TIGER the Pitbull/Lab Mix

TIGER

We have made a new friend in TIGER, a one year old male Pitbull/Lab Mix.  He was pulled from a NYC shelter just before he was to be euthanized. Tiger does not yet know basic commands and will excitedly jump while being leashed.  He is treat motivated and very eager to learn. 

 

 

Look at what Tiger is capable of in this video of our first walk with him:

 

CASSIE the Pitbull Update!

CASSIE

Cassie is a work in progress.  She has her issues; animal aggression, leash biting, and she can be a challenge to handle.  She’s quick & strong and prefers to do things her way. 

The following video highlights a very powerful exercise for Cassie, teaching her to listen and follow instructions rather than allowing her to dictate the session.  With the handler in command of training & play, Cassie learns the importance of listening and self- control.  Because of the proximity of the dog’s mouth to your hand, the game of tug is essential to building trust and reinforcing the “OUT” and “LEAVE IT” commands.  Watch for more Cassie updates soon.

JEVIN Update

We walked JEVIN for the second time up on the bike path and took some video.  Take a look:

JEVIN’S Independence Day!

JEVIN's smiling face!

 

When you are inspired to connect with a dog, you find a way to earn trust and form a bond.  Jevin was the first dog to catch our eye at The Putnam Humane Society.  He was hiding behind his igloo, pacing against the back of his kennel.  It has taken quite a bit of time to befriend him.  We started by rewarding calm behavior with high value treats through his kennel fencing.  Jevin is happy to see us now and eagerly greets us at the front of his kennel.  Over the last few weeks, we unlatched his kennel door and opened it slightly to gauge his reaction.  He was always happy and relaxed.  On July 4^th we celebrated Independence Day by walking Jevin for the first time.  We took him to the pond off the bike path, where he ran through the grass like a puppy and trotted into the water. It was a pleasure to see his beautiful face looking at us without a fence barrier.  What a great Independence Day!

CASSIE’S New Friend!

Cassie has been exceptional lately.  She “climbs” onto her bed to be harnessed and walks off the shelter property beautifully.  We took Cassie for her weekly walk to the shopping center where she made a new friend.  This is the side of Cassie that you don’t get to see in the shelter.  She loves people and is happy and confident in public.  In the right home this little girl will thrive.        

EASTER LILY

LILY and the Easter Bunny

 This was our first walk with LILY.  She is a longtime shelter resident who was a bit shy at first, but once comfortable she rolled over for a belly rub!  She walks nicely on the leash and will easily do a “sit” or “down” with a food lure.  We will get to know Lily better and post more soon.  Here is a short video of Lily in action.

 

 

GET ME OUT OF HERE!

Cassie can be a real challenge to get out of the shelter.  We made this video in real-time to demonstrate how we go about setting the right tone for a successful walk.  This was Cassie’s first walk of the day and she happened to be especially excited.  It took 6 minutes to get her from her pen to the road.  This requires patience and consistency, and is essential to prevent Cassie from reverting to her old habits of jumping and leash biting.  Cassie’s motivation and reward for a job well done is a walk to the shopping center.  As you will see at the end of the video, she loves to “climb” onto a post at the shopping center and watch the world go by. 

CASSIE HAS A SPRING TO HER STEP!

Spring is finally here.  Pay no attention to that snow on the ground! 

Now that's a loose leash!

Our last three walks with Cassie have been the best to date.  She was easy to harness and walk off of the shelter property.  We are working on focus and attention exercises with Cassie.  We do this to teach Cassie to look to her handler for direction.  We begin by giving Cassie a simple command (sit, down, climb, place, etc).  She is praised as soon as she obeys the command.  We hold a treat where Cassie can see it.  As soon as she looks up at her handler instead of the treat, she is rewarded with the “take it” command.  She very quickly learned that great things happen when she pays attention to her handler.  We’ve also begun using a long leash during training.  We are increasing our distance from her for “sit”, “down”, and “come” commands. 

