Hoobie and Others

Akuma 8 Month Husky Puppy Lesson and Video-


Leon Demos What Day 8 of Longe Line Should Look Like Before Heeling can Begin (Note in the beginning your dog usually goes with you, but Leon hasn't actually done longe line for awhile, though he knows to stay with me):


Murphy Crazed Labrador Young Girl Boarding-

Gigi American Pit Bull Terrier Girl Boarding, Previous Training Client-














Roxy and Harley Great Danes Boarding Female and Male- (Okay I got a close up of napping Puppy Magoo in there too, cause he's Just so friggin cute).














Willie Male Portuguese Waterdog/Airedale X Last Lesson Until Fall- Did not bring the video camera to the beach, but Willie was walked by owner on the beach and thru many dogs. The owner was the most confident that I had seen her, and I think we had a good last session until the fall.

And our resident guest for Board & Train The Hoobinator-

Ignorance is Not Bliss, It's Stupidity

http://doxienews.com/2009/05/27/the-queen-and-her-dorgis/comment-page-1/#comment-325

Oh, don't make me say anymore, this rubbish just gives me a headache. You can't say the animal rights movement doesn't know what they are doing, and catch the attention of the niave simpletons who follow.

Good Lord.

Sorry about that, I have managed to remain non political lately, but this just fried my fanny. This twerp wants to limit rights of responsible breeders so that the numb nutts can keep irresponsibly breeding dogs. Excellent.

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Hoobie's Vet Visit

Hoobie needed to go to the vet to get a lump checked out, which presented itself as the owners were leaving from Canada to here. It was aspirated at my vets, and it didn't show any tumor cells or infection. We don't want to cause Hoobie anymore pain now, so no addition biopsy, but watching it's progress for the next two weeks.

He did have an yeasty ear infection. I was expecting a whopper of a temper tantrum, and my husband was going to capture it, but instead Hoobie was a gentleman and innocence itself.

At one point on the tape I say Hoobie presented his true self right away. I worded that wrong, I meant that Hoobie showed his learned aggressive behaviors right away, though not full blown (no attacking at the movement of my computer mouse, OR if I brush my pants et). When I normally use the term "true self" in dog training, I usually mean the dog that emerges once the fearful issues and bossy without context issues are addressed. That is the dog's true self in a domestic environment. Not a dog without issues or flaws, but a dog that is at their best for their individual makeup.


AT the end I am showing the vet, who is doubting my sanity now, the bruises left by Hoobie's paws by his previous tantrums as he tried to grab me to bite me (muzzles are an awesome way to wait a dog out, without allowing him to bite and showing him that he is alive and safe when he is all done). I will write more about when you work dogs with muzzles, and then transitioning them off during everyday life activities later. He has not tried to grab me with his paws or had a tantrum in three days (counting today, and assuming it stays that way).

Here are some photos I took. I wish I got a tantrum on tape. The owners, I am sure, are quite familiar with how it looks. At that point, I was totally concentrating on Hoobie, rather than instructing my husband to grab the video camera!!

I could have avoided being bruised (and keep in mind I do bruise like a peach) by swiveling the leash and D ring up behind Hoobie's neck. However, I thought it a good time to show Hoobie that he won't get away with bullying me from the front, and if he was going to go into a full out tantrum, what better time to work it well than when he is on muzzle. These bruises happened towards the end of week 1, as we began working on touch with muzzle on. Now we are at the end of week 2.

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Hoobie Day Five (obedience-Day 9 Here) Longe Line

So this is day 5 of Longe Line work. You can compare this to the start of Day Nine with Magoo starting heel, where I briefly show what day 8 longe line would have looked like.

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Magoo Longe Line to Heel and Hoobie's Reward

NOTE: Magoo is going into conformation first, so the auto sit is not being done right now:)

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Hoobie Out of Crate Progress

So we have made progress on Hoobie's out of crate etiquette. Note the first video is without his food bowl in the crate.




