Follow Me Dog Training

No. 20 gives bullet and stab proof vests to K-9’s

Follow Me Dog Training LLC wants to send out woofs and tail wags to NASCAR’s Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota driver. Recently, the Tony Stewart Foundation donated bullet proof K-9 vests to Police K-9 Units in Indiana, Georgia, New Mexico, North Carolina and Minnesota.

Tony Stewart partnered with Vest N’ P.D.P to provide bullet and stab proof vests to all 30 K-9’s of the Indiana State Police K-9 Unit. The other states are waiting for the vests at this time. Tony presented the vests to the Indiana State Police K-9 Unit last thursday (24 July 2008) at O’Reilly Raceway Park. 10 K-9 Officers were at the presentation and also gave a demonstration of their skills.

Police K-9’s are considered officers and face dangers everyday as their role in police duties. A Police K-9  killed in the line of duty is often given the same funeral honors as a human officer. There are many different companies and groups that are commited to helping protect our K-9 officers by donating money and vests to Police Units around the country. Sadly, many law enforcement agencies and police departments do not have the money to put into protective vests for their K-9 units. Vests have saved the lives of many K-9 officers.

If you are interested in donating money to a worthy cause that may someday help save your life and help your community, Follow Me Dog Training LLC suggests you look into groups like Vest N’ P.D.P or Vest-A-Dog Network.

DockDogs 2008 World Championships

This weekend is the Dock Dogs 2008 World Championships in Stillwater Minnesota. This event is an invitational which means the best of the best high flying dogs will be in Minnesota this weekend.

1. What is DockDogs®?

DockDogs® is the independent governing and sanctioning body for regional, national, and international dock jumping performance sport for dogs. DockDogs® establishes the rules and standards of the sport, tracks and records results, and promotes the growth of its athletes, Teams, events, spectators, and sponsors.

Right now dogs of all ages (over 6 months) and all breeds can compete in 3 different categories: Big Air, Extreme Vertical, and Speed Retrieve. It is possible you have caught a few competitions on the Outdoor Channel, ESPN or at a river festival or outdoor festival. Locally you can catch DockDogs events by contacting Chesapeake DockDogs, or by checking out www.Dockdogs.com .

Leinie and I have a couple good friends..both dog and human, that compete in DockDogs. One of them is Sue Barnes of MyTDog in Des Moines IA. Sue’s German Shorthair Pointer, Tanner, is considered a veteran of the sport at 9 years old. Here are just a couple of his accomplishments: 2007 National Champion, Master Division- Tanner, 24′ 2″,  2007 National Champion, Veteran Division- Tanner, 23′ 1″, 2007 Gracie Award winner- #1 Ranked Veteran Dog, 2006 & 2007 Top GSP of the Year Award- #1 Ranked GSP

Famous Dog Turns 28!

McGruff the Crime Dog® was born on 1 July 1980. 2008 marks his 28th year of helping law enforcement agencies and communities across the United States ”Take a bite out of Crime!”

Working through television, comic books, print ads and live appearances, McGruff the Crime Dog® has helped make crime prevention second nature to many Americans. I remember the commercials on TV and apparently I’m not the only one. According to the National Crime Prevention Council blog:

A 2006 Harris Poll conducted about McGruff yielded some reassuring results. Close to 75 percent of adults recognized McGruff’s picture and more than 90 percent knew him when his name was mentioned. Teens showed strong recognition of McGruff too, with 79 percent knowing who he was without being prompted with his name. When prompted with his name, 92 percent of teens recognized McGruff.

Those are some pretty cool statistics! Law Enforcement agencies can’t do everything themselves and McGruff has been telling us for years to: Lock our doors and leave lights on when we are away, create communities where kids are safe and people look out for each other, Get involved and join your local Neighborhood Watch, don’t do drugs, stay away from bullies and avoid gangs.

McGruff has even changed with the times and through the National Crime Prevention Council he has helped kids “Take a bite out of cyber crime”. Internet safety is a much needed reality these days.

McGruff, along with teaching about personal and home safety, is also helping spread the word about identity theft, telemarketing fraud, cyberbullying, gun related violence and community preparedness.

McGruff was making a personal appearance at the Hanover Tomato Festival. He was hanging out with officers from the the Hanover Sheriff’s Department. So I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have my picture taken with this dog! All Law Enforcement K-9’s are important and should be praised for the work they do. McGruff (one of the more famous Law Enforcement K-9’s) has been a fixture in American’s lives for a long time and I hope he continues to “take a bite out of crime” for many more years!

