Wasatch Canine Camp Newsletter

Below is a video from today’s little bit of socialization I did at home.  Cinnamon is a 4-month-old Cokcer Spaniel that was here for day drop off training, Pooka is a mix of some sort that was here for boarding, Della is a Pit Bull that is here for Board and Train, and Missy is a dog I am trying to find a home for.  Enjoy the video!

This morning I got Pups, a 10 month old Poodle mix, in for board and train.  He is here for dog obedience training and to learn basic manners using the electric dog training collar.  I have only had him for a few hours today, and have so far introduced him to my dogs and started him on the electric dog training collar.  He did awesome when he met my dogs (I will have a short clip of it when I can get it up and running).  He’s very friendly and playful with them.  On the e-collar he did just as most dogs do during their first time on the e-collar.  He just sprinted around, and minded his own business for the first ten minutes or so, and then he started recognizing the stimulation and started responding to it very well.  Usually it takes about five days for dogs to really understand the collar and do well on it, so I really don’t expect much of him yet.  I will keep you guys posted on his progress, and try to keep daily videos up and running so you can really see his progress.

For those of you who aren’t aware, a few weeks ago Harley was returned to me. The people that took him for about three weeks absolutely loved him, but they didn’t listen to my warnings and completely gave him too much freedom. He took advantage of this freedom and ended up biting one of their friends. Of course, the second they finally “realized” (even though I told them many times he had the potential to bite) that they had an aggressive dog on their hands and that they were responsible, they returned him. I knew he would most likely regress quite a bit when he returned home, but in the first week of having him here I couldn’t notice any regression in his progress. Last Saturday he definitely proved me wrong. Before I was about to start my Pack to Basics ™ class he lunged at a few dogs. So, I started him off on the muzzle and he was completely fine the whole class. A few more days went by and he was still acting very obedient and being a gentleman. Yesterday I made a Petsmart trip with him to touch up on dog behavior training and aggressive dog training using the electric dog training collar. He did perfect the whole time we were there, just until we were walking out the door when he tried to lunge after a little girl. Today has been quite a challenge for him, aswell. On the walk this morning the lunged at almost every car that drove past (he hasn’t done that in about 3 months), and was back to attacking my feet while I worked on his food aggression (he hasn’t done that in about 2 months). I was very discouraged to see these behaviors return this week. He was doing so awesome, but just had to try and test everything with me again. I am going to work him extra hard on dog behavior training and aggressive dog training using the electric dog training collar over these next few weeks.

Here’s a short video from today’s Pack to Basics ™. This was Harley’s first time in class for about a month, and he did pretty good. He did struggle a bit in the beginning, and lunged at a few of the dogs, so I started him off on leash and on muzzle, but after about five minutes I took the leash and muzzle off and he did just awesome! He was back to his normal relaxed/submissive self in no time.

Well, Harley did find a home about 3-4 weeks ago. His home was extremely willing to work with him and instantly fell in love with him. They worked with him every single day, doing everything correctly, but this morning I received a call from them that Harley had bit one of their friends. It was a pretty bad bite, and they realized how inconsistent this dog really was. They have decided, that even though they absolutely love him, they can’t keep him. They will be bringing him back to me tomorrow. I was extremely sad to hear this… I really love Harley, and I knew he would most likely slip up from time to time. They were aware of this as well, but neither of us thought his bite would be this bad. I am thinking that if I can’t find a home for him that I will either have to keep him or put him down. I really don’t want to put him down, he has major potential. I am going to try my hardest to keep this awesome guy from getting put down. Even though I am sad he bit someone, and that he can’t stay with that family, I am excited for him to return. I have grown really attached to this dog.

I just had a mom and her son come look at Harley.  Before they came here they were very much aware of his past, his aggression issues, and how well he has been doing.  When they got here we talked for about a half an hour about him, what I have been doing with him, and just talked about where he would be going if they took him.  They were very  anxious about meeting him, and couldn’t wait for me to bring him into the room.  The second they laid eyes on Harley I could tell they were going to take him.  It was an instant click between them and Harley.  After about a couple minutes of showering him with love, she finally said, “Okay!  What do I need to do to take him home?”  I was so happy!  We talked for about an hour on how to take care of him, how to do exactly what I have been doing with him, and what to do if anything happens.  They were very eager and willing to learn about how to take care of their new family member.  He is now home with a very loving family that will work with him through his behavior issues and love him for who he is.

