Tag Archives: training

she has never apologized for her choices, ever

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She has never apologized for her choices. She has never lied. She has lived her life with raw honesty, take it or leave it.

I chose to take it, and have not one single regret.

My Franny is reaching the end of her life. She has gone from a senior dog who was very active, to an old age dog who is slowly fading. She is actively dying before my eyes, and I have to stop and wonder how this all came to be. I know, I understand the circle of life, I understand that death is part of our life experience, but when it starts to happen, in front of my eyes, it seems so not real. I don’t know how else to say it. From vibrant, active, and opinionated, to slowly letting go. She is doing this gracefully, me not so much.

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I have written about Franny extensively. The blog series I wrote last year, ‘Living with a Dog Outside of Neutral’, was a very cathartic experience for me. I had never intended to write about my experiences with Franny, because at that point we were still living them, actively, every day. I think there is a fine line between sharing valuable information and exploiting a relationship, I had to wait until I found my voice to tell her story. But we are both very much a part of each others personal biographies, large chapters in each I would think, and I reached a point where it was time.

I met some wonderful people through this series, shared similar experiences, and have been invited to talk for small groups and clubs that work with dogs that are outside of neutral. But I also was contacted by a few who had nothing but negative comments, were extremely condemning, and had the need to point out all of my mistakes along the way. These few must have missed my the line in the opening paragraph, “I will do my best to tell this story with the unapologetic and raw manner in which she lives”.

On the final post in that series I wasn’t ready to comment on the success or failures of all of the work Franny and I did together. Now I am. I believe that all of the time spent reading, researching, training, and building a strong relationship were worth it, totally and completely. She has been an amazing teacher. Things didn’t go smoothly, hardly ever. Franny and I didn’t just color outside of the lines, we scribbled freely. We had to learn, so we did it together. When I hear of training programs where animals have been rehabilitated, I am still not certain that is what Franny and I ever did, or if it truly is possible for any animal, us included. Franny became very successful in environments where she felt safe, but there were plenty were she didn’t feel safe. Those environments never worked, ever, for us. Triggers were triggers, some lessened but they were still there. But we came to a mutual point, ‘the DMZ’, and we moved forward together. This was only possible through mutual trust, safety, and a strong relationship. Neither of us perfect. What worked in spades for Franny and I, and all of our dogs have benefited from this, is management and structure of the environment.

One person wrote to me and asked why Franny never reached the point of perfect, where she could handle all situations under all distractions, ‘your a trainer for God’s sake!’. To me that isn’t perfect, that’s a stuffed animal. Not many dogs, or humans for that matter can handle everything, all of the time, with grace. Trying to turn Franny into a sweet, loving, gentle neutral dog would be like moving Mt. Everest to a new continent. Not possible. Apples and oranges.

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I started out as Franny’s guide. You see, I have been on the planet many decades before she was born, I have life experience that I could share with her, hopefully teach her. Holidays, birthdays, camping, weather, kayaking, movie time, etc. I had the privilege to introduce her to things, share what I knew, pass along some knowledge. But now it has flipped, she is my guide. She has become old, past senior years, she has entered a life stage totally unfamiliar to me, and she is doing this on her own. She must sense death is not far off, I can see it in her eyes and by her actions of wanting to be near me, next to me. She will experience letting go, taking her last breath, and saying good bye, all before it is my time. I cannot help explain this to her for I haven’t been there yet, I don’t know what it’s like. She is so brave to me.

Our time left together will be our time. Days, weeks or months. I don’t believe in a rainbow bridge, and would bet money she wouldn’t be sitting there waiting for me, I can only imagine her saying, fuck that.  I wish her freedom and a chance to fly without human judgement. So to my Franny, even though you don’t read, this is for you, I hope you can feel it in your heart.

You have taught me so much

Taught me the purpose for my skills

Taught me who I am

Taught me to live with raw honesty

But most of all you taught me to do what is right

I love you

 

 

up north in Alaska!

