The Dog Gurus' Daycare Games

 All February long, Morris K9 Campus participated in The Dog Gurus’ Daycare Games. The games have come to an end and our staff earned an outstanding 13 medals, including 10 gold medals! The games worked on improving the skill sets of daycare attendees at Morris K9 Campus, while competing with other dog daycares across the country. 

Robin Bennett and Susan Briggs, the co-founders of The Dog Gurus, designed the Daycare Games as a skills-based challenge that keeps dogs safe and happy while recognizing top dog daycare providers for their unique skills.

The Daycare Games had three disciplines, all of which are equally important and helpful when you bring your dog home. Handlers competed in recalls, group sits and gate boundaries. The three different disciplines are aimed to improve the skills of the daycare staff through a variety of different obedience exercises. The purpose of using obedience skills and drills in daycare is to maintain control of the group, while reinforcing desired behavior.

One of the tested disciplines was recall. As per the rules of the games, staff had to verbally recall an individual dog that was at least six feet away from them. We practice recall in daycare every day. It is an important activity because it works using the “come” command, which can be transitioned to your home life with your dog as well.

The Daycare Games were so much fun to host, a great team bonding activity and our daycare dogs seemed to enjoy the competitive festivities. We feel that the commands and obedience skills used in the Daycare Games are critical to safe and fun group play, which is why we use them every day during daycare.

The Dog Gurus, who have put together industry standards for operating safe daycare in their e-book “The Four E’s of Excellence in Off-Leash Play”, detail the exact exercises that help daycare facilities take better care of your pet. This book is available online for members. Learn more about becoming a Dog Gurus member at www.TheDogGurus.com.

A Unique Approach to Pet Training

Whether it is a good recall (come) or the ability for your dog to walk loosely on a leash, basic obedience training can be helpful for both you and your pooch. The unique approach to training at Morris K9 Campus provides you with the tools you need to excel in everyday life. In addition to the levels pet training program, Morris K9 Campus also offers a variety of different workshops aimed to focus on specific real life situations.

Recall can be one of the most beneficial tools for any dog owner. Morris K9 Campus trainer Robin Lash says that a good recall is the dog owner’s number one responsibility. Not only is it useful, it is a life saving skill if your dog was to ever get away from you.

If your dog has a pulling issue, Robin recommends a one day, one topic seminar, called “Powerful Pullers.” The class will give you the skills and the equipment that is needed in order to have a well trained dog on a leash. A one topic seminar is beneficial to a dog with a specific issue, and with practice and patience, can resolve the problem.

The more training the dog goes through, the skills he or she will develop. Training will only improve the quality of your dog’s life. Having a well trained dog can also make everyday tasks easier on you.

Come to the Morris K9 Campus “Fall Festival” on October 28, where our pet trainers will be on hand for a question and answer session.

Stayed tuned to the Morris K9 Campus website for a list of our workshop offerings this fall and winter.

Recognizing Recall



PLAY AND TRAIN AT MORRIS K9 CAMPUS!

Our Play and Train program is designed so that your dog can play the day away while learning new commands and training skills. The only requirement is that your dog has been approved for daycare! Two of our most popular Play and Train skills are loose leash walking and "come" (getting the dog to recall).

  


Cleo and Lauren attention and focus.

 

LOOSE LEASH



There are many important steps that lead to having a dog with good leash skills. First, you want your dog's attention and focus to be on you. In order to accomplish this there are games you can play with your dog, such as name game. All it entails is you getting your dog's attention with the food and saying his/her name as the food follows from your eye line to your dogs.



      

Cleo and Lauren loose leash walking.



    

Next, you want to teach your dog where to walk. You cannot get upset for having a dog that doesn't walk properly if you have never showed them the right way to do it. In order to do this, pick which side (left or right) you would like your dog to walk on. Always practice walking with your dog on that side.







  

"COME"

"Come" is the most important thing you can teach your dog. It is literally a life saver. When teaching "come" you want to make sure your dog is always successful. This means starting off easy. You always want to use an enthusiastic tone! Your dog is not going to want to come to you if you are using the same voice as when he/she gets in trouble. You have to be more exciting than whatever it is you are calling your dog away from.

 Jack has a great recall in group, this is an advanced skill! 

To inquire more about Play and Train, please call 973.252.5100 or visit our website.  If your dog does not prefer the company of other dogs we offer an alternative Train and Fitness program!

Find us on Facebook: Morris K9 Campus!



ALLIE ADVANCES IN PET TRAINING AND TRIES AGILITY!

This week Allie participated in our daytime Level Training classes! Allie began in Level 1 group training where she began with basic attention skills. These key skills are very important for Allie. Commands that are taught in Level 1 include 'sit', 'down', and name recognition. She picked up these skills so fast, she was able to be quickly moved up to Level 2! In Level 2 we continue with her loose leash walking, she is picking up stay very well, and her 'come' is fantastic!

We also introduced Allie to agility! She loved the tunnel as you can see from the video! We think she would be a great agility dog!

