Follow Me Dog Training

Happy New Year!

Follow Me Dog Training LLC wishes every one a safe and happy New Year!

As you put together your resolutions for 2009, here are some suggestions from Leinie and I.

• Update your dog’s ID tag. Make sure there are no scratches or rubs on your dog’s current tag that are covering important information. Be sure to have a cell phone number on the tag (more people have a cell phone then home phone these days!) If you travel or your dog stays in different places throughout the year, consider making a new ID tag for that location as well! We love www.boomerangtags.com because they make tags that slip on any collar…no sound!
• Update your dog’s first aid kit and be sure to include your vet’s business card, numbers for any emergency veterinary services in your area, and a current photo of your dog!
• Mark a reminder on your calendar the day that your dog receives his or her monthly heart worm medication!
• Look into a healthy dog food so your dog will celebrate many more new years with you. We suggest foods that do not include corn, by-products, coloring and those that have a meat product in the first few ingredients. Leinie and Pepper love Life’s Abundance.
• Take a look at all your dog’s toys and replace old, worn, disemboweled and broken toys.
• Plan your vacations in 2009 with your dog in mind, look into pet friendly destinations and accomidations.
• Resolve to take your dog for a 1 hour walk everyday, if you already do that, add a half hour on to your walks.
• If you own a treadmill, teach your dog to walk on it.
• Teach your dog a new trick like rolling over, sitting pretty, or weaving through your legs…don’t know how..talk to Follow Me Dog Training LLC.
• Be aware of the pet legislation that is occuring in your city, county and state…it isn’t all freindly to dog owners and if you love your dog, want many generations to come to know what it is like to love a dog…pay attention to the wording and passing of any pet legislation passing throughout the United States.
• Consider sending dog supplies and goodies to a MWD and handler that is helping protect our freedom overseas. Space Coast War Dog Association or The United States War Dog Association
• Put an extra leash and some poop bags in your car…you never know when you might need them!
• Resolve to have a wonderful, loving, trusting and obedient relationship with your dog. Training is an investment for a lifetime and your dog is learning every moment they are awake. Contact a trainer to help you with any problems you might be having , or just to find more fun things to do with your dog.

Happy New Year! Follow Me Dog Training LLC  wishes you good health, much wealth and faithful friends in 2009!

Did a puppy arive in your home for the holidays?

Did your family bring a puppy into the house for the holidays? Don’t wait, contact Follow Me Dog Training LLC today to set up a Puppy Consultation.  Start out on the right paw with all kinds of information that will help you and your dog have a great relationship! Here are some of the things that we cover:

• House breaking
• Who’s in charge/leadership
• Play biting
• Handling skills
• Grooming
• Toys
• Games
• Socialization
• Wait command
• Walking on a leash
• Additional training when you and your dog are ready. (free evaluation when dog is age appropriate)

 All puppies should be at least seven weeks of age, but no older than sixteen weeks to participate in a puppy consultation. Puppies must be in good health and have the first round of vaccinations administered by a veterinarian at least one week prior to the consultation. Puppy consultations are in-home and will last at most 2 hours. Written information and hands on skills will be provided for the owners.

Contact us today and let us help you with all the things you need to know to help your puppy grow into the dog you want it to be!

Ginger started out with a Puppy Consultation & now is a Rockstar at 8 months.

A book to add to your library

Remember the idea of continuing education I mention often? Well, not only does Follow Me Dog Training LLc believe that continuing education comes in the form of workshops, seminars and conferences, it also comes from videos and books.

I had an opportunity to read a book that was released this past summer. After hearing many people, including dog trainers and dog lovers, tell me how wonderful a book this was I picked it up and dove in. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski is fantastic, I finished it in a day. I couldn’t put it down. Go out and read it now if you haven’t already!

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle came about because some time ago I wished I could read a novel about a boy and his dog, one that integrated our contemporary knowledge of canine behavior, cognition, and origins with my experience of living with dogs; if possible, something flavored with the uncynical Midwestern sense of heart and purpose so familiar from my childhood…. David Wroblewski

I was immediately caught up in the story of Edgar. It reminded me of my 2.5 years living in Wisconsin (working with That’s My Dog! Inc). It reminded me of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, only not as depressing and with dogs! It reminded me how wonderful the Leinenkugel Brewery is, by mentioning Leinie’s a couple times! Most important though is that the book was able to bring to life the relationship between the Sawtelle’s and their dogs, especially Edgar and his special pack.

The relationship that Edgar has with his dogs is built on trust, communication, training, love, good breeding, understanding, time, exercise, consistency and rules. The training sessions are fun to read and are extrememly important to the storyline! You find that each dog has it’s own personality, not unlike our own dogs and the dogs that Follow Me Dog Training LLC works with.

Stories of dogs and man are limitless. I have many on my bookshelf that I have read and re-read. This book goes into the top 5 favorites. It was a joy to read and in reading makes me want to strive to continue to have the best relationship possible with my dogs.