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It’s workshop season! And what a great start. A trip up north to Anchorage and Wasilla for a variety of topics, freestyle, cross training, team success and treibball. Ask anyone who wants to book me, it takes a lot to get me to leave home. But in this process of prying me away from my comfort, I seem to almost always love every minute, and meet some of the nicest people, from literally all over the world.

I love giving workshops, I love teaching, and sharing, and learning from those I am teaching. It is truly a full circle experience. The bonus to working with such a group of talented folks is that the level at which you can teach is that much higher, and the conversations that much better. Working with talent is always a gift in my opinion.

The groups I worked with in Alaska were so deeply involved in the dog world in one way or another, or another, or another! Mushing, dock diving, obedience, tracking, agility, SAR, hunting. Talented and committed.

The Alyeska Canine Trainers club in Anchorage have an amazing facility. Karen gave me the early morning tour, lucky me! And we tried to use it all, but it is huge. I would be lying if I didn’t say I had facility envy on some level. Folks came from all over Alaska, even Juno. When I asked Martha how she got to Anchorage, she looked at me quizzically and said, “you either fly or swim really hard” and then she had a great laugh!

I was fortunate to get some time watching the Alaska Dogs Gone Wild Fly Ball Team, and to visit the Alaska K9 Aquatics center.

Dinners, driving up the Cooke Inlet to the Alyeska ski resort, which by the way was the only 1 hour of sun I saw while I was there, and then off to Wasilla for a Monday Treibball workshop!

The photos can do the rest of the talking. Awesome all the way around! Just click on the photo to enlarge and follow the arrows.

Thank you Karen and Claudia for arranging everything and taking such good care of me! Nancy

this group will inspire!

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This winter I had a brilliant idea, I mean brilliant x 10!

I was going to schedule an event at our Gym, and call it ‘The Festival of Possibilities’. We have a talented and experienced group of positive based trainers across the state. My plan was to bring them all together over a weekend, and have mini workshops, sampler classes, private sessions, consultations, etc, and make it available to the general public. A Festival to; enlighten, teach, explore new ideas, try a new service, listen, participate, and maybe investigate alternative health options. Possibilities always leave the door open!

I still have this on the back burner, I still want this to happen, but here is the glitch I ran into. Because we are all trainers, and not only trainers, but also business owners, and dog sport competitors, it was impossible to find a single weekend where we could all get together!

But what did happen, is it gave me pause to really think about this group of individuals that are not only colleagues, but have become my trusted friends over the years. And truthfully to stand in awe at the collective awesomeness that is right here in Montana.

When I started my business  Paws & People, 10 years ago, there were training clubs, but not many individually owned training businesses, and even fewer that were dedicated to education and positive based training. Over the years I have been asked to give workshops and private consultations across the state, and have had the opportunity to work with these individuals and watch their businesses grow. I have been humbled by their trust in me. And honestly, it has made our friendships over the years that much more special!

You see, in the dog world, even in the positive based dog world, not all trainers or business owners are savory characters. Disrespect towards other trainers, malice intent, shotty cheap business practices, pirating other trainers material, and vindictive behavior,  run deep. These people never get a second chance to make a first impression with other trainers, and tend not to last very long. And for a good reason in my opinion. Over the years I have worked with two individuals like this, and it still knocks the wind out of me to see adults behave so poorly. But, it’s also a great reminder for me, why I do what I do, and why I value other trainers that hold themselves to a much higher standard.

What sets my colleagues, and their businesses apart from the rest is a combination of things.

  1. Functioning adults, that have good social skills, are honest, and are fairly mature!
  2. Most of these individuals have years, if not decades of experience in the dog sport competition world. Most hold titles in multiple dog sports.
  3. They are dog aficionados! Or Junky if you prefer. If there is a dog book, movie, conference, workshop, talk, well they will be there. Always on the curve to learn more and be current. Curious and always exploring. Many are qualified and/or certified in multiple disciplines!
  4. They reach out to other colleagues for feedback, help, or referrals, and have formed a pretty cool network of support.
  5. Honesty and respect run deep with this group. I have never seen a dishonest display with their businesses, clients, or training colleagues. Their businesses are respected in their communities and amongst other trainers.
  6. These individuals have integrity up one side and down the other, and it reflects in their business approach.
  7. These individuals stand firmly on their own two feet, know who they are, they are educated, and at the same time humble when working with animals and their people. They know and understand there is always something to be learned from the animals they are working with.
  8. Great sense of humor and a fairly readable bullshit meter.

