Bogey Comes Out of Her Shell

Bogey was just fascinated by Magoo (Great Dane gallumping around here).   She plays every now and again, but she was totally taken by Magoo.   Later she just stared at him in amazement for the rest of the day (and she has seen Great Danes here before LOL)



http://www.mannerlymutts.com/
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com/

Latest Group Photos

In this Order Boris (back), Leon (front), Alyssa (back), Harley, Tommy and Gigi in all of these.   When I am doing some weeding or a car is coming in, this is what we practice doing, as there are no fences here. Good dogs!

http://www.mannerlymutts.com/
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com/

Some April Daycare Clips

http://www.mannerlymutts.com/
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com/

Doggie Daycare Inside Snippets

http://www.mannerlymutts.com/
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com/

May 2011 Work With Alyssa

These days we are using all the commands in mock "routines" for "real life" situations.   Additionally, I am getting Alyssa used to being handled by strangers now when she needs to with the goal of having a stress free veterinarian appointment:)

So this is all old work that will show somewhat of how we got to where we are presently:)  For instance all that molding work we did, and continue to do, will now start to pay off for stranger examination.

http://www.mannerlymutts.com
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com

Fun On The Beach With Spartacus and Alyssa

Spartacus, Alyssa, Boris and Leon all spend some free time playing on the beach.  It's great to have your dogs play in public and be absolutely safe.   9 Month old Spartacus is able to have fun without giving his owner a heart attack:)

http://www.mannerlymutts.com
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com

Different Parts of Alyssa Work On The Place

I am attempting to show both finished training, and training in progress.   This is some of Alyssa's earlier place work on 6/11/2011.   She is more advanced, especially in her sends and the different areas that she can recognize as a place now.

I like to show the progress to show the work, and then later what is actually accomplished.   The work is enjoyable work for me.   I think it should be enjoyable for owners, in that they should enjoy the progress and the bond/relationship being formed.  It's not always about making sure the human is entertained.  Sometimes it's just about our dogs .  The work is about an hour a day, and as you can see it's disciplined for us but not all that hard.

Practicing with two different places:



Practicing place for five minute durations around lower mid level distractions:



Here is a fun day we had with Alyssa training and hanging out in Portsmouth NH!



http://www.mannerlymutts.com
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com

Fun, Games, and Training for this Week (Video Summary)

This is a little summary of snippets of our week this week.  I forgot poor Ollie (Plott Hound X of 1 and 1/2 years) in my credits.   My apologies to Ollie and his owners .  

Here are some of the good times and a little work we have and do:



More of our training video backlog to follow.

http://www.mannerlymutts.com
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com

Alyssa and Spartacus Mock Mouth Fight

http://www.mannerlymutts.com

http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com

Alyssa Starts Place Then Send to Place

The place command is great when guests and company comes over.   Or when you want to send your dog away from you to lie down for awhile, as you get something done.   This is also a great command to use with fear aggressive dogs (have a professional trainer show you all you should know before attempting this) so they have a safe place where they will not be disturbed yet still be around guests and company (again supervised and only after consulting a professional trainer experienced with these issues).

Alyssa is not an aggressive dog, but this would be a great command for her owner to use when company comes, but may not want to have Alyssa all over them.  She is a social love bug.

Very start of training the place command (notice we need heel or at least "let's go" in order to start.

The very beginning of send to place being taught:

This eventually becomes something like this:




http://www.mannerlymutts.com
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com

Easter Bonnet Dogs Posted Late

Bella models a black velvet hat.

Bell is the picture of spring with her daisy headpiece.

Tommy models checkered red summer hat.

Tommy models checkered brown and black fall hat.

Leon models jaunty blue striped straw hat with bow.   Boris with red checked summer hat.

Leon models fall fabulous black and brown hat.   Bella allows red checkered sun hat to be on her head.  Alissa wonders how she got trapped into modeling black velvet hat, and refuses to look at the camera.

http://www.mannerlymutts.com
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com

Alyssa Yesterday's Warm Up and Stay Work a Couple Steps IN

Alyssa is a dog involved in our daycare/train program.

