It’s a holiday weekend?
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!
Search for a new Logo
Well my artistic need is coming through…………a new logo is in the works!!! Thanks to some amazing pictures taken by my friend Amy (who is a professional photographer if you like her work let me know!!!) i am toying around with a few pictures as potentials for my logo. Let me know what you think is the best or what other ideas you have!!!
Follow you, Follow me
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 www.EliteInstinctCanine.com
I do not whisper, I translate
I was at a consult this past week when someone made a reference to me as “the dog whisperer” While i appreciate any comment towards a well known popular dog person (albeit whether i agree with his methods or not) i am not, in anyway, a dog whisperer. The term is just plain, well, dumb. What does it mean??? How would you ever “whisper” to a dog? Why would a dog care if you even did whisper? Dogs do NOT communicate like humans do, we cannot whisper, yell, cry, scream, yodel, bark, meow, purr, whistle, burp, or even groan for godsakes as dogs do not communicate through vocalization like humans do. To really truly understand dogs one must first observe said dog. I say this because EVERY dog is different, it doesn’t matter the breed, sex, age, or size of the dog they are all genetically different and environmentally influenced to have varying personalities. Once the dog has been observed you can start to draw SOME conclusions about the dog, and what methods of communication will work, and even why he is offering certain behaviors or unpleasant habits. Then once this has been accomplished you can begin to build your relationship with said dog, in hopes of opening the barriers in communication that exist between dog and human.
I do not whisper, I translate.
Translation
Offering some basic classes in good canine communication this summer please check out our website for details!!
www.EliteInstinctCanine.com
And another one bites the dust
Another weekend gone by. I really don’t know how they go this fast anymore. It’s been a stressful weekend with Abby up at Cornell sick with no direct answer yet as to why. I know they are taking good care of her but i’m still a wreck especially because she is puzzling all the doctors there with her abnormal anatomy in her abdomen!
ready for the command
With the nice weather Kara and I have been able to get up to the state land behind my house and work the girls almost everyday. Erik is amazing enough to hide for us all the time and i’m pretty sure Raina has a crush on him!
pullllllll
We have been working on building raina’s nose time in her search problems and placing the subject in heavy brush. Her third test will be a 30 acre heavy brush test which will be one of our hardest! I have been doing blind problems on a regular basis so that i know how to read my dog in all terrain and wind conditions. Raina has taught me so much these last few months!
Eme is also working on some nose time, as well as getting her bark as strong as her sisters. She has always been a thinker and i see it now more then anything. She needs to fully understand what she is doing to get it down, but when she does there is no fault in the process at all. Once her barking starts she delivers the full out bark and bounce just like her daddy Quax!
Alerting to the find
The time is flying by, and i cannot believe its already may. We have a lot to cover before the summer is up and many more tests to tackle so we can get the girls fully operational! This weekend will be a nice break when we attend a Bill Dotson seminar up in the finger lakes area of New York. He is a SAR legend and i’m sure i and the girls will learn a lot from him!
Keep moving
The girls spend most of their time off leash either working or hiking so we must practice self control exercises and focus work while out and in the field. The girls are used to this on our land and while out together or with our other dogs in the pack but they also need to be able to do the same with more distractions and in variable environments.
Stay work
The environment is new, we have never visited this state land and felix is a dog that was turned over to Life Long Tails and is currently in training with his K9 handler Kara for Search and Rescue with Amigo Search Dogs. A simple training command that is obeyed so perfectly at home can be a challenge if to many variables are changed to quick. Both girls did great this time as we have been practicing separate and together in varying environments for the last few months.
Girls
The hard work pays off!
Everyone looking like stars
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!
Not spring thats for sure
Woke up at 6am this morning (got to sleep in whooo hoooo) to a whoping 2 feet of snow. I couldn’t even open the back door, had to slip out and shovel off the back porch so the door could open and dogs could get out. Most didn’t want to go it was over their head but the shepherds couldn’t wait and took off clearing paths for the smaller dogs. Poor Fugly got lost in the snow banks!
With a state of emergeny in Broome County plans of in town training was demolished. Instead we played in the backyard, went on a short but tiring hike and did some small scent problems. The girls were still happy.
All in all not a bad hang around the house snow day. Man and we could see green grass yesterday…………..
Emeline Airscent problem 2/27/11
Emeline Downeaster Alexa working a 10 minute airscent problem. Great scent cone work near the end!
Family time
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
A little of this a little of that
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!!!
day to day fun
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.
Is this really my life?
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
The holy day of the week
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
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!
A weekend of Raina’s firsts
The weekend had a bunch of raina’s firsts!!! Friday brought her first demo for a preschool class. She practiced a runaway, did some obedience, and socialized with the 3 year olds.
