This is a page to share with you all what we are going through right now; what we are learning, and what we are struggling through, in hopes that we can inspire some of you to research new ways to work through the issues in your own lives.  

Showing category "Dog Training" (Show all posts)

New Beginnings with Bentley!

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Wednesday, August 21, 2013, In : Dog Training 
     
Here is Bentley! We had been boxer-less for about 5 months, and decided that it was time =) Bentley came to us from West Coast Boxer Rescue, he was being held in a kennel in southern CA. Bentley came to us with a little bit of a rap sheet, he had been in a foster home previously, but had been returned to the kennel because he was fighting with their boxer female alpha dog. We weren't sure whose fault those fights were, we just knew that they were bloody. He had been back in the kennel fo...
Continue reading ...
 

APDT Conference 2011!

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Sunday, October 23, 2011, In : Dog Training 

I just got back from the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Conference in San Diego, and it went great! I met a lot of new friends and great speakers and authors. It was wonderful, because everyone you talked to had the same love of dogs at the core of why they were there. I loved learning so much, and hearing the stories of my new friends and all of the success stories they have of dogs and their people they have been able to help.

Continue reading ...
 

10 Day Challenge Results

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Tuesday, January 18, 2011, In : Dog Training 

After day 6 I got the flu, but fortunately my wonderful husband stepped up to the plate and took her to the dog park to throw the ball for her once a day for the remaining 4 days. On day 11 I took her to the pet store to see if there was a change in her behavior... and there was! Whereas before this challenge, when we saw a dog, she always barked or growled at it, but then was able to be redirected, this time she did not react verbally at all! She was very interested in the other dogs, but sh...


Continue reading ...
 

Dog/Dog Reactivity Training: 10 Day Challenge

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Sunday, January 2, 2011, In : Dog Training 
I have found that our new dog Kenzie is quite dog reactive. This means that she has a strong reaction when she sees other dogs, and in my opinion, it is not a favorable one. She usually gets very stiff, her tail goes straight up, and she barks ferociously. Without any of my secret weapons, she ignores me completely, and I have to pretty much drag her away from the dog to get her to calm down. Now, what about these secret weapons, you may be asking: well, if we are far enough from the dog, and...
Continue reading ...
 

Max is house trained! Update #4

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Wednesday, December 22, 2010, In : Dog Training 

Continue reading ...
 

New Anti Marking Protocol For Adult Male Dogs

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Tuesday, November 9, 2010, In : Dog Training 
Our new foster dog is such a sweetie, but we figured out very quickly that there was a little problem that needed immediate attention: he was peeing on EVERYTHING. He literally did not want to play with Riley, he just wanted to walk around and find more things to mark. I was nervous to bring him in the house, but I knew I had to do it sometime. I waited until I thought that surely he had gotten everything out, and then took him inside on leash. I followed him around like a hawk, waiting for h...
Continue reading ...
 

Sign Language for both Hearing and Deaf Dogs

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Monday, March 22, 2010, In : Dog Training 
Is the only reason to teach sign language to a dog if you think he/she is going deaf? No! When you use both verbal and visual commands, and teach the dog to resond to either one, then when you do use them together, it actually sends a stronger message, and the dog is more likely to respond. I teach all of my dogs these commands with both verbal and visual cues:
Sit
Down
Stay
Leave-it
Get Back

When I teach hearing dogs these commands, I teach them using verbal and visual cues together, then...

Continue reading ...
 

Potty Training Venga

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Tuesday, February 9, 2010, In : Dog Training 
So, it has been quite a while since I potty trained a puppy from start to finish...and I think it was about time! You really only learn by first hand experience, and while I tell people "take her potty every time you think she needs to go potty", and "it just takes time for her to decide to hold it", it was time for me to take some of my own medicine! 

What I have learned is:

There are four stages to potty training a young puppy:
  1. I will not hold it, so make sure I am outside when I need to go p...

Continue reading ...
 

Lessons from Rocco: Dominance and Play

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Thursday, November 19, 2009, In : Dog Training 
I love to watch my dogs as they interact, so that I can get a better idea of "dog language". One thing I always do with my aggressive foster dogs, is take a step back, and make sure I am very careful when I give affection. I do not do it around the other dogs, and I watch for dominance signs the whole time. I never really thought about why I did this, until I had a student whose dog was having extreme aggression and dominance, and I knew that she was very very affectionate with the dog. The n...
Continue reading ...
 

Overcoming food aggression- day 5

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, In : Dog Training 


Food aggression training has been going very well with Rocco. We started with just hand feeding him, then moved to hand feeding him over an empty food bowl, then to dropping the food into the bowl, then to switching between bowl feeding and hand feeding, then to picking up the bowl when he lifts his head to pour more food into it. It is good to start feeding time pausing between handfuls, or between puting more food in the bowl, so that is just about begging you to pick up his bowl...
Continue reading ...
 

Learning through experience

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, In : Dog Training 
I was just watching greys anatomy, and something one of the doctors said really struck a chord in me. She said that making mistakes is how we all learn, we just have to accept that and hope for the best. This is so true, I have such a problem forgiving myself for not being perfect. I have to realize that making mistakes is what is going to make me a better dog trainer. If I never mess up, or if I mess up and there are no real consequences, than how am I going to learn to not make that mistake...
Continue reading ...
 

Learning about deaf dog training

Posted by Amanda Beasley on Monday, October 12, 2009, In : Dog Training 
The new, although temporary, member of the pack will be arriving in just a few hours... her name is Pepper. Pepper is actually my parents' dog, but she will be coming to "Mandy Camp" for around 7 weeks. Pepper is a Puppy Mill rescued American Cocker Spaniel momma, and is now around 10yrs old. She is deaf, and is going blind, and has had very little training. While my parents love her, they, like many owners, have figured out how to work around their dog's issues, rather than face them head on...
Continue reading ...
 
« Back to posts
 
 

, Linden, California

Make a free website with Yola