Mia

MEET MIA

Everyone Meet Mia! This smiley girl is a 1.5 year old Rotti/Shepherd X.

Mia is an extremely excitable girl, and although it is great in some situations... it can also be distracting, undesirable and intimidating to other dogs and people. Not to mention that she has no idea that she is a big dog ;) We think, she thinks she is a little cuddly lap dog....

Mia is the type of pooch who gets highly distracted and only listens when she wants too... YES that is right! She is like most of the population of pooches out there;) She likes to do things on her terms. But don't all ladies think that way? lol

Mia's mommy would like us to work on: 'un-zoning' from intense and exciting situations and recalling when called, manners with other dogs (sometimes her play intimidates other pooches),  manners around humans, fine tuning obedience and ...oh did we mention recalls? lol 

This beautiful girl is so so smart, and just LOVES doing a good job! So we are going to show her the ropes!

Session 1 of 3

Thursday, February. 27th 2014

Today we went to Mia's house to pick her up and chat with her mommy about the things we wanted to work on.

When we arrived at the house, Mia came running straight for us... but then about 5 feet away she threw on the brakes and stopped. It seems that she is not as confident as we once thought. She likes to pretend that she is a big tough Rotti x...but really she is a sweet sensitive girl.

Once we got to the dog park, you could tell that she was fairly excited...but also was not sure what was going on. (Why the heck was she with the trainer lady??) The first few dogs that she met... she ran straight up to the them and was a little toooooo verbal. So this was the first thing that we decided to work on! It didn't take long before she was taking verbal queues, and starting to 'un-zone' when we called her. WHAT A GOOD GIRL!

By the end of the session Miss Mia was turning into the Superstar that we knew she could be! She was recalling back when distracted, getting MUCH better at her meet and greets, doing her confidence boosting drills with TONS of excitement. (Just look at that SMILE)

We can't wait to see what we can teach this keen, smart beauty! 

Check out her video progress below.

(A VERY big thank you to Heather & Nev with Bane & Luna, Ricki with Little, Carmin with Cabella and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 2 of 3

Thursday, March. 13th 2014

Oh what a FUN FUN DAY!! Miss Mia had TONS of friends out today to help socialize her, help with distractions (and there was TONS) and up her confidence.

The dog park was still super sloppy and soaking wet, and beyond icy in the tree's so we decided to keep all these crazy's safe and in the main part of the park. We had discovered some new fun things to do today though... so we showed every one about our super fun discovery. MORE PLACES FOR CONFIDENCE BOOSTING DRILLS! YAY!!! Not only did the pooches have fun! Their mommies and daddies did too!!! this helped a ton with Mia's confidence... you could tell she was so excited!

Some moments that made us soooo proud today... where Mia's long distance recalls with high distractions (check out the video below), her "stand" command (also in the video) and her eagerness to jump up on things compared to last week. ❤️ SMARTS AND BEAUTY!!!

Check out her video progress below!!!

(A VERY big thank you to Ricki with Little, Carmin with Cabella, Heather with Bane & Luna,   Tammy with Hank & Nelly and Yoko for their puppy support.) WOW!! That is a lot of support today ;)

Session 3 of 3

Wednesday, March. 26th 2014

Oh sensitive Mia... A lot happened to you in one whole week. We could tell that she was still a bit off. But today Mia had TONS of puppy support!!! 8 whole furry friends to be exact!

Mia did wonderfully today, even know she seemed a tad off. We really had to convince her to do the confidence boosting drills in the beginning... she seemed like she was almost a little un-motivated. No worries though! We are great at being exciting and working through stuff like this ;) It didn't take long before Mia settled in nicely and was running with all of her pals! 

It was a GREAT day for obedience and recalls out of play! She did beautifully! She has come leaps and bounds in 3 short session... from that excitable puppy who didn't know her own body... to a much more respectable/aware pooch!!! 💖  who is easily persuaded to come when called even when incised with something as exciting as pooches running full steam in front of her.

It will be important for Mia's mommy to keep an eye out for other dogs 'signals' making it very obvious when they are not sure, uncomfortable or miserable... this will be when Mia still might need a little bit of assistance...by recalling her and rewarding her when she 'un-zones'. Some other things that will help Mia out a ton... are LOTS AND LOTS of confidence boosting drills! We know Mia's mommy is going to have another baby soon.. so we have been working on doing those distance confidence boosting drills... so hopefully she can just point at an obstacle and give the 'word'....and not have to do the obstacle herself ;)

Mia is such a sweet loving and sensitive girl, so as long as we focus her energy on something positive, exciting and rewarding... she will continue to grow into the beautiful soul that we know she will become. We are so proud of this beauty!! and can NOT wait to get lots and lots of updates ;) **Pom Pom's waving in the air cheering her name** YAY!!!

