Daycare and Boarding Videos

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Gus and Gator et al

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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!

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Client Updates at 3/25/2010

Mandy is an adorable lab/golden/hound mix that was rescued from an unfortunate family situation. Mandy came in with what the owner felt was leash aggression. The actual problem appears to be an over reaction to dogs who tell her to back off. Mandy gets so worked up wanting to play, and then her defense drive kicks in if a dog says "uh no, I don't really know you that well". This is because Mandy goes full tilt boogey into a reactive greeting. She is really a very easy dog. This is a dog that has shown a few aggressive behaviors, but mostly reactive behaviors. Mandy is going to be returned home to a more active and free life, and with much more trust in her handlers:) She goes home at the end of next week, and her owner is traveling down from Canada to do a few days of training with us. Mandy's owner had been working it her on socialization at home, but found the very strong Mandy too physically taxing to continue doing it her self and be safe. Mandy was very close to being returned to the rescue before her owner finding Mannerly Mutts. This would have been a real shame, because ultimately dog and owner will be fine together, and they both love each other.

Zoey is a 15 month old GSD female who has gotten about four bites in on dogs. She had a traumatic experience herself early on, so some of what she shows is defense drive. Since the nips have been all around the ears or so, this dog is trying to show some self control. Zoey has displayed resource guarding issues around other dogs, and has only had minimal training previously which did not result in a dog that could be walked easily around the neighborhood on leash. The family has had many dogs in the past, but had just needed to do the minimum in training. Zoey has an optomistic future, as her owner has been working diligently with her. Here is what her owner recently wrote to us after lesson 2 " We encountered some dogs in yards on our walk and I was successful making her sit and down instead of barking and pulling. It was wonderful." Zoey's owner is very committed, even though she was pressured by family to give Zoey up. Due to the committment displayed, we are very optomistic about Zoey's future and remaining within the family (and the family liking her). Zoey's owner found out about us due to a past client recomending us.

Kitty is a super cute 6 month old Springer. Her owner brought her here because she thought Kitty was fearful, but Kitty just got the puppy jitters when someone scared her at the office. Kitty spends a lot of time with her owner at work. This cute Springer girl actually ends up being a confident well rounded puppy, who is enjoying training very much. She is going to turn out just fine. Springers are so darned cute, no wonder they almost always lord it over their owners:)

Nellie is a hound mix that was a bit fearful, and used to running away from her owners when let loose. She is coming along very nicely, and I see her owners all the time working with her in the neighborhood. It makes me smile just to think about it. Another dog that will do just fine.
Just about all the cases above have something in common, besides the fact that these are all female dogs. None of these dogs were ever formally shown how to follow. Nellie when inside the house or on the leash, actually does follow her owners gladly. It's off the leash when she can be a naughty girl, and scare her owners by running out of sight for minutes at a time. The puppy Springer, Kitty, is just in the perfect place to learn this right now. Zoey and Mandy were very much in need of this to keep their homes. Both dogs are already happier now that the conflict is gone, and the handler or owners can give them more freedom and exercise.

And today, Miss Gigi is coming to board, and give Mandy some pointers on what she has learned about proper canine etiquette!

Maine and New Hampshire Dog TrainingMannerly Mutts Blog

The Disappearing Collar Mystery OR Collar Quality

Gigi (female APB that boards here), Jack (my Doberman boy), Robert (my lovely husband), and myself were on a beautiful woodsy fall walk. Gigi had on her metal choke collar and was dragging a lead just in case we ran into someone. These are our woods back there, and every now and then a hiker or hunter is passing through.

So Gigi and Jackie are playing in the woods having a great old time as usual. Gigi is one of Jack's favorites, when I notice there is no leash or collar (metal) attached to Gigi anymore. She hadn't yelped or acted stuck once. The collar fit properly and snugly (in other words not an easy collar to slip off, even with human hands). The only thing I can think of is that one of the links must have worn and the collar just snapped off in the woods!!

Luckily, this is a dog that has been trained, so we weren't worried about a flight risk or anything. In fact, I should have just pocketed the collar and leash on the walk since she is so well behaved. I just like to have the leash handy with her due to her past experiences. That way I can be more relaxed if I stop and talk to someone, unexpectedly.

