Canine Frontier Training and Performance, LLC

Meet Mika Harriman. Her folks, Anna and McKennon, are sending some of their videos so I can share a bit of this little sweet girl’s progress as we learn in my virtual Positive Puppy course. I love it when clients share videos!! You will be seeing more of Mika in the next few days!!! Thanks to the Harriman’s for sharing! 😃🐾

https://youtu.be/9IWipK4CBsI?si=2jbC66zvqhJas4e6

Here is our new video about easily putting on your puppy or dog’s harness. Especially good to use the treats as reinforcement for having the harness put on. 👍😃🐾

The Easy Way to Put a Harness On Your Dog This is the easy way to put a harness on your puppy or your dog. Giving them treats along the way makes this positive and fun for them and you, and your dog ...

When thinking about baby gates for containing your puppy or dog in rooms or hallways or using an ex-pen, consider the height of the gate or ex-pen to keep them inside/outside of the area. You may also want to consider straight bars like the wooden gates so that your dog can’t easily climb over the gate/ex-pen. Make sure you make their ares fun with games and play! 👍🐾

Working on handling skills for grooming should start with your puppy very early in your life together! Gently holding them in your lap with their back against your chest so you can gently hold paws, slow light circles in ears, and just very lightly looking at teeth by moving a lip very gently so you can see teeth. After each touch, be sure to give your puppy a treat so that a handling touch starts to predict a yummy treat. Do the same with a very soft brush, touch the brush to your puppy’s side, then give a treat. So, brush touch and then treat. You won’t always have to give a treat after each touch, but doing it now will help your puppy have good associations with grooming. For more on the handling progression, contact us! Having a puppy who enjoys grooming is awesome!

Working with your dogs on platforms is a great way to train so many different things. Things like positions next to you, distance work, all sorts of tricks and more. Starting with the platform work when your dog is a young puppy really helps your training plan be successful. One of the important things we may not think about as much, though, is working on the platforms in many different locations and environments. We know dogs don’t generalize well so using a training tool like a platform really helps to generalize positions and more when we use them in different locations. Jaxon is showing how he is magnetized to his platform in the yard. 😃🐾

Teaching your puppy some tricks along with training and play continues the fun of working together! If you decide to add some canine musical freestyle to your repertoire, having polished tricks to add in as you tell a musical story together enhances your dance routine! Check out our YouTube channel, Canine Frontier, to see how to teach your puppy or dog how to shake. 😃🐾

Secret decoder ring? Using a clicker or your verbal marker “yes” is like using a secret decoder ring to decode us for our dogs. Dogs are always looking for information from us. The best way for them to learn exactly which behavior they do for us is the one we want, is to mark that behavior with a click or a “yes” (you can use a different marker word as long as you are consistent). Your click or “yes” marks the behavior the moment it happens as it happens. The click or “yes” is a promise that a treat will always follow to reinforce the marker. For more about how to use the marker and the reinforcer for training young puppies and dogs, contact Canine Frontier. 😃🐾

When the objects to show your puppy are just too cool to wait for, sitting on them can be one way to experience them. Seriously, having fun with your puppy while they learn about new objects is a great way to expand their world! If they are wary or a little fearful, you can help them by clicking and then treating for looking at the object, moving toward the object, and, if they are comfortable enough to move closer, let them approach on their own until they can be next to or sniff the object. 😃🐾

Blast From The Past. Meg and one of her sweet Beardies in our Mantayo AKC Rally class. Such an awesome team.

When your dog has been to the vet and needs to wear a cone or other type of protective collar to keep from chewing on the part of himself that had work done, there are now different types of collars that are more comfortable than the old stiff plastic type cone. The one Jerzy is showing here is a blow up one that can double as a pillow when lying on the floor. There are soft cones that give for comfort when lying down. Check out the new cone’s available before a procedure and make sure it fits properly and do introduce it to your dog so he can get used to it with high value treats. Giving them time to get used to the collar before the procedure will make wearing the collar less stressful. 😃🐾

Blast From the Past. Dawn and Jerzy working on teaching him how to play the Piano at our Tricks workshop. So much fun for everyone! 😃🐾

When you have a little dog, like this little one, using your hand to target for teaching walking in heel position beside you can be really hard on your back. A great solution is the target stick which telescopes to differing lengths as you use the green ball on the end to be your target. This sweet Yorkie mix puppy did great once she learned to touch the green ball. Check our YouTube channel, Canine Frontier, for a video that shows how to teach the target stick to your puppy or dog.😃🐾

