Category Archives: Gallery
Dog Connection Homework – Food Bowl
Food Bowl Manners
featuring Sky
Have dog in a light line at first if you think they’ll get distracted or if they get too excited by their bowl.
1. Teach your dog to “Sit” when you offer their bowl
After a few repetitions, put a few pieces of kibble in the bowl and try again. With bowl in hand, say “sit” and reward by releasing with your “ok” to the bowl.
Slowly increase the time your dog must wait in a “sit” position to be release to the bowl.
Be patient, if your dog loves his food, start with the empty bowl so he gets the idea, if he loves food it will be hard for him to control himself at first, so as soon as he sits, bring the bowl down and release with your “ok” simultaneously.
2. Teach your dog that you approaching the bowl is a good thing.
Set the bowl of food down, and drop a very yummy treat in the bowl. After a few repetitions, she should start anticipating the treat as you reach in and might actually look up. At this point, you are ready to move to the next stage.
Set the bowl down, as she eats, move away, and return to drop a yummy treat in the bowl, then move away again. Return, drop a treat, move away, etc. You are looking for your dog to WANT you to approach while they eat!
3. Teach your dog that good things happen when you take the bowl away.
Once your dog is happy with you approaching and reaching for the bowl, its time to take it away. Pick up the bowl, drop a very yummy treat and put it back down. You can do a few repetitions of this, and also move away after giving the bowl back, so your dog gets used to the idea that he might get a “surprise” when you remove the bowl.
Another technique, is to only put a handful of their meal in the bowl at a time, wait for them to eat it and look to you for more. Basically you are teaching your dog to ASK you to approach the bowl and pick it up. Set their bowl down with a handful of kibble, after they finish eating wait for them to look at you, as soon as they do approach and pick up the bowl, place another handful and repeat the exercise until you finish the meal.
If you follow these simple guidelines, you’ll end up with a dog that waits patiently for their food and that loves it when you take the bowl away!
Copyright Dog Connection 2011
Adventure Camp #4 – About Town and SHOPPING!!!
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Wow, what I busy day we had today! Perfect weather, happy campers, and lots of fun activities made for a fun filled day.We started by polishing our leash walking skills with lots of new distractions at the walking circle next to the Aventura Mall. Baby strollers, joggers, bikers, construction and traffic sounds made for some new environmental stimuli. A short 20 minute walk was good to get the initial jumpinness and excitement out of the way.
From there, we went to the Bark Park at East Greynolds Park down at Biscayne Blvd. It was a LOT of fun, and the Campers got to chase each ther around, wrestle and practice some basic behaviors in smaller Training Teams. We worked on Recalls (as shown on our Collar Games homework from last week), Sits and Downs and even started on some Stays. It’s always good to keep training fun and short, so training at the park allowed us to do some impromptu practices while they played, then more formal work and play sessions.
After play breaks, it was time for some “real life” experiences. We headed to Bal Harbor Shops with the Campers, so we could walk around the stores, socialize them, and do some short training sessions. The Campers were a SENSATION! People would stop us to pet them and take pictures. We entered the Nieman Marcus store and were trated like royalty! All the Sales Clerks had to stop and compliment the pups. It was a lot of practice and GREAT socialization. They got to see the Koi fish and turtles swimming in the water fountains, admired the Holiday decorations, sat calmly by us while we “rested” on a bench, and of course pose for several pictures! Many of the mall spaces were under construction, so they go to see workers carrying equipment and listen to the hammering and banging nearby.
All in all, a wonderful experience for all!
Fall Camp #10 – Graduation and Pool Party!
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Graduation Day is here – WOW! Time DOES fly when you are having fun!
At Dog Connection, we find ourselves as usual feeling conflicting emotions on this our last day of this Camp Series. We feel happy because the dogs had so much fun, proud that they have all learned so much and improved so notably, but we also feel a little sad because we know we’ll miss our outings and seeing them on a regular basis. It really is a lot of work planning and putting into practice each Camp session, but the rewards we get from each and every one far outweigh it. So this is not really a goodbye but a see you later, as we’re already starting plans for our next series – after a short break for the Holidays!
We would like to give a HUGE thank you to Rosemary and Pedro – Bella’s owners- for the DELICIOUS breakfast basket they sent us yesterday! It ended up being breakfast, lunch and takeout for all 5 of our Camp Counselors!!!! Also, thanks to Dana – Diva and Dude’s owner – for the wonderful treats – everyone enjoyed them. Again, THANK YOU, you really didn’t have to, but boy did we appreciate it 
Another HUGE thank you goes to Megan and the Webber Family – Bo and Sofia’s owners – for having us and all 17 campers for a fun filled day at their home and some swimming in their pool. We are really grateful for your hospitality and lucky to have such a wonderful place to celebrate our last Camp Session! We think the pictures speak for themselves, and the tired dogs we sent home yestersday will be further proof of how much fun was had. The Campers had a wonderful time romping loose in the fenced in yard, swimming in the pool and going through their obedience practice. We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed spending the day with your dogs.
Finally, we would like to thank all of our Campers for joining us in this journey, for all the laughs and their antics, and of course to you, their families, for taking such good care of them and, of course, for trusting us with their care and training.
Please remember the Holidays can be a very dangerous and stressful time for your dog: lots of people coming in and out of the house raise the risk of escaping, and dogs can get a bit nervous with the unusual going ons. Gifts and decorations present new hazards for dogs who can become destructive or curious with the unexpected “surprises”. Holiday candy and food, as well as some of the more traditional plants can be poisonous to your dog, so make sure your pup isn’t chewing on your beautiful poinsetta as it can be very dangerous!
Remember to give your dogs a break from all the celebrating and enjoy this wonderful time with your family!!!!
See you soon for our next Camp!