Had Gigi been in a stressful city situation where she normally does not do well OR this had been a green dog, this would have been BIG trouble. The collar that Gigi had on had been purchased from a pet store in Portland. The thing about buying from pet stores, in general, is that though they carry these collars, they aren't very knowledgeable about the importance of selling quality. Herm Sprenger is a name normally associated with collar quality in these types of metal training collars. The chains are formed well, and prongs are smoothed out. The cheap imports that many retail pet supply stores buy are from china, and who knows what kind of metal they may be made out of. If you are going to use these collars, please educate yourself on the brands to use, and the metals that are used. It is pretty rare for a collar to snap like this (and like I said, that is the only thing that I can envision happening since she was in our sight the whole time). By the way the price differential between a quality metal training collar and a cheap collar is not enough to sway the informed consumer. It's quality in the performance as well as the stability and material uses. If you have ever tested a substandard collar against a Herm Sprenger, you will know that what I say is true.

Perhaps once the leaves clear, I will find Gigi's collar and leash LOL. Until then, the case of the vanishing collar will remain a mostly unsolved mystery.

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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-

Gigi and Paddington Show They Are Friends Now

After about two and a half days, Gigi and Paddington were doing this:




Instead of Gigi doing this, when she first came here (seems so long ago now):



We are also happy to report that Gigi and Paddington's relationship has remained friendly after they went home. These are the results that make dog training so worth it!!! We are able to use Gigi's obedience skills to calm and control her, while she figures out another dog means her no harm. Equally important, is the other dog does not see or experience anything physically negative from Gigi, and that puts them at ease and able to befriend her as well.

Your dog experiencing behavioral issues? Call Maine's Dog Trainer for your Maine Dog Trainng needs. Robin Rubin of Mannerly Mutts is glad to help. Call 207-361-4395 or e-mail mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com for your Maine Dog Trainer.

Gigi Has a New Family Friend

Paddington is a dog in Gigi's Owners' family. Previously, Gigi has not been able to warm up to or accept Paddington. Paddington is a super soft and submissive dog, and so he had come to be very worried about Gigi.

So we all decided to try a little camp Mannerly Mutts retreat for the Gigi and Paddington together. Sometimes the nervous energy of the owner or the stress of doing something so new and hard for the owner's learning curve (and Gigi is a tough little personality) can dampen the progress that owners can make on their own. In this case, that had come to a successful point, but had a hard time passing that one barrier.

The very first night, we started Gigi out in the crate with Paddington on the outside. Paddington was pretty worried about being in the same room with her. She did well once a couple of tantrums were over with, she stopped with the vocalizations that told me she was very worried about this as well. So then she was allowed out of the crate but with a muzzle on. Overall pretty good, some rushes at Paddington but very mild and obviously she was just trying to make a point.

I have noticed that Gigi is worried about dogs bigger than her. While we can never really get into the dogs' mind, from observation of her behavior, it seems she has the "I will get you first or I will be sure that I can push you around first syndrome". The handler needs to teach Gigi that this dog that she is meeting is not a threat, and therefore does not need her "treatment". The problem with the treatment being, is it's a big barrier for friendships with the other dog even being possible when she is acting like a nut. And not a nut in a good over the top play way either, but by trying to pile drive the other dog and dominate him or her.

Equally important in this case was to have Paddington's trust that Gigi was going to act appropriately (or as appropriately as a totally socially challenged dog can act) and that he can enjoy her and not worry about her. So once the muzzle on, we worked on some positive interactions. The first night, Paddington was like "no way am I going to trust this little black girl". Day two, he did not seek to hide from her as much, but I had to make him come up the stairs and be with us. By this time, Gigi had made her good intentions known to Paddington by doing the socially challenged Gigi back leg kick. Normally in most dogs, this is a warning move, but much experience with Gigi has taught me that this is HER invitation to play and be her friend. Gigi has not to date gone back on her friendship promise once this move rears it's head. Still Paddington, not familiar with this other Gigi, needed a bit more time before he could consider the friendship possibilites.

Day two and a half, Paddington is looking pretty comfortable around Gigi. His tail wags high when she is around, play bows are offered by Paddington, and he does not look to uncomfortable by her over the top "method" and play style. He is beginning to trust that this won't end badly for him now. Paddington starts coming up the stairs to seek out Gigi and everyone's company on his own steam today. There are about six or seven play sessions with Gigi and Paddington involved with each other. Gigi has tried humping him a few times, and has been discouraged from that particular activity. (I should also mention that on day one, Gigi tried to hump my husband). Especially when Gigi wants to play, and Paddington is lying there, she tries to hump him when she gets discouraged that he is not moving. Other dogs here have told her to bugger off, but Paddington being unusually soft and submissive does not. So the owners and handlers need to tell her to cut that out (just in case, it doesn't mean a dog is going to do anything bad, but avoiding this can cut down on a lot of future problems. Other dogs can just misunderstand this move and attack).

