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There is a show business saying; "Never work with kids or animals."
It’s certainly true if you’re worried about always performing well and never being embarrassed. Any seasoned parent will tell you that kids do and say the craziest things. I’ve lost track of how many times my kids have done or said something that made me look like an idiot. Just this morning, I was taking a video of a dog I am working with, so I could send his family an update on his progress. Right at the end, my little boys started arguing in the background-- over cereal. Why? Because they are brothers and they find ANY reason to argue. Guess what, I still sent the video. I just added an apology for the argument at the end. This is my life. I’m real about it. Do you know what else I’m real about? I’ll let you in on a secret. My dogs aren’t perfect. Yes, my dogs can do some really cool things. They better be able to - my daughter Lizzie and I are trainers. But they have bad days and so do we. Sometimes I think that our clients believe that we are magicians. But we are regular people who have very real dogs that have very real personality quirks. It’s those quirks, those difficulties that test us as trainers that make us better at helping our clients. I was talking with one of my trainers, Kaytie, about this the other day. We were talking about some of the training issues we have had with our own dogs and how that helps us to relate so closely with our clients. So often, people walk in with their dogs and feel like they have to apologize for their dog’s behavior. They are embarrassed. They are afraid we are going to judge them. Honestly, most of the time we are thinking about how we have been there. We weren’t always trainers. We understand what you’re going through. That’s why we do what we do. Is your dog not listening to you? Are you being dragged down the street when going for a walk? Does your dog jump on everyone that comes for a visit? Is your dog stealing food off the counter? Is your dog aggressive at times and you are worried he will hurt someone? Let us show you how we can help you have a great dog. The first step is to schedule your free, no obligation evaluation. Click here to schedule your evaluation online now. You pick a day and time that works best for you. A trainer will meet with you and your dog (and anyone else that you would like involved in training) and go over some history, find out your training goals, and discuss training options. We can usually provide you with some free tips to help you start seeing immediate results. You can find out more about all our training options and get any questions you have answered. There is no pressure or obligation to buy anything. Here is the link to schedule your free evaluation: https://www.cleverk9mi.com/schedule-evaluation-session.html Happy Training!
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Do you have a special one?
I do! I have a few actually. Don’t get me wrong. They’re all special. But these are the ones that need just a bit more - a bit more help, a bit more encouragement, a bit more guidance, just a bit more. This week I have been reading over my youngest son’s MET (Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team) Report in preparation for his IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, be grateful. I’m referring to the overwhelming world of special education. I’ve been swimming in a sea of words and acronyms I don’t quite understand, and I certainly can’t remember. What I do know is that my little boy needs help. He doesn’t learn the same way that most kids his age do. So, I’m preparing for the upcoming meeting with the school teachers, counselors, and therapists to come up with a better plan to meet my son’s needs. Thankfully, this isn’t my first time through the special education jungle. My husband and I have been parenting special needs kids for over 20 years. Even with my previous experience, this is going to be a tough one. That’s OK, life is about learning and growing, and my family and I are ready for the challenge. But how does this relate to dog training? Well, sometimes life gives you easy stuff and sometimes there’s more to the story. Some clients come in with perfect little puppies that seem to never do anything wrong. They love everyone and everything. They are not afraid of anything. They go through puppy class and then enjoy the rest of their life next to their owner’s side being perfect and sweet. I have kids that remind me of that. They are never really in trouble, get good grades, and make responsible decisions. Then there are those that are not as easy and need more help. The clients that come in with puppies or dogs that have tougher stories. Maybe they pull on the leash, bark at other dogs, are terrified of the neighbors, charge out the front door, run in the opposite direction when you call them, and try to bite the mailman. They need a bit more - a bit more help, a bit more encouragement, a bit more guidance. Our job is to help you come up with a plan for your dog no matter how much help you need and walk side by side with you, helping you and your dog. Are you ready to learn and grow? Are you ready for the challenge? Let us show you how we can help you have a great dog. The first step is to schedule your free, no obligation evaluation. Click here to schedule your evaluation online now. You pick a day and time that works best for you. A trainer will meet with you and your dog (and anyone else that you would like involved in training) and go over some history, find out your training goals, and discuss training options. We can usually provide you with some free tips to help you start seeing immediate results. You can find out more about all our training options and get any questions you have answered. There is no pressure or obligation to buy anything. Here is the link to schedule your free evaluation: https://www.cleverk9mi.com/schedule-evaluation-session.html Happy Training, As I sit down to write this today, I am distracted by some of the random thoughts that have gone through my scattered brain lately.
