All Smart Pets Training

I need this! What a clever idea

The age old problem has finally been solved!

Pippin, the blind/deaf aussie (with a tail!), has to navigate various boardwalks while on a hike at a state park. Watch to see which ones he manages better. What do you see?

Pippin on boardwalks at Interstate State Park 1080WebShareName Pippin, the blind/deaf aussie (with a tail!), has to navigate various boardwalks while on a hike at a state park. Watch to see which ones he manages better. ...

One of the fun activities I’ve done this past year is taking my dogs backpacking in 12 different state parks. I had a couple goals in mind when I started: 1. Working on a themed calendar project and 2. Logging miles for their backpacking titles. There were other incentives too, like stepping outside my comfort zone and doing some more photography.

We started in May, and finished both goals in November. I decided against using the pictures as originally intended because I unexpectedly found a couple ideal photo shoot locations that worked out beautifully, but I kept my goal of visiting 12 parks.

This coming year, I might repeat the project with 12 completely different parks. There’s no shortage of state parks in Minnesota! Since the backpacking titles are finished, the dogs won’t need to wear their backpacks, and we can relax a bit. It’s not about the miles, it’s about enjoying and exploring the location.

What will you do this year to expand your dog’s universe? Go on 12 different walks around town? Try 12 new Sniff Spots? Learn 12 new tricks? Meet 12 new friends? Taste test 12 new kinds of treats? Challenge your dog to come when called 12 times past different distractions? How about not barking at other dogs on 12 occasions? Pick a goal to stretch your dog’s skills, and one they can succeed at.

Pop your “Goal of 12” down below (or “Goal of 6” if that’s more reasonable for you) and a picture of your dog with their first challenge!

We had another great Fit Dog Club walk today!

Our next Fit Dog Club walk will be Sunday Nov 3, at 1pm. Meet at Lindenwood Park in Fargo at the fountain. Let me know if you're coming! Message, text, email.

The AKC finally announced info for the 2024 Turkey Trot virtual run. And it counts as points towards your Fit Dog titles!

Annual 2024 AKC FIT DOG Turkey Trot The AKC FIT DOG Turkey Trot is a virtual 5K (3.1 miles) that people do with their dogs. This non-competitive 5K Turkey Trot can be done all at one time, or in smaller segments on multiple days so that everyone (people and dogs) can participate at their own pace. This can be a walk or run activity.

CGC test in Ada next Monday evening at 6pm

I'm now a UKC SPOT evaluator! It's similar to the AKC's CGC, but the exercises are quite different. And the scoring is more comprehensive than the CGC. I like the program a lot.

My latest CEU classes for my Fear Free certification just put me over the threshold for Elite status! That wasn't even on my radar. I'm super excited about it and am planning on developing some classes teaching you Fear Free techniques to help your pet be more comfortable at the vet and with care you may do at home, like nail trims. Let me know what you're interested in regarding Fear Free handling.

Come join us! Whether you're interested in earning Trick Dog titles or having fun with your dog, this is the place to be!

I'm so excited! I just can't hide it! Pippin was featured in the AKC's Family Dog Magazine in an article about dogs who have overcome serious challenges and earned various titles in the Family Dog Program. Those include the CGC titles, Trick Dog titles, Fit Dog titles, and the brand new Fetch Dog titles.

Take a look at my upcoming Fit Dog class - starting next Wednesday.
And I'll be adding a couple Trick classes starting in August - I'll post the date & time in the next day or two.

Many of you know I love earning titles through Do More With Your Dog. In honor of the Olympic gymnastics tryouts this weekend, I completed Quinn's Balance Beam title - and then did an extra title using one kind of prop - a balance beam - to do a total of 20 (actually 24) tricks. Some are repeated in the 2nd video, but not all. My big learning curve was figuring out how to add voiceover. And editing the voiceover tracks.
Here's the first video: https://youtu.be/__7VJlroE0Y
The second one (20 Tricks 1 prop) is in the first comment.

Quinn Balance DMWYD 1080WebShareName Quinn's taking on the entire USA Gymnastics team for a spot on the Doglympics team. She's going for gold on the Balance Beam!