One of the most common complaints of dog owner’s is that taking a walk is no fun because their dog pulls the entire time.  Teach your dog to heel with the Online Dog Coach heel on the left video lesson.  This is a great lesson for everyone in the family to watch and learn.   With daily practice and consistency, your dog will be heeling in no time and you will be once again enjoying your evening walks with the family.   If you aspire to compete in obedience, free style dance, rally obedience, or agility, this is a fundamental skill that will go the distance as you learn your new sport.

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Summer is here – we all want to get out there and play!  When packing up the family for a summer road trip or even just to buzz around town remember that summer temperatures can result in dangerous conditions within vehicles.   For example, your vehicle temperature could be well over 100F even with an outdoor temperature as low as 82F.

There is a super cool website called mydogiscool.com that has great tips on keeping your dog happy, healthy and cool during the summer months.  It has a weather reporter that tells you based on your zip code whether it is safe to keep your dog in the car.   The website also has temperature comparisons for a car with closed windows, 2 windows cracked and 4 windows cracked.   While cracking a window or two helps to keep the temperature down somewhat, you might be surprised at how hot the car will remain.

Be an advocate for dogs… remember that we are all human and that we may not realize how dangerous it can be to leave a dog in a hot car.  So, if you see a fellow pet owner leaving their car with fido still inside on a hot day, you will want to gently remind them of the danger.  I must admit that early in this summer season I walked away from the car, with my dog still inside, for a quick errand not thinking to crack the windows.   A nice gentleman saw me enter the store and asked if I would go back and crack the windows.    I was a little embarrassed, as I should know better, but very grateful for the reminder.

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TJ enjoys a run through a dog agility equipment

Lately, we’ve been having a blast competing in dog agility trials – the sport that brought Online Dog Coach together. Watch our dog agility informational video to learn more about this exciting sport.

We’ve put together an online dog agility class with free video lessons. Teach your dog warm up exercises – like take a bow and circle – followed by some simple dog agility obstacles – jumps, tunnels, and a wobble board.

Build your own dog agility equipment using our simple instructions, or purchase backyard training equipment using our links to trusted vendors.

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Tonight we got together for dog agility training followed by a French potluck dinner. The training focus was on s’asseoir séjour – which is French for sit stay. Teach your dog to sit and train your dog to stay to help with control in a multitude of situations. 

Agility Training

Ryder sits and stays, waiting for his next command

Today Ryder and I worked on sit-stay. A good sit-stay is important in agility for two purposes – the start line and the table. At the start line, the dog needs to stay in place so the handler can get into a good position to start. At the table, the dog must sit or down-stay for five seconds before continuing. 

Ryder doesn’t do a sit-stay very well. To get him under control on the agility course I need to be consistent with the sit-stay. It refocuses him. After every couple of jumps I tell him to sit-stay and walk away so he knows that he needs to listen no matter where he is on the agility field. If he gets up, I return to him and have him stay before moving on. A successful stay where I release him means he gets to take some agility obstacles. Obstacles are a reward for Ryder – this method will not work with a dog who is not motivated.  

Since this has worked with Ryder in the past, we are working on it again while he gets back into agility after a medical leave of absence. 

French Potluck Dinner

This was a colorful and healthy dinner. When we picked the “French” theme, many of us wondered if you can make a French dish without a lot of butter and cream. Turns out, we found some great dishes. Some of the recipes can be found under “more” below. 

Provencale Potato Gratin – 240 calories, 7.5 g fat from Cooking Light. A new twist on potatoes with cheese. 

Crustless Spinach, Onlion, and Feta Quiche - 142 calories. It disappeared quickly and we didn’t miss the crust. A crustless quiche reduces the calories by more than half! 

Provencal Salad – We loved this salad and everyone had seconds. 

Canberry-Apricot Chicken Cutlets – 213 calories, 2.7 g fat. The most outspoken carnivores in the group had seconds of this colorful dish. The recipe is from the Weight Watchers 15 Minute Cookbook – which is a lie. It took significantly more than 15 minutes to prepare! 

French Vanilla Almond Ice Cream and Chocolate Cake – “Oh my gosh, that’s good!” “That ice cream is perfect with the cake.” Need we say more… 

Next week, join us for Jewish food. But don’t bring gefilte fish.

Try our recipes and let us know what you think by clicking on “more” (more…)

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Don’t Fence Us In!

I love taking my dog to off leash dog parks in the Denver metro area, including Chatfield and Cherry Creek State Parks. It provides my dog with freedom and socialization with other dogs. Recently, there has been discussion about reducing the size and placing fences around these two off leash dog parks.

Kalee enjoying the Elk Mountain dog park in Evergreen, Co.

These areas are designed for multi-use, and are funded by everyone in the state, with additional funding by park users. Dog owners, hikers, bikers, horseback riders, boaters, among others must learn to share this space. What does this mean for dog owners???

To keep these valuable spaces open to dogs, we must take action:

1. Train your dog to come when called, a.k.a. a really reliable recall even around people, other dogs, and wildlife. Dogs running up to horses, hikers, and bikes may cause inconvenience, fear, or injury. Just because your dog is friendly doesn’t mean other on-leash dogs are – and they need time out too. I also know people who have been thrown off of horses due to dogs barking or running towards their horse. And some hikers may be afraid of dogs even though yours is friendly and wonderful!
2. Pick up after your dog. It is very unpleasant to step around other dog’s poop. The excrement can also spread disease to other dogs – your dog may be carrying something even if he doesn’t have symptoms yet.
3. Know who has the right of way on trails. Hikers and their dogs yield to horses. Bikes yield to hikers and horses. Place your dog in a sit-stay off of the trail when horses are passing. If on bike, stop and dismount. Everyone should smile and say “hi.”

Finally, be friendly to everyone! Practice random acts of kindness, be a role model of the dog community so that all people – including those who don’t like dogs – enjoy our presence, invites our dogs to stay, and don’t fence us in!

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