Let me introduce the ‘collective awesomeness’ of Positive Based Trainers from Montana -

Melanie Lattin – Great Falls

Linda Lyons – Happy Hounds Dog Training – Dillon

Joni Kaiser – mBarking Training – Helena – She also employs Vicki Willert, Bree Caldwell, and Vicki Thacker. A great team!

Adele Delp - Canine Fitness – Helena

Tom Brownlee – Carroll College – Helena

Jewels Willis – The Joyful Animal – Hamilton

Natasha Osborn - Pathfinder Agility – Stevensville

Sarah Spencer Hall - Sit Happens! – Missoula

Helene Tiefenthaler – Paws-a-tively Canine! – Laurel

Camilla McCullough – Billings/Red Lodge

And here is an additional shout out to the Bozeman PetSmart. While not an individually owned business, their trainer and veterinary technician crew have all been clients of mine at one time or another. They have taken that extra step to do more, learn more, and enhance their skills! And in turn pass it along to their clients! Rock on…

And to our two shelters, Lewis and Clark Humane Society, and Heart of the Valley, that have an active behavior and training program, and have been championing positive based training! Thank you!

If feels great to be surrounded by these individuals, I feel grateful! ~ Nancy

DWAA nomination …s!

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I started my Blog earlier this year as a creative outlet. Thoughts, photos and ideas I wanted to share, but I also wanted to create a little space on the internet with training information for my clients, friends, and family. Adding my voice to the world conversation.

It has grown into something a bit more. I am meeting people from all over the world, sharing stories, hearing stories, and starting new friendships. I love working on my blog, I have found I love to write!

It was suggested to me to enter some of my posts into a writing competition with DWAA – the Dog Writers Association of America. I chuckled at the thought. Some of my favorite authors in the dog world have been recipients of a DWAA award, it was hard to think of my work in the same league. DWAA is currently in their 76th year and THE most recognized professional writing association devoted to dogs.

But then, a couple of days before submissions were due, I thought, why not? So with wine in hand …

I bought a new ream of paper and printed everything out in multiple copies for multiple judges. Originally I thought a manilla envelope would do, but as the printer hummed and thumped away, it turned out I needed a USPS priority shipping size box to hold everything!

Organized, stapled, clipped, packed, shipped, and off it went!

About a week before Christmas I received two envelopes. I didn’t recognize the return address, so set them aside for a few days. When I got around to opening them I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Out of my five submissions, three were nominated! I think my children were more excited than I was, they are amazing writers so this was a big deal to them!

My posts that were nominated

In the BLOG category -

Top 10 Tips for Puppy Owners

When Seniors Have Dogs – Preparing your Dog for the Future

In the Internet Series Category -

Living with a Dog Outside of Neutral – 7 parts

My daughter and I will be going back to New York in February to the awards banquet, win or not, being nominated is pretty darn cool! Since my daughter sees writing as a very big part of her future, this should be an awesome experience for her. We are staying close to Central Park and will have half a day to walk around and explore. If it fits into our time frame I would LOVE to go eat at Prune. Gabrielle is my favorite food writers, author of one of my favorite books Blood, Bones & Butter!, and I have heard the food is amazing.

So, thank you all for reading what I write, and commenting and leaving your thoughts.

Nancy

 

 

the ‘average family pet’ experiment

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I’m feeling a bit confessional today. Well actually, I’m cleaning out closets and drawers in hopes of expanding my office space, and I am quite amazed with the things, and general stuff I have saved over the years. Living history, or piles of crap. Context and perspective!

Apparently my guilty pleasure is putting pen to paper and writing. Writing. Filling page after page with thoughts, notes, appointments (which I am sure I missed some of those…), blabble, and doodles. This little key board and screen have nothing on my passion for ink and pressed tree pulp. Who knew?

This morning I made a large press pot of strong, black, super hot coffee, and sat on the floor with a notebook that made me smile. Hello 2006!