Next video shows how food in the crate can affect his behavior, and we are working with this as well:)



I would say one out of three times he gives me exactly what I want right now on out of crate. He has started doing okay on back in crate. I will try to get a video of that tomorrow.

So the main progress week one in the behavior department has been :

1) Not pressed against bars growling and snapping for every interaction, and the start of an understanding on correct out of the crate behavior.
2) Start of back in the crate okay behavior.
3) Beginning to elect to be close to me and greet my hand more and more often. Where he was at the end of the 15 foot leash before or at the end of the six foot, he is closer and closer in now by his own election.
4) Muzzled, he is more excepting of touch without blowing up. Also easier to calm back down after he starts going into his tantrum period.

The other side, training has had progress in:

1) Following me on longe line now rather than steadfastly remaining on a different course.
2) Electing to hang out near me when in the quiet portion of longe line.
3) Settles down into sit on the dog exercise in about a few seconds inside, and about 15 minutes around daycare or outside.

Good progress all around. I will take it!!

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Hoobie and Our Other Clients

Akuma, 8 month old Siberian Husky male: Sadly no picture this week. He is on week 1 of basic obedience which is the longe line progression and sit on the dog. He is a puppy so training is a great thing. However, in particular his love of other dogs and people causes him to pull on the leash, which his owner always has a tight grasp of (conditioning the opposite response). So before the owner's wrist surgery, they are being training on the basics of loose leash control. The puppy is super smart and friendly just isn't strong enough word for him. This is a great "problem" for owners to have:)

Piper, Cavachon (Cavalier/Bichon) 3 plus month puppy: OMG this puppy is so cute. She is owned by a couple of women in the area. Just basic puppy manners and obedience being taught. While wicked cute and friendly, she has already learned how to start controlling her owners every waking moments LOL. Training the humans more here than the puppy, who is not only super cut but very very smart.

Here piper is table training into a down, and we are commenting on how tired she is after a long lesson. However, in a few short minutes she livens right up again LOL.

Puppy zoomies, you have to love them and a sign of a nice healthy normal puppy.

Piper is on lesson three here:)

Magoo, 7 month Old Great Male Dane Puppy (In Daycare and Train):

Magoo (Great Dane with taped ears in picture) is going into the conformation and obedience ring. These owners have had two other dogs trained with me, and now we are going for four (Lucey is his sister).

Magoo and I should be going into the obedience ring this year, and he is doing very well. He's a solid stable confident but soft young Great Dane puppy. He loves the dogs and people he lives with, and he loves the dogs and people he does not live with LOL.

His favorite activity is fun of any sort especially in the woods. He is getting the obedience that he has been taught so far very well, even under distracting circumstances (IE field trips to the beach and various fields OR at daycare where other dogs are walking around). He just finished up week one of basic training, and now we will be onto week two this week:) He is going to do very very well in obedience OR at least as well as his handler does LOL.

Lucey, 7 year old Westie Lady (In Daycare and Train):

Lucey and I have been friends for a long time. I adore all of my customers dogs, but I have always wanted a Westie and this little girl is terribly cute and patient of her large brothers (Great Dane and Giant Schnauzer), who groom her and sit on her constantly.

Lucey thinks the stuff in the tv is actually there, and that it's her duty to chase or catch it off the tv. So that's her main training. The most challenging part has been getting to not only that but the other instances that she barks so we can have a complete training package at the end that is simple for her owners.

I just love her. Look at those eyes, they could melt steel .

Bella, 7 Month Old Mastiff Girl Puppy (In Private Lessons with Owner):

Very, very nice mellow puppy. It is surprising to note that very friendly mellow puppies are the hardest for owners to train. I think it's because the training is not as exciting or seem as important when your dog is not trying to nail you nor run into the street LOL.

Bella is on lesson six, and is very friendly and mellow. However, a friendly run into an elderly person or small child could send them for a loop.

