Kong Wobbler vs French Bulldog

October 20, 2015 By

Dogs are happiest when they are able to express their energy through physical and mental activitiy. Physical activity inclues fetch, swimming, tug-o-war, chase games and similar fun. Mental activities are about solving puzzles. This includes training through reward-based methods, which is the only way we train our dogs through our board-and-train programs or anytime at Love Wags A Tail Dog Training. Another way to help a dog expend that mental energy is through food toys.

Dogs are scavengers, and helping them reach and express the scavenger within using food toys is a big thing. I’ve seen dogs who are pretty rough on their food toys, and there are plenty toys that can take it, but my board-and-train Frenchie named Rouzzie took being rough with a food toy to the extreme. As a matter of fact, she has a whole other manner of using the food toy. Play hard first, eat later. I call her the Tornado.

Put your seat belt on.

Helen Verte Schwarzmann, contact me
Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-KA
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Your Dog Trainer for Weston, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, and Hollywood in Broward county south Florida

By Helen Verte
Google +

Filed Under: Board-and-Train, Play

October 17 Morning

October 17, 2015 By

Wagging tails at the Love Wags A Tail Board-and-Train Program on the morning of October 17. The two youngsters, Rouzzie, a French Bulldog and Tre, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, have an energetic time of it, while the little old red man, TJ, also a Cavalier, sniffs a bit and takes it easy.

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Helen Verte Schwarzmann, contact me
Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-KA
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Your Dog Trainer for Weston, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, and Hollywood in Broward county south Florida

By Helen Verte
Google +

Filed Under: Board-and-Train, Boot Camp for Dogs, Play

Rouzzie And The Egg Thing

October 13, 2015 By

Board-and-training is about the lessons and making sure the dogs enrolled learn, but it’s also about playing and having a good time. Some of our boarders love to play solo, like this little French Bulldog. She can occupy herself with a toy for hours. Like she did with the Jolly Egg Thing. She found this toy behind a planter, then she pulled it out and had a grand time pushing it around the back yard, getting it and herself dirty. And when she couldn’t get the dirt over and onto her back, she found a nice spot on the pavers to help her with that. It’s all good. We have plenty of water, shampoo, and towels!

Helen Verte Schwarzmann, contact me
Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-KA
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Your Dog Trainer for Weston, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, and Hollywood in Broward county south Florida

By Helen Verte
Google +

Filed Under: Board-and-Train, Boot Camp for Dogs, Play

Puppies Playing Keep Away

September 8, 2015 By

When a dog or puppy plays, he’s practicing behaviors he would put into use had he been born into a feral world where his survival depended on his developed and perfected skills. This software that drives those skills is still running in our dogs even though our fury friends have been domesticated for hundreds of years.

In the video below, we have puppies who are playing a keep away game. The Frenchie is propelled to own all the toys. It’s her goal in this game. She’s also older than the Cane Corso puppy by three months, so is more deft. Being the dog that had the stuff, usually food, predicted survival in our dogs’ ancestors, this game makes sense.

Also notice at the beginning of the video while the Frenchie hovers over the Nylabone, obscuring it from the Corso, the Frenchie’s ChiPin friend comes along and rather lures the Corso away, while the Frenchie is free to grab the bone and move along. Whether that was on purpose or not is up for argument, but dogs can work on behalf of their team.

This is perfectly healthy play among these puppies and good and necessary for social development. When you send your dog or pup to Love Wags A Tail board-and-train, we take care to train them and to be sure they have a healthy dose of daily play.

Helen Verte Schwarzmann, contact me
Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-KA
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Your Dog Trainer for Weston, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, and Hollywood in Broward county south Florida

By Helen Verte
Google +

Filed Under: Play