Ahsoka agility

Ahsoka working some weave polls.

Ahsoka & Hina

Ahsoka and her Rally Class friend, Hina (Golden Retriever).

Check out how Ahsoka did in her first Rally Trial here.

100K

Achievement Unlocked:  Our car (Darwin) hit 100 thousand miles today.

What a milestone!

Fire

We had a very scary event today.  There was a serious fire in our neighborhood.  I was across the island with Ahsoka when it happened.  Adam had to rush home to get Caravaggio and Devo out of the house.  When he arrived, our front yard was on fire and the smoke in the house was almost all the way down to the floor.  Poor Caravaggio was running around the house panicking.  Luckily, Adam was able to get them both out and no one in my family was injured.  We were also VERY lucky that the house did not catch on fire.  I'd like to give a very special thank you to the hardworking Maui Fire Department that saved our home and our neighborhood.  I'm very happy my family is safe and sound!

Adam, Caravaggio, and Devo relaxing after the very scary day.

Thank you to our friends for putting us up for the night.

Our front yard.  This bush was huge but most of it was lost in the fire.

Pictures of the area after the fire.

Sunset Dogs

Today we had a fun sunset walk with the pups...and an impromptu sunset photo shoot.

Ahsoka says hello.

Ahsoka & Devo

Devo & Caravaggio.

Ahsoka, Caravaggio, & Devo.

40th Birthday

Today was my 40th birthday.  We had a fun day at Launiupoko Beach Park.

Man I feel old.

Athena & Devo.

Some friends and my mom.

Athena & Adam.

Devo did not like being dressed up.

Devo is not amuzed.

One of my besties, Megan.

Thanks to everyone that came out for my 40th birthday.  It was a good day and I have fun.

See you all next year!

Agility with Louis

Here is some video of me helping teach Louis some agility.  He is still learning the seesaw and weave polls.  He's doing very well and seems to be having fun.

Pug Puppies Tongue Bath

Adorable video of two Pug litter mates, Rocky & Opi'i.

Opi'i is giving his brother, Rocky, a tongue bath and putting him right to sleep.

Luckily this was at the end of our training appointment.

These two are the cutest!

Mo & Manu

Some pictures from our training session today with Manu & Mo.  We worked on some socialization with other dogs and with each other.  These two housemates have been fighting with each other since their other dog pack member passed away.  The family is working on rules, boundaries, and socialization.  Also pictured are several of my dogs and our doggie helpers.  Thank you to everyone who was able to help out today.

Mo, Devo, & Manu.

Bella with the gang.

Manu, Devo, Ahsoka, Hilo, & Caravaggio.

Manu & Caravaggio.

Manu is also a very nervous and anxious dog, and he is hyper-attached to his mom.  One thing I like to do with dogs like this is to tie them to another dog that is calm and social.  This helps them transition into the pack, feel what calm energy is, and keeps him from being able to hide under mom.

Both dogs are making progress.  Remember to have lots of patience when doing socialization training.

I also attached Manu to Ahsoka.

Heel

Teach your dog the command "Heel."

Heel:

The Heel position is about the dog staying close to the handler and paying close attention.  We will start with the Basic Heel position, the Stationary Heel.

To do this, we will food lure the dog into the Heel position at our left side.  Use your left hand to food lure the dog into the position.  Take a step back with your left leg as you use your left hand to lure the dog and encourage him to move.  Once the dog is in the Heel position, move your hand over the dog's head to imitate a sit.  As the dog's butt hits the ground, give your command "Heel" then "Good" and reward.  

Moving Heel:  

1. Food lure the dog several times while backing up.
2. Food lure the dog, now turn your body so the dog is now on the left side in Heel position (use the treat in your left hand).

—Always begin and end every Heel exercise with a Sit in the Heel position.

—When you stop moving forward, move your baited hand UP slightly to initiate the Sit position.

—As you are moving forward, the treat should be held up slightly from the dog so she is looking for it.  Gradually progress to moving your hand all the way up to the Look position.  Eventually your dog will learn to stay in the Heel position while looking at you and paying attention.  This will require lots of practice.  Don't forget to start practicing with distractions as your dog improves.  Start with small distractions to begin with, if your dog is still doing Heel, make the distractions more and/or more difficult.  If the dog is having trouble maintaining the Heel, decrease or eliminate the distractions and practice more without.

Training "Heel" with Ahsoka and Brady (4 months) at Kapalua Bay.

Rainbow Playdate

The dogs had a fun playdate with Lucy & Keo.

The rainbow made for some great playdate pictures.

Keo & Ahsoka.

Ahsoka & Caravaggio.

Keo, Ahsoka, Devo, Caravaggio, & Lucy.

Rally Class

Some video of Ahsoka & I in Rally Class.

Check out how she did at the Rally Trials.

Double Fetch

Double fetch with Ahsoka & Lucy.

Lucy is an excellent photo bomber.

Playdate with Brady, Keo, & Lucy

Ahsoka, Caravaggio, Keo, & Brady (5 months).

We had a fun playdate with some friends today.

Ahsoka & Keo.

Keo, Brady, Ahsoka, & Caravaggio.

Devo & Brady.

Devo, Brady, & Lucy.

Keo & Brady.

Ahsoka & Brady.

Devo, Caravaggio, Keo, Lucy, & Ahsoka.

Ahsoka and her bestie, Keo.