This was definitely a perfect match for him, and I couldn’t be happier!  Though, I have to admit, I will miss that sweet little (BIG) guy.  My house already feels empty without him here.  It was hard to not shed a few tears as I watched them drive away.  I know he will be happy where he is, and I am thankful I could help him get there.  Hooray for Harley!

This video is of my dogs, Sadie, and Harley playing in the snow today.

This video is of Harley eating his food.  Notice how polite he is now, and how he doesn’t growl anymore.  He has come a very long way!

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Harley is available for adoption now.  I started out with him for board and train, but something unexpected happened with his owners and they were unable to take him back.  Their original intent, was to train him and re-home him, but it happened faster than they thought.  He is now professionally trained and needs a new home!  His adoption fee is $400 and included in his price is an electric dog training collar, prong collar, halti, leash, bag of food, shots, neutering, two sessions in your home with Wasatch Canine Camp, and plus, he’s a professionally trained dog!  If you’re interested in Harley, or know anyone who is please contact me at: (801)735-1978 or email bbarnes@wasatchcaninecamp.com.  I would like to find him a home, or foster ASAP!

The break-down of his fee is:

- Harley $100
- Electric Collar $200 (regular price $250)
- Two Training Sessions $100 (regular price $150)
- Free food and Equipment (Over $100 value)
- Two free weeks of Board and Train service from Wasatch Canine Camp ($1,200 value)

The other day a member of my family decided that they would like to adopt Gogo.  They will continue his training and keep him on a consistent schedule to insure he doesn’t go down hill and back to how he used to be.  He seems to be very happy with them, and is extremely respectful in his new home.  With a new name and a new family, Gogo’s very eventful life goes on to experience new challenges and make new friends.

Today was my first day starting dog behavior training and aggressive dog training with Gogo around kids.  He has bitten kids in the past, and from my understanding, the kids that he has bitten were either touching him too much in the face, or being too loud or fast.  Those are fairly common types of kids to get bit by dogs, mainly because they’re a very unbalanced and unpredictable energy, and any dog that hasn’t been trained to ignore this, will bite to correct the behavior.

Today I had 10 nieces and nephews at my house, all under the age of 12, so I figured it was the perfect time to work with him around crazy, hyper kids!  I, of course, put a muzzle on him and kept him on leash at all times, but he did awesome!  At first he was a little unsure and shaky, and then soon relaxed.  In the whole hour and a half I had him out I didn’t see a single lip curl, hear a single growl, or see a single snap attempt.  One of my nieces, age 1, even came up, poked him in the eye, and accidentally fell on him.  He could have cared less!  I was so happy to see him doing so great!  I still don’t want to trust him quite yet, he needs to experience this quite a few more times before I can say he is finally a happy balanced dog.  It’s good to see him doing so well, hopefully he will perfect this much faster than the dog aggression.  He is a good example of an old dog learning new tricks, AND an aggressive dog becoming relaxed and happy!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Gogo with my 3-year-old nephew Parker, he did awesome!

I have been working really hard with Gogo on dog behavior training and aggressive dog training.  He is doing so awesome!  He has never eaten with my dogs as a pack before.  I usually just feed all the dogs I have at the same time.  They have to work for it of course, and the most submissive dog always gets fed first (almost always Daddy or Jake).  Since everything was going so fast with Gogo, I decided to put that off until he was comfortable, and usually fed him inside while I ate.  Today I decided to feed him with the pack, it’s a good bonding experience, and it proves to me that if he can eat around the dogs, then he trusts them enough to do just about anything with them.  He was fed last, he wasn’t being hyper or demanding for the food, just a little unsure, and I didn’t want to reward that state of mind.  When I finally put his food down, he hesitated at first, but with some encouragement from me, he started eating!  He even ate every last bite!  I was so happy to see that he can trust me, and my dogs, enough now to finally eat with them.

He’s is great outside too.  He just hangs out around Daddy and Jake the most, he still shows his teeth at Sasha, but he doesn’t try to attack her anymore, and he just ignores Rosco.  He now keeps his tail up and wagging most of the time, instead of tucked under his belly.  You can definitely tell he’s feeling more welcome.  This week is the week I start with his kid aggression (if my family will let me of course).  I will try to start with my oldest Nephew (12), and work my way down (since I have ten nieces and nephews).  I’m hoping he will do well, because he’s not as stressed anymore, and doesn’t have any other problems except this left.

Merry Christmas!