(A VERY big thank you to Tiffany with Luna, Ricki with Little, Jacob with Che, Greg with Stella, Janice with Chloe & Lenny, Raechel with Ty and Chloe & Eric with Toby for their puppy support) ***whew that is a loaded thank you list** 💞

Diesel

Meet Diesel

Everyone meet Diesel. This handsome fella came through The Ruff Life Training, but his mommy thought that he needed a little extra one on one time with Monique. Diesel has some pretty big confidence issues. He feels that offence is his best defence. Diesel has been known to be stand offish with both people and dogs. He may even go so far as to bare his teeth, growl and snap at both dogs and people. He likes others to see him as a tough guy, when really he is just a big sensitive suck. We know this handsome guy has a heart of gold, it's just a matter of showing him that the way he is going about things is all wrong. Human & Doggy friends can be a lot of fun!

Session 1 of 3

(Wednesday, January. 29th 2014)

Today we went to pick Diesel up from his home, and to chat with his mom about the things we wanted to work on. When we arrived Diesel was behind a baby gate, and came across as excited to see us. However when the baby gate disappeared, and it was the 3 of us standing in the front entrance way... Diesel made it very clear that he was uncomfortable. He gave us his paw to hold, but then growled and bared his teeth at us. So we asked his mommy to hand us the leash so he could see that his mom 'approved' of us... and we were on our way.

Once out of the house, Diesels behaviour totally changed. He was no longer growly and owly! you could tell he was uncertain of what was going on... but jumped up into the truck with no problems.

Once we got to the dog park Diesel was on high alert. He didn't want any dogs near him at all, but he seemed to be just fine with people. It was a good day to be at the park, as we had lots of people and doggy friends to help teach Diesel that friends are a good thing ;) and that he had lots of them. He just had to let them in.

We decided to keep the session fairly simple! As we didn't want to overwhelm him. So we worked on TONS of confidence boosting drills, a tiny bit of obedience, fun recalls, and desensitizing him to people and dogs. (and we played in the snow of course!) 

By the end of the class Diesel was spending most of his time at the end of the 20ft leash. His recalls and obedience were great! He was also weaving through the dogs and people like it wasn't such a big deal! 

What a good boy! We can not wait to see this man show his true colours! He know he has so much potential... we just need to help him see what we see. 

Looking forward to working with this handsome guy again next week! Keep checking back for more updates on the adventures of Diesel!

(A Big THANKS to Vanessa with Roxy, Danby with Kimber & Tikka, Heather with Bane & Luna, Ricki with Little and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 2 of 3

(Wednesday, February. 5th 2014)

Oh Diesel, or should we call you Super Deeee! You did fantastic! you are like a TOTALLY different dog. We still have a few things to clean up for sure...but you were a super hero today! Not only where you mingling and trying to play with other dogs, but you were letting random people pet you. YAY! We are so happy with your progress! We even have had people come up to us at the dog park and say he has improved immensely!

We still need to work on a few things with Mr. D ... like showing is teeth to a few dogs when there is food around him... but with a little verbal guidance... he changes his tone. We hope that next week we can get Diesel off of his training collar, and perhaps even his leash for part of the class. ;)

Here is a fun little video (something a little different then our typical videos) of Diesel in action... literally. ;)

(A Big THANKS to Ricki with Little and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 3 of 3

(Tuesday, February. 18th 2014)

Super D! You were such a super star today! 

This handsome man LOVED LOVED LOVED doing his confidence boosting drills! We were even able to get tons of distance! Such a smart boy!

Diesel has gone from a reactive boy around other dogs and some people to a happy smiling pooch that runs along side of other dogs, tries to incise them to play with a stick, and continually looks to us for what we will get him to do next. ;)

It is going to be really important for Diesel's mommy to constantly challenge his mind and give him a job to do so she can keep his confidence up! He needs different things to do, so he can concentrate on those instead of focusing on the negative things in life. (We can all be guilty of that sometimes)

Some other things that they will need to work on, is praising D in uncomfortable situations (and when he is being good of course) and giving him an "out" if he needs it! 

