Well the last month has been CRAZY. I cannot get all the seperate blog posts up that i would like to for the events that have occured over the last few weeks but i will try to update in one semi short post!
Some quick good news, we have a new car and i *think* the dogs will like it.
The new Canine Copilot mobile
Well of course we humans know its a holiday weekend but honestly the dogs have no idea. Despite numerous k9 injuries all weekend long (the human actually stayed semi healthy!) we still made the best of what we had. Friday was a quite morning and mom got to celebrate her birthday with a long pack hike. It was peaceful and relaxing. The dogs too enjoyed it even though mom always makes them behave during these things!!!
Obedience and focus is necessary in the Canine Copilot pack
The weekend was filled with an enjoyed balance of outside sun and fresh air and nice quite evenings by the fire in the backyard. As usual the afternoons were doggie nap time
And then back to the wilderness we returned!!!!
Girls
Sometimes words aren’t necessary…….i’m pretty sure the pictures say it all!
I have so much in life to be thankful for, and i’m not sure that i even realize it all yet! My work with canines is amazing, its groundbreaking, and it comes from within me. I feel like i have so much to offer, i just want to yell it from the roof tops……….this is how to live life with your dog!!!!!!! I try to express some of it on here, or in my video’s on youtube but i just don’t think i do it justice. I think, i hope, and from what i’ve heard, i am very capable of communicating it to my clients but i just want to reach more people, let them know that i can ensure they have a better relationship with their dog!
Pack member #10 Emeline
Weiss is our newest member, he was turned over to Life Long Tails and is being fostered by us in hopes we can groom him to be a search dog or detection dog of some nature. He and his brother were pretty shy pups last week when he came home, and weib (pronounced vice) did not know a single thing about how to “talk dog” with other canines. He would growl (yes growl at 12 weeks old) over bones, and challenge the adult dogs in the house without blinking twice. The look of confusion on his face when the stood over him and growled back, or offered a quick snap when approaching too fast when they were sleeping, or even when they play bowed to him in invitation to play he just didn’t get it. 5 days later and Weib play bows and chases the other dogs around the back yard, understands if he puts his ears back he can submit to the other dogs and release pressure from himself, and gathers he has a place in the pack. His barking and whining is now at a minimum as he feels more comfortable with himself as a canine. The difference in him is drastic, he loves to swim, go on hikes with the shepherd girls, search for cadaver and play fetch. What my pack of dogs can do is teach a pup how to be himself, they are miracle workers! Now don’t get me wrong my dogs are not perfect, they each have there own flaws like we all do but my pack has helped rehab hundreds of aggressive, neglected, abused, or plain confused pooches over the years. One on one with my clients they are impressive and provide the stability that is needed when i work with other peoples crazy canines, but as a pack, as my group of dogs in my house they are a group of educators, a collaboration of canines fit to help anyone with me, their leader in front. I’m not sure why i call them my canine copilot pack, the name just stuck around a few years ago and it fits. The pack is ever changing as we see dogs come and go but they are right there beside me every step of the way. Follow you, follow me, my canine copilot pack has built a reputation for themselves and they are ready to help!
If you are having problems with your canine and would like help please email or call us!!! Check us out online http://www.EliteInstinctCanine.com
My cosmic girls, that has a ring to it doesn’t it? Well they know they are cosmic, i mean they save lives right? And to make it better they are so gosh darn cute doing it!
Cosmic. Relaxing after the find
Last weekend was great, the girls worked problems 5 days out of the week and i really saw good progress with the quick refind and fast long barking. Whew i think my hand hurts from writing so many training log entries!
Epic
My girls are truly truly cosmic.
As always the girls impress me when day after day i ask so much of them! Just a short video clip of last weekends fun time after of course a day of work. More updates to follow!
Snow, cold temperature, and wind………..it’s defiantly still winter!! The girls didn’t care they were just happy to have some good training days ahead of them. Friday we headed to Hancock to work with the dog corp boys and get both girls some quick working problems.
My girls
Eme did great, the snow was over my knees but she plowed through like a champ and got her subject. It would have been a good refind too if mom hadn’t walked into a pricker bush and poked her eye!!! Ohhh well it was still great!
Finally done working
Saturday we moved on to building training in Vestal at an hold veterinary hospital. The girls both did amazing especially after the day down at kingston getting in building work. Eme’s most challenging problem was Kara up in the attic. She had never done an up high building before and it was great for her to learn the scent picture.
Working the person in the attick
Raina got some good problems in and her recall and indication is perfect right now. She is so smart and so drivey she just wants to work 24/7
We also added felix blue to the group on saturday and have already begun his training. Felix is a wonderful stable nerved german shepherd. You can see him and Eme at Kara’s house hanging out!!
Felix blue!!
Sometimes i stop and think, wow am i living a dream or is this really my life? Everyday is a new experience, a new lesson, a new opportunity to learn more about how best to communicate and live with dogs and exercise that every second of every day. I really do live a dream, and this weekend was a great one!
Friday was a fun day at home depot with kara and mika training and working obedience. Rainas SAR training is progressing so fast, now that i finally have a kink free method of back and forward chaining and a smooth way to teach nose work, recall, and refind, while also working her indication for a bark outside of the search work. I realize how quick she will be up and going now that i know how to do it perfectly for these shepherds.
Raina loves to tug
Eme is also doing great and while working two dogs this close in age is tough its worth every second.
Eme after her SAR problem
Saturday brought a training session with a client which was powerful and successful. It is always the best when i get to see another pack of dogs improve because of what i am teaching. It helps remind me that my understanding of canines is correct, and my communication and my foundation that i lay prior to working with a dog is what really gets them started on the right track. I’m happiest when i get to teach someone else how to have a canine co-pilot for life!
Saturday was another pack visit day, we worked on some Life Long Tails grants and got the website updated and looking pretty. We also went out and did a short problem with both girls so the other members of the rescue were able to see how it all works. April was nice enough to hide and flank me and nick did the same even though he couldn’t feel his feet!
Ok whats next?
It was another good successful find with both eme and raina getting some practice with new subjects.
Getting ready to start
Sunday came quick and 6am found the girls and I, kara and mika, and stacey in the truck headed to an old IBM builing at Tech City in Kingston. We had access to 3 floors of empty building to work some SAR problems. This was Eme and Raina’s first time doing any building work and i was BLOWN AWAY.
Eme was quick to catch on and we did a few short run aways to get her into the scent picture of a building. Air flows VERY differently in buildings especially when there was some heat and duct airflow. Eme blew through problems and delivered a perfect refind, bark indication as long as i asked, and show me back to the subject. There was NO light what so ever and the dogs were asked to work in PITCH BLACK. Eme would body slam the doors to open them and clear the room as soon as i asked her to “check” She took direction perfectly but also worked independently on her own. We worked some longer problems with her and she stayed frustration free, giving me no false indications, only pin pointing the subject, coming back to me to tell me and bringing me right back.
and....... SEARCH!
Raina was baby steps but by the end of the day she was doing short blind problems with her recall back to me. We started out by placing subject in the door to the dark room and making her bark to get in and get her reward. Then we moved to short run aways like that, then to longer run aways where she had to actually search a few rooms. Then we would place a subject and give her 3 rooms to search to find him. It was so great to see a young dog take to working scent in a difficult environment. You could hear her stack her breaths when in scent and you could watch her follow the scent cone into the subject!
Focused and ready
Elite Instinct K9 Training 