Gigi is very intrigued with Paddington's hair as well. I have just realized that she hasn't met any real long haired dogs here. She seems to seek through his fur, as if to confirm there is actually a dog in there LOL. Crossing my fingers that this goes as swimmingly on the way home:)

RECENT BOARDERS

Magical Days

In working with dogs, there are so many magical days. I normally forget to document most of them. Then there are times where I didn't bother to get the camera, just wanting to stay in the moment. Yesterday was just such a day:)

It started with our boarder and behaviorally challenged, Gigi, waking up. Gigi is so much fun, the very first thing she wants to do each morning is play. Play with doggie companions who are game for such play:) So she tippy tappies around on her toes identifying each playmate and making "inquiries". Gigi is also a student of play, as she had never done it before with a dog. I notice she studies hard what the other dogs are doing, and then tries it herself. I noticed her doing this, when she figured every likes to chase each other. Then she didn't know what came next after she got to them though LOL. Then she started figuring out about boxing, wrestling, and mock mouth fighting.

So yesterday, Leon was fetching my slippers, and it finally clicked to Gigi. You chase the thing, you get the thing, and then you run and get chased. Her and Leon had such a wonderful time doing this. Gigi even brought the slipper back a few times as Leon was trained to do. You have to watch her though, as she is likely to rip and shred, and these were my good slippers:)

Gigi and Jack also got to playing for a little bit. Jack's been teaching her that mock mouth fighting does not mean giving pressure to sharp teeth by whining at her when she is too rough. So Gigi had a heavenly morning right up her alley and gave my dogs a bit of entertainment as well.

Yesterday was a horrid weather day. It started with snow, and by the time Roxy and Harley, two Great Dane clients, needed walking, it was sleeting out. So I put on my boots with the screws in the bottom (works great by the way) and leashed up Leon with his pack on. We walked there with Leon being reintroduced to the concept of heeling to a client's house, as his knees have been doing really well lately. Leon and I got the Great Danes and went down to the beach, which was at low tide.

The dogs really had fun despite the adverse conditions. Well everyone except Roxy who has a horror of all that is damp. She does not do wet, and so she just stuck close by me as Harley and Leon tore up the beach. The good thing about bad weather days, is that the beach is totally empty even at low tide!! My hands were numb by the time we went back, because I had to take the gloves off to get all the dogs leashed up again.

When I went home it was time for training. I did fetch exercises with Jack around the worst distraction I could think of, bread that he couldn't eat while training. I had him also doing fronts through two English muffins lying on the floor, and needed to concentrate on fetch and give while auto sitting and staying next to two muffins. A whole lot of training has been going around things he tends to be an aggressor to Leon over in order to increase his tolerance threshold and obedience threshold around those things. In the meantime, and until a semblance of that goal is reached, he is limited as to his total freedom that he used to have in the house.

Leon was next, and we did his practice retrieve. He understands getting and retrieving keys, gloves, scarves, remote controls, and his toys. Now I am starting working him on a bowl. We also did his freestyle dance moves, which he loves. I think I will start this with Jack as well.

And thus ended a very productive and fun day. All the dogs slept very well that night:)

Glorious Snow

Leon and Jack (aka Splash the Lab)

Gigi sprints out of the woods.

Preston the Cocker Spaniel, Gigi the American Pitbull Terrier, Leon our own Red Dobe Boy, Josh is one Black Lab, and Pluto is the other Black Lab

Josh, Gigi, Preston, and Splash (aka Jack)

Gigi sprints past Hannah as Josh looks on.

OMG No Power

This is the absolute worst week to be without power. We have been out since Thursday. Luckily we can heat with propane. Right now I am at a nice neighbor's house, who also has no power, but does have a generator!! Or at least I think they have no power, hard to say. I will have to listen for their generator when I leave.

Sadly we have well water, and the pump works off of electricity. So that means no water for flushing the toilets and that sort of thing, except that our nice neighbor let's us fill up so we can do those things. We are now accepting the offer of a shower.

The worst thing is that I have Gigi, the American Pit Bull Terrier (assuming that's her breed) and two labs that she has not met, Josh and Jack. Now normally the whole house would be open, and we could split up certain groups of dogs until they knew each other better. Due to the situation, it's been a bit more of a challenge last night and today. Dog willing , we will get our electricity tonight, but some people said it could be as much as five days away yesterday.

What a disaster!! We have had to become quite inventive. We almost had no propane as delivery was supposed to come Monday (tomorrow) so we had to sweat it out yesterday until about 5 PM. It was the most glorious thing to see the propane truck pull up, as we only had four gallons left. We went through nine gallons last night and today so far, so that might put it in perspective. We were sleeping in our long johns, outer layer, and jackets/hats/gloves during the evening with our three Dobermans packed around us.

