Puppy In Training

Puppy Training Tips

Search And Rescue Dog Training Demonstration

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I can’t believe I missed the Search And Rescue Dog Training Demonstration and it was held right here in my back yard in Irvine, CA.  Also, to make matters worse, one of our Orange County guide dog career changed puppies, Wyler (now called Wiley) was one of the Search and Rescue Dog demonstrators.

Here’s a picture of Wiley from our OCGDA website:

Wyler, renamed Wylie – Male yellow labrador retriever raised by Kathy Tallant and Art Richardson has gone on to become an Urban Search And
Rescue dog with hander/firefighter Doug Van Iwaarden of the Orange County Fire Department. He will continue his training to become FEMA certified.

Search and Rescue Dog Training Demonstration

If you take a look at yesterdays Local section of the Orange County Register right there in the middle of the first page are a couple pictures of Wiley and some of the other Search and Rescue dogs.  If you missed the article in yesterdays paper you can check it out online at Search and Rescue Dogs.  The cool part about the online article is there are a bunch of photos from the demonstration and a short video.

Check out the short video on Search and Rescue Dog Training Demonstration.

By the way, did you notice at the end of the video the reporter said: “…each search and rescue dog is a rescue dog himself.  A dog that with intense training has gone from the pound to saving lives.”  I thought that was interesting considering Wiley was a guide dog puppy in training and I’m pretty sure never saw the inside of a pound.

Here’s another picture of Wiley from the OCRegister.com.

Great job Wiley!

After Derby was career changed we had him tested to see if he would make a suitable Search and Rescue Dog.  Unfortunately, they said he lacked the concentration and probably would be better suited as a family pet.  I’m sure he’s enjoying his life as a pet!

I encourage you to check out the full story called Rescue Dogs, Trainers Strut Their Stuff on the OCRegister.com website.

Puppy Career Change For Derby

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Derby Puppy Career ChangeLast week I got another call from GDA regarding Derby the career change puppy and what was going on with his possible new homes.  He was going to meet a family on Tuesday and if that didn’t work out he would have another meeting setup later in the week.  I found out that everything worked out for Derby on Tuesdayy.  I’m not too sure how the process works, but I guess Derby and his new family were a match.

Career Change Puppy

Unfortunately I don’t know much about Derby’s new family.  I understand that they didn’t bring him home immediately because they wanted to first puppy proof the home before he arrived.  I here that Derby will get walks everyday and will be living with a father and his son.  I also heard that Derby would be their second career change puppy…the first one just recently passed.  I wish Derby had another canine companion at his new home, but I’m sure he will do great and get showered with attention.  Hopefully Mr Wiggles (AKA Derby) will bring lots of joy to to his new home as I know he did for me.

From what I understand I may or may not hear from Derby’s new family.  I’m sure they have lots of questions about Derby so hopefully they give me a call and I can find out more information about his new home and how he is doing.

I’ll keep you all updated if I get anymore information on Mr. Wiggles.  I miss that boy…Stetson misses his wrestling partner and Linus misses regulating the bouts…

Training Your Dog To Play Nice With Toys

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Train your dog to play with a toy?  I know that sounds absolutely absurd.  However, as I’m learning some toys do require training just as you might have to teach your dog to retrieve a tennis ball or sit on command it may sometimes be important to train your dog to play properly with his new toys.

For those of you who’ve been following along here on the blog you may remember my post about the Ginger Bread House Puzzle Dog Toy.  I thought these would make great Christmas gifts and ordered several Gingerbread House Puzzle Dog Toys from Amazon.com.  I gave one to my parents dog, a 12 pound Cairn Terrier named Ralphie.  Check out the picture below:

Ralphie and Gingerbread House Dog Toy

Doggies Reaction To The Gingerbread House Dog Toy

Ralphie is not the kind of dog who prefers to tear apart and gut his toys unlike some other dogs I know (Linus, Stetson, and Derby).  Ralphie carried the Gingerbread house around a little bit and I showed him how to remove the gingerbread man from the house, but overall I think he was unimpressed.  However, the Gingerbread house and man did make for a good picture with Ralphie 🙂

The real test was with my three boys.  All three of my dogs love to gut their toys when given the chance.  Linus is the most gentle with his toys, but he still has the tendency to pull the  stuffing from his favorites.

Although I haven’t thoroughly exposed my boys to the Gingerbread house and it’s residents they did get a brief glimpse and some initial training with Ralphie’s Gingerbread house.

  • Linus pretty much ignored it as he often does when around other dogs
  • Stetson grabbed the house and it’s occupants and carried it back and forth around the house, but couldn’t quite get his nose and mouth through the doorway to extract the inner toys.
  • Derby had the most success and grabbed hold of the Gingerbread man and pulled him from his cozy home.

Play time with the Gingerbread house was entirely supervised and I did see Stetson creep towards his bed…Gingerbread house in tote and start gnawing on the ends of the little home.  I’m pretty certain that if left unattended this little Gingerbread home will end up in the pile of torn apart toys.  At this point I think I need to work more on showing Stetson, Linus, and Derby exactly how to extract the Gingerbread man through the front door rather than using the brute force attack and tearing off the roof.  Afterall, pulling the toys out the front door has to be like pulling the stuffing out of a plush dog toy…right?

We’ll see how it goes and I’ll keep you updated on the durability of the Gingerbread House Puzzle Dog Toy.

Did your puppy get a Gingerbread House Puzzle Dog Toy for Christmas?  How’s it holding up?

Top 14 Reasons Why Men Have Dogs And Not Wives

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My mother is always wondering when I’m going to get married. I’ve sometime thought this myself and I really have no explanation for why I’m not married…maybe I just haven’t met the right one. Then a revelation hit me (or rather an email in my inbox).

