just got a chocolate lab puppy, the young man bagging my groceries was talking about new Boston Terrier pups and the checker was talking about a poodle/schnauzer mix puppy.

“I love puppies and I love training puppies.” I said enthusiastically.

The checker questioned, “I heard you had to wait until they were 6 months old before taking a class.”

I commented on how you can never start to early for puppy training and that in the right conditions and settings you can actually have puppies begin a puppy class as early as 3-4 months.

Puppies NEED training and socialization as early as possible. However puppies also need protection from sickness and diseases because they haven’t had all their vaccinations yet. So what is a new puppy owner to do?

I would recommend private lessons with a positive reinforcement dog trainer for the puppy who hasn’t had their first two series of vaccinations. There is much you can do to enrich your puppy’s life and build a solid foundation of training and socialization skills.

Then I would recommend a carefully sanitized environment for a puppy class that is just for puppies. In the classes I offer with Cari Bowe, we sterilize the class room as well as require all puppies to be vaccinated with the first two series of vaccinations. We carefully screen our puppies before letting them participate in our class.

Then the fun begins with training, fun, games, puppy playtime and more with the puppies and their proud puppy parents!

I am so looking forward to classes beginning this January 2012. These classes are also part of the AKC S.T.A.R. puppy program. If you are interested in puppy classes, drop me a note for registration forms and information. If your puppy is still too young, consider having a couple of private lessons. Don’t wait until they are 6 months old or even older.

Teach your puppy good manners and get in his socialization skills early. You won’t regret it! Your puppy will go more confidently into the world and love you more for it!

One last thing, whether your pup is 6 months old or 6 years old… they are never too old for training and learning new tricks. I also offer obedience classes for the older dogs which are also beginning this January 2012.

This Saturday is the Love Your Pet Expo and I look forward to offering AKC Canine Good Citizen testing for the public as well as doing a few demos with my dogs and having a booth. So please stop by and visit – Tell your friends – Bring a friend. All donations at the Expo go to local Animal Rescue groups. Visit www.LoveYourPetExpo.com

Family Dog Classes Beginning Monday, April 18th, 2011

Two Class Times to Choose from: 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Classes meet for 1 hour, twice a week, Monday & Thursday, for three weeks.

Click here for   Information Letter for Family Dog Training Class, Registration Form for Family Dog Training Class.

Join us for some Fun Dog Training Classes! This Spring, Cari Bowe and Kathy Dunn, are excited to be able to offer Rally Obedience, “Fun & Games”, AKC Canine Good Citizen Preparation, Canine Freestyle, and Agility Classes. Most Classes begin in just two weeks! Agility Class will begin in May.

Click here for Information Letter for Fun Classes, Registration Form for Fun Classes.

Class Space is Limited, email  ASAP for information & registration.

We will be starting our next class March 15th… stay tuned for more interesting stuff.

At the present, I need to figure out how to keep all four of Dani’s paws on the floor… she is so happy and excited.

Now, everytime I listen to music I am thinking I wonder if this will work for a routine.

However, Dani Joy and I are just learning so we can have some shared fun times. Last week we went over basic training skills: using a clicker, positive reinforcement and using a target/touch stick. We also learned how to do some spins and having the dog walk towards me in a straight line in front of me.

This week we have added having the dog backing up in front of us in a straight line and circling around us. We also reviewed the “wait” command and how to use it with other commands.

There are five dogs in the class: Toy Aussie, McNab, Scottish Deerhound, Kerry Blue Terrier and my Sheltie.

It is so fun to watch the different personalities of each of these dogs and their own individual learning styles, flares, temperament as well as the varying sizes.

It is so nice to be a student and not be the dog trainer once in awhile, especially when you have a great teacher!

So far, Dani Joy and I are doing quite well. I wouldn’t say we are proficient in any way. We are still learning, but we are having lots of fun. Who knows maybe someday we may do a demo

In the meantime, in your own community look into signing up for a Canine Freestyle class and learn to dance with your dog too!

The perpetuation of myths about spaying and neutering and the high cost cause many people to avoid the procedures, but the fact is sterilization makes your dog a better behaved, healthier pet and will save you money in the long run.

Many people, particularly men, have a hard time sterilizing their pets, imposing upon their dogs their own feelings on losing reproductive abilities. A dog will not feel like less of a “man” or “woman” after being sterilized. It will not suffer an identity crisis or mourn the loss of its reproductive capability. Your dog will simply have one less need to fulfill. A dog’s basic personality is formed more by environment and genetics than by sex hormones, so sterilization will not change your dog’s basic personality, make your dog sluggish or affect its natural instinct to protect the pack. But it will give you a better behaved pet. Neutered dogs have less desire to roam, mark territory (like your couch!) and exert dominance over the pack. Spayed dogs no longer experience the hormonal changes during heat cycles that turn your pet into a nervous dog that cries incessantly and attracts unwanted male dogs. Sterilized dogs are more affectionate and less likely to bite, run away, become aggressive, or get into a fight.

