Puppy Training Tips
We saw these two puppies at the Irvine Home For The Holidays Pet Adoption Fair. If you’re thinking about getting another pet please consider adoption. A great place to start is PetFinder.com that’s where we found our rescue pup Linus almost 8 years ago!
Who are the number one mischief makers? PUPPIES!!! I think you’d have to agree that puppies get into more mischief than most and I’ve been fool enough to be a guide dog puppy raiser for the past 6 years training dozens upon dozens of puppies from 7 weeks to 18 months old.
After all of those puppies the title of Number One Mischief Maker still goes to my very first rescue pup: LINUS.
Why was Linus crowned Number One Mischief Maker? Well lets forget about the fact that he ate 3 remote controls (there were no more left in the house or it could have been more), 2 cell phones, and partridge in a pear tree…j/k
Nope all of those are inconsequential compared to what he did one late summer night…
By the time Linus was 6 months old he was fairly reliable in the house. He was done with his puppy potty training and hadn’t had an accident in months, but he did have a thing for electronics. He wasn’t like regular puppies who like to chew on pressed rawhides or KONGs. Nope! Linus preferred expensive electronic devices like brand new cell phones and TV remotes. However, this isn’t about his penchant for electronics.
My ex-girlfriend was living with my sister at the time and Linus was spending the night. My ex-gf and I went out to dinner and a movie and left Linus at home like we had many times before. We walked in through the front door and everything seemed fine. No mess at the doorway just a happy puppy waiting to greet us.
We headed towards the kitchen and my ex-gf walked back to her bedroom when I heard a terrifying scream. I rushed back towards her room and saw…to see what happened next check out Mischief Master Class (affiliate link). 50% of the profits from Snoopy’s book will go towards therapy dog support charities.
So how do you think this story ends? What do you think I saw when I headed back to my ex-gf’s room? Tell us what you think in the comment section below.
Some extreme awesomeness coming into today’s episode of Puppy In Training TV. Rather than tell you exactly what’s going to happen I’d rather have you watch our latest video.
As you can already tell from the title this is about visiting the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach, CA. This was a great outing for Dublin and our other puppies in training, but make sure you watch the video all the way to the end because there is a special announcement.
I’m so excited for Dublin’s graduation! In case you didn’t get a chance to write it down here are the details:
WHAT: Dublin’s Graduation
WHEN: April 22nd, 2012 @10am
WHERE: Guide Dogs of America
13445 Glenoaks Blvd.
Sylmar, CA 91342
If you’ve been watching Dublin’s videos you should definitely try to make his graduation.
PuppyInTraining.com Logo and Website Address
Hi Everyone! Long time no see! Dublin is still at Guide Dog College. This is Stetson, Linus, and our new Guide Dog Puppy In Training, Apache. Welcome to this episode of Puppy In Training TV.
Guide Dog Puppy Training Starring DUBLIN
With Linus Aussie Shepherd Rescue
Also Colby The Human
And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog
Guest Appearance Apache
The last few months I’ve been working really hard with this big boy…Apache, but I’ve also recently been hearing a few whispers about Dublin. So what does that mean!? You’ll have to watch the rest of the video to find out.
It’s been nearly 6 months since we dropped off Dublin at college. During that time he’s written us 4 postcards telling us all about his guide dog training.
Today we came across one of Dublin’s lost videos and decided we’d like to share it with you.
Dublin and I visited the Sawdust Festival along with a couple other Puppies In Training.
The Sawdust Festival is a little arts in crafts village open during the the summertime in Laguna Beach, CA.
We parked down the street so Dublin could experience the tram. And as you can see he’s pretty interested in looking out as we zoom on down the road.
We hopped off the tram and then followed Miles and Chuck through the front door of the Sawdust Festival
You might not notice it from the video, but there are tons of wood chips on the ground…a great distraction and a good time to work on our Leave It command.
Dublin is doing a pretty good job with his heelling and I’m getting a chance to check out some of Laguna Beach’s local art work.
We’ve come across open stairs in the past, but every staircase is a little bit different so this is another great chance to work on a loose leash heel.
After walking around for a while Dublin and I…mostly me need a break.