Check out the National Crime Prevention Council and McGruff’s website for more information and read more about his history.

Follow Me Dog Training LLC can’t teach your dog how to fight crime, but we can teach them how to be valuable members of the community! For more information, contact us for a free evaluation with your dog.

Reality TV you can enjoy with your dog!

TV is becoming interesting again! So pull up a chair and sit down with your dog and watch the premier of Greatest American Dog on CBS, Thursday 10 July at 8pm et/pt.

12 teams of dogs and owners are going to be competing for $250,000. They have to live together and will be given challenges to test the dog’s learning and the owner’s teaching skills. They eliminate one dog and owner each week…the last one standing will be dubbed the Greatest American Dog.

Follow Me Dog Training LLC will be watching to see if we can pick up any new tricks for Leinie to learn. Of course in our world…Leinie already is the Greatest American Dog!

I think the best thing about this show will be showing different dogs and people TRAINING together! Remember training isn’t just about tricks or obedience, it is about a way of life. Learning to communicate with your dog, to build a bond of trust and control, and having fun all at the same time.

Follow Me Dog Training LLC offers FREE evaluations and demonstrations with your dog. Let us help you bring out the greatness in your dog!

Fourth Of July!

Happy Independence Day from Follow Me Dog Training LLC !

July 4 has been named a federal holiday in the United States to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776. This document written by Congress in 1776 was to declare the United States’ independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Nowadays, July fourth is celebrated with fireworks, parades, festivals, barbecues, celebrating our armed forces, baseball games and the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. It is always bound to be a fun day but can be a little daunting to our dogs if we aren’t careful!

Keep your dog safe this Fourth of July! 

• If you plan to go to any parades, you may consider leaving your dog at home. The noise and chaos of a parade is not as fun for our dogs. If you do take them, be careful they don’t eat any thrown candy off the ground, keep them on a leash (you don’t want them scared by noises and bolt from you), take fresh water and don’t forget to pick up after your dog!!!
• July is famous for high temperatures…if the weatherman warns the humans to stay inside because of ozone levels or extreme heat, leave your dog at home.
• Have plenty of fresh water available.
• Take your dog for a long walk or some play time before it becomes dark so they will be nice and tired for fireworks.
• Keep your dog inside while fireworks are going off. Try not to baby them or coddle them if they become scared, instead give them a safe place to go and leave them be. You may even consider turning on the TV or radio to muffle the sounds of the fireworks.
• Don’t participate in a hot dog eating contest with your dog…the dog will win.

What kind of dog is that?

One of the most frequently asked questions to canine professionals is: What kind of dog is that? Some of the cutest dogs around are your everyday mutts, mixes, and Heinz 57 dogs. Up until now it has been up to us professionals to say “well it looks like it could be a…” But honestly we don’t really know for sure.

We as humans want to know what our dogs may be mixed with for genetic purposes (what diseases or health issues may be dominant in that breed). So we can wow our friends with worlds like Schnoodle, daisy dog and Saint Berdoodle. Or maybe so we can understand more about why are dog is exhibiting one particular trait more then others.

Curiosity though is a good thing…ask a dog they know that curiosity killed the cat….so how can it be bad. So where can we go to find out more about what kind of dog your mixed breed is? Wisdom Panel MX Mixed Breed Analysis does a DNA test for mixed breed dogs. It has in it’s data base 134 AKC recognized breeds, having pulled DNA samples from over 13,000 pure bred dogs from across the United States and over 7,000 were donated from the UK.

It is amazing what may come up as the dominant DNA in your mixed breed. A friend of Follow Me Dog Training LLC  in East Dubuque IL had her dog tested through Wisdom Panel MX and found out her dog Tasha

is mixed with Chow Chow, Irish Setter, Shetland Sheepdog and Poodle. Knowing Tasha these are never breeds that I would have considered were a part of her. But it is pretty darn cool to see what may be in her rather long line of doggy genes.

An article in USA Today on 24 June 2008 called DNA tests snif out mutts’ breeding by Sharon L. Peters, talks about other groups that do DNA testing on dogs and some of the other results found. You can contact your local veterinarian and find out if they are working with one of the researchers and have a DNA test done on your dog for $60-$170 depending on method and lab.

Dogs are dogs and need to be treated, trained and loved as dogs. Follow Me Dog Training LLC trains the dog. We don’t care what kind of purebred it might be, what fancy name it has, what mix it might contain….our focus is on the dog. If you want to learn to communicate with your dog’s inner setter, or poodle contact Follow Me Dog Training LLC for a FREE evaluation and demonstration.