After doing the mini session with Diesel and his mommy... we know they will do great... as long as they put them selves in situations where they can excel. 

Check out how far this boy has come in 3 short sessions!! We can NOT wait to get updated on his progress.

(A Big THANKS to Carmin with Cabella and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Jasper

Meet Jasper

Everyone meet Jasper. This pretty Jack Russell is Bandits older sister. (Bandit came through the 'Excel your dogs training' program)

We all know Jack Russell's to have a confident social temperament, but this little girl is quite the opposite. Jasper is a sensitive girl with some pretty huge confidence issues. Her sensitivities get the best of her on a regular basis, and she has learned that offence is her best defence. 

Jasper is known to be very anti-social towards other dogs, she greets any dog that comes up to her with a snap, and she is protective over her mommy and sisters. 

This beautiful girl has a ton of potential, we just need to show her that the world isn't such a scary place... 

Session 1 of 3

Tuesday, February. 11th, 2014

Today when we went to Jaspers house to pick her up, her and her 2 other sisters came to greet us at the door. Jasper seemed fairly social, but then when we tried to leave with her... she was defiantly unsure and sensitive about the situation. We actually had to pick her up to get her to come with us. This can be fairly normal for a dog with sensitivities.

When we got Jasper into the truck, she was quite content to take some treats and was VERY happy to get some pets and love. But you could still tell she was a little unsure what was going on.

Once we got to the dog park, we saw her behaviour change again. She went from being sensitive and unsure... to trying to 'shut down' and trying to run back to the truck. Of course we couldn't let this happen without trying to change her thought process. We had yummy treats, super awesome dogs and their people, and Monique with her energy and excitement. YAY! lol We were set to make her session the best it could possibly be!

It took about half of the class, but once we started to do some confidence boosting drills with Jasper her attitude totally changed. Her tail went from a very low tucked position to having it up and wagging. She was sooo happy to have a job to do, and she loved the attention. BONUS! 

On the way back out of the trees.. you could see Jasper totally transform. She was standing with more confidence, and she even went up to check out a few dogs! What a good girl! 

Looking at the session on a whole, Jasper did amazing. She only snapped at a dog 3 times. (which is a huge improvement) We can not wait to see this girls confidence and personality blossom. We know she has it in her! 

Check out her video below!! and the picture of her and her heart. <3

(A Big THANKS to Greg with Stella, Hope with Gemma, Vince with Ripley and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support

Session 2 of 3

Tuesday, February. 18th, 2014

Sweet Sweet Jasper... You started to really come out of your shell today! What a good girl!

Today we really just wanted to focus on upping Jasper's confidence, with games and drills! So we decided that we were going to teach her: "up" "off" "walk" and "over". She did sooo good, and you could see her go from a quiet meek temperament to being so excited. It was really great to see! It melted our hearts. You can tell this girl just wants to do a good job, and to get praise and love from whom ever she is around. She is such a suck! Once she did a confidence boosting drill... she came running over to give US KISSES!!! lol... What a cutie! I don't think she knows that she is the one that is supposed to be rewarded, not us. But we love the love too! 💜

We didn't focus on setting her up around to many dogs today. She was with a few dogs that just did their own thing today... which was really good for her. She learned to just be "around" dogs and not have to stress. She even went in and gave Yoko a kiss!! 

We must say... we are pretty impressed with this beauty! and we can not wait until next week!

Check out the changes in her demeanour with this video!

(A Big THANKS to Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 3 of 3

Tuesday, February. 25th, 2014

Today we decided to take Jasper and her little sister Bandit. (Bandit just finished the Excel program not that long ago) We thought that little Bandit would give her sister some confidence and show her that life is soooooo super exciting ;0) 

Jasper did great during her session with her confidence boosting drills, and was a "A+" student at her obedience and recalls! She even hung around tons of dogs today, and when she was uncomfortable.. she just removed herself from the situation instead of snapping!  ❤️ This girl is brains and beauty!

But, it turn's out that having Bandit around during Jaspers session actually made her be a little bit more reserved, and she hid in her sisters shadow. Of course this was not what we wanted to see in Jaspers behaviour, but it is something that we obviously have to work on with her. 

Jasper is a sweet sensitive soul, and has come a long way in a few short weeks. BUT she still has a ways to go to be a confident happy dog. It will take lots of confidence boosting drills/tricks, one on one time with just Jasper and praise in uncomfortable situations to help her be the best that she can be. We know her mommies will do a great job with her and keep up the progress! 

Check out how well Jasper did today! Her video is below!