Another myth is that spaying and neutering cause weight gain. Dogs do not get fat simply by being sterilized. Just like humans, dogs gain weight if they eat too much and exercise too little or if they are genetically programmed to be overweight. The weight gain that people may witness after sterilization is most likely caused by continuing to feed a high energy diet to a dog that is reducing its need for energy as it reaches adult size.

Dogs do not mourn their lost capability to reproduce. They reproduce solely to ensure the survival of their species. They do not raise a puppy for eighteen years. They do not dream of their puppy’s wedding. They do not hope for the comfort of grandchildren in their old age. Female dogs nurse for a few weeks, teach the puppies rules, boundaries, and limitations and send them off to join the pack. Male dogs are not “fathers” in the human sense of the word; they do not even recognize puppies as their own.

As for expense, today there are enough low cost and free spay and neuter programs that this can no longer be an excuse! Even if these programs are not available in your area, the emotional distress and money spent on medical treatments you will save down the line makes it an investment that will be worth every penny.

Spaying (for females) and neutering (for males) can have health and behavioral benefits. For females, the benefits of spaying include lowering the risk for uterine cancer and mammary tumors, no more messy heat cycles, and eliminating the chance of accidental breedings that result in unwanted puppies. Also, some females experience false pregnancies and uterine infections that can be fatal. With male dogs, neutering can decrease aggression and the tendency for the male dog who has females on his mind to want to get loose and wander. If it is done early enough, neutering helps do away with with scent marking, the tendency for the dog to lift his leg and leave his “signature” on your furniture. Neutering male dogs also reduces the risk for testicular cancer and prostate disease. Sterilization reduces the risk of incidence of a number of health problems that are difficult and expensive to treat. Your veterinarian can help you make decisions about the right time to spay/neuter your dog.  By sterilizing your pet, your dog will live a healthier and longer life.

I am busy as ever enjoying my new dog training jobs. Yes, I am still working for Cari Bowe at Shasta Dog Training and I am also working for Pro K9 Academy and the National Institute of Diabetic Alert Dogs.

Cari and I just finished up another AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Class with 10 playful puppies. What a blast! We ran a new format of twice-a-week classes for a total of 6 classes. It was great to see those puppies progress to walking on a loose leash, doing sits, downs, coming when called, not jumping, leaving forbidden objects alone and all around good manners. We look forward to offering more classes in January.

Since I began working for Pro K9/Ntl Inst. of Diabetic Alert Dogs, we have placed 4 dogs already and several more will be going out hopefully by Christmas. These dogs are awesome! They are consistently alerting when a diabetic person has low and/or high blood sugar, including going with kids to school, riding in the backseat of a car, waking up owners in the middle of the night and more!

On a sad note… my much loved Sheltie, Patrick Ryan, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge at the end of November. I miss him terribly. Some days are sadder than others, especially when I got the email from Petco of a birthday reminder for him. He would have been 11 years old. I still have my Sheltie, Dani Joy and my Italian Greyhound, Skippy. They both are still as spunky and spoiled as ever.

On a more upbeat note, I finally got my graduation certificate from the Animal Behavior College and I graduated with honors and “officially” I am a Certified Dog Trainer.

I am now currently working and teaching dog classes at Shasta Dog Training & Pet Boarding with Cari Bowe. We are currently in the middle of teaching Puppy Classes and Family Dog Training Classes on Wednesday nights and a brand new “ARF” (Agility, Rally Obedience & Fun/Freestyle) class on Thursday nights.

Soon I will also be joining Susan and Ken Welch owners of Pro K9 Academy and the National Institute of Diabetic Alert Dogs. My primary job duties will be training up and coming service dogs in basic obedience for people with diabetes.

All I can say is WOW!

At the same time, I will be leaving some great friends at Petco… but since that is where I buy my pet supplies, I expect to stop in and say hello once in awhile.

I also look forward to continuing my work with various dog rescue groups and expanding my private training opportunities. I just renewed my AKC CGC evaluator registration so I will continue to offer Canine Good Citizenship Testing, Classes and the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Program.

So… stay tuned for upcoming classes, training opportunities and more doggie stuff.

According to most statistical research the #1 reason dogs are in shelters, rescues and euthanized is due to behavioral problems. However the belief that all shelter/rescue dogs have problems is erroneous thinking. Likewise thinking all dogs coming from breeders are without problems is also erroneous. Many dog behavior problems can be solved through positive reinforcement techniques, exercise, training and dog sport activities.

It is important to remember ALL dogs are unique individual beings with unique individual personalities, so one training method does not fit all dogs or all people. We would never suggest that all children, all ages, all circumstances should be educated and disciplined the same. It is also important to realize dominating, punishment techniques have been long out-dated with children and yet we still maintain some erroneous punishment techniques with dogs.

It is important for all of us to become educated and more informed. Having a dog is a responsibility and a privilege. Come. Sit. Stay. Learn about the wonderful world of dogs. Be a responsible dog owner. Your best friend is counting on you.