Beyond Obedience:Meet Our Pack

Beyond Obedience has always been committed to offering the best quality of service to YOUR DOG.   By that I mean, we work hard to ensure that we always consider your dogs "state of mind" when approaching all of our services whether it be  boarding, daycare, grooming or our training.  We take our time with shy or nervous dogs, carefully orchestrating play groups and socialization to naturally bring out the dogs innate qualities. We meticulously match up assertive or dominate dogs with appropriate Beyond Obedience pack members to bring out a softer side.  AND our results speak for themselves.  Guest of Beyond Obedience are balanced and relaxed and settle in after only a day or two.   The advantage we have here at Beyond Obedience is our wonderful pack of balanced dogs.  Each dog brings his or her own qualities to the pack and our guest benefit from it greatly.
MEET THE PACK:

Wellington

WELLINGTON:   Wellington Greybear aka " Walkmaster Wellington"  is our "ALPHA" male.  He is as close to an alpha male as you can get.  He is a breeder and his offspring live  here with him at the facility. Wellington is one of the coolest dogs you will ever meet.   He is a natural leader, calm and assertive with a wonderfully playful side.  Watching Wellington command a socialization group is an experience in itself.

Mariah

MARIAH:  Bronze Beauty   is her registered name and beauty describes Mariah's personality perfectly.  Mariah is the kindest dog with a sweet soul.  A known favorite in the community,  Mariah wins the hearts of all those she meets.  She has been a Tracy's side kick for all In home consultations as well as making appearances at McNab Public School to do talks with the kids about dog safety and all Tracy's  seminars and public appearances.

The "girls"

THE "GIRLS" :  Consisting of 6 lovely Newfoundland girls
Berlin (3 years old) Dakota, Echo, and Eclipse (2 years old)  and Storm and Sierra( 9 months old).  Although the adolescent girls can be challenging right now (as most adolescents are) Berlin, Dakota, Echo and Eclipse work hard every day helping out in Pack Walks and socialization groups.  Their good work has been seen most recently with Bruno; a recently adopted dog from the Arnprior District Humane Society.  Bruno struggled with some socialization skills which made it difficult to find his forever home.

Lincoln

LINCOLN:  Lincoln, is a mature male doberman.  He is most frequently seen in our popular Pack Walks. Join us for a pack walk and chances are you'll get handed Lincoln at some point in the walk.  Lincoln also makes appearances for demonstrations during classes and seminars.  He is clever and goofy and an absolute joy. He has also assisted a few people who have a fear of dobermans.  He has a way of sneaking into your heart...whether you want him there or not.

Zack (foreground) 

ZACK:  Zack is a mature Jack Russell.  Zack works behind the scenes keeping the facility in tip top shape. Zack is a working Jack Russell and he takes his job of vermin control very seriously.  Sometimes Zack joins demonstrations in classes as the "dog on flexi leash not listening to handler"   See everyone has a role here at Beyond Obedience.

Chuckles

CHUCKLES: Chuckles is Mark's dog.  He has long ears..... moving on....

Arlington

ARLINGTON:  Arlington plays an important role with rough and tumble girls like Harley.  Harley has a difficult time finding a suitable playmate that matches her unique play style and Arlington  fit the bill quite nicely.

Rue

RUE: Rue is a one year old Australian Shepard.  She brings the fun into every play group.  Rue's job description: play and socialize.  She gets  up early every morning to greet all the new boarders and daycare dogs for the day, and then makes sure everyone has a good time.  She is certainly a fun addition to our pack.

Jake

 JAKE:  Jake is a senior Australian Shepard.  Jake came into our lives at the age of 12 and is now 14.  Although he is almost completely deaf and almost blind, he is still one of my kids absolute favorite dogs.  Jake still has an amazing work ethic and makes awesome snow forts with the kids in the winter.  We  quite often have to make sure the kids take it easy on the old timer but if it were up to him, he'd never stop. We are so blessed to have him in our lives.

