Train your dog in Portland, Oregon. Information

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Tale of an Elusive Odor Box

I have a funny funny K9 Nose Work story from one of my classes this week. I was introducing dogs to odor for the first time. I had 3 tins available in my pocket and was putting a new one out while the handler was feeding at another box.

I was having the handler pick up the box with the odor that they were re-enforcing if I didn’t get there in time to get it myself. Somewhere I realized that i was missing an odor box. I kept checking my pockets, and started worrying about the possibility that a dog maybe swallowed it. Hard to imagine but possible. One of the dogs in class is a Cavalier. So, close to the ground. And the odor was in an open box.

Well, you might be guessing where I’m headed with this story now. On the third search, a box ended up with two odor boxes in it. Low and behold, the odor box magnet had attached itself to the Cavalier’s collar tags because it wasn’t attached to anything else, being in a cardboard box.

We all had a good laugh.

Portland, Oregon’s Dog behavior training

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At Joyce’s Dogs we work with our clients to determine:

  • What are the behaviors of concern
  • Why might these behaviors be presenting themselves
  • First steps for improvement
  • Prevention of unacceptable behaviors

 

Our Private Dog Training sessions take into account your busy life. We are available weekdays, weekends, and week nights as needed. Together we will structure your homework so that it fits into your daily routine and lifestyle. It is always part of our goal to develop a program that you can live with.

We believe dog owners need to feel good about the training program we develop. To that end, we customize each training plan so that you can be successful in following through in order to teach your dog more acceptable behaviors as soon as possible.

Agility Dog Training Information for Portland Oregon

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Our Agility classes develop a foundation of safety and fitness for fun and competition.

 

For nearly twenty years, the dog sport, Agility has been growing in popularity. With several styles of the sport promoted in the U.S. by a variety of organizations, the highest level of Agility draws competition of highly skilled teams from all over the world. Agility can be safe and fun, but it needs to be practiced responsibly. If not appropriately introduced and practiced, dogs risk physical harm and development of fear.

Agility is a team sport with the handler directing the dog to the correct obstacle. Even the most skilled dogs needs an educated handler to direct it from obstacle to obstacle.

To achieve a qualifying score, dogs must:

  • Accurately complete obstacles in the correct order
  • leave all jump bars up
  • meet time requirements

Effective communication between the handler and the dog is vital to getting the dog to the correct obstacle, or else the dog is left having to make its own decisions. The handler must communicate the current obstacle as well as the following. This communication requires good timing because no two courses are ever the same.

At Joyce’s Dog’s, we teach a solid foundation of groundwork as well as obstacle negotiation. We introduce the handler and dog team to the skills needed to communicate for successful navigation. Our goal is to develop teams who can consistently qualify and have fun.

Contact Joyce to register for Agility Training

Recent Odor Recognition Test

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Sunday was the ORT [Odor Recognition Test] event that has been in the works here at Joyce’s Dogs LLC for the last few months. Passing the test is required in order to be able to enter a trial.This test requires the dog to find the one box out of 12 that has the scent of Birch, Anise or Clove in it. The test requires the handler to determine that the dog has found the correct box and communicate this to the Judge by saying “ALERT”. Most of the teams testing today passed. A few did not. I’m sure that all of the teams are able to ID the correct box in practice. However there are many things that make it more difficult in the test. The most obvious factors to me are the nerves of the handlers and the level of environmental sensitivity that some dogs struggle with. I’ve long believed that a huge factor in the success or failure of teams in most competitive dog sports is the nerves of the handler. It’s a tough one to train for. Since I’ve been involved with K9 Nose Work I’ve developed a huge appreciation for all that a dog’s nose can tell them. It really is difficult to fully imagine. I’m certain that our dogs smell our nervousness. I’m convinced we can’t fake it for training purposes. This smell of nervousness put off by the handler changes the contextual picture to the dog. And we all know that dogs are context specific. Besides changing the context in general, the handler is not so available to the dog because of the handlers anxiety. For dogs that are highly sensitive to the handlers emotional state, it can spell difficulty with a capitol D. In this sport I think the best thing to do is to get in lots of practices in lots of different environments including some trial like situations. To that end I’ll be putting on another practice of some sort in the next couple of months. Stay tuned.

Training your dog in Portland, Oregon

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Joyce Biethan's DogsOne of the main benefits of developing a leadership position with your dog is that you will easily have much more of your dog’s attention. Once you have attention, the skills will come more readily. Some of the skills we value the most are a reliable ‘come’ when called, control at doorways, keeping all four feet on the floor, a sit and a down. We are skilled at helping you teach your dog all of the typical beginning commands, as well as most, if not all of the advanced skills often seen in dog sports and obedience trials.
Learn more at Joyces Dogs in Portland, Oregon

Private Dog Training in Portland Oregon

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We usually want skills for our dogs as solutions for unacceptable behaviors. We agree that skills have their place. However if your dog had essential manners, never jumped on you, escaped through open doors, barked inappropriately, pestered you to meet desires, soiled the house, ran off, or pulled you all over the place on the leash, you probably wouldn’t care so much if he could sit or down. Check out Private Dog Training in Portland, Oregon!

Dog training in Portland, Oregon

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If you in live in Portland, Oregon you know how much fun it is to have a dog in this area. There is so much to see and do with you dog! If you are looking for an even more
rewarding experience with you dog then Enrolling in classes with Portland's Dog Training Specialist, Joyce Biethan is a great start. Check out this web site and see
for your self. Find the best Dog Trainer in Portland, Oregon is easy, just click here

How Dog Training in Portland, Oregon helped these dog owners

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Dog Training in Portland, Oregon

 

Today was the most fun I have ever seen my dog have. -D. R.  on K-9 Nose Work

Wow, my dog was so happy and puppy like after the swim. -T.B. on Swimming

Sophie can sit on her haunches now, she hasn’t done that for three years. -Teresa on Swimming

Unsinkable Dogs has only been a positive experience to both my dog and myself! -Tena Abbey, Vancouver, WA

It used to be that Elke would not even put a toe into the water. Now she is coming in on her own. Even though she’s still nervous, you can tell how proud she is with herself now.-Kathleen and Elke on swimming