Practice makes perfect
She did wonderful and all the kids loved her and parents highly impressed with her obedience! At 13 weeks old raina is an amazing girl and her rock solid nerves are shining through!
Saturday brought raina’s first search experience where she was able to socialize, practice her focus and obedience, do some short search problems, and experience 2 huge fire trucks leave the fire house lights and sirens!
Resting in the fire house
Sunday after we were done searching raina got to run some live search problems, two run aways and 1 short problem. Then we headed back home. Monday brought our first store visit where we went to home depot and practiced obedience, focus, (these are so important as you can tell!!) and just plain meeting everyone!! Raina did great and made me so proud.
Shopping at home depot
All in all it was a good weekend. Raina got a lot of exposure and socialization, experience in new places and with new people. All of this goes such a long way to making her a good balanced adult dog.
The power of time
The weekends usually fly by anymore and its sad when i look at how little i accomplish sometimes. This weekend however was not like that. Friday brought some training time and getting the house in order and paperwork set. Raina had her first demo which will be in detail in the next post. Saturday morning Raina and I left the house at 430 am to head to Kingston NY for a search. We spent the weekend looking for a missing man, I in the field and Raina back at the firehouse base socializing and learning how her future years will be spent as a SAR dog. We spent saturday night at a team mates house and raina was great even sleeping in a strange crate in a strange room with new dogs coming in and out of the room all night. The importance of exposing your dogs to these new things are so important especially if you are raising a social working dog!!
Sunday night brought a few quick search problems for Raina in which she did amazing. She is excellent at using her nose and not her eyes despite doing a run away or two first. Her drive is high and right now she works for food and ball play once shes cleaned her plate!
Monday is our in town day, eme and raina both get obedience, socilization, and work some new place in town. This week we did Home depot and Eme we worked her focus and attention to mom. We also built her play drive and then moved inside and worked some obedience around the new machines, all the people and carts ect. Raina we worked on her focus and obedience and did a lot with her socialization. She also got to work 2 problems inside the garden center of the store!
Once finished there i met Kara at the state land up by me and we worked Eme on a few short problems. She did great came right back to me, wouldn’t take the toy, barked, went right back to kara did a second refind to me where i was finally able to reward her at me for the whole sequence!! We did it one more time with kara going a little further away and i got two refind sequences before rewarding her at me. A few more times like this and we will be on the road to a SOLID refind!!! Now just gotta get the bark automatic as soon as she is on her way back to me.
We finished up our weekend by relaxing at home and cuddling on the couch. It was a great weekend and i was not only proud of my dogs but the teamwork that i experienced and the friendships i have developed just over one common love, the canine!
Raina’s day
I love all my dogs, and i appreciate them all for each of there specific traits and behaviors even if it is the smelly farts my english bulldog gives off on a daily basis. But my time spent with miss Raina is so much fun, she is so sweet and photogenic as well!
We took a hike alone to work on her focus and play and to test her dedication to over coming obstacles in her way. Her intensity was great and she always looks right at me when i ask for her focus.
What ma i'm balancing on top of the dirt mountain!
After mastering the dirt piles and range on the property we moved on to huge downed tree piles from the last logging.
Why are you on the other side of this??
We got a crazed look, then countless whines and barks growing louder and louder as i moved on and left her behind. 20 seconds later i turn around and capture this
Got it
Not gonna let anything hold her down! Now thats a SAR dog
This was it
My emotional release each day is when i step out the front door with the woooosh of four paws thundering all around me as i head up the trail into the woods out our front door. Sometimes i take most of the dogs, sometimes i take them 1 at a time if we are working obedience without distractions but no matter what i need that time.
The other day i took eme and raina out separate to get some obedience, focus and drive training in with each of them. When raina first came to us she was fiercely independent and could care less how close or far i was to her. The last few weeks that has changed 10 fold and she always checks in, doesn’t get further then 15 feet ahead or behind me and if i stop moving and try to hide she whips around and looks for me……gotta love it. So the only way to play hide games with raina is to take her out with Eme where she gets distracted, strays further from me but is the first to come flying back using her nose and crash into me with a happy grunt.
Two cute GSD butts
Today we went out before sun set and trekked down off our hill onto the flat land below our property the girls happily playing in the new snow and responding to obedience commands when ordered. I wasn’t equipped with any lights so we headed back up the hill and reached the peak of our property just as the sun was beginning to fall. I have to admit with the leaves off the trees and the reflection coming down over the other hills in the distance it looked breathtaking. I believe i found where our new house will be built.
We hiked back down to the house in time for dinner and a nap and here we sit now all digesting as i sift through pictures to place in the blog and go through the ever growing list of emails of animals in need. No matter where i am in my house i can always reach down and touch fur, the soothing feeling caresses my fingertips and i know that for another night I’m happy and content.