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It was a year that made me question pretty much everything. My beliefs, my skills, my work, my marriage, my plant choices in my garden, and frankly, simply leaving my house in the morning. The only things that kept my grounded were my two children, and at the time, my three dogs.

We often hear of fashion trends, car and driver trends, and investment trends. How often have you over heard a conversation on say, canine behavioral trends, or family pet owner trends? Yes, they are alive and well, and in 2006 those trends hit me square in the face, and changed the outlook of my training business, forever, and for the better.

This is so not scientific, simply my notes and observations.

The Stage:

The majority of my work in 2006 was in-home private training and consultations. I offered some group classes, but spent nearly 30 hours per week working one on one.

And in that year I found a trend.

The Trend:

This trend encompassed 32 pet owners in a two and a half month period. They all shared these traits more or less. NONE of these pet owners knew each other.

  • young adult, mid to late twenties
  • out of college, first career type job
  • responsible
  • long inflexible hours
  • new to the area
  • condo or apartment, little to no yard access
  • no fencing
  • gym membership or other outside of work sporting hobby
  • wanting or had an active social life outside of work
  • newly adopted adolescent or young adult dog
  • all performance dogs, mostly herding or herding mix dogs
  • no previous dog experience, but had hopes of an outdoor mountain lifestyle with their new dog
  • ALL sought advice from new friends, advice was ALL over the place
  • these new performance dogs were getting 15-20 minutes of walks per day during the week, on the weekends more, from 1 hour to all day mountain biking.
  • no active training was happening, just corrections, or simply nothing
  • no bonding or deep relationship feelings were expressed by owners
  • ALL of the dogs were on high sugar dog foods, raw hides, pig ears
  • All wore flea/tick collars (note I have never seen a flea in Bozeman)
  • some on pinch or shock collars, some on halters, some buckle collars
  • damage in home, to self, and others – from mild to pretty ugly
  • outbursts and displays of aggression to other people and dogs – mild to frightening
  • None of these dogs had a history of aggression or destructive behavior on their rescue/shelter paper work

ALL owners contacted me because they recognized there was a problem and they really wanted to do the right thing.

Meeting:

I met with the pet owners, gathered history, observed the household, got a good feeling for commitment or lack there of, and then met their new dog. I observed everyone in action, listened, and listened some more.

  • I wrote out plans and protocols, step by step, to help with better success
  • Organized schedules day by day for some, had more flexible general plans for others
  • Exercise requirements of each dog
  • Worked on nutrition choices with local stores in town
  • Found more interactive toys, set up kennel areas for others
  • Suggested various play groups in town for their extra long days at work, set some up with dog walkers, others with private dog sitters for half the day

I met with these pet owners weekly, and adjusted schedules based on what I was seeing.

Every single one of these 32 pet owners kept telling me ‘how much work’ I was asking them to do, and that they in fact had a life outside of their dog. Every single time, every single meeting, every single conversation, every single e-mail. Too much, there has to be another way.

So I started to question everything. Did I care too much? What was I missing? Was I so out of touch with this generation, a gap in communication? Zealous? Me? Was I in fact asking them to do more than what was possible, reasonable? Was I basing my advice on my experiences with my dogs and my love of training? Yes in part, for sure. Experience and knowledge are my foundation.

The only thing I didn’t question was what I was seeing with the dogs. They didn’t lie, they didn’t hide what was going on, and most were getting a better quality of life, from a  little to a lot. They didn’t act like what I was asking their owners to do was too much. note – But at that time I didn’t know how to put it into words without completely offending the owner. Now I do.

The  Average Family Pet Experiment:

So I turned towards my laboratory. My home, my yard. I decided to live by the trend I was seeing. I was apparently missing something? My dogs were all competing in one sport or another at the time, and we were always working on some new behavior or trick at home. They were use to me coming up with new concepts of sorts.

What would I see, how long would it take, what would be my tolerance level for behaviors outside of neutral?