She is about in the high 70 pound mark now of cuddly cute fun. She enjoys kisses and just about whatever attention you would like to give her. She prefers naps to training and sometimes walks. She is so easy, the owner's older parents are able to take care of her. Sigh, I would love to have Bella over for a long visit, but I guess her family is going to get to enjoy her:)

Willie, 5 plus year old Male Portuguese/Airedale Mix (In Private Lessons with Owner):

Willie was here last year to be taught not to eat the guests at his owners house. Since then, he has hosted parties attended by their family and by children.

Willie's owner suffered a horrible accident that caused an injury to her brain. So time is needed to teach other skills. Now it's time to train Willie's owner how to walk in public places with him, and remin calm and confident so Willie doesn't feel her angst.

I don't think anyone will see them in any dog parks anytime soon, but his owner has had practice now with Willie on the beach and in our property around other dogs and people.

Willie should not be left alone to his own devices in his territory, but with a calm confident leader, he knows that she will not let anyone in who is a danger to the home front, and can now relax from enforcing that duty.

Jillian, 5 plus year old Lady English Springer (In Private Lessons with Owner):

Jillian came here for extreme separation anxiety. She was breeding stock in her younger years and either relegated to an infrequently visited crate or chained to a tree. The adoption contract for her stated that she could never be returned. You can imagine that she did not come from a particularly loving home after doing her duty of providing them with a sellable product.

However, Jillian landed into a home that loves her. They just needed to be able to put her into a crate (as she was pretty adept at opening the LOCKS and chewing through those pesky walls). Pretty funny story posted about her disappearance early on, where the police had to point out that those were bite marks around the lock, and that no one broke in to steal Jillian!!

Jillian is a total love bug, while still exhibiting the typical Springer stubbornness cheerfully. Her owner is now interested in doing obedience trials with her. I am in the process of teaching her owner how to go about that:)

Hoobie, 5 plus year old Male English Springer (in Board & Train):

Here he is the infamous Hoobinator!! Believe it or not, there is a sweet nice sociable dog in there despite his fear that causes him to do his absolute best to try and nail you. His gig is up, I have seen the sweet Hoobie and I am going to try my very best to pull him out of there.

Today we discovered that neck rubs are not unwelcome. So there is the start of a touch that we can work from, and use as a potential reward.

Yesterday he had a screaming fit over me removing an eye boogey. Today, he allowed that. Now realize at this point any outside contact comes with the muzzle on. I have used a muzzle in the training plan of three or four dogs. The thing to realize is that when the muzzle is off, the response is lessened and not extinguished yet. There is (especially with a dog like Hoobie that has extreme phobia and fear) a whole bunch of training to do with the muzzle on, until he does not react inappropriately with it on. THEN realize that most likely he is going to strike out the first few times he is out with a muzzle, and leash handling, the use of motivators and consequences will start shaping his behavior with the muzzle off.

The reason for the muzzle on this type of dog is to show him, without continual conflict, that it's just so much easier and enjoyable not to put up a huge stink. To be able to do this without correcting him every second and allow him to start calming himself down, and learning how to put the controls and decision making ability in place for himself.

In dog training, it is so important that the dog come to the correct decision themselves, and this means communication as to the benefit/reward of doing that. And with any dog and especially a dog like this times three, this is repetition of events in various places over and over again demonstrating this.

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Hoobie Learning the Correct Way to Make the Door Open

Does your dog have issues? Mannerly Mutts Dog Training, Maine Dog Training, can help. Call Maine Dog Trainer, Robin Rubin, at 207-361-4395 or e-mail mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com.

Hoobie's Day and Last Night

Yesterday morning and afternoon went very well. I will hence forward be talking about the before late afternoon hours as Happy Hoobie time LOL. Horrid Hoobie showed up later in the day. Between yesterday and today, I figured something out, like a cranky child, Hoobie doesn't want the fun to end. So he is understanding at the beginning of the day soft looks, allowing the muzzle on and off, ET mean the beginning to an event filled day.