Testing if Alyssa is where I think she is in sits before going onto the stays. The heel (I start that warm up towards the end of the tape) that I do next is also a "semi new" directive to her. Her surgery kept us from doing this too much or off leash last year. It's always a good idea to do a warm up/refresher of previously worked commands before going onto new parts of commands or totally new commands.

So once the warm up is done (although this is the next day, so I do a shorter warm up on just basically making sure the sits remain first command, and done randomly again---meaning not in heel position), then we will go onto a couple steps into the stay command (did the very beginning the day before yesterday). A lot of verbal tips on the different steps of commands, the appropriate rewards for the dog, and the reasons why there are different parts of the sit/stay command. I should have also gone into different places to train, areas, and distractions. Next time...

Finally starting one or two steps into the stay command yesterday.

http://www.mannerlymutts.com/
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com/
mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com

Do you think I get a little excited about Halloween?

He is literally a Pumpkin.  My sweet Boris.

Ollie and Alyssa help model some Halloween costumes.

My favorite Halloween wreath.   Sparkly!!

Maine and New Hampshire Dog Trainer

Mannerly Mutts Dog Training Blog

E-Mail Mannerly Mutts Dog Training

Why For No Blogging Mannerly Mutts?

First of all, apparently I am "over the hill" according to my loving family as I turned "a certain age" this August.

Question:  OMG, how busy have we been?  

Answer (see below also for details):  Got two board and train cases unexpectedly on the same busiest weeks for boarding, as they were both emergency cases.   Historically, August has been a crazy month.   Each week is a months worth of work in August.   Summer is not for the faint of heart here at Mannerly Mutts, and I see now more than ever that I will need an assistant next year, and possibly this fall if I start the group classes (the announcement will be coming for my former students).

I have not been busy training competition dogs, Magoo (client dog training for Open AKC), and Boris (my three legged dog training for Novice UKC).  In fact all the maintaining of training on current dogs goes out the window during the month of August.  So here is what we HAVE BEEN doing:

Computer Crashed and Down During Busy Time:  Granted, I really needed a new computer anyway.  I wanted a laptop with all the ports and attachments to do my work quickly and where ever the dogs are.   My computer was painfully slow even hooked up directly to the DSL line.   Still have not transferred everything that I need to my new Toshiba Satellite (love it).   Perhaps today will be the day to figure out how to plug my camera card and camcorder in.

Jake (a mix of mystery):  Did not take a picture of my new buddY yet:(   Jake came here to train in order to move with his owner to an assisted living situation.   Jake was never properly house trained, and his owner is loosing some memory functions.   Obviously, it's important that the facility remain clean from accidents.   So Jake came here to do house training, a little obedience training, and training to ring the bell to alert the owner.   The owner has remembered (a little too much) to let Jake out, so I may need to visit to reinforce the bell training, so when the memory does not work ---  Jake will.   So far so good as far as the house training has gone for his new home.  

This has been a wonderful case to work on.   His owner and the sons have been so supportive and helpful of being a team in this process.   It's been a very heartwarming case.   Jake is a wonderful dog by the way.   He is very playful and young, but has been a great companion to his less young owner.   So happy that they will be able to stay together.  

Huntington Commons is a retirement community that does allow their residents to keep dogs (and so I am assuming other pets as well) given the residents are able to follow some guidelines.   That is a happy thing especially for my future old age, though I hope to still be training well into my eighties.

Rocko (Maltese and Shih Tzu):  This two year old is a dynamo.   He came here after a second incident with a child.   Interestingly enough, this is more of an inappropriate play thing, it would seem, than an aggression thing.   I did not see the incident, but the parents report it's much like what they see when Rocko is playing with the dogs.   Dogs have fur though, where human beings do not.   Rocko being a small mite of a thing with uber confidence and not that much socialization, has trouble seeing the difference between any human who is playing with him and a dog.   His teeth are still young, white, and sharp, so catching something in the air at the right angle on the way down can cause a mark or bite wound.   Rocko is just needing work on self control around humans who play with him, and also more socialization and real world experiences.   Though a small dog, this is a dog that gets bored easily and needs a lot of activity.  He needs this activity in more of an outlet than just play.