Want to learn how to have a relationship with clear communication and understanding with your dog? Contact Follow Me Dog Training LLC for a FREE evaluation and demonstration with your dog. We are available 7 days a week by appointment.

Happy Holidays!

Follow Me Dog Training LLC wishes you the happiest of holidays.

Your dog is a part of the family and we hope you feel confident in allowing your dog to take part in the festivities. We hope you utilize their knowledge of commands such as ‘place’ and ‘down’ while people are around and the table is covered in good food and treats. Take your dog for a long walk to exercise after a holiday meal!

If a new puppy or dog is entering your family this holiday season, please contact Follow Me Dog Training LLC, and start their life off with you on the right paw. We offer Puppy consultations full of information about housebreaking, handling skills, fun games and toys that are age approprite for your puppy. If your new holiday hound is over the age of 16 weeks, contact us for a Free evaluation and we’ll set out some lifetime goals for your dog and help them become a wonderful addition to the family!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza and Happy winter Solstice to all!

Holiday woofs go out to all our clients and friends!

Renée, Leinie and Pepper

Follow Me Dog Training LLC

Road trip update

Leinie and I had a blast at the Georgia Dog Gym! Many thanks to Cyndy, Taylor, Toot, June and especially Riff for hosting a great workshop and letting us play for a couple days. Continuing education is so important no matter what you do for a living. Everyone learns differently and I am no exception. Cyndy was a very patient teacher and opened my eyes to alot of Border Collie facts, agility fun stuff, disc dog stuff and new vocab words like front and back cross that didn’t make sense until she had Leinie and I giving it a shot.

Aunt Faye and her English Shepherd, Cap were in attendance as well. Cap loved the agility and disc dog stuff! Leinie and Cap had a blast running around acting like hooligans.

Now it is back to Richmond, Virginia and the Follow Me Dog Training LLC clients to see what kind of progress they have all made.

Being able to travel with your dog, have fun with them, let them play and cavort, and most importantly chill out and be social where ever you go is as important to Follow Me Dog Training LLC as it is to our clients. You should be able to have fun with your well trained dog anywhere. We can help! Contact Follow Me Dog Training LLC today for a FREE in-home evaluation with you and your dog.

High Drive Working Dogs…are they the right dog for you?

Follow Me Dog Training LLC jumps at every chance we have to further our education on all subjects of dogs. So this weekend, Renée and Leinie are off to visit our friend Cyndy Douan who is hosting a seminar in Rome, Georgia. The seminar is called “Cyndy Douan on Border Collies as Pets: Can you live with a High Drive Working Dog?” Follow Me Dog Training LLC doesn’t have a Border Collie, but Leinie definitely classifies as a “High Drive Working Dog” !

I had a good idea of the issues I would face when I took in my first high drive herding dog. (Heck I am crazy enough to own a terrier and a herding dog!) However, I also recognize that most people don’t understand that some dogs are meant to and absolutely have to work. Without a job that fulfills their instinctual needs, the dog can cause chaos everywhere it goes. Unfortunately many dog owners look at a number of the herding breeds and don’t recognize what these dogs need in their life to stay happy and fulfilled. Border Collies, Aussies, Cattle Dogs, German Shepherd Dogs, Malinois, Corgis; these are only a few of the very popular herding dogs that people are drawn to. When the owners are educated, the dogs turn out amazing, when they don’t take time to exercise, train and let a herding dog think, there is usually trouble.

Cyndy has been a professional dog trainer for over 19 years and in that time has competed in agility, obedience, flyball, disc dog and dock diving events with her Border Collies. She knows first hand that the dog that is said to be the “most intelligent” of all breeds is not always the best for the general public.

Her seminar will cover topics such as: the history of the working Sheepdog, the nuisance of over stimulation, the importance of forced rest, training a sheepdog to live in your home, teaching self control and managing & channeling drive.

There was even some recommended reading which I found very interesting. But I am a history and dog geek so that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The book is Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men by Donald McCaig. I had the pleasure of meeting McCaig a couple of times at International Association of Canine Professionals events many years ago. However, I had never read any of his books before. He is actually a prolific writer and just published a fiction title last year, Rhett Butler’s People , that some people may recognize. The book is about his travels through Scotland looking for a Border Collie to bring home to his farm and for trialing. Working Sheep dogs in Scotland spend all day out on “the hills” doing a job they were bred to do. They love it, they can’t get enough of it, they epitomize the herding breed and the energy and drive that characterizes the Border Collie. After reading this book it doesn’t surprise me the problems I have seen regarding the urban family who brings home a Border Collie!

The Herding Breeds can be quite a challenge to live with, especially the ones that are very high energy, high drive. As with any dog though, even the mixed breeds, it is important to know what you are getting into when you are looking for the right dog for your life. All dogs need exercise, training, manners, love and clear communication!

Follow Me Dog Training LLC can help you with your high energy dogs, your couch potato dogs, your lap dogs, your toy obsessed dogs, your knucklehead dogs and your best fuzzy friend dogs. Contact us for a FREE evaluation with your dog and we’ll find out what your goals are and help you obtain them!