Teach Your Pet

Chapel Hills Jumping Juniper, RE RL1X RL2

My senior dog, a fox red labrador retriever, Juniper started life with me as a crazy and energetic foster puppy - a candidate to be a service dog.  Though he did not succeed in that career, Juniper has been my assistant for many beginner and intermediate classes and taught me just how wonderful living with a high drive dog can be when you train with positive reinforcement and a lot of patience.

Juniper has become a great partner in Rally obedience, making everyone smile as he prances, dances and grins his way around the ring.  Nobody has more fun performing! 

Juniper completed his APDT Rally Level 2 title at Ann Arbor on April 4, 2009.  Juner performed very dependably, earning 1st, 3rd, and 2nd place ribbons and qualifying for an award of excellence from APDT.  Since then, he has earned his Level 1 championship title (RL1X), more placements AND earned his first perfect 210 score.  Juniper needs just 1 more set of qualifying scores to earn his ARCH (APDT Rally Champion) title.

Juniper was ranked in the top 20 point winners in RL1X level in 2009. Not bad for an old grey-muzzled boy!

It's been a privilege to live with his joyful Labrador spirit for 10 years.  Who would have guessed that our out-of-control puppy would grow up to be the best dog in the world?

Musicbox Knight Errant (Raleigh)

In September 2007 we welcomed a Lowchen pup into the household and he's been a delight.  Lowchens combine spunk, intelligence, and animation in a compact package.

Raleigh did a fine job of helping me renew my puppy raising skills.  Now 2 years old, he completed his Canine Good Citizen certification in January 2010 and has started training in Rally and therapy dog skills. 

Raleigh is the first dog I am training following (roughly) Sue Ailsby's Training Levels program - I am VERY pleased with how well we're developing communication and responsiveness. Clicker/mark training is amazing!  Raleigh will be my primary assistant with my rally and intermediate level classes for the near future.

My thanks to Donna Jones of Musicbox Bichons and Lowchens who placed Raleigh in my care.  He's the gift that keeps on giving!

Trailsinger's I Love Lucy

We adopted Lucy, the queen of our pack, at age 18 months - she'd already lived in 3 different households by the time she moved in with us. We found her through Petfinder.com: if you like bassets and other hounds, there are way too many available in rescue.  Go adopt one!

Now 9 years old, Lucy is a Canine Good Citizen who served for 3 years as a therapy dog, volunteering to be petted and admired at a nearby nursing home every Wednesday evening.  She is very good at learning tricks: despite the distraction that having a supernose provides, bassets are very trainable - especially if they like food rewards! 

Lucy's biggest and enduring character challenge is her tendency to resource guard.  Working to manage her environment to minimize her opportunity to guard goodies AND training her to be more comfortable and accepting of dogs and humans near her food bowls and chew toys has taught me a lot about this difficult behavior issue.

In mid December 2008 Lucy had a herniated disc that paralyzed her hindquarters. She has progressed from total paralysis to being able to walk and trot with an almost steady, almost dependable gait.  Surgery, underwater treadmill work, accupuncture, daily walks and physical therapy exercises have helped her rebuild her muscle tone, body awareness and motor skills. Over a year has passed since her surgery and Lucy is happy and active and strong, though her gait still shows some impairment. She reigns supreme as the queen of the family pack.

Trailsinger's Ladybug

If any dog ever tempts me to try agility, it will be this girl.  Fast, elegant and athletic, Ladybug looks to be a mix of Chinese shar pei and chihuahua or some sort of small terrier.  She's 15 pounds of speed, wiggles, charisma and cunning.  She can scale or squirm under any fence and can leap from floor level to a 29 inch high table top in a single bound from a standing start.  

Ladybug moved in with us after we found her wandering down our street in May 2008.  We tried to find Ladybug's owners through ads in the papers, posters around the neighborhood and contacting the local shelters.  While we looked for her owners, she ingratiated herself with the entire household, becoming especially important as a playmate for both Raleigh and Lucy. After a month with no claimants, we got her shots and license, had her spayed and began housetraining in earnest: she's home!

Ladybug's training goals for 2010 are to earn her Canine Good Citizen certificate and learn to stay quietly in a crate during our class sessions at Pawsitive Canine.  That will open up future doors for Ladybug, allowing her to become a class assistant or begin learning rally, agility or therapy skills.