Journey Of Rue... Dealing With a Fearful Dog

 

 Yes, I will be the first to admit, I am the worst blogger ever!  Ok, now that is out of the way, I wanted to give you all an update on Rue.  She is now almost a year old!  Lots have gone on since I last blogged about her.  The reason I wanted to update you all about it is because we have had some "struggles".  Yes its true. I work with dogs on a daily basis and I to have "struggles".  Rue is an adolescent.  Which, loosely translated means that Rue is a punk, brat right now.  So for all of you out there who are currently going through the adolescent stage with your dog right now, know that you are not alone.  We all go through it, to varying degrees.  Adolescent or "the teenage phase " of your dogs life can be quite challenging.  And even though Rue went through extensive socialization during her "socialization " window, and did fantastic, once the adolescence hit, combined with a "fear period" Rue began showing signs of fear of people; even people she knew when she was younger, people she saw on a regular basis.  She began backing away and barking at people, running away, hiding behind me or other objects.  Her reactions are sharp and fast and some what startling to the people she does it to.  How embarrassing right?   Especially for a "dog trainer's dog"   But the reality of it is that even though she had adequate socialization when she was young, socialization does not end at 4-5 months of age.  As a matter of fact, it is imperative that we keep socializing our dogs through all their different life stages. Puppy, adolescent , adult, even seniors, not only need to keep up with their socialization skills but we as the owners need to understand the changing needs of socialization.
From puppy to adolescent; dogs will relate differently to your puppy. Behaviour that they used to get away with  as a young puppy now may not be tolerated.  From adolescent to adult:   your dog is finding his way, discovering where he fits and who he is.  There may be some struggles within your pack while he figures it out.  And from adult to senior:   physical changes, (ie deterioration of eye sight or hearing) cause confusion as your dog needs to adjust his behaviour to how he responds to his environment. not to mention slowing down or aches or pains will cause him to react differently to dogs. Socialization is a lifetime commitment, for both you and the dog.
  So I have a dog acting fearful.  What do I do?

ACTION PLAN

Step 1:   Accept the fear. I feel as though I should stand up and say to you all
"Hello my name is Tracy, I am a dog trainer , and I have a fearful dog"
There shouldn't be any shame in it.  Dogs are all born innately something. Some are confident, some are not. some are a little too confident.  But regardless, it is what it is. Admit it , accept it and get working on it.

Step 2:  Get working on it.   Don't put off working on it.  Don't say "its just a phase"or " It will work its self out."  It wont. Get on it. Get help if you need to but DON'T IGNORE IT!!

Step 3:  Get Help.  If you are unsure how to proceed with your fearful dog, get help.  Doing it wrong will be just as detrimental as doing nothing.

Step 4:  Stand up and speak up for your fearful dog, especially on leash.  That's right stand up straight and tall look someone in the eye and say "NO" when they asks to meet your dog or pet your dog. Its not rude to say no.  It is however rude to ignore your dogs fear and allow them to feel uncomfortable.  It seriously damages your dogs trust in you.  It will make your dog more reactive in the future if he doesn't think you have his back when it comes to managing his environment.  Off leash, ask people to ignore your dog.  Give the dog time to come to them on his own terms. If he decides not to , that is his right, tell your guest not to take it personally and move on.

Step 5:  Build his confidence in you.  Be a leader. Someone your dog can look up to. Someone he knows "has his back" in all situations. Practice this daily and your dogs confidence will soar. Keep track of your "Leadership Score Card"


    A rule of thumb I like to follow when dealing with a nervous or fearful dog is control his space.  ON LEASH:  increase his space from the things that he fears, but DECREASE his space away from you.  MEANING : NO FLEXI LEASHES!!    Its almost cruel to have your fearful unconfident dog 12 feet in front of you, left to deal with all the scary things that approach him.  Walk your dog WITH you.  Let him know you have his back no matter what comes at him.  He doesn't need to react because you have got everything under control.