We noticed they were doing glass work. I thought it would be good for Dublin to see, smell, and hear some of the things happening near the oven.
We headed back down the stairs and noticed this funky fountain so I had Dublin sit next to it…no Dublin that’s not your new water bowl!
Next we headed over to the Long Branch Saloon for the wine and beer garden! Actually we just ordered a bite to eat…no booz today!
Dublin was a good boy and relaxed under the table while we ate then we headed outside to wait for the tram.
Dublin was a little bit excited for the tram ride so I made sure he waited before boarding.
This tram was a little bit different then the first one. It was not as open to the street, but another good new experience for Dublin.
So here we are at the end of our day exiting the tram, saying by to Chuck and Miles, and back in the car driving home.
A special thanks to Anne Gunderson and the Sawdust Festival for allowing our puppies in training to experience your wonderful event!
Just putting in some final touches on today’s video. These are the 4 postcards Dublin sent us over the past 6 months. We also heard there were a few Dublin sightings on the GDA campus. And today, we found out Dublin has been matched with a young lady from Arizona! YAY!!!!
So Dublin is all set to graduate on April 22nd at 10am and we’d love for any and everyone to come join us at graduation. Here’s the address of the Guide Dogs of America Campus:
I’m so excited for Dublin and his new partner! If you can’t make graduation don’t worry, we’ll make sure to have a Puppy In Training TV Graduation Episode.
That’s it for today! Thanks for joining us and we’ll see you next time!
If you want to sponsor an episode of Puppy In Training TV visit Puppy In Training dot com.
The Sawdust Festival is an awesome outing for puppies in training and I highly recommend you visit them in the summer if you have the chance. Dublin did well riding the tram and walking around the art’s and crafts. He even left the wood chips on the ground alone most of the time. All in all a very good day.
I’m so excited about the upcoming graduation that I might not be able to sleep between now and then. I’m so proud of Dublin! I can’t wait to see him on stage in his harness.
As I mentioned earlier Dublin’s graduation is open to everyone and we’d love to see all his family, friends, and fans at GDA in Sylmar on April 22nd, 2012 at 10am. If you do stop by please stop by and say hello.
That’s it for today. I hope to see you all soon! Take care!
Welcome tor our first Puppy Training Weekly Roundup! So what exactly is our Puppy Training Weekly Roundup? Well it all started way back when we decided to compile a list of top dog blogs.
Step 1 my list of top dog blogs is now COMPLETE!
Step 2 is to add the top 50 dog blogs to my Google Reader account. CHECK!
Step 3 visit Google Reader every day and read my favorite blog articles. CHECK!
Step 4 add cute puppy picture to post to try and attract more readers/subscribers. CHECK!
Step 5 at the end of every week share my 5 favorite dog blog posts from the week…SEE BELOW!
Why am I doing this? There’s so much information blasted out everyday I thought it would be nice to see just a short list of my favorite readings from the week. Now you don’t have to scan through 50 blogs and hundreds of posts to find the top 5. Of course your top 5 might be slightly different then mine in which case you’re welcome to subscribe to all the blogs on the top 50 dog blogs list.
Consider that six years ago, there were 537 bedbug complaints and 82 violations (in other words, verified infestations); last year, complaints topped out at nearly 11,000, with 4,084 violations cited (nearly double that of the previous year).
That’s a wrap! I hope you found this weeks Puppy Training Roundup useful. I’m sure over the coming weeks we may make some changes like add more posts or have fewer posts.
Anyhow, if you’re a dog blogger and you wrote a particularly interesting post this week then please leave me a comment with a link in the comment section below and I’ll definitely check it out. Who knows, maybe I’ll include the link in next weeks roundup…there’s a thought (thinking outloud again)…if we start getting some great links to blog articles in the comment section maybe I’ll include my favorite link from the comment section from each week in the following weeks Puppy Training Roundup. We’ll see…maybe a good chance for you guys to get an easy link back to your amazing posts!
It’s important for us to take our guide dog puppies in training out and about exposing them to different people as well as different situations. Dublin and I rode the metrolink to San Clemente back in Episode 7 – Puppy Training Ride. Today in Episode 14 we had the opportunity to once again ride the metrolink train, but this time we took it north to the Union Station in Los Angeles, CA. Not only did we ride the train, but we also had the opportunity to ride the tram and bus on our way to the Universal City Walk…you could call it a “Transportation Puppy Training Day!”
