Hello all, wanted to share an update on Steve. He has been away (well twenty minutes away) at a board and train program. It’s only been two weeks but I miss him very very much. I am so happy with the progress he has made and I am very thankful after all these years of searching that I’ve finally found a great trainer and one that I click very well with here in the Spokane area. I get him back next week 🙂
I went with the dog pacer treadmill, it looked cool and they just came out with a camo, elite edition so hopefully I won’t be disappointed!
Hi Julie,
I just wanted to send an email update to let you know how Steve is doing. Over the past two weeks, we’ve been working on obedience commands such as sit, down, stay, leave it, coming when called, and loose leash heel with turns and stops, and he is doing great! We’ve started incorporating distractions like other dogs and people, and he’s learning to focus through the distractions.
Steve is rocking his treadmill training. I think you’re going to love treadmill training at home for him. It’s such a nice workout for busy mornings and rainy days. You can even put him on the treadmill at Anytime Fitness and let him show off to customers haha!
We’ve been taking Steve on morning walks around the neighborhood here, and he’s doing great. He walks very nicely in a heel, including passing other walkers and their dogs & greeting neighbors in a polite sit. Since Steve doesn’t have dog reactivity issues, he’s now able to join us on morning and evening pack walks as well.
Place bed training is also going well. He loves his place bed and is catching on very quickly, even with the distractions of people coming and going past him.
Steve had a very useful field trip with Radar to the Unity Fair this past Saturday. He was very calm and well-behaved in the face of a number of new experiences – from kids on skateboards to amusement park rides! We were very proud of him. And of course he was constantly being complimented on how handsome he is!
We also brought Steve along to a private lesson in Spokane yesterday evening. The client has dog-reactive dogs, and we used Steve to help train the other dogs. We walked back and forth in front of the client’s fenced-in yard, and Steve obeyed commands beautifully! Other neighbors walked by with their dogs, and Steve showed no interest in them at all. And of course, he got more compliments on his good looks. (It must be exhausting to be so handsome!)
We will continue working on obedience with distractions this upcoming week, and we’re going to start ‘proofing’ Steve’s obedience to more new locations. We’ll also start clicker training to teach him more new tricks and prepare him for the Canine Good Citizen test.
Steve sends his love! If you have any questions or want additional updates, don’t hesitate to ask.
Thank you,
Amy Glunn
Canine Training and Behavior Specialist
Owner and Head Trainer
Valor K9 Academy, LLC
1112 N. Dover Rd.
Medical Lake, WA 99022
(509) 299-0727
www.valork9academy.com
info@valork9academy
I was so impressed with Valor K9 Academy after ready this letter, and checking their web site, that I sent Amy a letter requesting information about sending Dutch there. I just noticed that they are in Washington – ugh! That is so very far away. I’m sure that my hubby would have a dozen reasons not to send him: the dangerous long plan ride (Scott himself hasn’t flown in 15 years!), the deep depression he’d sink into without our Dutchie around for so long, the deep depression he’d be convinced would befall Dutch without us, etc. We have a solution, however: Carole! She’s only an hour from our Florida place! She accomplished more with him in an hour than 6 weeks of training here!
I’m not exaggerating, although I think I was off on the time – it was probably well over an hour. After Carole left, I wrote notes for myself with Carole’s training tips and handling techniques. It’s the foundation of our training to this very day. While I’m sure she could work her magic with him in her camp, I truly enjoyed watching her so that I could learn how to handle and train him more effectively myself.
If we lived on the west coast, I’d go to the Valor K9 Academy for training sessions in a heartbeat! However, we live 3000 miles away, and we’re just too damn selfish to make the sacrifice of being without him for that long. Dutch might love it, but we’d be miserable, and honestly wouldn’t feel so safe and secure in our home without him.
Thank you, Beverly.
Nice progress report Julie. This must be what it is like when parents send their kids to boarding school! I’m sure he will be happy to see his Momma when you pick him up. Hunter and Juno made nice puppies 🙂
Good training update, Julie. Steve looks very happy!
Beverly,
Where are you in Florida?
Qwendi and I will be “wintering” in Floral City.
Terri
Beverly,
Where are you in Florida?
Qwendi and I will be “wintering” in Floral City.
Terri
Julie K.
I don’t know hon. I think I would miss Steve-O way toooooo much. But, you know I adore him.
Happy he is doing so well. I can’t wait to see him home with his Momma. 🙂
Terri and Qwendi (Gavin/Inga)
I can’t wait to get him back. This opportunity I just couldn’t pass up for him!