OFF LEASH:  give him more space. Tell people to leave him alone. They are not to approach him and try to befriend him or pet him.  Advocate for him with other dogs. Make sure he isn't being bullied or unnecessarily pressured but other dogs. Even if those dogs appear to have good intentions, your fearful dog needs time and space to feel comfortable. Make sure you are the one to give that to him.  Follow this rule of thumb and you will find your fearful dogs reactions decrease significantly.

If you are interested in learning more about helping the fearful dog please feel free to contact me.

Walk on

Tracy

  

Journey of Rue: Rue is 13 weeks old now!!

RUE

Time has gotten away on me yet again , but my little Rue, is not so little anymore. ( ok she is still little ) You can now start to see the slight changes in behaviour.   That need to stay close and follow me is now replaced by a need to explore and ignore me.  I knew this day would come so we change our focus to adjust.  Before we didn't really use any sort of food rewards or treats, all that was needed was praise and a happy voice.  But now I have to up my anti.  Now my presence and happy voice isn't always enough.  We are breaking out the treats a little.  Our focus is still socialization and relationship.  I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.   Training sit, stay, down, come,or heel, can be done later.  The old saying you can't teach an old dog new tricks, does not apply.  You can always teach an old dog obedience. But  the window of socialization is closing quickly.  Socializing an old anti-social dog is WAY HARDER than training that same old dog some obedience.  SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE!!! And when you think you have done enough socializing, DO MORE!   But remember socializing isn't as easy as making play dates and taking your puppy to Pet Valu to meet some people (although those are really good things to do). But you have to meet the "right" dogs and the "right " people.  You need to find some really good kids and socialize your puppy to them.  You need to find cars,trucks, buses, bikes strollers, loud noises and chaos. And when you find those things, you have to be there to guide your puppy through them.  This is where the relationship part comes in. Your goal isn't just to expose your puppy to the big scary world around them and let them sink or swim.  Your goal is to be present.  Observe your pup's behaviour, notice the fears, don't rescue, but step in for guidance when necessary.  If your pup is being a little to confident and sassy, you might have to step in when the behaviour isn't appropriate.  They need both sides of the equation. Leadership is guidance.

  So Rue, has had her vaccinations, and is now experiencing the play yard with the general play group.  She was taken out of her comfort zone of the house with only a few dogs, to a huge yard with a group of new dogs.  Her response was what would be expected: fearful and over whelmed.   As long as the dogs in the group were being fair (ie not crowding her too much ) I did not" rescue" her.

Notice Rue's tail?? A little unsure I'd say

   She tried on numerous occasions to get me to pick her up. I did not.  If dogs were to much in her face I simply asked the other dogs to back off a little. Providing leadership by letting her know that I have her back and she could trust my judgement. Within a short amount of time she was coming out more and more, approach and retreat, as she made her way to meet every dog. Before I knew it she was beginning to play.  This is not just socialization, but also relationship building. She is learning to trust my leadership skills. And this trust comes back into play in other aspects of our relationship, like obedience.   I can't stress this enough,SOLID SOCIALIZATION AND RELATIONSHIP MAKES OBEDIENCE EASIER.  We spend so much time cuddling and loving our puppies ( which is important too ) we sometimes forget about our leadership. And leadership is not just about teaching our dogs a few obedience commands.

July Puppy PACK WALK

  Rue also participated in our puppy socialization workshop in July.  Here we compacted as much socialization into a 4 hour span as we could. From puppy play to kids running around, we tried to incorporate as much "new" experiences as we could. We  even included an all ages puppy pack walk, taking advantage of some pretty awesome older dogs to help guide our puppies.  It was great fun!


We are planning another workshop in August.  If you have a puppy and are interested in a half day of puppy fun and learning feel free to contact me.

In the mean time...get out and SOCIALIZE!!!!