We found our train, tram, and bus riding experience to the Universal City Walk to be invaluable. It’s very important to expose our guide dog puppies to public transportation as it’s one of our pups likely modes of transportation when they become working guide dogs.
Anyhow enough jabber…on with the show!!!
Here’s this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV. If you’d like to sponsor an episode take a look at the Puppy In Training TV Sponsorship page.
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I hope you’re enjoying my great camera work of the incoming train and the headless Dublin 🙂 Anyhow…welcome to the latest episode of Puppy In Training TV
Guide Dog Puppy Training Starring DUBLIN
With Linus Aussie Shepherd Rescue
Also Colby The Human
And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog
That train you just saw speeding by was the Metrolink. We hopped on the Metrolink in Orange with our GDA pals and headed off for an adventure to the Universal City Walk in Los Angeles.
In episode 7 we took the metrolink south to San Clemente and visited the beach and walked the pier. This time we took the train north to the Union Station in LA.
After exiting the train we did a head count. Yuki…Check, Dublin…Check, Baron…Check, Wriley…Check! Then we headed through the tunnels to meet our tour guide.
All of our pups did really well riding the train and walking through the train station. As you can see and hear their are tons of strange sights and sounds not too mention the different smells.
Our second leg of the trip was to hop on the tram. It was a little bit cramped in their with people and pups, but Dublin got comfortable in a down-stay.
After exiting the tram we had a great opportunity to walk up a long flight of stairs. As you can see Dublin was a little bit eager, so I did my best to slow him down and keep him in a nice heel position.
Once we reached the top of the stairs we saw a sign to our final destination the Universal City Walk, However, we still had to take the third leg in our public transportation training trip…a short bus ride to take up the hill.
After a train ride, a tram ride, and a bus ride we made it and gave our pups a chance to pose out in front of the famous Universal Studios rotating globe.
The Universal City Walk was pretty crowded with people with lots of noise and activities going on. Our first destination was the Karl Strauss Brewing Company for a bite to eat.
After relaxing and having a bit of food we came downstairs and let the puppies hang out by this interesting water fountain.
As I mentioned the Universal City Walk was crowded! But there was tons of different things for the pups to see, smell, and hear.
A Giant Gorilla…A Giant Guitar….Some crazy Dancers…And Skydivers floating around in a giant tube. Now those are some things you don’t see everyday!
Baron even got to check out a little yapping puppy.
On the way out Dublin thought it would be a good idea to hang out by the Sparky’s Mini Donuts….so we went ahead and bought of few…Sorry Dublin donuts are for the humans…
After a long day we started our bus, tram, and train ride back home.
When we finally got back on the metrolink Dublin absolutely zonked out. Then when we got in the car he squished his head between my backpack and the chair and started snoring away.
Thanks for joining us on our Train, Tram, and Bus Ride to the Universal City Walk. We’ll see you next time!
You may have noticed in the video that Dublin was a tad bit eager. In fact, he was probably on his worst behavior, constantly pulling and trying to move out in front of me throughout the day. Fortunately, about half way through the day Dublin started behaving more like a normal guide dog puppy in training. However, today’s trip to the Universal City Walk was definitely one of Dublin’s worse outings.
Why the change in Dublin’s behavior? I’m not really sure because we have been on many outings before with other GDA pups and he’s behaved just fine. He wasn’t fearful and the sights, sounds, and smells didn’t seem to bother him. He seemed to be dog distracted more than anything and had an extra dose of energy pulling towards our other guide dog puppies in training. Hopefully Dublin will adjust and mature a little bit more before he starts his formal guide dog training at school. Since shooting this puppy training video Dublin has definitely shown improvement and this seems to have been a one time event. As I mentioned I’m not too sure what happened…I guess he was just having one of those crazy days.
Have you taken your puppy in training on a train, tram, or bus. If so, how was the experience? How did you puppy handle all the different sights, sounds and smells?
