Join The Collared Scholar at the 1st Annual Mermaid Run 2/13/2010

The trainers of The Collared Scholar have been asked to appear at the upcoming Mermaid Run, 2/13/2010 at Fiesta Island. Our trainers will be on hand answering dog training and dog related questions while promoting awareness for heart disease and the Heart Truth. Here's some info on the event:

"Join us at Mission Bay in San Diego for a fun 5/10k run. February is Heart Health month and you can join hundreds of women as we raise awareness for heart disease an The Heart Truth campaign. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Heart Truth and participants can make an additional donation via the Mermaid website. Run participants receive a stylish race t-shirt and finisher necklace." Click HERE to visit their website and register!

Hope to see you there!

New Working Dog Programs at The Collared Scholar!

We are proud to announce the launch of our newest dog training programs designed specifically for working dogs.

DOGS with DRIVE is a new "focus group" designed specifically for working dogs and dogs with drive who have foundation obedience but need some work on emotional control. In this class, we will teach drivey dogs to behave in high distraction settings and help build and focus their drive into more positive obedience behaviors. Class meets Sunday afternoons in Poway. Instructor approval required for participation.

PERSONAL PROTECTION TRAINING and PROTECTION SPORTS programs have also begun at The Collared Scholar! Do you want to see if your dog has what it takes for personal protection? Do you want to teach your dog to "act" tough to help keep you safe from intruders or other unwelcomed strangers? Or, are you interested in Schutzhund or Ringsport? We at The Collared Scholar have teamed up with some incredible training decoys and protection sport clubs that can help you achieve those goals. Call us at 619-916-8710 to schedule your evaluation to see if your pooch has what it takes!

Gaius and Attia learn to Speak!

We have two doggies joining us for some intensive training here at the ranch. We briefly talked about them in the blog previously but, since they are going to be around for quite some time and since their training program is pretty unique, we decided they needed a blog of their own.

Meet Gaius and Attia. Gaius (aka Gaius Julius Caesar) is a 4 month old weim puppy rescued from puppy mill conditions. He came to us with severe kennel cough (he had had it for 2 months!), an ear infection and some sores on his little feet. He had to be in quarantine for 10 days while he healed and then, he went right into training to learn to be a good puppy.

Attia is a 4 year old lovely lady who won the hearts of her trainers instantly by resting her head on their shoulders while she is riding in the car and by sticking to them like glue at the ranch. She is a sweet sweet girl and we at The Collared Scholar are faced with a challenging task! We are going to take some of that sweet away :-)

You see, Gaius and Attia are very loving dogs - in fact they might be a little too loving as they would happily greet any stranger with love and affection, even if they were holding their family at gunpoint.

This is where we come in. We are going to teach the two dogs to be a little more protective of their family. Don't fret - we aren't going to make them mean. We are just going to teach them to act tough to ward off potential intruders. We are also teaching the two to be hunting dogs so that they can accompany their Dad on exciting hunting and camping trips.

The two are loving their training so far. It's been all fun and games and we are capitalizing on their great prey drive to teach them some protection behaviors.

Check out this video of Gaius learning to bark on command, showing of his positions and his place and recall to the whistle. This was the first day we worked on the place and recall and he picked it up in no time!

Rainy Days at the Ranch....

So, as you have all experienced, Southern California has been hit hard these past few days with some severe weather (compared to So Cal's standards). Me and all the pooches have been cooped up for several days and the time stuck inside has forced me to get creative with training and excercise for the pups.

First, a quick intro to all of the new doggies spending these rainy days with me. First, we have Bella and Bailey, a pair of cute as can be maltipoos here to learn some basic manners. They are pretty overwhelmed by life at the ranch (much different than their condo downtown), but they are getting more and more comfortable each and every day. Next we have Reese and Buttons, an Ibizan Hound and a Dalmation who you may remember from our days at Metropawlitan. These lovely ladies belong to our Metro Groomer Keith, and are gracing us with their presence over the next few days. Last but certainly not least, we have Diesel - an adorable Jack Russell available for adoption through Russell Rescue, Inc. Diesel regularly entertains us with his antics - our favortie is when he falls asleep half on the couch and buries his face between the cushions....ridiculously adorable.

Now that the introductions are out of the way....here are some tips on keeping your pooch busy during this wet, rainy weather....

First and foremost - INTERACTIVE TOYS! These are my lifesaver when the dogs aren't getting their regular exercise. My favorties are the Tug A Jug, Kong Toy and Treat Stick. I fill these with plain kibble, mixed with a few Natural Balance Treats and sealed with a layer of cream cheese and let the dogs go to town. For those dogs who are OK with being in a crate, I give Raw Beef Neck Bones and Bully sticks. These options satisfy dog's desire to chew while also helping them to get rid of some of that excess energy.

In addition to the (HEAVY) use of interactive toys and bones while its raining, I have also been playing some fun, inside training games with the pooches staying here at the ranch. Here are a few you can play at home:

Hide and Seek - For those dogs learning the "COME" command. If the dog has a good foundation with the recall, I will hide in rooms around the house, call the dog to come, and force them to "FIND" me, rewarding heavily when they finally do. If your dog doesn't know the "COME", start by teaching that, and then move on to training games. Click HERE for an article on introducing the "COME" command.

