Tag Archives: dogs

And then there was thaw

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This weekend was a busy eventful one! Saturday I brought my girls and the Family Foundtion School Dog Corp Kids helping Canines first dog down. Delilah will live in one of the dorms with 10 of the dog corps kids and they will be responsible for training and raising her until Life Long Tails places  her into a home. The boys were very excited when we got there and sweet shy delilah took right to them. It’ll be a long road but i know this will be a great program for the boys and the dogs!

 

The girls got some work that afternoon and each performed a great moving subject problem with multiple refinds. I’m stoked, they are doing so good!!  We spent the night at Ritas and got a few hours of sleep after much talking. Sunday morning brought our meeting to discuss the Comfed we are hosting in September with Amigo and NJ Sar. The girls were patient and new their time would come!

I did it!

 

Eme got a nice 35 minute long problem with 2 subjects hiding together. It was the longest she had ever done and despite being very tired, and the subjects not being were they had been marked on my GPS I was able to follow my dog and her alerts and find the boys. She was exhausted but did a perfect refind and indication with a long bark and victoriously got her ball! The problem had been worked 20 minutes prior by another k9 team so she had to work out their scent and the subjects scent which made it even more difficult!

 

Raina got a short demo problem for a few new people who had come to check out the team. She of course showed off her perfect scent work and full refind. I wanted to set up a longer problem with her so we can start to build some nose time, she can be certified by a year old and i’m sure she will be ready. I set up a good problem which lasted 15 minutes the longest she has worked so far. She preformed great and maintained her refind and indication giving me 2 before i reached the subject.

playing with her subject

We finished the day with 2 HR hides including one that was up about 3 feet.  Both girls did great and are ready to move on in their HR training. Next we will put in the indication using boxes that deliver their toy. This allows the dog to sit and wait for the ball while focusing on the source and not on me!

Its amazing how quick my girls are growing up. Eme turned 1 on friday and i just don’t know where the year went! The next few months are going to be hard, we will be doing a lot of nose building long problems and drilling in obedience. Certifications will start soon and mom will need to learn not to be a nervous wreck! Off to get re packed and ready to work the girls again later today!

All done

 

 

The shining stars

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The weekend was great, and the girls really really made me proud. We hit up walton with Amigo SAR dogs saturday and did a great training with live, snow burial and some HR.  It was some great new land and the dogs got plenty of exposure to snowmobiles and people all around.

Two beautiful ladies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday was a great training day at ritas and the girls both had good long problems. They ranged beautifully once they were in scent, scoured through a passel of pine trees, found the subjects and headed straight back to me!

Geared up and ready to work

 

We also did some good HR work which neither girl had worked in a while. Our focus was getting our airscent and refind and indication set but with that all in place we are getting back into doing HR. Both girls did great and stayed on task. Video’s to follow!!!

Mission accomplished

Family time

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Waking up to half a foot of snow at 5:45am i was torn to whether it was going to be a good day or a bad day. My focus this morning was getting some work done around the house, updating some logs, trying to stay off my sore knee and then taking to the backyard for some pictures of the pups. What may be our last big snow fall was enjoyed thoroughly by my canine companions.

snow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

crazy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really do love winter, the snow is great, the lack of mud is even better, and its a different experience to get out there and train your dog in the winter.  The chihuahua’s could do without the cold weather and the snow up past their little heads but the big dogs are pretty good at giving them worn down paths all around the back yard. We spend just as much time outside in the winter as we do in the summer and the change of seasons is always a relief.  Thank you 2011 for a fun winter experience, here is to a nice dry mild temperature summer!!!!!

Strike a pose

I think i’m sore!!

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Another good weekend done, and boy did this one leave us sore. We headed down to Tech city again in Kingston to work some building stuff. The snow that melted re froze as ice and it is rough out in the woods for the pups paws! The building work was great, it gives a good tight area to work quick refinds and some really weird scent pictures.   I was able to run all the “pups” and younger dogs multiple times on problems of varying length depending on their skill level. The girls blew me away like usual. Eme worked some longer hard blind problems and even with other dogs off leash distracting her work still came back and indicated like she should.