(A Big THANKS to Michelle with Diesel, Ricki with Little, Sarah with Roman, Greg with Stella, Carmin with Cabella and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support...Oh and we can't forget Bandit)

Zoe

Meet Zoe

Everyone meet Zoe! This cheerful, loving and funny girl LOVES life and it shows! She continually has a smile on her face... and is making people around her laugh and smile. She is just infectious. 

Zoe's mom put her in the Excel your dogs training program because she wanted us to help her out with some of her training. Some things that we want to work on with this pretty girl are: Recalls- especially when Zoe is distracted with another dog, cleaning up and advancing her obedience, and perhaps even some tracking. (This girl loves to use her nose!)

Session 1 of 3

(Thursday, January. 30th 2014)

Today we picked up Zoe from her home. She was so excited to see us! When she saw Kona & Yoko she was freaking out with excitement. She just loves having visitors! ;) We got her to contain her excitement until we got to the dog park where they could play.

When we got to the dog park Zoe was HAPPY to see everyone and everything! Getting her attention was pretty difficult for the first couple minutes... it was like this pretty girl had a little A.D.D going on. But once we got moving she started to focus on us and the new pack. Zoe is SO social and a pleaser. So keeping her excitement is easy...it is just a matter of keeping her focused and teaching her to 'un-zone' when she is greeting, chasing & playing with other dogs. 

The next thing we wanted to work on... and our main focus was Zoe's recalls. This is the area that Miss Social needs the most 'work' on.  So we did tons of them... and made sure that each time was different so she didn't get bored. Whether she was running back with the pack, for a different type of treat, playing hide and seek or just to be with us and our craziness ;) 

We found that is we challenged Zoe's mind, she was MORE then happy to stay with us. So we did tons of games, confidence boosting drills and obedience in-between play time.

We can't wait to spend more time with this beauty! Check out her video below, and check back next week for more of Zoe's adventures!

(A Big THANKS to Ricki with Little, Sarah with Roman, Greg with Stella and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 2 of 3

(Thursday, February.6th 2014)

Sweet sweet Zoe! This beauty just loves life...and it shows! Our goal today was to grasp her mind with confidence boosting drills, games and fun recalls. Which was not only a ton for us, but it was a blast for her as well.

Zoe is magnetic.. she attracts dogs and people alike. Everyone wants to love her... which can be hard, because getting her attention in these scenarios is challenging. However, she did sooo good! She learned very quickly that it is super fun to come back to us and our pack... We turned it into a game, and she wanted to play!  ;)

She especially loves doing 'over' and 'through', the smile on her face is just infectious.

With Zoe its fairly simple... grasp her mind... and her body will follow ;) lol

(A Big THANKS to Carmin with Cabella, Ricki with Little, Greg with Stella and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 3 of 3

(Thursday, February.13th 2014)

Miss Zoe!! You are just so beautiful! On the outside...and the inside. Your spirit and soul makes everything light up! 

Zoe is doing amazing at her confidence boosting drills, recalls out of play, and her obedience. She really really really loves to please! She just wants to be the very best that she can be. ;) 

Last session we noticed that Zoe loved people so much that she was jumping up on them, and she might have even jumped up on the vehicle once... so this was something that we defiantly worked with. We want her to be the best that she can be, and make sure that she knows its not acceptable to jump up into peoples faces... no matter how bad she wants to give them a big wet kiss ;0) lol

Its going to be very important for Zoe's family to give her lots of jobs! It doesn't take a ton of work... it just means making her work for everything she wants, needs and loves. This will give her family SEVERAL opportunities in a day to challenge her mind. NOOOOOO its not mean... this is what she wants, needs and desires... just ask her lol. OR you can just look at the HUGE smile on her face when she does  a good job.

We are so in love with this beauty...and of course we are so proud of her as well! 

We can't wait to met with Zoe's parents to show off her amazing skills!

Check out her video progress below!

(A Big THANKS to Ricki with Little, Greg with Stella, Sarah & Jason with Roman and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Sophia

Meet Sophia

Everyone meet Sophia. This delightful poodle is such a love! Sophia came through training with The Ruff Life a few years back, and her mom and dad thought that we could help with a little one on one time. Some of you may recognize her, as she is always out and about around town, walking with her mommy. 

