One of the most important aspects about our training is that it is ongoing! We are lifelong learners! It keeps us mentally and physically healthy – so says Mom. And as she needs different skills from us as service and/or therapy dogs, we are able to perform them.
But how do we do this ongoing training? We drive from our home in Shephersville,KY to Frankfort, KY to meet with our master trainer, Liz Norris, of Pawsibilities Unleashed for class. There we review old skills and learn new ones. After class, several of us meet with her for a Q & A session to further improve our understanding of canine behavior and skills. Then the work begins!
At home these are the tools we use. Dash and I love them.

We like the Zuke’s treats because they are soft and crumbly and small. Mom loves to take the Nutro treats to school because they smell like blueberries and she smells yummy! The small yellow thing in the picture is a “clicker”. Mom uses it to make a noise and let us know to take a “visual snapshot” in our heads that we accomplished the right behavior… Then we get a treat!
So every day Mom insists that we heel, sit, wait, down, come front and many other things as we move around the house or go for walks. If she is doing the dishes, she puts us in a down/ stay and works us. Then we are released and we heel while walking to another room. We do get treats for following
directions which is really cool. Sometimes we play 5 minute games where Mom gives a variety of commands to Dash and me and we each get treats- if we listen and follow directions. We like those games!
Mom does not expect to train us for 15 minutes a day and have us learn the skill. We learn the skill by using it all day long and reinforcing it in real life. By training ALL DAY EVERYDAY our skills our reinforced and rock solid. We think think this is an awesome way to train. What do you think?

Woofs and wags,
Bella