Group Lessons for our dogs are an important part of the Off Leash Dog Training’s Train as you live™ system.

Usually chain stores and part time dog trainers use the group lessons to maximize their profit/ per dog training hours. Here at Off Leash Dog Training in Charlotte we do things differently.  Our group lessons are designed to take your dog’s obedience to the next level.  This is why  you must first complete first phase of your dog training to attend any group lesson.   If you are an Off Leash Dog Training client and are new to group lessons please read this post BEFORE attending your first group lesson.

But….   Why even bother with group lessons ?  Especially when your dog is finally listening to all your commands.

As we see it dog training group lessons have the following benefits:

Socializing  your dog with other healthy, happy, balanced dogs and people who are also committed having a good relationship with their own dogs (as you know we’re a different breed of people also)

Controlled Distractions We all agree that you know your dog is trained for off leash obedience when your dog can ignore distractions of real world.  Best way to get our dogs’ obedience to the next level is to give them opportunities to learn in a positive environment where they can get some wins.  We suggest group of dogs who listens to their owners provide just that.

Obedience Proofing  Knowing what to do and actually doing it are not the same thing.  It’s no secret that many of our customers (when they first call us) start by saying something like “My dog is a great dog. Will come, sit, shake….but only when he wants it.” This means your dog knows what to do, but being disobedient.  You can only keep your dog safe to the extent of the reliability of any given command.

Finally, and this is very very important is our group lessons and exercises are designed to help you Integrates dog into your family.

Susie is rescue dog from the Puppy Mill that made the news. (Graphic Video)

When her owner called us one of the first things she mentioned  was,  that she had not been able to put a leash on Sussie.  She would run and hide from her, and her owner had not been able to put a leash on Susie over couple of years.  Fortunately for us,  Sussie’s owner had been thru a few other dog trainers with no success, and -as it often happens- She said “You’re my last hope.”

Here is a video of Susie’s progress. Enjoy

To join our community visit: Off Leash Dog Training

Holiday season is approaching fast.

As far as your dog is concerned Holiday season is insane time. More people are in and out of the house, family’s energy is out of whack. Not to mention lots of strange boxes & plants are being placed in the house. In fact very little is familiar.  Here is a past episode of Carolina’s Dog Master series with WCNC36 Charlotte Today Show 

I view our dog’s need during the holidays in two categories. 1) Dog Sanity and 2) Dog Safety.

Dog Sanity

1 Try to enjoy the season. Stay calm. We all get stressed out during the holidays, and our dog picks up on our stress. She looks to you as a leader. If you are calm, she can be calmer. If you spend a little quiet time with your dog every day – it will help you, too.
Review your dog’s basic obedience training exercises daily. Don’t teach your dog something new during this stressful time, but review what she already knows & reinforce yourself as a pack leader.
2 Keep the routine with your dog: Keep your dog’s regular daily routine. Feed and walk her at the same times as you usually do. Changing her routine can make her stressful, and she may seek attention by misbehaving.
3 Play with your dog before your party. If you tire her out, she’ll be too tired to get into any mischief when guests arrive. If that is not possible, hire a dog walker or take him to doggie daycare.

Dog Safety

1 Tree water at the base of live trees can be harmful to your dog if preservative chemicals have been added to prolong the life of the tree. Cover the tree basin with foil or a tree skirt to keep your dog from drinking the water.

2 Anchor the tree with cord or wire to the ceiling directly above the tree’s trunk to prevent your dog from knocking over your holiday tree. REMEMBER ! Don’t attach it with wire to a wall behind the tree because your dog could get caught in the wire if be darts behind the tree.

3 To keep your dog from accidentally swallowing something that could get lodged in his throat hang your ornaments with ribbons rather than hooks

4 Don’t use toothpicks. Because your can eat the toothpicks if they are dropped on the floor and they can get stuck in his throat or puncture internal organs.

5 Tie up loose electrical cords of the lights used to decorate the tree and keep them concealed by attaching them with wire or cord to the trunk of the tree.

Just as we are committed to improving our dog training knowledge and techniques, we are also committed to improving how we share our knowledge and experience we gain from training hundreds of dogs each year with our clients.

As technological advancements become more and more available we try to use it to utilize them also .

Our new and hopefully improved website is now live. There are still some missing pages and some of the links are not working. But by clicking on the image you can test drive it.

Please let us know what you think

I remember the times when people used to dress up as dogs. These days not even dogs are going out as dogs. 
One of the common questions I get asked around Halloween is if I dress up my dogs and if so as what?  When my first born Djembe was a baby Jill & I used to dress him up. Looking back all I can think is  ignorance may not be a bliss, but it sure is more fun.  Now that I am a dog trainer and know more, I think I can make my amends to Djembe by sharing with you why dressing up your dogs in costume is OK for some dogs and not so OK for other dogs .

