Having recently talked to a friend about dog quirks, I was reminded that it has been a while since I did a training dog post. Honestly I know little reason for this outside of the unmotivated rut I have been in off and on this winter. But I thought I would take my camera with me as I finished up some off leash training with two of our trainees
Meet Roxy, a soulful, sweet, generally calm, independently-needy girl. We are not sure what she is, but I am guessing possibly a hound mix. Her current and forever owners have had her since the summer and love her to pieces. She came to us because she pulled like a sled dog, lead her owners to her breakfast by the arm in mouth… and overall just needed to learn some personal boundaries.
But how could you resist those eyes??? I admit it was hard for me to not give in to this girl too, but I knew learning some personal boundaries was for her own good. Not everyone has a non existent personal bubble like she. In Roxy’s world you can’t be close enough, you can never have too much love. So that is where we started. I taught her that she could indeed sit on her own and even stay too. That waiting for her food was not so hard afterall. And that her mouth was not the most appropriate way to ask for attention. She came around pretty quickly, and it really was a lot of repetition to help break old habits. Next I had to teach the owners that in order for Roxy to be most comfortable, confident, relaxed, and balanced they needed to practice a bit of “Nothing in Life is Free” philosophy. I am happy to report that they are extremely happy with their new Roxy, and they are now enjoying their walks at the canal and parks.
And now for the complete opposite of Roxy…
Meet Kota, the energizer bunny… okay she really is just a petite little GSP.
Who hardly ever stops moving. This personality trait makes it really hard for this girl to focus, but she came leaps and bounds by the end of the month. The first couple walks were simply about getting her to keep walking with me, in a slightly straight line. She just wanted to zig zag like mad, but eventually she got the hang of it. And she learned that standing still wasn’t so bad
I love this shot. She is much like Luna in that while outdoors she moves, moves moves and if you want to catch any stationary moments you practically have to walk around with the camera up to your eye. This time I believe Kota was stopping to watch the cows.
But quickly was off again. This is one happy puppy and she doesn’t slow down to share her happiness as she approaches she will bounce right on and off you before you know it, but her jumping issues are a work in progress yet. Hopefully we will see this girl back soon to put her on some birds, heaven knows it would be a great outlet for her.
Now it’s time for me to suit up and get my own dogs out in this pathetic rain/snow we are having.
AKG Inspiration 
I have a deep admiration for GSPs. They are just so beautiful and they seem like they would be so much fun to work with. A little nutty perhaps, but I like them that way. 🙂 That last action shot of her is amazing!
You do? I never would have thought it. They are pretty dogs, and she is one petite girl, sweet too just very very much a puppy. Glad you liked the shots, I love that action one, she is just so happy. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
You sure got some great photos. Sounds like two interesting dogs to train. I think maybe Roxy has a bit of Chessie personality in her. 🙂 Kota sure is a pretty girl.
“Nothing in life is free” also came to mind immediately after reading your description of Roxy. Despite how different Gumbo and Ilsa are, we’ve found adopting NILIF to be extremely helpful. Sometimes just having a consistent way to show dogs what the expectations are is all they really need. It’s really neat to watch how much confidence they gain by understanding the rules rather than being confused.
So do you do professional training or just help friends with their dogs?
Great minds think alike? Honestly a majority of our clients really can benefit from more NILIF work, some just seem to get this message more than others. Consistency is key with all dogs, remove as much gray area as possible and they will become much happier, calmer, relaxed dogs as they know what the expectations are.
I professionally train, have been for a couple years. I also can’t help but help friends with their dogs when they ask. 🙂