  • I gave myself a one month time frame in order to see something, that was about the time these pet owners had had their dogs before calling me
  • I wasn’t going to adopt a new dog, just use the three that I had
  • I would not change their gear, harnesses and flat buckle collars. I was not going to harm them in anyway
  • I changed to an average pet food that was higher in sugar. This experiment was less than six weeks so their overall health and nutritional needs would not be greatly altered
  • they would get 15-20 minute walks each week day, and 1-4 hours of activity on the weekend
  • Minimal interaction from me, long periods of time away from home. I was not willing to go more than 5-6 hours away from home, even though most of the pet owners I saw in this trend were gone 9-11 hours
  • No active training or playing
  • I would not add corrections. For my dogs that would have been verbal abuse as they weren’t use to that, so I decided that I would ‘ignore’ instead.

I notified my family of my experiment. They all agreed it would not be as fun as ‘finding the worlds best cheese cake recipe experiment’, but were willing to try with me. I made it quite clear that at any sign of destruction, damage, tension between our dogs, tension between our dogs and people, or complete melt downs, the experiment would be called. I was absolutely not willing to ruin their quality of lives, or set the stage for future problems. I had a month, I was going to bite the bullet, and observe. Honestly, when I set this up I kept hearing that owl in the Tootsie Pop commercial, “how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?” Well, I wasn’t to far off…

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We lasted three days before the quality of life in our household, for people and dogs changed for the worse. THREE. One two three!

  • tensions
  • edginess
  • palpable restlessness
  • barking
  • whining
  • nudging
  • scratching on the doors
  • extreme leash pulling when out on our 15-20 minute walks
  • some mild food guarding (which we don’t have)
  • paw licking
  • wall licking
  • not wanting to crate up
  • pacing

THREE DAYS! If I had gone one month or more, like many average pet homes, seriously I can’t even go to that thought, it makes me cringe … And to think, in some average family pet homes, dogs go YEARS in this type of dysfunction.

Truthfully it was all I needed to observe. I was not off the mark in my advice, plans, or protocols to these pet owners. In fact I should have asked them to do even more. I just needed a different way to reach them, a new outlook on my business. A way to work with the whole dog, the whole household. Understanding, education, and effort.

After I took my dogs for a ridiculously long hike, gave them a crazy nutritious meal, brushed them, hugged them, and told them how much I deeply loved them, and that we would go back to the ‘tasty treat type of experiments’ from now on, I went and stripped my website.

That was the day I went from being a dog trainer with a business, to owning an ‘integrative dog training’ business. I now worked with the whole dog, in an integrative way, with the emotional, social, physical, and nutritional well being of every dog. I developed awesome partnerships with specialists over the years, that enhanced the quality of life for many of our pet owners.

THE END of the experiment…

And now when I work with owners that want to negotiate the quality of care for their dog, to better accommodate their lifestyle, I simply say, “No you may not”. And this comes from a very kind, knowledgeable, experienced, and honest place. It opens up a very truthful discussion on responsibility, care, and goals for the team. No pet owner can have it all without putting in the time, effort, and love. Have fun, learn as much as possible, and do more. It works.

note – Out of these pet owners in 2006 that fit this trend, that I have kept in touch with, there is mixed news. Two owner/dog teams are now avid back country skiers, and their dogs are happy happy happy. One owner/dog team went on to compete in agility with good success. One team is now active with a therapy group. Two owner/dog teams have become my very close friends over the years. One adores, loves, and hikes with her dog almost everyday. Four turned their dogs back into the shelter.

Now back to cleaning out my closet!

Nancy

 

a family affair, with friends and furry loved ones!

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Our facility is fully open now! Well it has been for about a month really, but we were working out some kinks and finishing up the office. We had our official Open House yesterday! While I have attended open houses over the years, my favorites being hardware store openings, I have never had the pleasure to host my own.

It is simply the coolest feeling ever to open your doors, invite people to come on over, and step aside to allow them to enjoy it. We put a lot of thought and heart into our new space, and while it’s personal to me,  and a space I love, it’s totally different when you open the doors and let everyone make it their own, for their own reasons. Every single person that walked through our doors had a smile, and kindness to share. It was awesome, and as one person said, refreshing!