News Flash !  It’s not natural for dogs to dress up.  If your dog enjoys being in costume you have no issues. Enjoy the Halloween.  But remember this

When we are placing things on our dogs, for some dogs this can be seen as a form of domination.  For dogs who are not good with stress and/or pressure dressing them up in costume may  manifest itself in Freeze behavior. Although it’s normal for your dog to Freeze briefly to figure out what the heck is going on,  If your dog remain in Freeze and seems like unable to move, know that You are putting your dog under extreme pressure. 

If you put your dog in costume and your dog freezes,  try to lure your dog with treat and/or try to get your dog moving by leash walking your dog briefly (30 steps or more) your dog depending on her trust/nerve strength will either walk or freak out.  If your dog is freaking out. Do the right thing and limit dressing up for Halloween to humans and kid members of your pack.

You can watch an episode of Carolina’s Dog Master series on Halloween Safety here.

Please read Halloween Safety

Here in our  Off Leash Dog Training community our dogs are family.

So naturally we strive to include our dogs in our vacations also. Camping with your dog is one of the best places to be with your dog.   On this episode of Carolina’s Dog Master for WCNC36 Charlotte Today Show I have shared some pointers.  Make sure to check out this earlier post on the subject of camping with your dogs

Enjoy.

Please let us know if we can help you with your dog training needs.

The great outdoors is one of the best places to spend time with our dogs. They love all the new smells, sounds and sights. They get to interact with nature and explore the world as they were intended to, and we get the benefit of spending time with our dogs as well as being in nature.

If you are planning to take a camping trip with your dog, here are some things to consider:

Make sure  your dog is healthy

Get current on all shots and vaccinations and obtain a Rabies tag for your dog’s collar.
Consider a possible Lyme disease vaccine.
Obtain a current copy of their records and vet’s phone number. Check in with your vet and let them know where you are planning to go in case your dog needs a new kind of vaccination.

Make sure you have an updated ID Tag

Make sure your dog is wearing proper ID/Rabies Shots tags at all times. I ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING TEMPORARY ID TAGS WITH YOUR CAMP SITE’S CONTACT INFORMATION.

Bring extra leashes/collars/whistles – (FYI- Our clients don’t need leashes)

Just in case your dog thinks his leash is a chew toy, it’s best to be prepared. Be sure and bring extra collars and leashes. If you use other tools (whistles, clickers, remote collars) to maintain control of your dog, bring an extra set of those as well.

Bring a Brush to get out all the fun stuff that gets stuck

Your dog is likely to be just like you when you went to the beach for the first time. Running around, and round, and round. If she has long hair, she will naturally pick up every prickly thing she can get her paws on and wear it like a Great Outdoors Badge of Honor.  Make sure you have a brush with you to keep her head scratches safe for both you and her.

Bring a First aid kit

Your dog may end up finding a porcupine or something even worse. We don’t like to think of these things, but for those unexpected situations, pack first aid items for your dog along with a few extra towels.  It’s always a great idea to obtain the phone number of the vet in the area where you are staying before leaving.

Consider your options for where your dog will sleep at night

A lot of critters are out and about at night and your dog might be tempted to play a game of chase. Unfortunately there is a great potential for this to be fatal. It’s the safer option to tether your dog under the stars. This way you are not only protecting your dog, but he is protecting you.

Nothing will come near your camp without your dog letting you know.

Most Importantly Have Fun!

Go on hikes! Swim in the lake! Roast marshmallows!

And remember as your gazing into the night sky that there’s nothing like the bond between you and your dog. Camping is a great way to allow your dog to be a dog, and for you to just Be.

This year has been especially hot one.  That’s why we have been doing a lot of shows on heat and effects of extreme hot weather on our dogs.

As suggested on  earlier blog post on Code Orange days If you usually walk your dog around 30 minutes, you should limit the walk to about 15-20 minutes.

If you are planning to take your dog on a boat or pool party here is another video about water safety.    

Today we received news from Colorado that Ryan Matthews, the independent owner of Off Leash Dog Training in Colorado, has been accused of abusing his dog Montage. This news comes as a complete shock to us. We have known and worked with Ryan for over 3 years now and have personally witnessed the love he has for animals, especially for Montage. It is difficult for us to even fathom that these types of allegations have been brought against him.

At this moment we are choosing to wait and see what happens with the charges. The news thus far has only reported what has allegedly happened and we choose not to rush to judgment about Ryan. We are extremely optimistic that the charges have no actual basis and will be dropped. However, we wish to make it perfectly clear that Off Leash Dog Training does not, and will never, condone inhumane and abusive treatment of dogs by anyone. Ryan or anyone else.

To address the concerns of our customers and community members, it is and always has been our philosophy at Off Leash Dog Training to treat dogs with respect. We want our relationship and communication with our dogs to be between friends with different roles and responsibilities rather than that of a boss and an employee. We take this philosophy seriously and will never treat the dogs that we train or our own dogs inhumanely.

We sincerely appreciate the comments that have been posted in support of Off Leash Dog Training and Ryan Matthews. We value all of the relationships that we have with you and your dogs and we will continue to keep you updated on the situation as it develops.