Journey of Rue: Weeks 1&2

Mariah and Jake showing Rue the "ropes"

   My little Rue is now 9 weeks old.  (Where does the time go???)   She is scheduled to get her 2nd set of vaccinations on July 3.  We are without a doubt in that critical period of socialization.  This is the best time to get the most out of introducing our dogs to just about anything.  But we are told to avoid dogs and places where dogs frequent, until the pup's immunity is ready to handle it.  Now luckily for me here we have some amazing  dogs that Rue has already met. I know the health and status of these dogs so she already has a great start.  First of all she has my Mariah.  For those who don't know Mariah, she is my right hand girl. She has raised many pups of her own and is a pretty balanced dog.  She is patient and kind but can be firm when needed.  I think Rue is attracted to her maternal nature. She also has Jake.  Jake is our 13/14 year old Aussie we took in a few years ago and the reason for my new found love of this breed. Jake is not as kind and patient with her.  In fact Jake is crabby and snappy at her. We do have to watch him with her as he has "put her in her place a few times"  That is not a bad thing by the way. It is part of canine 102.  She does have to learn when to leave dogs alone. Jake is doing a good job at that.  But she does gain what I call "Aussie" experience from  him.  Quite often, you will see her "following him" around.  She almost mimics his behaviours of fetch and play and I am even seeing some glints of herding coming through.  He is  so focused on "working" that he doesn't even seem to notice his little shadow following and studying his every move.

   So what have we been doing the first two weeks?   Well we have been working on routine. Week 1 we focused on: crate training.   Crate training is and always has been my best friend. Crate training when done properly can be a life time tool, long after housebreaking has been completed.  My 13 year old beagle still uses his crate.  Many times people will ask me, "when can I get rid of the crate?" I never understood that.  Why get rid of something that has so many benefits?   But for some, I guess they still view it as mean to keep the dog  confined. As I mentioned if done properly this tool can be a lifetime tool.  Crates can be a safe place, a place where the dog goes to have his/her space. It is also a great tool to prevent separation anxiety, because teaching your dog to be away from you is just as crucial as socializing.    When my kids were young the crates were used  to keep them safe from dogs. Toddlers and dogs don't mix. But as my kids got older and more respectful of the dogs the crate stayed as a safe place for the dogs to hide when the kids craziness was to much.  My kids were then taught to never bother the dog in the crate. Under no circumstance were they to touch or talk or even look into the crate.  The crate became a sense of security and familiarity to the dog.  And that is a wonderfully powerful thing especially if you like to travel with your dog.  Now if I go anywhere, my dog always has his/her home away from home. Hotel rooms, cottages, or visiting a friend, no matter where I am my dog has his/her place and immediately relaxes in it.   How do we accomplish this.  Well it isn't really about training. It is more about setting up for success.  First thing I like to tell people is to make sure they have the right mind set about the crate.  If you feel bad for the dog, the dog will feel bad about the crate. Simple truth.   And really what is there to feel bad about?  A new puppy, even an adult dog that is new to your home doesn't want to have (and shouldn't have ) the responsibility of the WHOLE HOUSE on his/her shoulders.  Its a lot to expect them to manage all that space.   I start off with as little space as possible and it grows as the pup grows.  Always remember to never put a highly energized dog in a crate. You want to make sure your pup has done all its business and is good and tired before putting them in the crate. You want the pup to associate calm state of mind when being in the crate. And of course we never make a big deal when we take the pup out of the crate. It is a simple hello and out the door for a bathroom break and walk.

Rue walking with the kids

 Week 2 we worked on some basic follow me stuff.  Now this is the best time to work on walking with you and  " follow me" as the puppy is naturally going to "want" to follow you.  This time is fleeting and will be gone before you know it, so make sure you take advantage of it.  Soon your puppy will want to start to explore and sniff and play and inevitably start to ignore you cause something over there smells way better than what ever you have to offer up...and  then you've miss it.  So right now I have a puppy that LOVES to follow me around. She does it with almost a smile on her face.  There are lots of great "check ins" and "look at me's" that she is volunteering up, so I don't want to let these training opportunities pass me by.  We make lots of great games out of follow me. Chasing , running catching up only to take off again.   Add some rewards like toys and treats and praise and you have a pup that thinks you are the best play friend ever!!  And of course I add a couple of dogs to an off leash walk and I have my own little mini pack following me everywhere.