And this is what I hoped for. A place where people and their dogs can come and enjoy their time working together. A place that feels good from the moment you walk in the door. And as I have always said, and I hope our new space is a direct translation of these words, “learn as much as possible, have fun, and do more!”

Thank you to Bridger Feeds, Petcurean, FitPAWS, Eagle Ridge Ranch, and our Scent Project! It is so fun to give things away!

I was visiting with people all morning and tried to get to my camera but never made it. So here are the final photos and the final touches … Nancy

if your new to following the story on our new facility, click here to read, and see the photos of where we started, the progress, and what we now have!

what is your dogs barometer for safety when out and about?

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Franny, my forever teacher.

Since I have four dogs, I tend to walk them singly or in pairs. I want to enjoy my walks as much as my dogs, so I choose to do multiple walks, and take a bit longer to do so. And I like when we can all be successful.

All four together, and we are nothing more than a moving circus, an Italian circus on caffeine to be more specific! And it gets even crazier should an off leash dog come into our space, which hasn’t happened in awhile. I don’t want to put my dogs into that position so I opt for the path of least resistance.

This past week I have been pairing Story with Franny for one of the walks. I wasn’t sure if it would be a good pairing at first.

Story is like walking a steam train. Franny is aging quickly, and really slowing down.

Story could go 10 miles with little to no effort, Franny prefers something just under a mile.

Story likes to visit with other dogs, do some fancy prancing, or work a bit. He likes an interactive walk. Franny likes to smell every single bush and tree, mark every single bush and tree, and ignore everything else in life. She for sure does not want to visit with other dogs.

Story considers any dog barking at him a potential friend, or sex partner at the very least. He is super social and is not offended easily. Franny knows she moves slower now, she knows she is vulnerable and could not get away if she needed too, and jumps when a dog barks, even from behind a fence. It’s been causing her some stress. She does not want to be in a big dog environment at all.

BUT, what I have been observing is so cool. Story has become Franny’s barometer for safety. If a dog barks, even in the distance, Franny will look over at Story. If Story is unfazed, which is the case 99% of the time, she keeps her Grandma trot going. Anything that causes her concern in her environment and she will look to Story for information. Her walks this past week have been so stress free and lovely. Story has leveled the playing field for her, and she can do her sniffing and marking with little to no concern now.

AND, Story now slows down for her, and will only pick up the pace if she starts to drag too much. He is pacing her all on his own. What I am observing is Story sensing that his walk with Franny has a different purpose than when I walk him by himself. He is so attentive to her, and patient.

So I started to really observe my other walks. What are my dogs barometer for safety.

$eeker rely’s on a walk having some work, that is his barometer for safety. A leash walk around the neighborhood does nothing for him other than cause stress because there is no focus. But if I grab the small video camera, he knows we will stop someplace and do some fancy prancing, or tricks, or creative heeling, etc.

He is focused, engaged with me, and feels safe when our walks have a goal in mind. He totally knows what a video camera is for! While he loves being paired with Ocean, she is his muse after all, she does not give him any information on his safety.

$eeker and Story do well being paired together, but it’s like walking with two frat boyz! You kind of have to be up for that kind of walk.

Ocean, my beautiful Ocean. Her barometer for safety is me. When we are out and about, she looks to me for information. When she is uncertain, I simple think in my mind, thank you for telling me, I will take care of it. And I do what ever is appropriate for that particular situation. Cross the street, turn around, redirect her, or throw a hot dog at an off leash dog so we can continue to walk without being harassed. She can trust me, I am her barometer.

Nancy, who has enjoyed her walks this week!

open letter – for a more responsible dog community

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A couple of weeks ago I sent an open letter to four agencies in town, including the City Commission and the Bozeman Ranger District. It’s been passed on to other agencies already so I consider it open. If you need a template to write to your city agencies, please feel free to use this.

I generally send out a yearly letter, and I keep hoping for a more responsible dog community, where ALL dogs and their people can have access to town and the trails undisturbed by out of control dogs and owners that don’t care. City’s don’t know there are problems unless they are given information on what is really going on.