However approaching dinner time, Hoobie knows allowing liberty with his self is only so self rewarding. Daycare has gone home, and he is being put to bed!! The night before last night, he was totally howling all night long. I almost broke down and gave him his sleeping pill, but I wanted to see if in the end that caused any self control to kick in. Well, last night and today, it seems the light bulb went off that neither howling nor growling bring people running to his aid. In fact, it's quite the opposite. He has begun eating up a storm too, which makes me very happy due to his medical issues and the medicine/food schedule that we need to follow.

Hoobie has begun approaching my hand and licking it. Now sometimes I expecting he is just softening up his late afternoon snack (he wishes). He has been coming towards me many times during the day, and I have been trying my hardest not to screw that up for him. So today, when I wasn't expecting it (I was just about to pick up a Great Dane puppy accident) when Hoobie came right up to the bars of his crate, and right next to me. So the crap got delegated to my husband, and Hoobie got a walk through the woods with the rest of daycare. I figured something that big (plus the later hand greeting) was worth a reward (he was leashed).

Freedom is the highest reward that I have here, so I am holding a good deal of it back. The days were not packed with all positive Hoobie interactions. Springers are quite smart and stubborn. Any opening Hoobie sees, he makes note of. The time where you are taking off the muzzle to put him in the crate is one such time. Yesterday, he started growling just as I unclasped the thing. So that resulted in some well timed leash work on my part to get him away from me and in. He is most testy in the in the crate scenario. Up until then, he was quietly accepting muzzle off, leash off, and then in the crate. So last night began a bit of excitement in dog training where everything else is designed to be quiet as possible this week.

He went in with the leash on, so I needed to get him out soon to get the leash off. It probably won't hurt him to keep it on, but you don't want anything foreign in there that a dog can ingest. I thought it was also a good idea to show him that I was not reliant on the muzzle when needed. So when he needed to go out, and he was still testy, we just took him out and held the leash in such a way that he couldn't get at me. The key was that in going out, as long as he is not reacting that way, nothing bad happens to him (IE shots, forcing him down, ET). I wasn't sure after the next putting him in the crate that he quite got the point until today. Today Hoobie, while still not a dog that I would want as my own LOL, was much improved. So the activities during the day were more fun as well. He even likes the obedience that was begun because he is outside and it's very non confrontational. Hoobie loves being outdoors, which is not surprising as he is a hunting dog. So I use where we go to the bathroom ET as a reward to. If he has growled when I needed to take him out, we go to the small pen in back. If he has not growled when I needed to take him out, we go to the large lawn and offer a small walk or perhaps training session.

As far as the muzzle when we are closing the door to the crate, it seems good progress has been made there. A couple of times, I waited with my hand on the clip to see if he would growl. If he did growl, he went into the crate with his crate face on. If he didn't growl, he went into the crate with his crate face off. A couple of those times were meal times, so I think he got the point that he was free to eat if he didn't growl, but going to have to wait a bit if he did growl.

Hoobie's breeder's name for him was Lord Domino. I think of him as Lord Hoobie now or cranky baby in the evenings. He had certainly figured out how to manipulate. The great thing is that we can use this to our advantage, because if you think about it, he gets what he wants based on his behavior. You have to be very consistent to keep the communication going however.

Oh and about rewards for going in. I found out today why holding a toy to throw in if he doesn't growl isn't a great idea for Hoobie. I knew he was a resource guarder so I was prepared for his reaction. He would have liked to have taken my hand with the toy, and instead of going into the crate, he tried to whip around and take things into his own......teeth (a subtly placed chair makes a nice barrier). I was ahead of him, but you need to try these things out in order to know whether they will work or not. I am thinking if I had a toy that went easily through the crate after he was in and sitting, that might work. I have been able to get him out of the crate with him wanting to guard his territory and start working on the resource issues. (very early on working on the resource issues). I may try the lamb treats that his owners were nice enough to supply for me for tomorrow's session.

Due to Hoobie's figuring out the weak spot during going back into the crate, we needed to have some door slamming moments during today. However, later in the evening, Hoobie started to give me the look, and then delicately walked in and went about eating his food. As I closed the door, Hoobie started eating and rumbled softly (without making a move towards the door) as I closed it.

