Oh, did I wake up to an interesting surprise this morning.
Let me tell you the story. But first, I’ll give you some back story. We have a lot of dogs in my family. I’m not going to say how many, but trust me, it’s a lot. My husband’s Golden Retriever is just a good dog. So much so that it’s kind of obnoxious. This dog just turned a year old and walks beautifully on a leash, knows to sit nicely to greet people, and is friendly with everyone he meets. This Golden boy likes to rest next to my husband while he works on the computer and during family meals. He obeys commands well even though my husband has not worked with him as often as he should. None of our other dogs are as easy as my husband’s dog. The rest of our dogs actually took work to train and keep trained. So last night, my husband and I were sitting at our table talking while the dogs rested on the floor all around us. We didn’t notice anything unusual. When it was bedtime, my husband went upstairs first with his dog. My husband turned out the light, and the dog jumped on the bed and waited there until I came up. That’s the routine. A short while later, I went to bed but didn’t turn on the lights, so I didn’t disturb my husband. When I woke this morning, the daylight revealed that my comforter had blue splotches all over it. I was so confused, the spots certainly weren’t there when I made the bed yesterday. Then I went downstairs, and what did I find? Blue pawprints! Everywhere. I followed the trail. The tracks covered one side of the house to the other. Apparently, once we dimmed the lights last evening, my husband’s sweet Golden boy chewed up a blue pen while he was laying at my husband’s feet. The pup was so quiet, we never noticed he was chewing something he wasn't supposed to have. It was dark, so we didn’t see the damage until this morning. We knew we had the culprit because the evidence was all over his paws. It's just one more reason we can't have nice things. The moral of this story is that different dogs need different things. Some dogs are easy to train, like my husband’s dog. Some dogs need a bit more training, like the rest of our dogs. But it’s always important to remember, dogs are dogs, and even the best dog will get into mischief now and then. Do you need help with your dog? Maybe stopping him from pulling so much on the leash when going for a walk or jumping on company every time someone comes to visit. Do you need help keeping your dog from getting into the trash all the time or stealing food off the counters or tables? Is his or her constant barking driving you crazy? Are you worried he is going to hurt someone or something? 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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This week past week, our house and business were bustling with Valentine activities.
There was love in the air. I have young children, and that means helping them prepare Valentine cards for all their classmates. That wasn’t enough for my boys. They made handmade cards for family members regularly during the days leading up to Valentine’s Day. I loved it. Candy, chocolate, cupcakes, and other fun treats showed up in unexpected places all week. It’s a good thing everyone, both at my house and at Clever Canine, has a sweet tooth. One of our creative clients brought in a Valentine craft for us to do with our dogs during one of our classes. Then we did the craft with our daycare dogs and sent the little gifts home with the daycare dogs’ parents. One of my favorite moments was when I walked into my office to find a sweet Valentine gift from my dogs left on my desk. I smiled and thought about how much I love my dogs. It’s probably a little crazy, really. These dogs are family. I let my dogs have quite a few privileges that I think some people would be surprised by. I love my dogs, and I want them near me. I enjoy sharing my space with my dogs. But I’m careful to keep things balanced. I make sure my dogs understand the rules of the house and have structure. With that structure comes the freedom for them to live life along with my family and me. Often, we have people come in to talk to us about what’s going on with their dog, and they seem nervous to tell us that they allow their dog on the furniture, or that their dog sleeps in bed with them, or that they share human food with their dog. A lot of people are worried that we will tell them that they will never be able to have fun with their dog again. Actually, it’s the opposite! If you know how to teach your dogs the rules. If you know how to instill structure, then freedom and fun come with it. Freedom and fun are just some of the rewards of dog training if you are willing to put in the effort. 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! It’s the Super Bowl.
My house and family are ready. We are stocked up on all kinds of snack food and pop. There will be no healthy family meals today. Chips, dip, and pop is fine with me. My kids have been looking forward to this all week. My family has been discussing the teams, the players, the coaches, and the fans. We’ve been watching fun pre-game clips. We are excited about the halftime show. Will there be a tribute to SpongeBob creator, Stephen Hillenburg? Who’s going to have the best commercial this year? The excitement is building. Then there’s the game. I enjoy watching football. Maybe it’s because I relate to the referees. Atlanta won’t be the only place where the referees will be working tonight. My husband and I will be refereeing tonight too. Our house is bustling with seven of our kids, our son’s girlfriend, tons of food, and a whole lot of dogs. Someone needs to make sure they don’t burn down the house, and the dogs don’t eat all our food. We aren’t magicians but do make it work. Here’s the thing, both dog training and parenting are a whole lot like being a referee. We make sure the players follow the rules. We make sure things run as smoothly as we can. It’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s a good one. A big problem I see with people who come to us for help with dog training is that they aren’t consistent with the rules. Many people need help knowing how to communicate effectively with their dog. We can certainly help you with that. We can help you set up the rules. We can help you train. But you need to be like a referee to get good results. Be consistent, and you will be surprised at what your dog can do. 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! |