Lets first talk about my dogs…I have 3…Linus, Stetson, and Derby. Linus is an Australian Shepherd mix rescued from the Carson Shelter. Stetson is pure bred black Labrador Retriever and a career changed guide dog. Derby is a yellow Labrador Retriever guide dog puppy in training.

The Boys

Why so many dogs, but no wife?

Well I just received an email that explained the situation to me:

Top 14 Reasons Why Men Have Dogs And Not Wives

  1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.
  2. Dogs don’t notice if you call them by another dog’s name.
  3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.
  4. A dog’s parents never visit.
  5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.
  6. You never have to wait for a dog; they’re ready to go 24 hours a day.
  7. Dogs find you amusing when you’re drunk.
  8. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.
  9. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, “If I died, would you get another dog?”
  10. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.
  11. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.
  12. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don’t get mad. They just think it’s interesting.
  13. Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck.
  14. If a dog leaves, it won’t take half of your stuff.

I never really thought about it this way, but all very good points. So maybe I’m not holding out, maybe there is a reason why I have 3 dogs and no wife, maybe…

The Cutest Puppy Ever Part V

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Does everyone have a case of the Mondays? Well I’m glad you could tune in for today’s issue of the Cutest Puppy Ever. And be thankful that it’s a short week…for most people. I’m lucky enough to have this Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving weekend…YAY!

Well let’s round up the first four puppies in the Cutest Puppy Ever Series. First, there was Linus the Aussie Shepherd mix and adorable puppy if I must say so myself. Then number 2 was Princess Buttercup the German Shepherd mix. Number 3 was Blondie the cute blonde puppy who is possibly a yellow lab mix. Contestant number 4 was Sally our second black and tan German Shepherd mix.

On to number 5…Derby the yellow Labrador Retriever

The Cutest Puppy Ever – Derby

Derby is the youngest of all these puppies. He’s currently just over 6 months old and still is not full grown. He’s a yellow Labrador Retriever training to be a Guide Dog. Derby is an adorable puppy and is always happy. He’s still in his puppy stages and as we speak he still gets those puppy zoomies where he sprints back and forth uncontrollably. It’s a sight to see.

Take a look at his adorable puppy photos:

Click here to vote Derby the Cutest Puppy Ever!

Derby Cooling Off On The Tile

Derby Relaxing

Derby Taking A Nap On His Little Cushion

Subscribe NOW To Receive The Entire Cutest Puppy Ever Article Series

Did you like this article and pictures? If so, then fill out the form below and receive the entire Cutest Puppy Ever series daily via email. The final article of the series will allow you to vote on your favorite puppy! Be sure not to miss one puppy picture by filling out your email address in the form below.

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One final note. If you use social media or even if you don’t we’d love to get this series of stories a little more exposure by getting them up on StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit. If you are a member of any of these website then can you please stumble, digg, and reddit this post. I added some links to the bottom of the page that will allow you to quickly stumble, digg, or reddit us.

Did you read the other articles from this series? I’ll add the links to the bottom of each post as they are published.

The Cutest Puppy Ever Part I
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part II
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part III
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part IV
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part V
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part VI
The Cutest Puppy Ever Part VII
 The Cutest Puppy Ever Part VIII
 The Cutest Puppy Ever Part IX
 The Cutest Puppy Ever Part X

Is Linus An Example Of Inappropriate Dog Play – Inappropriate Dog Play Part 3 of 3

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Did you see yesterday’s video of Linus playing with my parents dog Ralphie? Was this appropriate or inappropriate dog play? If you didn’t see the video take a look at yesterdays post: How Linus Learned Dog Play – Inappropriate Dog Play Part 2 of 3.

When I watched Linus as a puppy play with Ralphie it was sometimes borderline inappropriate dog play. However, what I saw in the video looked OK.

  • I don’t think Linus was ever scared or fearful.
  • I don’t think Ralphie was ever over aggressive.
  • In general it looked like perfectly fun dog play!

Linus vs. Stetson Inappropriate Dog Play?

When I brought Stetson home he always seemed to be a menace to Linus – grabbing his tail, biting his neck. grabbing his hind leg then running away. Here’s some early footage:

I also remember one of Linus’s favorite moves was to sit on Stetson for about 2-4 seconds jumping off then doing it again.
Is that reminiscent of how Ralphie used to man handle Linus?

Linus vs. Derby Inappropriate Dog Play?

Unfortunately, I’m having some trouble getting my Linus vs. Derby videos off the camcorder and on to my computer. It’s very similar to what you see above except Stetson used to constantly harass Linus. Derby on the other hand is more of an athlete and really likes darting back and forth around the house jumping over obstacles including Stetson, Linus, furniture, etc.

From what I’ve witnessed Linus doesn’t like it when Derby runs back in forth in the house and regulates play by trying to grab the scruff of his neck. That is how I think Linus may have caught Derby on the face and top of the head during perhaps “inappropriate dog play?” we mentioned in the first article from this series: What Is Inappropriate Dog Play – Part 1 of 3?

The Verdict On Inappropriate Dog Play

After writing three articles, reminiscing, and reviewing the video evidence (I actually have an entire archive of Stetson, Derby, Linus, and Ralphie video) I’ve come to the conclusion that while Linus’s play can sometimes be constituted as inappropriate the majority of the video footage absolves him of inappropriate dog play. As to the best of my knowledge Linus seems to abide by the rules of appropriate dog play when playing with Stetson, Derby, and Ralphie.

What do you think? After watching the videos would you consider Linus’s play inappropriate dog play?

If you haven’t had the chance to read the first two articles from this series then here are the links:

What Is Inappropriate Dog Play – Part 1 of 3?

How Linus Learned Dog Play – Inappropriate Dog Play Part 2 of 3

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