All in all, no real surprises today, as I would totally expect him to have figured some of these things out. Yeah, it's very nice if the dog doesn't make it quite this "exciting", however that's not the reality with your more intelligent dogs. As that intelligence can work for you, it can work against you sometimes LOL.

All in all, I had some really lovely moments with Hoobie today. Now I am totally beat as he was not the only client today . I will give more updates on others tomorrow.

Need your less exciting dog trained LOL. Call Maine Dog Trainer, Robin Rubin, at Mannerly Mutts Dog Training 207-361-4395. Serving Maine Dog Training, New Hampshire Dog Training, and Massachusetts Dog Training needs.

Meet Hoobie Monster LOL

Hoobie has had horrible medical issues since being very young. Even as a baby, there was not enough milk for him and another, and they needed to be bottle fed. For Hoobie's future owners, the medical problems were on their way to being horrendous. The most prevalent being various food intolerances and a thyroid condition that went midiagnosed for too long. There is a whole team working behind Hoobie's physical and mental well being.

The combination on young dogs in particular of a chronic illness and the fact that they are learning what to fear and what not to fear, can do a job on the temperment of the dog. The owners did start working on this early on, when they saw the problem developing, but the right answer did not appear from some of the people that were hired. However, the training the owners did with Hoobie has been very helpful in keeping me safe, while I am working on changing his perceptions of the world.

The thing that is very important to understand about Hoobie is that he learned to fear hands, especially, early on. This is because treatments were being done that were detrimental to his health, but Hoobie did not know why he was hurt whenever hands came near. Hands became a control that was not often welcome. Then Hoobie learned that growling and biting keeps hands away. It keeps hands from opening and closing crate doors, from pulling him out towards the bad stuff, from stuffing stuff in his mouth, and on and on. Hoobie has an intense hatred of hands, and of being touched in general, but he mostly sees the hands as the bigger threat.

The thing to understand about a thyroid condition that was not found, is that it is painful from head to toe. Touching or being touched is painful from head to toe. So as a young pup or dog, every single time someone touched him, most likely, pain was involved not pleasure, though that was the intent of the people trying to touch him. It seems like this may have been solved now, and in working with Hoobie I try to be on the look out for the chance that this might not be so.

So how make hands positive when Hoobie hates hands? How to make touch positive when he sees it as a threat? Remember now also that due to his painful issues with food, food isn't really a reward and when it comes with a hand, Hoobie feels biting the hand is a bit more important (because it may bring pain) than taking the food.

Simply stated, and I will try to write more on this, is to work so that hands provide other rewards when used, and they are limited in use until Hoobie starts to intiate contact with them himself. Also, not to reward any bossy or demanding acts, because he also knows how to use his teeth to get his way. You want to start rewarding calm, accepting, and trusting behavior. In order to be able to reward that, you must also be that(trustworthy and calm) in some way. In this case, it meant redefining what my goals were right away, to step back and take even babier steps (not babying the dog, but small steps towards something) to reach the end goal. Also expecting a certain behavior or lack of a certain behavior before Hoobie gets a reward, which are very simple little things right now. As the trust level between us grows, so do the rewards.

With Hoobie, this can be quite time consuming, because if he does the correct behavior on any pass, then you have to do a reward. The protocol for taking him out of the crate is quite lengthy now as it is tied into his training, and keeping it the same and stable right now before we totally change it up on him is what is building the trust. And if he gives the wrong behavior, you need to wait him out until he calms down, and then leave. If he does the right behavior but is also trying to demand or boss, he gets squat because part of the behavior I want to extinct is the entitlement. So if I pass by the crate, there is an awfully good chance that I won't be seen for 5-10 minutes if he gives the wrong behavior, and a half an hour if he does the right one LOL. You gotta give him the reward when he takes the initiative and does the right one, because the whole point is trust or elicit the hands THEN good things come. So right now, it's Hoobie not growling at my hands and moves towards me to inspect when I hold them near the gate entrance, and also I can't open the door if he starts growling.