Rocko is the classic case of the cycle that can go on in dog ownership.   First as a puppy, his barking, charging, was cute (well still is truth to be told, but...).   However, as human owners we need to look into the future and realize there are things coming down the pike that we must prepare our dogs for.   Like that children have soft skin without fur, and if we want our dogs to play with children (or be controllable around children) then we need to prepare them.

So then when Rocko was barking (a previous cute behavior that was inadvertently rewarded) in public or in the yard, the owners started to avoid those activities that would make Rocko bark.   Rocko goes out less, but still needs mental and physical activity so the now unwanted behaviors increase instead of being channelled correctly.

Rocko is a really good guy and very fun loving.   His owners have a hard time believing what an incredible obedience or agility guy this munchkin would be.   However, it's true:)  Rocko loves to work, and he loves to go on adventures.  Now it's about pushing his owners out there with him.  It's also about training the owners to control the environment for Rocko to learn how to be self controlled and calm.

Lola (thought to be Pit bull X Female and Housemate of Buddy):  Lola came here after an incident with he owner's niece.   However, she had always been hard to handle on lead in public around dogs.  Lola is a sweetheart with those that she knows.   She can show a bit of resource guarding with her other canine housemate.   She does like dogs, but her lack of socialization seems to have made her very wary, and she likes to go on the defensive first to be sure the other dog doesn't get to her first.   It matters little what the other dog is doing at the time.

Lola also was taken in at a much younger age than is advised.   So she missed out on much of the nurturing and sibling interactions that a dog should have.  

Buddy Cocker Spaniel Male (and Housemate of Lola):  Buddy and Lola adore each other.   Buddy is now taking private coaching lessons with his owners, so that they can learn how to train him as well.  It does make life much easier when all dogs in the household are trained on basic obedience and manners.

Alyssa (Husky):  OMG, such a cute Husky puppy.  Alyssa is here for daycare and training.   The training is limited as her knees are fluctuating improperly.   Surgery may be necessary to correct this for her.   She is coming into just one years old now.

Jake German Shepherd 10 Month Old Male (Sibling to Roxy):  Most breeders will not adopt out two siblings.   This pairing happened in a sort of accident.   One of the human siblings was holding the other puppy for a surprise later for the other family.   However, the holder fell in love with that puppy too.   (as well as the one that they totally planned to purchase for themselves)   Hence, at 10 months, the classic problems that arise out of this are rearing their head.

Jake is the more confident and larger of the two siblings.   He came up and sniffed me right away at his first lesson.   He gets reactive to sudden and movements from a distance.

Both siblings get anxious when they can not get to each other.

Roxy German Shepherd 10 Month Old Female (Sibling to Jake):  Roxy is more fearful and timid than Jake.  She did not elect to sniff or greet me the whole first lesson .  

Both siblings get anxious when they can not get to each other.

Salty (German Short haired Pointer Female):  Salty had an incident related to her invisible fence.   She also has not been trained to be confident and calm around her boundaries, and so we have started the coaching with her owners to get her back to enjoying the freedom of her yard:)

Daycare and walking:  Alyssa (the Husky female puppy mentioned above) is our most recent daycare client.  Ollie (a hound mix of some sort, I assume) has been my walking client since late this winter or early spring, and is now a daycare client here.

Boarding, boarding, and more boarding:  Boarding during August has been historically busy and crazy for the month.  We easily do every other month's work in a week.   We did have a few new guests this year Carlus (beagle and housemate to Bachus), Bachus (Great Pyrenes),  Polly (Chocolate Lab), and Lucey (Golden Lab and housemate to Fenway, Standard Poodle).   We also had regular guests Petey (Giant Schnauzer who recently passed away due to some health difficulties), Magoo CD (Great Dane and Petey's housemate), Roxy (Great Dane and Harley's housemate), Harley (Great Dane and Roxy's housemate), Bogey (cutest Beagle that you will ever meet), and more.   Plus we had all of the above going on as well.

Maine and New Hampshire Dog Training
Mannerly Mutts Dog Training Blog
E-Mail Mannerly Mutts