Sophia is a very stable, confident and independent girl. She is going through the Excel your dogs training program to work on her recalls. Sophia only comes when she feels that there is nothing better to do. We know most of the people reading this can relate ;) We also wanted to work on 'grasping her mind' with things like confidence boosting drills, fun games and perhaps even some tricks! We want Sophia to think that we are exciting, interesting and we want to challenge her mind so she is always looking to us (and her mom and dad too ...of course) for what we are going to do next.

Session 1 of 3

(Thursday, January. 30th 2014)

Today we picked Sophia up from 'her' work! ;) and talked to her mom and dad about everything that they wanted us to work on. Sophia is a pretty well rounded girl... other then the not listening. ;) We think this girl thinks she is a human... and an independent one at that.

When we got Sophia into the truck, she wanted to be right up front with us. So that was the first thing that we worked on! We wanted her to know that she had to stay in the back of the truck... as dogs up front can be distracting, dangerous and can impair vision. Sophia is a smart girl... so she picked this up very quickly.

Once we got to the dog park, we finally realize how independent Sophia really was. She would go up to dogs to sniff and meet them... but didn't really seem like she wanted to play or interact with them any further. 

After being in the park for about 30 min, we noticed that Miss Sophia was extremely pre-occupied with scents and smells.. birds in the tree's.. water in the creek, snow on the ground, clouds in the sky... but she had no idea that we existed. (or at least she pretended that we didn't) It didn't matter if we jumped up and down, called exciting until we were blue in the face, ran around like a wild and crazy person, or waved a treat in her direction. (We even tried dehydrated liver, rabbit, pork and peanut butter treats!) It was very clear that this girl was going to make us work for her attention. lol But we were up for the challenge.

By the end of the class, Sophia was right by our side and doing lots of fun drills! Slowly but surely this girl was letting us into her world. 

We can't wait to see her come out of her shell, have fun, and act more like a dog again.

Check out her video below! and keep checking back for more updates on the adventures of Sophia!

(A Big THANKS to Ricki with Little, Tammy & Hank and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 2 of 3

(Thursday, February. 6th 2014)

Oh Sophia! You do know we exist... and you like us! YAY! Sophia has come a long way in one week! Last week she could really care less about us and the dogs at the park. She seemed sooooo independent. Nothing seemed to really amp her up, not even if we jumped up and down until we were blue in the face..... but that all changed.

Miss Sophia played with several dogs, and the ones that wouldn't play with her...she tried her best to make them like her. Tons of kisses and loves! She is such a sweetie! She also ran back to us with tons of enthusiasm today, we would like to think that was because she is soooo in LOVE with us...but we think it MIGHT (lol) have something to do with the steak her mommy sent. yummy! 

We literally saw a huge change in her demeanour and her facial expressions! She was having a ton of fun, and loved doing the confidence boosting drills! We can't wait to watch this girl grow!!! Its all about finding what makes a pooch tick. ;)

Check out the smile on this beauty! Her video is below.

(A Big THANKS to Tammy with Hank & Nelly, Ricki with Little, and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 3 of 3

(Thursday, February. 13th 2014)

Sophia... you are just so sweet!  This pretty girl was a little subdued today! You could tell something was a little off about her..but half way through the class she seemed to let what ever was bugging her go. 

Sophia's mommy went out of town for a few days, so we eventually put 2 and 2 together. We tried to combat her uncertainty with being super exciting, using yummy treats (her dad sent he with Steak again...mmmmmm), giving her tons of jobs to do, and playing fun games.

This pretty girl really came out of her shell in 3 short weeks! She went from being very uninterested in dogs, most people (when she was pre-occupied with scents and smells), and not caring about doing anything to being a smiling beauty...excited about what we were going to do next, and playing with other pooches. We are so proud of her progress!!!

Sophia's mommy and daddy will have to make sure they continue to use yummy treats for a while, and to do fun games with her so she wants to use her mind and work. She absolutely LOVES doing a good job. <3 We can't wait to meet with Sophia's parents to give them the run down on how to grasp this girls mind. (and keep her happy)

Check out her final video <3

(A Big THANKS to Heather with Bane & Luna, Carmin with Cabella, and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Matthias

Meet Matthias

Everyone meet Matthias! This stunning man is Teddy's brother ;) Matthias is a fairly stable pooch! He just needs a couple things 'cleaned up'. Some of the things we wanted to work on with this handsome guy are... cleaning up his meets and greets with people and dogs, (Matthias likes to run straight up to new situations full speed...which can be a bit intimidating for an on-looker) we want to teach him to 'un-zone' when in high stimulus situations, work on his re-calls, making sure when he takes treats he doesn't bite any fingers off (because fingers are kind of useful tools to us humans), manners and socialization and confidence boosting- in the right way of course;).

