Chispa has been making fantastic progress! She’s been getting better with the mat exercise, her door manners are improving dramatically, and she’s learning how to be calm when greeting people. Her people have been taking turns battling the flu, so I haven’t seen Chispa in just over a week. But her people are awesome; they’ve been doing a great job working with her on her lessons. I have no doubt they’re going to continue making great progress not only with her, but with themselves, too.

  Little spitfire Zuko is making great progress. He’s almost 12 weeks old, now. He’s doing great with the “sit” command, but he’s still challenged by the “down” command. He’s improved quite a bit on the leash, but his recall needs work.  He’s an exuberant, curious, stubborn little boy who likes to do things his way. Any interference with that makes him unhappy, and he nips, jumps, and bites at his human to show his displeasure. Using redirection and positive reinforcement techniques, however, he’s starting to learn what is and isn’t appropriate and acceptable. He’s very smart for his age, and his human is doing a fantastic job with him.

  Meet Jax and Finn!  Jax (back) is a 3-year-old miniature Schnauzer; Finn (front) is the same breed, but only 5 months old. Both dogs are rescues, and both are incredibly smart. I was called in to help with a barking problem; by the end of the hour, not only were the dogs not barking anymore, but they were both practicing really good manners and being very polite. I’m honored and blessed to be asked to continue helping them and their humans and I look forward to an interesting adventure with this wonderful family.

  Remember Lacey? She boarded with me for the first couple of months after she was purchased. She was being trained in basic obedience with a larger goal of working towards Service certification as an Autism dog for her human boy. Due to circumstances for the family, Lacey’s training was suspended for a very long time. However, her humans continued to work her to the best of their abilities, and last night, when I went to assess where she’s at so I would know where to resume her training, I saw the proof of that. We have a few things to work on to get her back on the right track, but overall, Lacey did an awesome job. It was a true testament to the hard work her humans have put in with her.

This weekend, Ben is going to be working with potential adopters Stacy and Joel. I’m going to have them and Ben working with each other so they can get to know each other, and to help start the process of building trust between them. This is an important part of any adoption; the adopters and the dog must be able to bond with each other or the transition to the new forever home will be a negative experience for everyone, including the dog.

Have a great day, everyone, and remember: Stay calm, and lead on…