I will continue to be an advocate for responsible dog families who are trying to do the right thing. And I will forever be an advocate for dogs that need to get out and about and can’t because of unmanaged environments.

Cheers and happy reading! Nancy

To:

My past letters to the City Commission have been in regards to dogs, specifically, management in town, and on the nearby front country trails. I would like to expand that this year.

While Bozeman continues to make magazine headlines as one of the Top 10 Most Dog Friendly Places, many people that live here see it a bit differently. It is definitely a dog town that boasts almost 200 acres of official off leash open space, trails that go through town that allow dogs on leash, and two mountain ranges with unlimited trails for hiking with your dog. On paper this is amazing.

But the reality is, dogs are off leash almost every place in town, not just in designated areas, they are off leash on ‘dogs must be leashed trails’, and even running around in areas where dogs aren’t even allowed, Gallatin Recreation Area/Ponds for example. There is not one single place you can go in Bozeman and be guaranteed a safe leash walk with your own dog, without an off leash dog coming into your space. This applies from Main street to the mountains.

Is it a war zone? No. Is there a big problem that is causing conflict on a daily basis? Yes.

Because there is a lack of enforcement, the culture in Bozeman is ‘off leash and deal with it’. Bozeman is in fact growing an irresponsible dog owner population. The dog park mentality of “take a dog off leash and let them run whether they are under voice control or not”, has seeped out into town, City Parks, GVLT trails, Forest Service trails, and beyond.

It is common for off leash dogs to run up to strangers, baby strollers, other dogs, dogs on leash with elderly handlers, children, service dogs that are working, picnickers, wild life, etc. And there is rarely an apology, explanation, or even acknowledgment from the off leash dog’s owner. Why? Because ‘rules for off leash dogs’ in Bozeman has never been clearly defined, and the lack of enforcement allows this ‘owner behavior’ to not only continue but to flourish.

This summer I have purposefully gotten out more often. There is always a pulse to a community, I wanted to really get the pulse for the dog community, more so than just through my training business. I work with on average, 400+ clients a year, but there are many more dog owners in Bozeman, and I have a sense of curiosity.

I have been walking the various GVLT trails everyday all summer, they are great trails and because they are supposed to build a better community, what better place to walk, right? I have either walked with one of my dogs or a client’s dog. I have been the only one on leash. The only other dogs on leash are my clients walking with me. I have had numerous dogs run into my space uninvited with unapologetic owners, two dogs that have stalked me, and too many dogs to count that showed up without owners nearby at all, they were from a house or neighborhood nearby and just cruising apparently. These trails are treated as an extension of the dog parks in town.

I have been in the Gallatin National Forest almost two to three times per week. I have never seen a dog on leash. In the FS information I picked up at their office, it states in very tiny print, dogs must be leashed to prevent chasing of wild life. Because this would be an almost impossible task to enforce, you would think that at the very least, managed and under voice control? I have passed dogs under really good owner voice control, but have passed many more that were either busy running around chasing wild life, or having a dog park experience in the back country.

Recently at the Gallatin Rec./Ponds we had two off leash dogs run right through our picnic space while they were manically chasing gophers. Their owners? Casually walking on the trail and never once offered an apology, or made a motion to get their dogs. This is common, not uncommon.

Not all dogs appreciate a dog park experience, in fact the majority of dogs do not. Yet our City is making a statement, simply by omission, that all dogs must be able to ‘deal’. We have responsible owners in town with lovely dogs, they pay taxes, their license fees, take excellent care of their dogs, but will never be able to use all of these great amenities because their dogs don’t want an off leash dog in their space. There is not a single place to walk where all dogs are in fact on leash except Lowe’s Hardware store. This is a sad statement.

I have received calls from some City Commissioners over the years, sat one two committees that include an Animal Control Officer, offered examples of programs that have become successful in other City’s similar to Bozeman. Not much has changed.

I would be open to talking and discussing possibilities and opportunities for a more responsible dog owner population. Our town should be dog friendly to everyone, not just off leash dog owners. If this is of interest, please let me know.