Closing the crate door is the more problematic thing. He hates being alone for one, so I have to be careful with this that he isn't just trying to get me to stay with him there all day!! So I am still experimenting with that. Since it seems likely that he backs down when the door is open, and it's the act of closing the door that sets off the panic mode, I have started by letting him bark at me when he first goes in. Then he gets tired of that, and I have noticed that if he feels a bit better he will go for the food or water bowl. Then I calmly place my hand on the crate door. Hoobie is normally looking for that, so he will spin around and start growling. When he stops, I close the crate door so so slowly. This is different than any other dog I trained, and it's because I know why he is afraid of the hands and the crate door. If I were to slam it on him, I loose trust and this is exactly what he fears (and then come the needles or whatever). If he is not going to rush at me and try to hurt me, then I can take my time closing the crate door to show him that it's no big deal. He still is getting very upset about clipping the crate door back closed, and that will be next on the list as far as changing his crate behavior. This will also help in changing his outside the crate behavior, but isn't even half the solution as yet.

I can tell that Hoobie still would very much like to bite me, but he's trusting me more and more with these tasks. It's important not to loose his trust at this point, as he has had so many years of being proven wrong:( His owners have been amazing at trying to solve the problems and deal with Hoobie over the years. You can imagine what life might be like on a daily basis with him, and the danger he presents to known and unknown people right now. So let's put all our good thoughts Hoobie's way, and hope for a good outcome. This is going to be a loooonnnnnngggg training assignment.

Have a friendly dog for me to train LOL!! Just kidding. No really!! Call Maine Dog Trainer, Robin Rubin, at 207-361-4395 or e-mail for Maine Dog Training Services at mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com. Also providing New Hampshire Dog Training Services, and Massachusetts Dog Training Services.

Bogey Beagle's Playdate

Bogey is a little put off by Petey's size, but I assure you Bogey was approaching and initiating, which was very fun to watch. I just got tis little piece of it. Enjoy!!

Kate The Swamp Monster!!

Today's Updates

Bogey, the boarding and mellow yet shy Beagle, did find a playmate in Petey and Lucey today. Petey is a Giant Schnauzer that is quite lovely, and Lucey is a very cute Westie girl, that no one is able to resist. I was surprised that Bogey responded to the Giant Schnauzer just because I thought his size would intimidate him. However, Pete's sweetness must have captured his attention.

Kate and Hannah, the Springer sisters, came yesterday. Hannah has been enjoying my bed when she is not playing. She was not so much up for play yesterday, but today she rounded up Leon and Magoo the Great Dane puppy to play with.

Murphy, the small girl Lab, came today. She wears everyone out with her energy. Luckily we have a bunch of playmates here for her to tire out!! She saw her good friend, Minny Man, during his walk. They are an unlikely pair the Chi X and exhuberant Lab, but it's been love at first sight since they met!

Bella, the Mastiff puppy, had lesson number six on the beach today. The exercises being worked on now are stay with duration, distance, and distraction and firming up the Let's Go command more. Downs are slow but at the first command which is good. Sits have come back to first command (there was a long vacation in there for everyone where a bit of work was lost LOL). Bella is so adorable and mellow that it's pretty unbelievable.

Hoobey, the aggressive Springer, came today. He's almost asleep right now, and we both had a looooonnnnnggg day together. He's a project for sure, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Right now the most challenging part is getting him in and out of the crate (thank goodness for my time at Doberman Rescue)!! I got a little video of his less extreme reactions, I will probably be able to capture a more extreme reaction tomorrow morning before we (hopefully) start decreasing their occurances. He looks pretty tired and happy right now. A dog just walked by his crate without a reaction....ooops spoke to soon the dog walked back and got a bit of a growl . Hoobie is going to be a project. I am pretty sure he's going to be sound a sleep shortly. His owners are definately not imagining what a little tuffy he is. His background includes some pretty serious medical issues that caused much pain when he was younger (and some chronic ones that can cause pain now on occaision). He is a resource guarder too.