Gogo's first time eating with all my dogs (Daddy was the first to finish eating, but you can see where his bowl was)

Gogo is doing awesome now!  He barely hides at all anymore, and actually hangs out with the other dogs.  This morning I had him out with the dogs while I was inside eating breakfast, and he just hung out on our porch the whole time, and whenever a dog came up to him, he would just sniff them, and then ignore them, even Sasha!  He is even eating everyday now.  I think he didn’t like the food I was feeding him before, because he was on an adult food, and then I remembered he was five, so I switched him over to senior, and he’s been eating every last bite of it!  I’m so happy to see this turn around from him, cause I know he’s feeling so much more relaxed and happy.  He still struggles a bit during Pack to Basics ™, but that’s okay, because its full of unbalanced dogs that he doesn’t even know.  So, hopefully with in the next couple weeks he’ll slowly start getting used to it.  I will still continue to do dog behavior training and aggressive dog training with him to make sure he doesn’t go back to how he used to be.  Next I will be starting working with him to stop his kid biting.  Wish him luck!

Look at how relaxed he is!

He loves Daddy

I have been working extremely hard with Gogo on dog behavior training and aggressive dog training, but for the past few days Gogo has been going downhill quite a bit. He eats only about every other day, and instead of always being growly and nippy towards the other dogs, he completely avoids them until his stress build up into exploding on a dog. Today has been especially bad, he has been trying to run away, (I have a fenced yard, but he always tries to find a way out), and when I don’t let him run away he will just shut down for a while and then attack a random dog, even Jake and Daddy. I have seen some dogs go through this, so this isn’t new to me. It’s almost like it’s their last attempt to try and get their way before they finally give in and relax. One dog I worked with, a Jack Russel, shut down for probably two weeks before he started to relax and submit. Dominant dogs just get so unsure about what they’re supposed to do. They’re so used to doing whatever they want, that when that gets taken away they freak out. It’s almost like they have an addiction to being in charge, and when that gets taken away, they shut down and have with drawls. But, once they get past these bumpy points, they will realize that having someone else be in charge is so much more relaxing. It may take a few weeks to see Gogo relax, but I am determined to get him to that point! He did have a few good days where he was fairly relaxed and involved with the other dogs. I won’t give up hope on this little guy, and we need all the optimistic thoughts that we can get right now for him, so be thinking good stuff for this guy!  I will keep everyone post on his dog behavior training and aggressive dog training progress as time goes on.

The video is of Gogo today, just watch and see

He is doing awesome with dog behavior training, aggressive dog training, and Pack to Basics ™!!

Today was a very good day for Gogo.  He decided to eat this morning for once.  He did alright with the dogs this morning, he stood back a lot still, but he didn’t snap as much.  After a long nap in the crate (I was quite busy this afternoon so I wasn’t able to work with him), I let all six of the dogs out (my four, a dog I’m boarding named Tokyo, and Gogo) to relieve themselves and play a bit in the back yard.  With a lot of encouragement between Alan (my boyfriend) and I, he finally came close to the other dogs.  He stayed close by to us, but still went close to the other dogs.  He even let Rosco and Sasha come and sniff him (normally he would snap at them more than any of the others).  While he was getting a drink he let Tokyo drink with him, and didn’t even seem to notice all of my dogs standing right next to him.  I was very happy to see this! I hope he continues this behavior more and more as the days go on.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get this on camera, but if he is the same in the morning as he was today I will definitely catch it on film.  He is doing great with his dog behavior training and aggressive dog training.  Tomorrow I will work him more with the electric dog training collar and try to get that on film as well.

Today was a very bad day for Gogo.  He struggled quite a bit with everything.  He wouldn’t eat this morning.  Today I focused on a lot of socialization, since that is what he needs the most at the moment.  It was very challenging for him, I’d say.  The first socialization was just with my dogs and Tokyo (a little Yorki mix that I am boarding).  Gogo was acting out quite a bit this time, and had quite a large scuffle with my female Shepherd.  It was very hard for him to just relax and submit to the other dogs.  I recorded a lot of this and uploaded it below.  You can see in the videos he tries to ignore them, but just can’t stop himself from growling and snapping when they come near.   After that social I let him take a quick hour long nap before I put him into my weekly Pack to Basics ™ class.  Since this was his first time there, I decided to muzzle him just in case.  There were 14 dogs at today’s class, all fairly high energy and pushy.  He did alright during the class.  He didn’t snap, or growl at any of the dogs, but he didn’t walk around and socialize either.  He basically just sat off my himself the whole half hour.  This is very common in really insecure dogs, and usually starts to fade out over 3-4 weeks.  I am hoping he will slowly start getting better as the weeks go on.  For the rest of the day today I am just letting him sleep, I know he’s very worn out from all the mental stress and stimulation.  Tomorrow will be another big day for him.