Need your dog trained call 207-361-4395 or in case of no electricity 508-735-8702. And again with electricity one could e-mail mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com

Gigi Loves to Cuddle

Girlfriends hanging out together. The dog that looks like a black American Pitbull Terrier is Gigi. The small female German Shepherd is Oona. And the sleeping old lady Doberman with harness is my own Jazzabelle!!

Silent Saturday

Group Photos

Oona's Last Lesson But Not Visit

I don't know how I didn't get any Oona pictures during this time. We were doing a lot of work in these lessons, and so I don't think I ever got any downtime to think about it. I rectified this in our last lesson. She is a beautiful dog, and she comes from these breeders in Springfield New Hampshire:

http://www.selectshepherds.com/

I think they would be very pleased in the home that they selected for Oona. On her last lesson we were working on her abilities not only come in with the ball, but drop it in her owner's hand. That is coming. She is pleased enough to bring the ball to your feet for now.

Her "place" command is really starting to come along awesome (switching up locations and different things that are places), and we started directing her between two places. I also showed the owners how to start a jump, and then incorporate that into the exercise. Oona was beat after the lesson longing for those long stay exercises we used to do LOL. She has a very active lifestyle at home, so training is not the only time she gets out and uses her legs. It was very cool that we got to do some different stuff once the obedience was on it's way. Great job guys and gals!! I love when my clients are this into their dog.

Oona became very attached to Gigi when she boarded here for a few days. It was as if she was her long lost mother. Gigi endured the adolescent adoration for her, and she couldn't shake Oona LOL.

Gigi Update

Well we had the bump that I had talked about in Gigi's home return. Owner is more experienced in some important areas due to practice, practice, and more practice. The detail work of leash handling et is hard to get owners to get used to as if it is second nature. Timing and consistency are so key in a case like this. Actually for any dog, but when you have an unstable dog due to neglect and lack of education, you want to move forward at a good pace. Or at least move forward .

Dogs who have a dominant streak like Gigi are not bad, they have no idea that they should not be in charge. This is especially true if there life was very limited early on. It's a great recipe for disaster in a dog like this.Gigi's owner has started his private lessons after the follow ups now. The understanding that things need to go in steps and at a certain pace for Gigi are being acted upon now. The owner is also now being able to read Gigi much better. Between that and the better handling, we should start to see some results in Gigi's biggest problem.That is walking by a dog on a city street without reacting at all. We want her to start to become comfortable with that, and sure that she is safe when she walks past a dog. She still does not feel that way. And it would be great if her relaxed tail would start to show up in the city. That day will be a major victory. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Gigi has been able to walk with the owner's dad's dog, and lie about three feet from him without being out of control. The other nice victory would be for her to start to accept the dogs her owner knows as acceptable to her.

Oops and one more thing, and a warning about anyone letting their dog deflect or bite on the leash. This can turn into something else entirely once you are doing close work with a dog like this. In Gigi's four to five years she has learned that lunging gets her out of what she does not want to do (or away from a dog), chasing, and deflecting (not due to her current owners, but due to her past owners). Once that work becomes close up, in her mind, legs and hands are fair game too. Part of getting this to extinct is just getting her more comfortable with situations that put her into a panic. Gigi does not think of doing these things unless she is panicking. The other part is handling the leash and her correctly to stop her panicks before they start. This also eliminates the likely hood of deflecting. Yelling at her more excites her to increase the confrontation, so with a dog like this you want to be very business like and calm. When she does the right thing, and especially if she does not try and deflect, you want to point that out to her with much praise. Gigi just was never taught that it's not okay to do these things.

It's not that she can't learn. She is a difficult personality in a dog with her stubborness combined with cuteness. She is also dominant and bossy by nature.She is a tough balancing act for a novice training owner. You need to push her towards the distractions, but not too fast or too much before she can handle what she was doing before. You need A LOT of practice around things that will cause her to not want to perform well. And you need to be able to read her well. It's a tuff job for the owner. Gigi, however, is well worth it. And if we can all stick this out, will be a great dog in the end both in the house and in public. Again cross your fingers for us.

Gigi Sleep Over

I have been in just the most awful mood lately. Between my dogs who are enormously cute, and this Gigi who is beside my bed doing her tippy tappy happy dance combined with the "come play with me noises", how can a bad mood survive?

I mean really? Thank God for Dog.

Gigi-Part 2 Of Portsmouth Video 7/21

Gigi-First Attempt at Owner Introduction to Other Dog

So right up until the have the dogs meet went okay. Then three attacks. Gigi does have a muzzle on, so she can't really do anything with her teeth. Still don't really want her to think it's game on as usual.

They walked together with Gigi on lead. Some nips were ignored which sometimes can be no big deal, but you know, with a dog like Gigi I like to be really sure.