Making your puppy’s travel bag fun should start long before your trip. You can use a very high value treat to begin by marking your puppy’s behavior with your click or your verbal marker “yes”for coming close to the bag and then, after your click or “yes”, giving them a small piece of the high value treat. Take each step at your own puppy’s speed! If they walk up and act like they want to get in and check it out, click/“yes” and then toss a treat in the bag with them. Don’t close the bag until you have worked a lot on just being comfortable with it. For more info on the training protocol, please email Laurel at [email protected]. 😃🐾

Some of our favorite food puzzle toys. The Toppl is Penny approved. She is collecting them in case someone wants to fill them up with yummy goodness! 😃🐾

Teaching the “Settle on Your Mat” behavior is great to teach our dogs to relax on their mat while remaining there until they are released. I use “free” for my release word, but it can be any word you will remember and use consistently. The settle cue is basically an “off” cue to our dogs to indicate we will not be engaged with them or ask them for anything until we have released them with our release word. Once they are released, they are back “on” and ready to be engaged with us doing whatever comes next. For how we teach “Settle”, we have a video on our YouTube channel Canine Frontier or contact me at [email protected]. 😃🐾

Blast from the Past at Mantayo puppy class. Friends come in all sizes and shapes. These two really enjoyed each other! Working with our puppies to learn calm greetings with other puppies is very important! This isn’t the greeting exercise, but just hanging out in class. The Irish Wolfhound always laid down to be more on the level with her Havanese puppy friend! So smart and cute!! 😃🐾

To all our Canine Frontier family and friends in Colorado, hoping you are all safe and your dogs are all okay in this storm! Thanks to our long time Canine Frontier family member, Sheri, for these pictures of her home. Her dogs are negotiating the snow okay on the paths she shoveled. Stay safe out there!!!❄️🐾😃

Having a great crate and ex-pen layout in your home is the best for starting your new puppy’s adventures with you! You may need a second crate for overnight that will be closer to you so you will be available for those overnight potty breaks. Puppies need 16-20 hours of sleep too! If you are interested in finding out more about puppy development, routines or beginning training positively, email me at [email protected]. If you are getting a puppy, I have a Puppy Prep session that will help you be prepared for pick up day and beyond. 😃🐾

Blast From the Past! Stephanie and Zambi in Rally class in 2017. Such a fun team to work with! We had a fun group on Thursday nights! 😃🐾

Introducing our pups to new objects is a very important part of socialization. Giving them the opportunity to approach an object, like the umbrella, as they feel comfortable to approach it is a great way to build confidence. Marking them with your “yes” or a click and then reinforcing with a treat makes the new object even more fun to approach!

Blast from the past! Francine and Ella and Paige and Sasha at Denver County Fair in 2015 with Rocky Mountain Dancing Dogs! We had so much fun!! It’s a shining memory!!!

This is my boy, Jamey, surveying his world from the backyard. Dogs love checking out sights, sounds and smells — watching them enjoying their surroundings is so much fun! What can your dog experience in your backyard?

“My ex-pen is a wonderful place with my bed and pizza toy!”
Puppies love their spaces when such good things happen there. Feeding them in their ex-pen helps make the ex-pen their safe space. Want more information on crate and ex-pen set up and use during your puppy’s development? Let Laurel know in the comments. 😃🐾

Blast from the Past! Chris Orlikowski and Almondine rocking Rally class at Mantayo. Almondine always had a fun time and made sure we all did too!!! Had such fun with you guys!!! 😃🐾

Happy Valentines Day! 💜💜💜🐾 May you have a wonderfully fun day with those you love!!! Are you planning special times with your dogs today?

Blast From the Past! Marie and Scooter having fun in adolescent obedience class. Scooter has such a lovely personality, fun, smart and not just another pretty face!!! So much fun working with you guys!!! 😃🐾

Enriching puppy’s early environments with new and fun items is not only fun for them, but gives us an opportunity to see how they handle new things before going to their forever homes. This little kiddo enjoys playing at problem solving! 😃🐾

Blast from the Past! Dawn and Jaxon working on their freestyle pirate routine, Jaxon protecting the treasure chest!! Fear the pirate Aussie!!! 😃🐾