I keep returning to a moment last week during a training session when one of my trainers told a client that this is the first job that he's had that he loves. He actually enjoys coming to work every day. That made my day. That isn’t to say that my trainer doesn’t have bad days here. I’ve witnessed some of his bad days myself. But it sets my mind at ease to know that my trainers like their jobs. There’s more than that though. A big part of success in anything is your mindset. Where is the focus? That’s why life coaches recommend that you start your day writing down 3 things that you are grateful for. It’s a great way to set a positive tone for the day. If you’ve been reading my e-mails for a while, you’ve probably already guessed that I’m all keeping a Grateful Log. If you read about my bullet journal a couple of weeks ago, you might have even guessed where I write it. So, the question I always write here is: what does this have to do with dog training? A few things, actually: 1. One of the first things we work on when training a dog is focus. Just like our focus makes a difference in our success, a dog’s focus makes a difference in theirs. We need their attention to be on the right thing to make progress. 2. An important key to every training session is to end it on a positive note. Even if everything else about the day has gone wrong, training needs to be a good thing to your dog. It’s their job. Always make the end of the training session enjoyable, so the dog wants to work next time. 3. This one has to do with service dogs. We get a lot of questions from people worried that the dogs in service work don’t get to enjoy life being a dog. That’s not the case at all. A properly trained dog loves its job. A service dog would rather be working than doing anything else. It’s not that service dogs don’t get downtime- time to relax or play. It’s just that a service dog that loves his job is not happy doing anything else. The concept is the same whether you are trying to have a better mindset yourself or you have a dog that you need to train. It’s about having the right focus. Is your dog not listening to you? Are you being dragged down the street when going for a walk? Does your dog jump on everyone that comes for a visit? Is your dog stealing food off the counter? Is your dog aggressive at times and you are worried he will hurt someone? Let us show you how we can help you have a great dog. The first step is to schedule your free, no obligation evaluation. Click here to schedule your evaluation online now. You pick a day and time that works best for you. A trainer will meet with you and your dog (and anyone else that you would like involved in training) and go over some history, find out your training goals, and discuss training options. We can usually provide you with some free tips to help you start seeing immediate results. You can find out more about all our training options and get any questions you have answered. There is no pressure or obligation to buy anything. Here is the link to schedule your free evaluation: https://www.cleverk9mi.com/schedule-evaluation-session.html Happy Training!  We celebrated a big birthday last week.
Zack, my husky/ lab mix turned 13. I’m going to let you in on a secret. Zack is a feisty old fella, and he’s starting to drive me a little bit crazy. Zack has always been a pretty good dog. He has never been pushy or needy. He was always happy just to be with his family. He has never been one to jump up on people, chew our stuff, bolt outdoors, or cause any trouble. He is good with kids, cats, and other dogs. Zack learned at a young age that he wasn’t allowed on the furniture, so he never tried. Even when we changed the rules a few years later and started allowing our dogs up on the couch with us, Zack would not climb up. Zack was off leash trained at a young age, even ignoring people walking past with dogs on a leash or random children running through our yard. All around, Zack has been an easy dog. But in these last couple of months, I’ve noticed some changes in my easy-going, old guy. It's as if he has decided that he doesn't have to follow the rules anymore because he's old. Lately, Zack has been barking a lot. He barks at random noises. Noises that never would have bothered him before. Often, he barks and runs to the door as if he heard someone knock, but no one is there. Zack also barks to get my attention to go out - a lot. He needs to go more often than he used to and he is not as patient about holding it. Apparently, increased urgency isn't just common in older people. Who knew? When Zack is out in the yard, I have to call him several times and often I have to walk toward him before he responds. It’s as if he is completely ignoring me - or he doesn't hear me until the treat bag opens. He’s never done that before. And my personal favorite, the other day I walked into the living room to find Zack curled up comfortably in the armchair. He looked up at me as if he was almost interested in whether or not I cared if he were on the furniture. I smiled at him, and he went back to relaxing where he was. So, here’s the thing, I can train Zack, so his new behaviors are better - less bothersome. The old saying, "You can’t teach an old dog new tricks," is not true at all. But one of the first rules in dog training is to rule out medical issues first. And with Zack, being that his behaviors are new and consistent with old age, it makes more sense to use training with accommodations. As dogs get older, their hearing changes so sounds are perceived differently. Zack can still hear, but things don’t sound the same as they used to. It is essential to be patient with him when reminding him not to bark at strange noises and to come when called. An important key to dog training is that it should never be cookie cutter. There are a lot of techniques that work with most dogs, but a trainer should look at each dog as an individual and find a plan that works for him. I’m going to let you in on another secret. I act like Zack is driving me crazy, but I love that old guy. In fact, I have a huge soft spot for old dogs in general. Zack’s geriatric ways bring me a lot of joy. Do you need a personalized approach to training your dog? Let us show you how we can help you. The first step is to schedule your free, no obligation evaluation. Click here to schedule your evaluation online now. You pick a day and time that works best for you. A trainer will meet with you and your dog (and anyone else that you would like involved in training) and go over some history, find out your training goals, and discuss training options. We can usually provide you with some free tips to help you start seeing immediate results. You can find out more about all our training options and get any questions you have answered. There is no pressure or obligation to buy anything. Here is the link to schedule your free evaluation: https://www.cleverk9mi.com/schedule-evaluation-session.html Happy Training! |
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