Raina off working the scent

Raina did some great blind problems and it was amazing to watch  her work the scent.  She worked it perfectly with no bad habits in place, you could really tell where the scent was being carried and where it wasn’t.  She had some great head pops into rooms and even the stairwell the subject was in.

I got my toy

One of the hardest problems of the day was up on the 4th floor which was essentially the roof. Due to the nature of the building as an old IBM plant the huge cooling fans and big metal fan rooms where a perfect creepy place to train the dogs. Eme worked a great blind problem up there and after climbing 4 huge flights of stairs (perfectly with no hesitation, mom on the other hand had some burning legs!) she was unfazed by the huge metal air ducts she had to search and the bomb shelter like rooms! Once she found the subject she gave a few whines before actually jumping into the airduct but then did a perfect refind, with her machine gun bark!

Dark dark room

It was also mr felix bleu’s first time doing building work and he did great. The boy was knocking down doors to get to his subject and we even incorporated a recall back to Kara during this training. From here on out his find will now end at kara after he has found his subject.  She is working on his bark indication and we should be able to put that in pretty quickly. An amazing boy that felix bleu!

I LOVE my ball!!!

It was a great day and the dogs love the building work.  Thank you tech city and we will be back!!!!

Tech City Kingston NY

A little of this a little of that

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The weekend was busy and the girls didn’t get work everyday like they are used to. Snoopy had surgery on friday and came through it like a champ. He is recovering and doing well. This old man won’t have to worry about any more surgery for a LONG time to come.

Saturday kendal and I headed down to work with a few clients and to get her service dog “test” completed. She passed with flying colors and is just a true testament to what a rescue dog can turn into. She also spent the weekend as Life Long Tails donation dog raising money and raising awareness to what it is we do for helpless animals!!

YAY Kendal!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday the girls finally got there day. Kara and Mika jumped in the car and we headed down to the school for some work for the girls and some good dog teaching for the kids.   The kids had built a snow cave last week and we were able to get Mika and Eme on the first snow cave ever!  Eme did amazing, worked the scent out great, stayed committed, and crawled all the way into the cave to find her subject. We worked on her recall, indication and refind with the snow cave as it gave a different scent picture and environment which always challenges the puppies!

 

My butts sticking out of the cave!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She worked a total of almost an hour and still had to play ball all the way back to the truck with the boys.  We got our excercise in walking in snow shoes the whole time!!! It was better then falling 2 feet deep into the snow drifts though!

Off to work we go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course Raina needs her time too and she wow’d us all with how well she works!!! She knows her job and she knows when its about to start. I just introduced her vest in and she gets so excited to get dressed.

back talk to mom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raina has been lucky enough to get the perfect flawless training method where mom makes no mistakes (yet) and she has yet to have a big hang up. I know its coming, shes only 4 months old, but her nose work is natural and amazing, and her refind and indication to me is phenomenal. Of course shes pretty crazy too!!

mom mom mom i know where he is!!! mom mom mom!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day was a good one. Mr felix blue the newest shepherd that we took in was introduced to cadaver and we did a few short runaways with him as well. He loves food, and loves to play ball, and loves to search!!!

Hello working world!!!

A busy weekend for us all

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Friday saturday and sunday brought the Petsmart adoption even where people get to meet and great all our wonderful animals and talk with volunteers about us and what we do.  Thanks to a grant from Greg Biffle the nascar driver we were able to order some great tshirts,  banner, new business cards, and other vital items to use at our fundraisers!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We managed to get some applications and do a few adoptions too! The ferrets where a hit and the dogs all did great. We were able to make some new friends and meet some potential new adopters!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a wonderful weekend and we were able to help even more animals!! Thank you to the support from the community!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

day to day fun

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My posts normally occur after my weekend of working dogs but while trying to kill time before training starts i figured i would give an update on the rest of the canine co pilot pack.