Training Tricks - I have also been spending my days teaching my dogs "Stupid Tricks". There is a fun dog training book out their called 101 Dog Tricks. You can pick it up at Barnes and Noble or other local bookstores. This book is chalk full of fun, easy to teach tricks that are completely useless but tons of fun. Teaching your dog new tricks will help give them mental stimulation, build confidence and its just plain fun!

Search! - The last and possibly my favorite game is to teach your ball or food motivated dog to "SEARCH!". For toy motivated dogs, hide their favortie toy and have them "SEARCH!" until they find it. For food motivated dogs, put a piece of their favorite treat into a small, ventialted container that they must search for. Start by placing the toy in easy to find places and slowly increase the difficulty as your dog starts to pick up the idea....

Have some fun with your pooch while you are both stuck, cooped up inside. He will thank you for it!

Stay dry and stay safe out there!

Lights, Camera, Action! Some pooches show off for the camera and a star visits the ranch!

If you have been following the blog, you have met Turbo and Vigo, an unlikely couple who came to us for help with dog aggression and obedience. They are visiting California from Oregon and decided to spend some time with the trainers of The Collared Scholar for help with the issues they were having. Here is a video of them learning a few new commands. Keep in mind, this is only their third lesson and it is the FIRST time the Place command was introduced. What smart pooches!



Also, some big news is brewing here at The Collared Scholar, yesterday, a reality TV celeb dropped off her mini poodle JJ for some in kennel training. Poor JJ is pretty fearful and snaps at other dogs, has an issue with submissive urination and is just plain scared of the world. But don't fear JJ, The Collared Scholar is here to help. This particular reality TV personality has a particular love for doggies and has developed a line of ridiculously adorable doggie neckwear that is now being sold online and in some high end pet stores. Her neckwear is made from imported, recycled and vintage materials and you can check it out online at Damaged Threads. Keep an eye out for JJ's shocking transformation........

Agility Training at The Collared Scholar!

For those of you who don't know, we recently launched our new Agility classes! We are offering an Introduction to Agility class Saturday mornings and we are also hosting an Agility Club designed to give dogs who may lack certain social skills the ability to train and compete in agility!

This past Saturday, we held our graduation day. We set up an obstacle course featuring all of the obstacles our students learned over the 6 week course and held a mini competition. We are very proud of all of our students and are excited for them to join the club and fine tune their training for competition!

Here is a video of Graduation Day!



And for those of you who were in our first Agility Class, we did video graduation so don't feel left out. We are having some "technical difficulties" and hope to have the video posted ASAP.

Welcome some new faces and some Collared Scholar news....

I know its been quite sometime since the blog has been updated. The holidays are always a busy time for us here at The Collared Scholar and sometimes, the blog entries fall by the wayside. But we are back up with a vengeance and plan to keep blog updates as frequent as possible....

First and foremost, I'd like to welcome some new faces - of both the two legged and four legged variety....

If you take any of our group classes, you have surely met Kelly, our awesome new intern! Kelly typically works two days per week helping out around the ranch, keeping the doggies entertained and learning dog behavior in the process. She has been an incredible addition to the crew so next time you are out at the ranch, be sure to say hello!

Of course, the blog wouldn't be complete without our canine introductions as well. In training with us currently are some really great doggies who deserve some recognition!

First is Charlie....Charlie is an incredibly adorable doxie mix who came to us for help with some intense fear issues. His owners recently rescued him and it appears that poor Charlie has never had any socialization or exposure to the outside world. He has been making excellent progress and we look forward to a full rehabilitation....keep and eye out for his video as he should be graduating with honors in the coming days.

Next we have quite the dynamic pair in training with us for basic obedience and some hunting work. Attia is a 4 year old Weim who has quickly become one of the staff favorites. She is learning at an exceptional pace and instantly bonded with her trainers. She is learning to be a bit more protective of her family since currently, she will happily greet strangers and potential muggers with big sloppy kisses and tail wags. She is also learning reliable obedience and some hunting skills so she can accompany her owner on exciting camping and hunting adventures. Attia's little brother is a 4 month old weim names Gaius, who was recently rescued from puppy mill conditions. He is recovering from a nasty cough but is really turning a corner and is showing us what a great hunter he will be when he grows up....he has a great time here playing with the quail and practicing retrieve games and we are sure that he will grow up to be a mighty hunter and a great companion.

Last but certainly not least, we have Turbo, a misunderstood pittie mix who wins everyone over with her hilarious smile (yes - she actually pulls back her lips when excited and flashes her pearly whites at you in a gesture of love and affection). Turbo is here because she has a high prey drive that has got her into some trouble in the past. We are working on corralling her issues while her parents are in San Diego on vacation and she has made astounding progress.

Pictures and video definitely to follow.....

In addition to our new faces, we also have a couple of pieces of exciting news for you....

First, keep an eye out for our video newsletter which we plan to launch in the coming weeks. We plan to post regular video tidbits with helpful training tips and tricks that you can practice at home...

And finally, perhaps the most exciting piece of news I have to share with you today is regarding one of the dogs we had in rescue, Augie. Augie is a Jack Russell/chi mix who came into our program with a few behavioral issues. Augie spent several months in training, learning to be a good doggie and this past week, we are proud to announce, that he found his perfect forever home. We will certainly miss his antics here at the ranch but we are thrilled that he finally has a family to call his own...
Until next time....