Today was Gogo’s third day.  It was a good day for him I’d say.  We started off working him on the treadmill, he did great, walked very smooth and wasn’t stressed!  After, I tried feeding him again with success this time!  He ate every last bite and seemed very satisfied.  I knew he would eventually, so I wasn’t worried.  After his meal we did a bit of socialization work with my dogs.  He did so much better this time!  He hardly growled or snapped at all at the other dogs, but he still sat down and kept to himself.  He will slowly start coming out of his shell over the next few days, I think.  He has also started to follow Daddy, my Pit Bull, around a bit.  I think he likes Daddy’s relaxed and confident energy.  Most dogs seem to like him first before any of my other dogs.  Gogo tolerates Jake, his energy is very similar to Daddy’s, but Gogo still is very unsure of my two younger dogs, I’m sure he doesn’t like how much more energy they have.

Once we were done socializing with my dogs, I decided to start working with him and the electric dog training collar.  He did very well.  He works on half level (I can’t even feel it on my hand), and responds very quickly.  This training will really be helpful for off leash work, and to teach him a bit more things (place, sit, down, stay with distractions, and walking off leash by my side).

These videos below are of Gogo’s progress since day one. In a few videos I do have to tap him on the butt a few times the a whip to stop him from growling and snapping. The reason I use a whip is because it is better for distant corrections, if a fight breaks out it’s better for me to break it up with that, than to get bit, and also, it won’t hurt him as bad to get whipped than to get bit by another dog. Most of the times that I have to use the whip, I will start off gently and slowly increase the strength of the whip until the dog responds. The first clip is of his first meeting with Daddy, the second and third clips are him socializing with my dogs, and the last clip is of me teaching him “follow me” using the electric dog training collar. If you have questions feel free to comment and I will answer them.

Today was Gogo’s first day with us, and he has done pretty well so far.  This morning I walked him on the treadmill for the first time, and he did very well!  He started of a little unsure, but after a few minutes he got used to it and walked very smoothly.  He worked on the treadmill for about 11 minutes, after which I tried feeding him.  He really wasn’t interested in the food, and refused to eat.  I wasn’t surprised by this.  Most new dogs I get, whether for Board and Train, or fostering, don’t usually eat the first few days.  If he goes longer than three days with out eating, then I will be concerned and try feeding him wet food, or using meat to get him to eat.  Either way, I don’t think he’ll starve himself.

After his nice little workout this morning, he had to take about a six hour break in the kennel, because I had to go to Salt Lake for the day.  I was a little worried about how he would do in the kennel, but he really did fine!  After I got home, I did a bit of socialization with him and my dogs, and he still didn’t want to move around and socialize.  He just sat in a corner and snapped at them as they went by.  I am expecting him to get over this with in the next week or two.  Once he is over his dog “aggression” (I would just say he’s insecure around them), I will start working with him around kids.  He is still doing well here, and I look forward to seeing how he improves as the weeks go on.

Today Gogo was surrendered to Wasatch Canine Camp.  He is a five-year-old mix of some sort.  He looks something like a Corgi/Chihuahua mix.  The reason for surrender was because he has bitten many kids, has separation anxiety, and is very destructive when alone.  His owners really didn’t want to give him up, but they really didn’t know how to work with him to get him to a trustworthy point around kids.  What I plan on working on with him before putting him up for adoption is dog behavior training, socialization through Pack to Basics ™, aggressive dog training, crate training, treadmill training, and maybe work on the electric dog training collar.

After his owners dropped him off today, I slowly started introducing him to my pack of four dogs.  He did well with Daddy and Jake, my male Pit and my male German Shepherd, probably because they’re both very confident dogs.  When he met Sasha and Rosco, my female German Shepherd and my male Lab, he was a lot more snappy and nervous.  He responded well to corrections, and eventually just avoided them all together.  Once we were done with the introduction, I put him in a crate so he could relax a bit and take everything in.  In his previous home he had once chewed out of a crate, so they never tried crating him after that.  Today I didn’t have any problems with him in the crate, which was great!  My guess it was because he was so tired from all the mental stimulation that caused him to just want to sleep.  Hopefully he will continue to be an easy dog to crate, because that will really help with his training progress.  He is really a great little dog with a lot of work still ahead of him, but I am hoping for the best for him.