 

Everyone seems to be doing well, even with the cold temperatures lately and the crazy amount of snow and ice.  Our day to day training and fun includes obedience outside and inside, group downs and stays, and Simon says games. Kendal has been working on her obedience so that i can get her tested for her PAT (public access test) and then once she is my service dog move her into certification for therapy dog as well. While Kendal tries to just be a funny clown of the house she has a serious working side as well and knows when she is out with mom she needs to be in tune and responsible at all times.

hum the world seems different from this view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a Life Long Tails rescue Kendal is the perfect picture of what a rescue dog can achieve if given the appropriate training, time, and owner.  Kendal is also Life Long Tails donation dog and canine mascot.

Shepherds playing in the snow in the backyard

Unlike so many trainers out there our dogs love training time. It is not a time when they get thrown on the ground, alpha rolled, beaten, yelled at, or dominated. It is a time when we get to have fun together, learn together, and communicate in a revolutionary  new way. This is what ensures the ultimate relationship, amazing obedience, and a bond that never dies.

The holy day of the week

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My girls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sundays are another good training day with the co pilot pack. This weekend we headed down to ritas with the girls all in tow to work some of the regular obedience, socialization, and of course SAR.

hanging at the school

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raina spent some time at the school, in the gym working on recall obedience then just hanging out with the kids. We practiced her commands with a lot more distractions present and upped the requirements a little.  We also did her short problems with a refind back to mom. Raina has A LOT of subject loyalty and while her indication (a bark and hold to mom) is coming along great we need to stop the game at mom for awhile to get the fast bounce back for refind.

 

With my ball after the find

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We set up a short problem for Eme to see how her refind and indication would hold up. It turned into a bit of a mess but she found the subject, came  back, indicated upon asking, and did a good show me! We solidified it with a few more short drills and let her take her prize to the top of the mountain of snow!

Both girls did great and enjoyed playing with Mika and Tank who is Raina’s brother. Another wonderful training with my good friends.

The heart swells with pride

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When owning dogs you have good days and bad days, especially when you have a large pack to manage and most are working dogs that are on the path to certification. Today was a great day, a day that makes me realize that all the time, effort, love, and discipline i put into my dogs everyday is worth it.  A day that makes me realize that what i do, what i teach, and what i know really is amazing.

Emeline and Raina and i started the morning out meeting Amigo SAR dog team members at Cole park.  I worked eme first on a short snow burial, her first ever with a nice quick refind to remind her what we have been practicing the last few months.  Then i took the plunge, i knew the last few weeks she was getting the whole concept of refind and it had been forever since the girl had a LONG problem where she had to work out scent. She was first up with an off trail problem over a mile long. As we were working she stayed close and checked back at me often, sometimes with bits of frustration, probably wondering why all of a sudden she was working so long to find her toy!

I was not sure where the subject was and only had man tracking to try to tell me when we were getting close. I wanted to make sure Eme had a successful find since it had been so long but i was worried her refind and indication would drop out like it had been a few months back.  Through the first 1/2 mile i had head pops across the water towards the subject so i knew she was working good. Once we got about 250 feet down the trail prior to the subject i noticed a body language change and a pep in her step! I was about to comment i thought we were close when she head popped right and took off up the hill, after working the cone back in to the subject so got him perfect, turned around came back to me as i gave her words of encouragement, sat in front of me barked and with a “show me” we were off to the subject! PERFECT!!!  We ended the problem with a 20 minute play session on the way back to the truck. We tugged, we fetched, we lost the toy a few times and found it again.  It was a great mesh of working dog and working handler. I love it when all the work pays off!

We worked Raina on some small short problems and now that she knows the game we are incorporating a refind back to me starting now. Her loyalty to the subject is already unwavering so bringing it back to mom now will help any hesitation later on in training.

 

Pull mom PULL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After training we hit the town and made rounds to Gander Mountain, the pet store and home depot for some in store work and out of store work. My emphasis with Raina is focus in public places and work on obedience commands with distractions. She is great at tuning out any noise but kids playing in the snow was just to much so we distanced ourselves and worked our obedience at Home Depot.

FOCUS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The girls all did great and Emeline and Raina shared their truck so nicely with Bonsai and Mika during the trip.  All 4 girls worked obedience for a few hours and even made some new friends and impressed some complete strangers with their obedience!