  We haven't started with much leash work but I have introduced the collar and will let her drag a very light line on some of the walks so she gets use to the sensation.   She still scratches at the new collar but is getting use to it.

 This combination of exercise and play with subtle training is helping to create life strategies for her  Now I am fortunate enough to have lots of really good dogs in my life for Rue to learn from which is making my job easier for sure. Together we are working to create a well balanced and social dog. Next week we will start to social to more dogs, and people and new settings and environments.

Journey of Rue

Day 1

  On June 14, my husband and I picked up my newest pack member, a 7 week old Australian Shepard puppy we fondly named Rue.   Now for any of you who know me you might be asking "7 weeks?  isn't' that a little early Tracy??" and my answer is... yes it is.  I am a big believer that  more is more when it comes to puppies.  The longer they stay with their mother and siblings the better.  Those first weeks, well that is canine 101. Everything they need to know about being a dog is learned in those precious weeks.  And if your new puppy is your only dog, I would definitely ask the breeder to keep them a little longer to get the most of this precious education.  Sometimes circumstances don't work out that way and if you have to bring home a puppy early, it just means you will have to be even more diligent when it comes to socializing your new pack member. Here at Beyond Obedience our puppy would have many opportunities to meet and socialize with lots of dogs so I made an exception to my rule.   Our first meeting with the breeder was a very positive one.  The property was gorgeous and well maintained, and the puppies all had beautiful and clean  enclosures with an outdoor view of the river ( breath taking!!!)
We were of course introduced to to the parents of our new puppy and all of the litter mates as well.  All of the puppies rushed to the edge of the enclosure showing great curiosity and interest in meeting us.  No puppy seemed shy or withdrawn.   After saying hello to the crew, our new puppy was removed from the litter and put down on the ground and asked to follow us (with her mom of course ) to the garden where we were going to talk with the breeder.  Of course ones first response to seeing such a cute puppy would be to pick them up and carry the puppy but as hard as it was to refrain from grabbing and cuddling that cute little face, I know the importance of what this breeder was trying to accomplish. This first meeting with us was critical.  It sets the tone for the transition for this puppy.  And this is probably one of the hardest transitions, from dog pack to human pack.  This is not the time for love and affection.  This time was to help the puppy understand that I was going to be taking over the role of its mother.  And contrary to what our instincts tell us which would be to hold and cuddle and soothe, instead I need to prove to her that I have what it takes to take over this important role.  Her mother provides her with security and guidance, and affection comes after all the needs are taken care of.  You see, this walk to the garden, was the first walk with me.  It was the first time she was asked to follow me and of course it made sense to her because her mom came with us.  Once we reached the garden and sat down for a chat the puppy was again left on the ground to play with her mom but also check us out on her own time.  Given the opportunity to smell us and take in who we are without us forcing ourselves on her is very powerful for a pup (and dog for that matter, it shows respect)
    Our chat with the breeder was an hour long.  Here she explained everything she had done with this litter and I was so impressed with her dedication to behaviour and making sure her pups had the very best start in life.   Through emails back and forth prior to this meeting we had told her what we intended to call the puppy.  She than started using her name when she worked with the litter.  She demonstrated all the commands that the puppy already knew as a result of her dedication.  Sure enough our puppy, not only knew her name but came when she was called.  She had already started working on follow me and go pee pee commands.   She told us that she gave a "DO DO" command and bed time and all the puppies knew (with the help of the adult dogs in the kennel I am sure) to be quiet. And although the puppies were not kept in crates she did whole heartedly recommend the use of one.  She then gave us all the vaccination records and the rest of the deworming pills with a schedule of when they were to be taken and the guarantee for continued support for the life of the puppy.    When it was time to leave  there was no sad good byes, our puppy was tired from all the playing in the sunshine while we chatted, so we got in the car and made our way home.