We recently had a great outing to San Clemente with our Orange County Guide Dogs of America Puppy Raising Group. It started at the Metrolink train station in the city of Orange, a train ride down to San Clemente, a walk on the boardwalk, lunch, and play time for our puppies. It was a great day and a super experience for all of our puppies in training.
Dublin had his first encounter with sand and he really didn’t know what to think of the next texture under his paws. Take a look at this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV to see Dublin’s reaction to sand and puppy train outing to San Clemente.
Here’s this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV. If you’d like to sponsor an episode take a look at the Puppy In Training TV Sponsorship page.
We tried to be funny with the title because it was Puppy Training and A Puppy Train Ride…anyhow here’s this weeks transcription. I hope you enjoy!
Happy Holidays everyone! My name is Colby this is Dublin. Welcome to our final episode of 2010!
(Titles Roll): Puppy In Training TV Starring Dublin. With Linus Aussie Mix Rescue. Also Colby The Human. And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog. Episode 6 – Los Caballeros Tennis And Puppy Training.
Weclome to Episode 7 – Puppy Train(ing) Ride. We recently took Dublin on his first real train ride down to San Clemente. Our first stop was the Orange Train Station where we met the other puppy raisers from our group.
The Metrolink trains are much louder than the train ride we encountered on our trip to Knott’s in episode 4. The sites sounds and getting on and off the train are great experiences for our puppies, but this trip was recommended for our older puppies only. As you can tell the Metrolink moves pretty fast and Dublin did a great job just relaxing under my chair as did all the other puppies in our group.
As I mentioned we got on at the Orange train stop and took the Metrolink all the way down to San Clemente.
When the train finally came to a stop. We all worked on calmly getting off the train with our puppies. After exiting the train we walked along the boardwalk on the beach. While walking down the boardwalk we had the chance to get close to the water and watch some surfers. While watching the surf and the surfers. The train came speeding by.
After walking for about a mile we got to the San Clemente Pier and we took the dogs down to the end so they could take in the view. While looking into the water we noticed some dolphins off the shore. If you look closely you can see them off in the distance. I tried to get Dublin to take a look, but he just wasn’t interested.
We had a little extra time before lunch so we took the opportunity to take a few pictures of our puppies. After watching the dolphins for a little bit and taking a few pictures of our puppies we decided to head in and grab some lunch. During our lunch break all of our puppies absolutely knocked out underneath the table
After lunch we started heading over to the park and I noticed Dublin got excited when walking on the sand that’s something we probably need to work on in the future.
While we were walking towards the park the train came speeding by again. It blew its whistle and it scared the absolute poop out of me. However, it didn’t bother Dublin one bit. When we got to the park the x-pens were already setup and we let our puppies play for a little while. After running around and playing for a little while our puppies relaxed we took some glamour shots, and we prepared for our long walk back to the train station.
We got back a little early and stopped off at the coffee shop. Dublin knocked out and curled up into a perfect ball underneath my chair. It had been a long day for our puppies as we headed back to the San Clemente train stop. Dublin had one more chance to watch the train pull up before we all got on board and headed home.
Hey everyone! Dublin did awesome on his first train ride. The loud noises and speeding train didn’t bother him one bit. Thanks again everyone for watching Puppy In Training TV. I hope everyone has a fun and safe holidays!
A special thanks to Jan Brady for organizing all of our Orange County GDA outings this past year!
If you’d like to sponsor an episode of Puppy In Training TV visit PuppyInTraining.com
As I mentioned in the video, Dublin did absolutely awesome on his first train ride. There were some very loud noises especially when the train blew it’s whistle. It was nice to hang out with all the other guide dog puppies in training on this outing. Everyone did very well! As I mentioned earlier the one area that kind of weirded Dublin out was the sand. It was his first steps on sand and it got him into a playful mood. However, I’m not too worried about it. Since this video was shot we’ve walked on sand a couple more times and Dublin did much better. I believe it’s just a matter of exposing him to different textures on the ground including sand. We also plan on testing Dublin in the snow sometime soon.
Thanks again for visiting our blog and please let us know if there’s something you’d like to see in one of our upcoming Puppy In Training TV episodes.
How about you? Have you taken your Puppy In Training on a train ride? How was the experience?