July Summer Parties

    

 

I hope your having as much fun this summer as I am! I only wish I had the energy to do more! Here is just a highlight of some of our grand adventures this month. Most of you have seen pictures on FB so I'll spare you the long details but just to see it all in one place, I'll share a list of adventures.

• July 1st was my birthday weekend and I had family come to stay. That was an adventure in itself!
• We took Azul and the grandkids on a kayaking adventure.
• Bon fire with family in the backyard
• The family and I went to a great pet friendly beach in Escanaba, MI. (twice!)
• We went camping at a campground (I haven't done this in over 10 yrs) and on a holiday weekend!
• We hiked up a to see a small waterfall.
• Roz met and played with SD Willow on the beach.
• Azul met and played with a little girl on the beach during one of our kayaking trips.
• Our Wednesday Group hiked around Little Fumee Lake, my first time this year and Roz's first time ever.
• The dogs and I made a road time to visit the family in Illinois, Roz's first road trip with us.
• Chasing a 4-wheeler with 3 dogs around a pony pasture, without ponies of course.
• Roz went with me to an amusement park birthday party and rode a carousel, train, and wagon ride. (Her first non-pet friendly place.)
• Azul and I went to a large fundraiser with a petting zoo, pony rides, lots of food trucks, and a crowd of around 3,000 people! Thankfully I enlisted the help of a dear friend!
• Roz's first restaurant trip was a very crowded bar where the fundraiser was held!
• Roz met and played with Betsy Ross, one of Azul's Besties! Yes, Azul got to play too!
• Both dogs accompanied me into the gas station bathroom, a non-pet friendly place, as working dogs in a tandem team.
• We explored a totally new trail based on the advice of a friend with our Wednesday Walking Group.
• Roz has accompanied many other teams out into public doing Public Access Training.
• Azul continues to work for shopping trips, Dr Office, and now Physical Therapy appts.
• Roz has begun training for Migraine Alerts.

And this doesn't begin to list all that we are doing at the Training Center!

The Big Question...

I keep getting asked if Roz is my new SDiT and will be replacing Azul. Since you are my inner circle, you know that Roz came to me with the plan of finishing up her training and moving on to her new home. And I know many of you have thought that I would fall in love with her and be unable to give her up. So here are the current feelings on this matter!  LOL

I'd be in denial if I said that I haven't thought about keeping Roz. Here are some of the thoughts I've considered.

• Roz is super bonded to me and might struggle with yet another household transition.
• Roz is much easier to motivate than Azul and would be easier for me to train and manage.
• Roz loves to do tasks such as DPT that Azul simply doesn't like to do.
• Azul has shown that he is happy sitting back and watching Roz train and work for me as long as he gets to keep going out for "real" work to keep me safe.
• Azul and Roz are becoming quite bonded and Azul might miss having her here.
• Azul would not be happy working in all environments, especially hot, outdoor environments such as the recent birthday party.

I could probably go on if I had more of a memory. But bottom line is, I don't want to 2 SD's and I'm not going to retire Azul who is still more than capable of working in 99% of the environments I'd want him to work in. I don't want to have to choose which SD am I taking out today. I don't want to always have to leave one home. And I don't want to always have 2 dogs in tow everywhere I go.

Here is the hard part of ... finding Roz a New Home!

I'm going to be extremely picky! I want Rosalind to be successful because she has so much incredible potential. I'm willing to take time the time to find the perfect fit. But I do want your help!

These are the things I'm looking for:

• Disabled handler with a support system that can help the handler with meeting Roz's needs for physical, mental, and social wellbeing.  
• Someone that lives near me or another Canine Coach where they can continue to receive support. 
• If the person does not live close, they must have the ability and commitment to do regular zoom sessions as needed and willing to spend 4-6 days (at their expense) staying near me for basic teamwork training to insure a good fit.
• Committed to Force Free, Aversive Free Training with the understanding that ownership would revert back to me at any time if they were unable to manage her with FF methods.
• Willingness pay the account balance of the former owner which is $1800. (Roz is a $6,000 puppy with nearly 2 yrs of training under her belt and has already been spayed with good vet care her whole life. For what they would be getting, I don't think that price is unreasonable.)

Here are some red flags that I won't bend on:

• Person states they can't afford a trainer, but can afford the initial cost. (You all know that there are people out there including all the Canine Coaches who support plenty of owners for FREE. Therefore this is commonly an excuse meaning they are not willing to do the work.)
• Person states they don't believe in using food as reinforcement. (Yes, I do try to phase food out in favor of functional reinforcement, but people who state this typically don't even know what functional reinforcement is.)
• Person states that prong, shock collar, etc doesn't really hurt the dog. (I'm not even explaining this because you all know how I feel.)

If you know anyone who meets these requirements and is looking for a Service Dog, please have them reach out to me.

Training Center News

This is the case of No News is Good News! Not much is happening here, except we've been busy but starting to slow down during summer allowing me to catch up on some of my other projects.

We have 3 Trainers lending a hand a the Training Center now. I'm the main one who is seeing clients most of the time. 

Tammy Carlson, owner of Pawsitively Pups is helping with all the Nosework Club training and will be doing more in the future. Tammy and her dogs compete in AKC and UKC nosework and agility and they are taking a new interest in Trieball. 

Check out their FB Page to see more about her crew of Super Sniffers: https://www.facebook.com/PawsitivelyPups

Faith Weber has been assisting me with classes and helping the Crazy2Calm Canine Coaches with registration for classes for awhile now. Faith has really stepped up to help me when I opened the Training Center. She helped me locate, transport and set up supplies so we could open. And every since she's done anything I've asked of her including joining me in taking the Ultimate Nosework Class taught by Jack Fenton. Faith's dog Echo is a Service Dog in Training that is working through the end of Crazy Adolescence. 

Without these 2 helpers, I wouldn't be able to do what I do at the Training Center! Their introductions were long overdue.

I've finished up Jack's Nosework Class and "this close" to finishing up the Trauma Informed Practitioner Class with Dr. Holly Tett at Paws Up Dogs. Then if I get a spare moment I'm retaking the Advanced Animal Behaviors Class with Karolina Westland at ILLIS ABC. It's been 3 yrs since I received the Certificate so I thought it was time to renew since so much has changed. I've also been working my way through class after class at the Grisha Stewart Academy. There is loads of awesome information there from leading experts in the dog training industry. The monthly membership to become a Diamond Member is well worth the price if you're a Canine Coach looking for more advanced training that you can do in small chunks.

I also have to give a shout out to the many Canine Coaches that help with all the various groups and classes. I know that since I opened the Training Center I haven't been available as much as I used to be. But everyone else has stepped up and taking up my slack. So Thank You very much!

We've been relaxing and hosting Summer Parties between vacations but we've got some big plans for August and September.