Day of Play!

Kids enjoyed a nice retreat outside today, it was pretty warm. Wore them out at the park, Shayla nearly went into heat stroke playing ball!! Next we took a trip to a park with a small lake type thing so they could cool off. SNAP! had never been to a dog park before today OR been swimming, he had a blast! Sneak can be a bit weird around new people and dogs but did VERY well at the dog park and only got freaked out when a strange man tried to take pictures of them swimming, she raised her front end out of the water and roared some big dog barks at him...LOL! Enjoy!!

Scary....but amazing

I had the most scary thing happen to me just an hour ago. I let my dogs outside to potty after I got off the treadmill and then I went to the bathroom myself. I heard a strange noise so I went to back door and my eldest BC, Shayla and my youngest BC, SNAP! ran inside.....none of the other 5 dogs came in. I looked outside and saw that the section of fence my husband had recently repaired had fallen down in the wind, pressumably that was the noise I hear. I paniced, ran inside and grabbed a flashlight. I began running throgh my street and alleys calling for my dogs. When I didn't hear them I called my husband at his Super Bowl party and 3 friends to start a search party. I stopped every neighbor asking if they had seen dogs and created a perimeter of where they could be, as I was heading back to the house for a jacket and to meet a friend (I was in jogging clothes and it was 50 degrees and windy!) I saw my husband's weiner dog dart across a yard at a full run. I called him but he seemed scared and kept running away. I turned off the flashlight, got on the ground and he ran to me. I showered him with praise and ran to the house. I was greeted by my friend and her daughter as well as....Saavy my oldest male BC. He was sitting on the front porch in a sit stay, just like I taught him to do. When I let my dogs out of the car I tell them "Go to the house" and they run to the porch and sit. I started crying hysterically. My friends took the dogs inside we began searching for Sneak, Stewart and Savannah. I went two blocks overwhere I heard dogs barking and found Sneak and Stewart fence fighting, once they heard my voice the bolted to me and sat. I showered them with praise and my friends took them inside to give them treats. I was growing more and more concerned I hadn't found my 6lb yorkie. She has horrible seperation anxiety and freaks out when she is away from me so it was weitrd she wasn'tcoming. I began to fear she had been picked up by a stranger or hit by a car. After walking down an alley 3 blocks over I heard a rustle behind trash cans. I softy whispered her name and she came screaming to me, something had scared her so bad she was hiding in the alley behind trash cans.

Moral of the story is I have NEVER called any of these dogs to me and punished them nor did I yell so when they heard me they associated the recall with a pleasant memory and ran willingly. Without a doubt I know the only reason all 7 dogs are safe in my arms right now is I practice positive recalls all the time and have built good relationships with them, even my husbands two dogs who I have never done formal training with. SIGH! If thats not a good enough motivator for people to practice positive recalls NO MATTER WHAT I don't know what is! Never call your dog to you for punsihment or something they dont like, always reward recalls and never punish them if they run off and then come back...or you may never see them again!

I can't thank my husband, borther-in-law, and friends; Emily, Deborah, Haley and Kristal enough for willingly dropping what they were doing and running to my aid at 9pm at night during the Super Bowl. You all are AWESOME! We are very blessed tonight!