Not A"'FurBaby"

  So at the risk of upsetting some of you I decided to go a head and post this blog because I believe the message is important... VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!!!!!

   I am going to come out and say it!!  I dislike the term "FUR BABY"  in reference to our dogs.  There I said it.  Now don't get me wrong. I understand why people use it.  It is a term of endearment.  You want the world to know how much you love your dog. Trust me I get it. I  get it because  love my dogs too!  But recently while doing my Seminar entitled It's Not About The Dog!: A Better Understanding of Your Dog's Behaviour, I had someone question my relationship with my dogs.  The question came up because not all of my dogs sleep every night in my house.  They don't all sleep in my room, or on my bed. Most spend their evenings in our facility.  Now my dogs are often rotated in the house to keep up with their "in house " manners. But for the most part, they spend their time in the facility.  Now this is not a punishment in my dogs eyes.  The facility means play groups and pack walks, and fun filled days doing dog things. There is still lots of hands on human attention out there because who's kidding who, I spend more time in the facility than I do my own house.  But for some reason the thought of the dogs spending their evenings in a facility makes people sad.  I usually get a "awe" and the sad face from people when I tell them. And then I get questions like: "Don't you want them in your house with you?"  "Aren't they part of your family?"  and of course "how can you do that to your furbabies?"

    Now this is just my opinion so you can take it or leave it.  The reason these kinds of questions and that term furbaby gets to me is because it humanizes the dog.   And for me, I believe to humanize the dog is a HUGE step down for the dog.

I love and respect my dogs... AS DOGS. Not furry little people. DOGS.
Dogs are brilliant and wonderful.  And everything we love about them: their unconditional love, their loyalty,  their joy, their bliss, their play, their unique ability to live in the now, to not be motivated by complex human emotions like greed and jealousy, hatred or racism,  their truth and honesty. Everything that we love about them is because we struggle to find those qualities in people. And even in ourselves.  So no, I don't think of them a my furbabies.  I respect them, and love them as they are.  Because we as humans are FLAWED.  They are not.  
My love comes out of a place of honour.   I am truly honoured and humbled every day by their presence.  Humbled that they allow me into their world,  not only be a part of their pack, but that  they trust me to be their guide through Humansville.  I don't want to humanize them, in fact  I strive to be more like them.

Now all that being said, does that mean I never have dogs in our house, or on the couch or in my bed???

Of course I do.  After all we are a pack.  

 So I encourage you to  honour your dog. Embrace your pack. Live in the now.  

  

Ford VS Lincoln: A Tale of 2 Enemies

The following is a true story. I t is a story of two dogs. One Doberman named Lincoln and a Shepard named Ford.  Both neutered males, both with a hatred for the other. But sometimes, with a little patience and a lot of time and understanding...

Meet Ford:  a young and playful guy, Ford has his friends and can be the life of the party . But when Ford doesn't like someone...Watch out!















And Lincoln:  He is considered a mature male who in his younger years had his fair share of tiffs with some other dogs but has since mellowed out.  

Now Ford and Lincoln have never been buddies. On pack walks they have their share of choice words and snapping,  Through fences and suite doors they will let each other know about their apparent dislike.



Well I am happy to say that today March 8 2013 we finally got the two boys in the same play yard together. The result.... DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!!!!












They completely ignored each other!!! YES!!!!

And that is a huge thing.  You see you should not  expect your dog to love EVERY dog they meet.  It is kind of unreasonable when you think about it.  I mean come on, we as humans don't like every person we meet so why should our dogs. But it is not unreasonable to ask that the dogs be able to exist in the same space, without fighting and reacting.  Today we accomplished just that.  BRAVO FORD AND LINCOLN!!!!

If you are having social problems with your dog and would like more information about how to deal with it  Check out the upcoming Seminar entitled "Its not about the DOG!!! : A Better Understanding to Your Dogs Behaviour!

Mar 23 2013 From 12pm -3pm
At Tails and Trails Country Pet Resort
2977 Stonecrest Rd
Dunrobin
613-832-0008