Thank you,

Nancy Tanner, CPDT-KSA

Thursday night demo – handling the reactive rover, building a positive conditoned emotional response

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For three years I partnered with our local library and offered free Thursday Night Community Lectures, about once a month. It was an awesome way to share information beyond my classes, meet new people, and talk about varying topics that were really interesting to me.

The topics varied from food, to behavior, to traveling with a dog, and sometimes I had guest speakers with me. The size of the crowd was totally unpredictable, from 2-65, it was a bit like gambling!

Now that we have the Dog Gym, I am reviving this program a bit, but letting it come full circle with Live Demo’s. I know for me, I learn best if I can see something in action.

Last night we had a demo on Handling the Reactive Rover. Franny was my demo dog, if you read her series, Living with a Dog Outside of Neutral, you know she was the perfect choice!

We had such an awesome group of folks last night. All responsible handlers, all involved in the dog world to some extent, and all with great questions! It was so inspiring that we accidentally went on for two hours!

Some of what we touched on -

  • What type of reactive do you have? happy, cranky, fearful, etc.
  • What are the triggers?
  • Was the reactivity event caused, on going environment, temperament, combination?
  • Management in the home with a reactive dog.
  • Management when out and about. Making choices for where, when and how.
  • Reading your dog’s body language better.
  • Why is taking a deep breath important and so under rated?
  • Crate training, and crate use. Voluntary safe place that elicits calm.
  • Basic exercises to encourage a more relaxed dog, relaxed handler. A two-way street.
  • Default behaviors of sit, come to me, between, relax when we stop. All should be voluntary.
  • Building trust so your dog feels safe with you.
  • Using your voice as the first leash, and webbing for insurance
  • Why harnesses?
  • Having a support system so you feel good about your dog, your choices, and your work. Feeling empowered by the good work you are doing instead of beaten down.
  • Small micro steps, not leaps and bounds.
  • Rocking your dogs world in the biggest kindest kind of way when they make a healthier decision when faced with choices. Meatballs growing out of the floor!
  • and on and on … again, a great night!

Nancy, here is to many more great Thursdays!

ps. my daughter took these photos as part of her summer project. She mentioned after reviewing them that I might not be able to talk if I had my hands tied behind my back… hahaha Very funny Piper!

our Dog Gym – the final stages!

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An awesome Sunday to be sure!

We were set to go hiking and swimming this weekend for our dogs birthday’s, but Franny was having a Grandma moment and didn’t really want to get out of her rocking chair. So on Saturday we had a Spa Day instead, baths, brushing, nails, massages, garden hang time, and raw Cornish game hens to crunch on for awhile.

Today she was feeling a bit more perky so we went to work at the gym after our morning Walk & Train group.

Believe it or not, it was the first time I really worked my dogs in there, fun, fun, fun! I think they thought so too!

tug tug tug, Ocean’s favorite game. She loved playing on the rubber flooring, no slipping and easy to run.

$eeker wasn’t sure about sequence work inside a building and on rubber flooring, but he was the one who didn’t’ want to stop in the end, he loved it!

Franny secured all entrances and exits, watched the flow of cars for a bit to get a feel for her new digs, and then settled into her favorite spot, on top of the puppy dog walk trainer, same place for the past 10 years!

gorgeous Bridger Mountains in the back ground, our indoor A-frame!

Our potty area and meet & greet area. Fenced with trees, water, pine cones and more. It’s a huge space measuring 90 X 40 feet. It has already been put to use this past week with classes and privates.

My eternally happy boy Story!

Our outdoor arena is fenced, and Spore is moving some of the arena sand around to make it a bit more even. 60 X 60 of outdoor agility and training fun! I love this space! Outdoor lighting will go up later this fall.

My flower pots are still growing, even with this heat and dry weather. Pineapple sage, lavender, tri sage, cream marigolds and petunia’s

My Soul Dogs. They were so happy to be working in the gym today, even Franny cracked a smile, this is rare! Or perhaps she was having a daffy moment?

Story’s favorite place at home, and apparently favorite place at the gym!

My beautiful Ocean, at 10 and still wanting to work on her tricky tricks, I love you Ocean! She was a happy girl today!

Moving forward. Our Gym is becoming more than I dreamed of!

Nancy