We think this man is great! and we can't wait to see the progress he makes in 3 weeks! 

Session 1 of 3

(Wednesday, January. 29th 2014)

Today we met with Matthias mommy! She told us all of the things that she would like us to work on, and expressed her concern over some of his 'lack' of manners in some situations. 

When we got Matthias into the truck, he was quite content! He seemed more excited then anything else. On our way to the dog park, he was an angel! Apparently he likes it to be known that he is 'watching EVERYTHING' in his mom's vehicle. (Another term for being vocal ;). 

At the dog park Matthias seems excited to see other dogs, and he was! He tried to drag us to the first dog he saw... he was so stoked! But he needed to learn that pulling full steam ahead would not get him what he wanted. The ground is treacherous this time of year! Not to mention that he is a BIG boy. So the first thing we worked on was his manners going into an exciting situation, and his focus on us. It didn't take long before this guy had it down! What a smart cookie ;)

The next thing we had to work on was his attempt at amputating our fingers from our hands, to get the treats. lol. He is just so excited that he really has no idea that he is even doing it. You could see his brain working when we were teaching him, just like a light bulb went on. We only had to work on this a few times though out our session! He is a quick learner!

By the end of the session he was keeping focus on us... just wondering what we were going to do next!

Looking forward to next week with this man! Keep checking back for more updates on the adventures of Matthias! (and don't forget to check out his video below!)

(A Big THANKS to Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 2 of 3

(Wednesday, February. 5th 2014)

Matthias you smart smart handsome man! We are just completely blown away by the dogs in this program.. and Matthias is at the top of that list. His recalls out of play and being distracted, manners with other dogs, learning not to run straight up to dogs and their people full steam, and his obedience have come leaps in bounds in one short week! Our hearts are ready to burst with love for this guy!

One of Matthias's biggest problems is getting amped up when his brother is around, or when another dogs is acting crazy. This is something we have had several opportunities to work with Matthias... and he is doing wonderfully. He had one hiccup when his mommy brought both him and his brother to the park... so we decided to avoid these type of situations until the Excel program is done. We want this boy to have the best chance at success.

We have taught Matthias that he gets rewarded when he 'un-zones'...and he seems to think this is a far better alternative. What a good boy!!!! now it just takes simple verbal cues to get his attention. He even earned some time off of his long lead!

Check out this video we did for Matthias! We think he will LOVE it! 

(A Big THANKS to Ricki with Little, Sarah with Roman and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 3 of 3

(Wednesday, February.12th 2014)

Smiles smiles and more smiles! It wasn't just the weather that was making everyone smile! It was Matthias! Not only was he being Mr. Social, he had the biggest grin on his face! He sure is handsome with that smile!

Today Matthias could not get enough of the confidence boosting drills and games. He did everyone one of them, with tons of enthusiasm. You could also see him running around with one ear tucked back.. just waiting... listening... for a recall so he could run back as fast as he could to get a treat and some love. What an improvement.

Matthias's mommy is going to have to learn how to read different situations, and make sure that if its a 'bad' situation or the dog is uncomfortable that she gets his attention before hand. She will also want to work on backing out of certain situations to give Matthias an 'out' if necessary. 

We know Matthias's mom has her hands full ;) But if anyone can do it... she can!

We can not wait to hear about Matthias's progress!

Check out his video below:

(A Big THANKS to Ricki with Little, Vince with Ripley, Greg with Stella and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Gemma

 Meet Gemma

Everyone meet Gemma! This beautiful 2 year old (almost) boxer is super adorable! Just look at that face!

Miss Gemma may look sweet as pie but she has a wild side! We love dogs that have some spunk, but we want to focus that energy on something positive. ;) As we know this pretty girl can be a joy and inspiration full time.

Gemma can be very verbal and excitable on a leash. This can come across as aggressive, and bad mannered as she focuses on something and she has a hard time re-directing once she is 'locked-in'. 

Gemma is fairly stable with her confidence, although she can be uncertain in some situations. Miss Gemma has been known to have some bad manners with other dogs, and for what ever reason feels the need to dominate some dogs...which gets her into trouble pretty fast. 

We know this beautiful girl has a TON of potential... we just need to figure out what makes her tick and go from there.

