Where you get your puppy matters. How your puppy is raised before you get them matters. Responsible breeders matter. Responsible breeders put a lot of effort into the puppies that they raise to ensure that they are successful in their new homes. Things like exposing them to new objects, surfaces and noises to ensure thatContinue reading “Responsible breeders matter.”
Category Archives: Mud Puppy Chronicles
Another Smudge update!
Mud’s brother, Smudge, is busy learning all sorts of really cool things with his foster, Crystal Wing. Check out this video! You can follow their adventures daily by checking her out at https://www.facebook.com/cbwing.art/
More to foundation than meets the eye
There’s a lot more to a foundation behavior than what meets the eye. Most of the foundation behaviors I train are taught for the conceptual benefit rather than the use of the behavior itself. I write a lot about using concepts in training in an old blog post here, so if you haven’t read thatContinue reading “More to foundation than meets the eye”
A million tiny swinging pendulums
Dog training is just one big battle of trying to stabilize a million tiny swinging pendulums. Each thing we train our dogs has extreme versions of itself on either side of the pendulum. When we focus on fixing one part of the problem, often the pendulum ends up swinging too far in the other direction.Continue reading “A million tiny swinging pendulums”
Sibling Syndrome?
Social media is a great thing, it unites us in times of social isolation and aids in our creativity when our thoughts are stubbornly stagnant. We can use social media to gain a deeper understanding of dogs, training or even specific breeds and sports. It can help us connect to our puppy’s breeder, handlers ofContinue reading “Sibling Syndrome?”
Taking advantage of your environment
It’s tough to find socialization opportunities when it’s a pandemic and you live out in the country. But, they are there if you look close enough. Socialization isn’t just exclusive to social interactions between your dog and other dogs or people. A large part of socialization includes getting your puppy comfortable and confident in allContinue reading “Taking advantage of your environment”
Mud Puppy to Dog Interaction
It’s not a secret that I have a lot of dogs. But it may be less known that I am very particular about how puppies in my care interact with those dogs. Since my main focus is to create a good sport/performance foundation, I need to be careful how puppies learn to utilize and conserveContinue reading “Mud Puppy to Dog Interaction”
Shaping Behaviors
I love to free-shape behaviors. But I must admit, I’m a cheater when I free-shape, I utilize reward placement, training loops and jackpots to help my dog figure out the criteria. So maybe it’s not technically free-shaping then? Let’s just call it “Cheater Shaping”. Hi, my name is Sara and I am a Cheater-Shaping Addict.Continue reading “Shaping Behaviors”
Boring days are good, too.
For some of us, our daily routines have altered drastically due to the pandemic. Some of us are working from home, or not working at all. This change has resulted in a different routine for our dogs, one that has their beloved family members at their side constantly. It’s a great time to have aContinue reading “Boring days are good, too.”
Smudge
Mud’s brother Smudge is being fostered by my good friend and training partner, Crystal Wing. She is a fantastic dog trainer and is dedicated to giving him a well-rounded foundation. Crystal has done a great job documenting each day with him and what they’ve been working on. I asked her to put together something showingContinue reading “Smudge”