Thank you
We hope you are enjoying your summer and have been able to spend lots of time with your dog! I have been enjoying seeing the progress owners and dogs have been making in the Spring Basic Obedience/CGC and Puppy classes. Everyone has been doing such a great job and it shows. Keep up the great work everyone!
I have been getting a lot of questions lately about boarding and grooming. On our website, we have a list of links to such places as these.
If you are interested in advertising your business here, please email me directly with information and links to your website or email address. As a small business owner, we want to support other local business too!
Our summer classes are now open for registration, and these will be the final multi-week classes for 2019 (we may plan some open training in October if weather permits). It's crazy to think that weather will begin to change as this next set of 8-week classes finish up. In order to be guaranteed a spot in class, please register on our website. If you show up without registering, we cannot guarantee there will be space available.
Please remember that the first week is orientation, so please leave your dogs at home. We will discuss what the class covers, go over rules, ask questions, and see our demo dog in action. All classes will be held at Island Park in Blossburg.
8-week Basic Obedience / CGC Class beginning Saturday, August 10th at 10:00am - please note: there will be no class held on September 14th.
6-week Puppy Class beginning Wednesday, August 14th at 6:00pm
8-week Basic Obedience / CGC Class beginning Tuesday, August 20th at 6:00pm
I will be out of town from July 17th through the 21st. I will do my best to respond to emails during the time I am away; however, I will not be able to answer phone calls or do any scheduling during that time. I will respond on the following Monday. Thank you for your patience during this time!
It's amazing how quickly time flies by. My last blog post was in April, My dog turned 5 years old in June, and I only have enough time to schedule one more group class for this year before the weather gets cold again. As I have been on the road more lately visiting clients for private lessons, I have had more time to think. My mind wanders about juggling work, home life, the never ending remodeling projects, what I haven't had time to do and everything in between. Every time I knock an item off the list, two more get added on. I think about client struggles with their busy lives and frustrations brought to me with their dogs. We (yes, I say we because I include myself in this) expect perfection from our dogs, but it's so difficult to find the time, energy, and patience to see any progress. Training a dog is like a full time job! Puppies are constant supervision and trying to give dogs feedback for every decision they make is like watching a pot of water boil but you forget to turn on the burner. This job is great, because I learn that I'm not the only one going through the motions of life. I'm not the only one who has a dog with some quirks. I'm not the only one that feels like I'm running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. None of us are alone in this.
Recently, I have came to the determination that while I can't change my busy life, I can change my mindset. That I need to teach myself how to stay more focused, set better goals and organize my thoughts better. I have been avoiding personal training with my own dog because I don't know where to go from here, and I didn't feel like exerting that little bit of time and energy into working through certain issues we have been having (yes, trainers dogs need just as much work as yours). I have concluded that I cannot grow as a person and my dog cannot grow as a dog if I just give up. I want to thank all of my clients for helping me see this. From the clients that continue pushing and making progress despite your busy life and crazy behaviors you have to work your dog through, you are an inspiration to me, and I can't thank you enough for everything you do! Your dog can't thank you enough either!
Since none of us are alone in this busy world of raising a dog, keeping rules set in place, giving them proper mental stimulation, rewarding, correcting, leading, building the bond, training, and the list goes on and on; What obstacles have you faced, and how did you overcome them?
By sharing our experiences, we can find that we aren't alone, and we can help each other!
