• 03Sep

  Dog Packing

  Dog Training (General) No Comments

  Hiking is a great way to exercise and get out, and here in Upstate New York, we have some gorgeous hiking trails!  We went hiking the other day, and my dog carried his own weight with a backpack. He had two water bottles, the car keys, his treats, my sandwich, and my cellphone in his backpack.  I would never have been able to walk up and down the hills for as long as we did if he hadn’t carried the backpack.  The nice thing about a big dog is they don’t know they’re carrying five pounds!!! My favorite part about carrying water for the dogs and myself is that halfway through the hike the water is drank, and thus the weight is halved before the walk back to the car. Has anyone else noticed the walk back is longer?

  The backpacks we carry here at Affordable Agility are perfect saddlebags for starting your dogs in the wonderful world of carrying. You can use backpacks around the house for fun.  Train your dog to carry items to family members in the backpack.  Make sure they get a treat for being such a good deliverydog!

  

  Tags: dog products

• 17Aug

  Side to Side

  Dog Agility Training, Dog Training (General) No Comments

  You have two hands- remember you have two sides!

  Work your dog off both sides at every level of training. That way in a trial situation it will not be startling to your dog when you switch sides. Practice walking at your side on and off leash from both sides. Personally I have found that ‘heel’ for left and ‘side’ for right work beautifully for my dogs. I also tilt my head to where I want them to be as an additional cue.  From there, work your way up to sending over jumps and through tunnels from both sides.  After you have that down pat, try send aheads from either side! Soon you’ll have an ambidextrous dog!

  

  Tags: agility training, dog training

• 13Aug

  Agility Lightweights?

  Dog Training (General) 4 Comments

  When I took my dog to the vet recently I was shocked to be told that he was, indeed, still in a healthy weight range. I felt he was much too thin, but the vet shook her head and said “Not really, many agility people like them lean.”.  I never really noticed overly lean dogs in agility.  Lots of dogs that are healthy weight, but not necessarily ‘lean’.  Is your dog a lean, mean, jumping machine?

  Speaking of skinny dogs, this is feed a homeless shelter pet week.   There are nearly a thousand members to this blog- and many more I am sure are watching!  If all who read this entry go to freekibble.com this week alone, we could feed countless dogs and cats together and help them as they wait for their forever families.  Another great website that donates dog food to pets in need is the Animal Rescue Site. Neither costs us anything but a few moments of time, and could make a world of difference to someones’ soon to be best friend.

  

  Tags: dog safety & health

• 02Aug

  August Contest: Assistant Dogs

  Dog Training (General), Inspirational, Monthly Contests 19 Comments

  Assistance Dog Week is this month (8-14).

  Does your dog do any assistance, therapy work, or work as a service animal? (official or unofficial). Tell us about your dog- or your favorite assistant dog. What do they do? What special training did they need to have? Do you have to wear a vest?

  You could win a leather leash tab! Super snazzy and very versatile, they’re my favorite leash tab!

  The winner will be chosen via random number generator on or around September 1st, and announced/emailed on or around the same.

  How to enter this contest:

  If you have never done so before, you must first register your email address on this blog.  We will then notify you if you are a winner of this contest.  You only need to do this once, and you will be good for all future monthly contests (and get priority notification of when they occur)!

  Scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your comment/answer.  Or, if there is no box, click on the “comments” in the upper right corner.

  

  Tags: dog fame, dog safety & health, Inspirational

• 18Jun

  Frustrations and Furies

  Dog Training (General) No Comments

  My collie mix, Quick, is given to temper tantrums of truly toddler proportions. He throws himself on the ground (literally) and flails his front paws, yodeling at the top of his lungs.  If it weren’t so frustrating, it’d be hilarious!  This, after I went to grab his collar to bring him inside when he didn’t wanna come! Oh, the cruelty and horror of bringing a dog in on a –5 degree night when they want to play!

  He’s given to this behavior when he doesn’t understand in training, too, and it can be intensely frustrating for me! I’m very lucky he and I get along as well as we do. It’s rare I make him that frustrated that he literally shuts down and tantrums. I’ve done it a few times, and it’s hard to get him back! I’ve found what works best is speaking in a gentle, firm tone (not too low) and tell him to lie down, spin, or shake. Those are his absolute favoritest tricks EVER.  Once he has some success, he tries learning again.

  How do you snap your dog out of a funk? What works best for your dog?

  

  Tags: dog training

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