Allie is up for adoption through Eleventh Hour. Please call 973-664-0865 or visit Eleventh Hour's website for more information about her.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ALLIE

Allie's morning routine consists of playing with her friend and fellow Boot Camp member, Fergie, the Portuguese Water Dog. These two ladies had an instant connection. They enjoy starting their morning with playtime and fetch with tennis balls.

Next up is training time:

We like to teach all dog's to wait or "stay" at the door until they are released to go outside. It's a wonderful way for your dog to learn that they shouldn't bolt outside without you allowing them to do so. Nice going, Allie!

Some of the things we have been working on with Allie is a good recall or "come," one of the most important commands you can teach your dog. Allie thinks it's a really fun game!

To continue to increase her exercise and fitness, Allie works out on the treadmill. This is a fabulous way to keep her active, stimulated, and tired.

Click here for more information about the Morris K9 Campus Boot Camp program or call 973.252.5100.

If you are interested in adopting Allie contact Eleventh Hour Rescue.

OFF-LEASH TRAINING

Recall is one of the most important skills a dog can learn. It is absolutely vital to teach your canine companion to come when you call for them. There are many situations you may find yourself in where it is essential and possibly life-saving for your dog to have perfect recall; if the door of your house is left open and Fido bolts, at the park when a squirrel walks by, or if your leash snaps and breaks and there goes your dog! Here are a few, very simple tips to help you perfect your dog’s recall.

 

Tone is Key

If you are in the habit of screaming and yelling your dog’s name whenever you want them to come to you, your anger and raised voice may scare them away. They may associate you with this emotion and that is not a good thing. If you let your dog off-leash in the backyard, your dog has the wonderful opportunity to run around, free and unburdened by the restraint of a leash, sniffing and smelling the world around them. This is indeed a fun and liberating time for your dog. If you call your pup with anger and a loud voice, you are giving Fido no reason to come to you! Your raised voice pales in comparison to playing in the backyard!

Provide a Reason

When you call your dog to come to you, use a firm, but happy voice. Make it clear to your fuzzy friend that you are in a good mood. Provide a little treat, praise and gentle hugs and pats. This will encourage your dog to come to you in the future. If you teach Fido that coming to you will result in loving attention and a treat, why wouldn’t your dog come running? Practice this over and over again in your backyard. Make sure to use small bits of treats or little carrot sticks as a reward so that Fido doesn’t pack on the pounds. Throw in more and more distractions to enforce this skill to the point of perfection.

Why let the fun stop outside? Leave a Kong filled with yummy peanut butter waiting by the door inside or grab your dog's favorite toy and start a quick play session to keep the fun going. This way your dog will be more willing to come inside. The key to great recall is practice and patience. If you keep working with your dog on their recall by using these tips, you will have a dog that wants to return to you time and time again! If this problem continues to plague you, try our training program at Morris K9 Campus and we will help you nail down your recall so that it becomes second nature.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RECALL

Photo Courtesy of Andreaplanet

For a dog owner, there is nothing more embarrassing than calling out your dog's name only to have them find everything else more worthy of their attention than your urgently rising voice. A bushy-tailed squirrel, your neighbor in their backyard, a wispy cloud floating softly by in the sky, a tiny blade of grass. Sometimes it feels like you could wear a necklace of bacon and a pot roast for a hat before your dog even decides to glance in your direction.

A Hairy Situation
But besides the embarrassment of screaming yourself hoarse while your pooch calmly ignores you, there is a real danger to this misbehavior. A friend was recently reminded of this fact while she was pet sitting. The dog managed to get loose and ran onto a busy road. This dog was adopted, fearful, and had never been properly trained which only made this unfortunate incident worse. Not responding to her name or any recall words like "come" made it extremely difficult for the dog to be safely caught. This story has a happy ending because the dog was eventually caught and returned unharmed back to her home. Yet, had this dog been taught the importance of recall by responding to her name or a word like come or here, she never would have run as far as she did and led the pet sitter and her friends on a wild, heart pounding goose chase. And of course the story could have had a very different and more upsetting outcome.

Human Error
Humans are bound to make mistakes. As they say, that's why there are erasers on pencils. You may forget to close the gate to your yard when taking out the trash, leave the garage door open, your dog may jump out of the car before you have him or her properly harnessed, or your leash may snap and break at the most inopportune time. No eraser on a pencil is going to correct this situation, only time spent training and teaching your dog recall until it is so perfected that you can take your dog off leash at any time and know that he or she will return to you. We never recommend allowing your dog off leash, but in a properly contained space it is crucial to train your dog up to this level on the off chance that you are faced with this situation someday.

Practice Makes Perfect
Recall is the most important step in basic training, more important than sit or lie down. If you as a dog owner do not have this skill nailed down, you will never have the confidence and assurance of knowing that no matter what unfortunate cirsumstance arises, your precious pooch will return to you safely and out of harm's way. You owe it to yourself and to your dog.

Morris K9 Campus is passionate about this topic and commited to the importance of recall. As a result, we offer varying programs to perfect this skill from daycare and play, to pet level training classes, Adult Socialization and Play, to agility and even whole workshops devoted to this subject.

Would you like to see another Off-Leash Workshop offered at Morris K9 Campus?