Magoo continued his day four training towards obedience competition for AKC. Magoo is a Great Dane puppy, and extremely cute and biddable. He gets very sleepy after his training session, and we cuddle on the couch afterwards as we train....

His sister, Lucey, for her barking which is mostly prey motivated. Only problem is that it's at every commercial or program for her owners. Also apparently it's in the car and out and about where real wild and domestic animals may be. In a household with three dogs, this can cause quite a chain reaction.

And Petey, the Giant Schnauzer, just got to have a great time at daycare. As far as Petey is concerned, the more the merrier.

Bogey The Mellow Beagle

Bogey is an extension of a family that comes to me for training and boarding. He has big brown eyes, and is of the Beagle breed. Now normally Beagles are a bit crazy, destructive, and hyper. Bogey seems to be another of the few bomb proof dogs that do exist in the world, and ruin their owners when they get dog number two in the future. He is super sweet and mellow.

He also is a bit hesitant towards socializing with other dogs. His aunts, Kate and Hannah, are coming this afternoon, so it will be interesting to see how he greets them.

When he very first came, he was a bit trembly and drooly. I had to bring him up the stairs to hang out with me and my two dogs. Niether of my dogs were too terribly concerned about the Beagle statue that appeared. Bogey prefers to stay close to walls unless food comes upstairs. And he isn't all that intrusive over that either, he just comes in closer....just in case he might get something. As a trainer, it's never a good idea to give treats or scraps when or where the humans are eating, OR if a new dog is introduced to the pack. It's good to know what brings him out of his shell a bit. He's a bit overweight, so anything other than his own food won't be used for this.

Bogey also likes when my dogs bark at wild life out the window or get excited when Robert is coming up stairs. He joins the dogs in those activities.

He makes all sorts of cute snorting noises too, although I worry that may be due to his weight and might be contributing to the unusual (for a Beagle) inactivity on his part. We will going on some woodsy and beach walks to see if that makes him a bit more interested.

My husband also found the sweet spot under his chin that he enjoys being rubbed on:) Bogey has identified a few spots in the house that he feels comfortable in. He has started coming in from the walls in the family room as well . Playing is a matter of him feeling comfortable that the dogs won't jump on him, and my dogs are doing that job very well. In fact, I think that confused him a little bit at first since they weren't all over him (they are pretty used to various dogs coming and going here).

Does your dog need a bit more confidence? Call Maine Dog Trainer at Mannerly Mutts Dog Training at 207-361-4395, providing Maine Dog Training needs. Or e-mail Robin Rubin, Maine Dog Trainer, at mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com.

My Dogs Not So Much in The Mood for Daycare Today

Leon has had it with the daycare this week. It's good to remember, if you are in the dog business, that dogs living in the situation may not be in the mood everyday to play. Especially if you are active with your dog outside the play situation (for instance we were already at the beach for an hour this morning), your dog may have had enough by the time that clients' dogs come in.

That's okay, and it's good as trainers, dog walkers, dog sitters, and daycare providers that we can recognize this in the dogs that come to us OR our own dogs. Screening of clients' dogs usually takes care of this for our customers. Also remember, this is not their territory, so sometimes it feels a bit like an invasion to your dog, especially if it's happening everyday. My dog, Leon, has a much higher tolerance for this than my dog, Jack. However, Leon has his days where he has had enough, and just "Vants to be alone" as Gretta Garbo would say.

I provide my dogs with alone time with me daily (also together time for the both of them), and alone time from the guest dogs. Only parts of the house are open to guest dogs, and I TRY to keep the master bedroom off limits for all but my dogs. There are some guests that my dogs like to have for a sleep over, but largely the bedroom is for us and our dogs alone.

The observation is though, that dogs are not ALWAYS in the mood to play. That is okay, and you should make alone time for your dogs, just as you sometimes need alone time.

Looking for training services for your dog? Call Maine Dog Trainer, Robin Rubin, at 207-361-4395. Or e-mail Mannerly Mutts Dog Trainer, Maine Dog Training Service, at mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com. We also serve New Hampshire Dog Training and Massachusetts Dog Training needs.