Session 1 of 3
(Friday, January. 24th, 2014)

This afternoon when we picked up little miss from her house, we had a chat with her grandma ;). We had already talked to Gemma's mommy and we had decided that we wanted to work on Gemmas manners with other dogs, we wanted to teach her how to be a good girl and play with some give and take...instead of being rude and trying to dominant other dogs, we wanted to solidify her recalls- specifically when she was intreating with other dogs, and fine tune some obedience. We also wanted to do some confidence boosting work with Gemma, to bring her confidence up. (In the right way of course;)

Our goal was to get Gemma used to a pack of dogs, and then venture out into the dog park and teach her how to be a well mannered pooch...and start to take the lead of the other pooches and verbal queues.  It took a little bit for Gemma to get used to the dogs in the new pack (Hank, Nelly, Callie, Kona & Yoko), but eventually she learned how to interact 'nicely'.

Gemma progressed really quickly, and was even off her leash for about half the class. She did so great! 

Our goal was to teach Gemma how to be a well behaved diva without putting any negative input into the situation. ;) 

With the Gemma's progress in just one session, we are so VERY excited to watch this beauty blossom! Keep checking back!

Below is a video of Gemma's progress from today.

(A Big THANKS to Chris & Tammy with Hank & Nelly, Randi with Callie and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 2 of 3
(Friday, January. 31st, 2014)

Since Gemma's last class, her family decided to take her to the dog park... and unfortunately she had a little incident while she was there. So we decided to not bring Gemma to the Doggy Park until all her sessions were done... that way she would not be exposed to any negative situations that she couldn't be helped with. We want to set this pretty girl up for success! So she can do all the fun things dogs get to do when they are well balanced dogs. We know Gemma has it in her, so we can't wait until that day comes!

Today we wanted to work on getting Gemma into positive situations with dogs, and teaching her how to un-zone, escape and look to us if she was uncomfortable.(instead of lashing out) This is something we worked on in the first class, but we thought that it would be beneficial for her to go over it again. Gemma picked it up really fast! and it wasn't long before she was off leash and running amongst all the dogs. With her new found tools, Gemma was able to run full steam with the dogs and stay within her happy, healthy threshold. 
SUCH A GOOD GIRL! 

We also wanted to work on tons of recalls, and we learned that if we called Gem-eee instead of her name that she came straight to us with a HUGE boxer smile on her face! She just loves having the freedom to run... and we know she will be so tired tonight when she goes home. 

Gemma even got to run and play with Rosie today! (One of the Excel your dogs training graduates) 

Below is a video of Gemma's progress from today.

(A Big THANKS to Greg with Stella, Randi with Callie and Spike, Teresa with Rosie, Ricki with Little, Carmin with Cabella, Ksenia with Kechara and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 3 of 3
(Friday, February. 7th, 2014)

Oh Princess Gemma! We just adore you! This beautiful girl spend almost the entire session off leash! Playing with other dogs! She was such a good girl!

It was pretty chilly out today, but we decided not to put Gemma in her jacket. She really really doesn't like when its on.. we think its because she thinks its "restricting" or maybe she thinks its embarrassing ;) 

Today we really wanted to focus on Gemma getting used to all different situations. Good or bad, she needs to learn how to deal with the situation or leave it properly. Without lashing out. This pretty girl is SMART so we knew that it wouldn't be to hard to teach her to leave a situation or to look to us if she was uncomfortable....and she did AMAZING! There was a few 'ill behaved' dogs at the park that were grumpy with her, and she just ran back to us on her own. <3 So we gave her TONS of love and treats! She more then deserved it!

Gemma's mommy is going to make sure she focuses on Gemma's body language, and reading other dogs in situations. This is going to help Gemma's progress, and give her mommy confidence to deal with any situation that arises. It will be so so important to praise and reward Gemma when she un-zones and gets out of situations (and watch for situations that we need to help her get out of)....and we have said it before... even more important for Gemma's mommy to BREATHE! Deep breathes! <3

We can't wait to hear about this girls progress.

Check out this pretty girls video below! 

(A Big THANKS to Greg with Stella, Sarah with Roman, Ricki with Little, Carmin with Cabella and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Luna

Meet Luna

Everyone meet Luna! This pretty girl is a 3 yr old Boxer/Lab X. Luna is a fairly stable girl, but doesn't know her size, or that she has bad manners that get her into trouble.

Luna is 'aggressive' or should we say reactive to dogs when she is on a leash, towards people when they first come into the home... until she can see and sniff them! Then it's 'Okay' because she has given them her "okay, your fine to be here". She is also known to dominant dogs when she can get close enough to them, play to rough and completely ignore recalls if there is something better to do. YES! that is right... she is like most doggies out there!

Luna needs to learn her size, manners towards people and other dogs, she needs to learn how to un-zone in intense situations and when her mommy is recalling her, and we need to clean up a bit of her obedience. 

This girl is SMART and we can't wait to work with her. 

Session 1 of 3

(Friday, January. 24th, 2014)

This morning we met up with Luna's mom. She told us about her concerns about Luna's behaviour and some stuff that she would like us to work on.

When we first got Luna in the truck, we tried to feed her a couple treats...but she was unsure about what was happening, so she would not take them. (We even had dried liver!...what is a trainer to do?!?) So we just gave her TONS of love, which she was happy with! Thank goodness Luna remembered us from training ;) 

When we got to the dog park Luna seemed a little over whelmed and was not 100% sure about the new dogs that she was around. She gave the dogs (Kona, Yoko & Kechera) a quick sniff to check them out, but had a closer eye on the dogs that were running around that were not part of the new pack. There was a couple times where she tried lunge at another dog, but she was quickly re-directed. 

It wasn't long before Luna was comfortable with the pack! She even kept trying to get Kechera to play with her. Unfortunately her 'play style' leaves a lot to be desired... as she almost seems like she has no idea how to play. She was VERY verbal, rough, and tried dominating her continually ... she almost looked a little sad because Kechera was just not that into her. Fortunately this pretty girl is a quick learner and VERY smart! With a little guidance she was playing with a few select dogs with control, manners and responding to verbal queues from us.

Now we really wanted to focus on cleaning up some of Luna's recalls. She "zones" VERY easily... so first thing was first... we needed to teach her an off-switch. So we could snap her out of her prey drive stares. It took a few times, but she learned if she un-zoned that she would be rewarded with praise, food (which she was taking at this point... who can resist liver treats??!?!! mmmmmmm lol), and play time.

Luna did so great during her session, she even got to spend a portion of time with the leash dropped ;) YAY! LUNA GIRL! 

Below is a video of Luna's progress in her first session. 

(A Big THANKS to Ksenia with Kechera,  and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 2 of 3

(Friday, January. 31st, 2014)

Oh Luna, you just did so wonderful today! It was like she was a totally different dog! We wanted to get her interacting with a bunch of different dogs today... So she had even more positive experiences to go home with. That way she had lots of new and exciting stories to tell her mommy about ;) Luna responded so so well to verbal cues to engage her in play, and to tell her when she was being to overbearing. (which only happened once by the way) She even was starting to recall out of play with tons of enthusiasm and excitement! We also found out that if we called her Loonie (instead of Luna) she ran to us with a big happy smile. This was so very exciting to see! This pretty girl made tons of new friends today! Both human and furry.

We also wanted to work on Luna's commands, and to start advancing them. With a little guidance and praise she was doing long distance commands, and waiting her turn while we released one dog at a time. She is such a smart cookie! We couldn't be happier with her progress and can't wait till next week when we get to show her mommy how well she is doing! 

Below is a video of Luna's progress in her Second session. 

(A Big THANKS to Sabrina with Teddy, Ricki with Little and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 3 of 3

(Friday, February. 7th, 2014)

Happy Friday! and it sure is a happy one for this pretty girl! WOW!!! Luna spent most of the session OFF LEASH! and PLAYING with other dogs!! YAY! Its so hard to contain our excitement for the changes we have seen in this girl! Her interactions, greetings, and play styles have changed completely! 

This girl is brains and beauty! It didn't take long for her to figure out how fun life can be. It was a cold day but we still had a few dogs at the dog park. So she still got to play, frolic and have lots of fun! 

Our goal for Luna was to get her to place where mom and dad felt comfortable bringing her into social environments. We also wanted her to be able to play with other pooches, so she could socialize, have fun and get the exercise that she so desperately needs. 

Luna's mommy and daddy are expecting a little one to join the family! So they wanted to get to a safe, happy place with Luna before the new baby arrives. 

Luna's mommy and daddy will have to really concentrate on praising this girl in situations that she is uncomfortable with and remember to BREATHE ;)(to give her confidence) and to keep up the great work with "un zoning" her when she is tunnel visioned.

Check out this girls grad video!! We are so proud of her!! (Did we already say that?!? lol)

(A Big THANKS to Ricki with Little and Kona & Yoko for their puppy support)