Attentive Cassie & some admirers!

A young Cassie admirer

We took her to the shopping center where she socialized with people of all ages.  Cassie is a very popular girl at the shopping center.  She gets a lot of attention for being so well-behaved, and we get the opportunity to train her with many different distractions.  Once back at the shelter we were able to get Cassie to maintain a “down” while several dogs walked by.  This was huge for Cassie.  It was the end of the day when dogs were being moved inside.  There was a lot of barking, and there was Cassie in a relaxed “down” with her ears back and her face soft.  What a great way to end the day!

Cheryl's "How to" for Evian

 

 

Sweet EVIAN

We also visited with Evian.  We practiced her “sit” and “down” commands.  Cheryl posted great instructions on the wall in the kitchen detailing how to get Evian to sit.   For “sit” you rest your hand on her butt and tap twice lightly with 2 fingers.  She gets a treat as soon as her rear hits the floor.  If she is sitting, you can place your hand under her chest and tap twice lightly with 2 fingers to get her into a “down”.  She gets a treat as soon as her chest hits the ground.   This is one smart girl who thrives when given mental stimulation.

The last stop, and the cutest, was meeting Amour’s new puppy “KING”.  He is a loving, sweet puppy.  Congratulations Amour!

 

KING

 

CASSIE IS ON FIRE!

 

In Memory of ALIVIA

This has been a winter like no other.  The staff at The Putnam Humane Society has had their fill of shoveling snow and chopping ice.  The roof is being repaired and there are many new dogs as well as 6 newborn puppies.  Daphne and Sean have been adopted into good homes, and Alivia sadly passed away.  We have the utmost respect for the staff at PHS for all of their hard work and dedication.

RUE and her puppies!

Our first stop today was to see Rue, the Portuguese Podengo Dog and her 6 puppies.  Rue is one of 3 new Podengo dogs at the shelter.  This is a rare breed and it is disturbing that so many have been abandoned in the area the last few years. 

EVIAN

 

Evian was our next stop.  She looked great.  She sat when I placed my hand on her back and tapped lightly 2 times.  Cheryl has done a great job working with Evian.

  

  

CASSIE at the shopping center.

We finally got outside to see Cassie.  She was so excited.  She danced back and forth and barked with excitement.  We haven’t been at the shelter for weeks and Cassie was, shall we say, a bit wired!  Putting her harness on was a challenge, as was getting her off the shelter property.  When we finally got onto the road, Cassie calmed down.  She remembered her sit, down, and heel commands.   Her leash manners were great.  She walked beautifully and never bit at the leash.   We took her to the shopping center where she greeted new people and repeatedly rolled over for belly rubs.   Cassie is a smart girl who knows that if she rolls over, she can slide right out of her harness.   That is why we always attach the leash to Cassie’s harness AND collar.   We’ll write more on Cassie and the other dogs at PHS soon.  For now, think Spring!

BROOKLYN – Learning the “OUT” Command

Brooklyn loves to play tug!

This was our second time working with Brooklyn.  As mentioned previously, Brooklyn has a tendency to jump at her kennel gate as you enter and bite at the leash when you try to attach it to her collar.  By waiting patiently for her to calm down before opening the gate, we easily leashed Brooklyn.   We took her into the training pen and began  a structured game of tug.   Brooklyn was told to “TAKE IT” to begin the tug training game.  She was given the “OUT” command when it was time to drop the tug.  When we give the “out” command, we continue to hold the tug but no longer play with it.  If necessary we repeat the “out” command.  If you no longer engage and are boring to the dog, they will drop the tug.  When Brooklyn responded to the command and dropped the tug, she was immediately rewarded with more tug play or with praise and food reward.  Brooklyn is a smart girl and quickly caught on.  The many reasons for playing tug with a dog are in the November 22, 2010 blog entry called The Power of Tug!!!, by duonoladogtraining.   

To see Brooklyn in action, please watch the video below: