Trainers

Randy Curliss
Dover
(208) 263-4633

Hand Hills Border Collies
Norm Close
Coeur d’Alene
(208) 665-1670
(208) 215-4630

Groups

Ewe Quack Me Up

Annual trails in the north Idaho area

Riv Memorial – spring, Sandpoint
Davis Memorial – fair time, Sandpoint
Labor Day trial – labor day weekend, Eastern WA

March 19th and 20th, Saturday and Sunday, Dean Calderon will be holding a clinic at:
BARWALT TOOL COMPANY, 5171 East Seltice Way, Post Falls, Idaho. Dean Calderon will be working with 10 dogs, 2 dobermans and 8 GSDs, three of which are worked by handlers that compete nationally and internationally. Each day he will be working with all dogs in both disciplines. The cost is $50 for both days as a spectator. Check out the brochure for more information!
Calderon Brochure

To celebrate a new begining there will be a raffle and auction to benefit the community! Check out all of the information here:

Do you have a great photo of your pooch? Enter the Bonner County Daily Bee’s Pet Pic’s Voting Contest that has cash prizes for the winners! Follow the link to look at entries or to upload your own photo. You must be a Bonner County resident and have your photo in by 5:00pm Feb. 22. There is a $10 fee but don’t worry, a portion of the proceeds go to Panhandle Animal Shelter.

Every year Canis Film Festival awards $500 dollars for informative and innovative videos made by people like you and me. In order to enter you need to be familiar with clicker training and their judging criteria:
Clarity of teaching process and methods
Innovation in the end behavior and teaching approach
Entertainment value
Use of positive training principles, especially those using operant conditioning and a marker
Usefulness to target audience
Production quality

You can go to their website to see the top 5 videos and vote on the best!

Here is a book that anyone who has ever enjoyed a connection with animal, whether it was simply making eye contact with a wild bird for a fleeting instant or living life with multiple pets, will enjoy and learn from. This is a book about understanding dogs and helping people deepen their relationships with their own canine companions. In it Suzanne not only allows the reader to have confidence in their intuition, she demonstrates how listening to ‘the still small voice’ leads to a relationship based on trust. In dog training it is easy to believe that your dog should do everything you ask. It is funny how we get a dog for a relationship but so often when we train force and science take over. We all know that relationships are two way roads with give and take. When on a date do you demand certain behaviors? Do you expect your partner to do the dishes everyday whenever you happen to ask? Just like we have respect for other people, Suzanne explains, if we respect our dog’s needs we will be on the right track for learning the dance steps that express our foundational desire to love and be loved. Listening to your dog will prevent breaking his trust. It will allow you to both become more in tune with each other resulting in a harmony that speaks of your childhood dog, the one you never had to ‘train’, the one that just understood you, a dog that you love and loves you without restraint…

“Montana’s premier winter sporting event is the Race to the Sky. Celebrating our twenty-fifth year, we are recognized as one of the most challenging and beautiful sled dog races in the world. It is an unusual test of physical power, mental toughness, teamwork, and the special bond between man and animal. Working together, they negotiate the trail through Montana’s scenic Rocky Mountains.” A Montana Tradition… Check out their great website here.
Follow your favorite musher by GPS! There are two junior mushers you might be interested in:
JOSI THYR, Cataldo, Idaho
GARRETT WARREN, Council, Idaho

People in the Sandpoint / Coeur d’Alene have their options! Up north the Panhandle Animal Shelter is having a party at the Laughing Dog Brewing Co. Tasting Room. There are two events going on in Coeur d’Alene: one at Cricket’s downtown Bar & Grill and the other is at Fedora Bar & Grill! Check out the calendar in the right side bar for more information ——>
Click here to watch a video by Reuters on the Westminster!
Click here to go to the Westminster Kennel Club website.
Make a comment if you know of any other parties!

The McEuen Park is holding a survey and question 23 out of 24 asks your opinion on adding a dog park near the base of Tubbs Hill. Go here to complete the survey.

Here is the proof (from http://www.cityofsandpoint.com/):

Ordinance No. 1248 – Dogs in Hickory Park

(adopted November 17, 2010)

Leashed dogs (a maximum of 3 per handler) will be allowed in Hickory Park on a trial basis, January 1, 2011, through December 1, 2011, with exceptions: No dogs are allowed inside the children’s playground area, the basketball court, or the skate feature.

Ordinance No. 1247 – Dogs in Lakeview Park

(adopted November 17, 2010)

Leashed dogs (a maximum of 3 per handler) are now allowed in Lakeview Park on a permanent basis, with exceptions: No dogs are allowed in the children’s playground area, within the fenced tennis courts, or within the boundaries of the basketball court. Dogs are not allowed inside the fence at Memorial Field.

The dog in the photo was found with a massive tumor, ribs showing and painfully long nails. She didn’t drive by this poor dog but stopped and did all she could for this dog. For the full story please go to Cd’A Press.

Here is another great paved trail perfect for getting some exercise with your dog. This trail starts where Perimeter Drive meets the Moscow Pullman Highway in Moscow and shadows the highway to Pullman. It is slightly up hill but you will only notice that if your riding your bike.
Visit their website for more info and photos.

The Latah Foundation spear headed this rail-to-trail. It goes from Moscow to Troy and is free of motorized vehicles. It is a great trail for roller blading / scootering /biking with your best friend since it is paved. It starts near the UI fountains in Moscow where 95 and 8 meet. The trail follows the Troy Highway the majority of the way to Troy!

“The 12-mile trail between Moscow and Troy was completed in October 2008. It is a fully paved, 10-foot wide trail intended for use by pedestrians, bicyclists, in-line skaters, wheel-chair operators, cross-country skiers and others with non-motorized transportation. In August 2009, Latah County acquired ownership of the old rail bed continuing 4 miles southeast of Troy. This next section of trail is currently an unimproved gravel/rock pathway that follows Bear Creek.” From TrailLink.com.

Have you used this trail?

The McCroskey State Park has a lot of offer! “This 5300-acre ridgeline park is dedicated to pioneer women. McCroskey State Park’s highlight is an 18-mile skyline drive through the park on unimproved roads provides spectacular views of the rolling Palouse country and access to 32 miles of multi-purpose trails. Facilities include a group day use shelter, primitive camping areas and picnic areas along the road. The road is not recommended for large RVs and may be too rough for your family car.”
~State of Idaho Parks and Rec
Visit the website above for maps and more information.

Have you hiked here? Post your photos!

In Deer Park 17 dogs were found dead at a rescue called Muddy Paws.
Take a look at this article for more information.

Isn’t this what we all want? Trainers recommend using treats, toys, affection, play drive, pain and fear to get our pets to do what we ask. Is there such a thing as a dog that wants to do what we ask? All dogs need different levels of motivation but how do we actually build a relationship?

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Here is a link that describes the different methods used in training. This page explains positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment, flooding, luring, extinction etc.

Here is a link to Silvia Trkmas’s training philosophy. My favorite is “9. dogs work best when they work for themselves. Don’t ask them for a favour to work with you. Make them ask you for a favour to work with them.” Watch some of her videos on youtube and you will see why she is a 2 time world champion / 12 time world team member in agility.

I’m going to post videos as I find them to this blog. Please leave feedback and tell us what you do!
Here is a video of Ian Dunbar explaining how to fade out treats so luring doesn’t turn into a bribe:

Check out the article on Search Dog North Idaho here!

Last night was Pawsitive Works’ first Gala Dinner fundraiser. It was a hit! With a dinner at 41 South, auction items from EZY Dog, Amara Spa, Coeur d’Alene Resort and more it couldn’t have been a more perfect night.

What is Pawsitive Works you say? Pawsitive Works works with at risk teens, through training shelter dogs both dog and teen benefit the community. Teens are taught positive dog training methods and work with one dog for 4 to 5 weeks, training sits, downs, leash walking and how to be polite. The dogs teach the teens responsibility, compassion and patience.

See what the Daily Bee said about Pawsitive Works by clicking on the photo.

Pawsitive Works has been the dream of Karen Schumacher of Bonners Ferry for over 5 years. She has headed up this program in Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint and now the program will be having its first session in Coeur d’Alene this October. Next on the list is Spokane and Creston. These cities have been asking Karen to open programs in their cities too, so Pawsitive Works is looking for more funding and volunteers to be able to provide more of these programs. Currently Pawsitive Works is also working with different research groups in order to show how beneficial this program is for the youth and the dogs. This is the amazing part of the program: teens that have been in this program aren’t re-offending and dogs in this program become more adoptable. Both the teens and the dogs are performing a community service and changing a life.

If you are interested in learning more about Pawsitive Works go to their website, click on the photo to read an article about them in the Daily Bee or comment on this post – I am the Youth Adviser/Trainer for the Sandpoint program and would love to answer your questions!

Is there training for a dog that doesn’t require you to carry treats, toys, leash, prong collar or e-collar remotes for the rest of your dog’s life?

How do we get our dog to do what we want, when we want without external reinforcers or fear?

First you have to be able to communicate with your dog what you want. This means that you need to teach him what you expect of him when you use certain English words or specific body movements. This is when you will greatly benefit from the use of training tools. Training tools range from harnesses to e-collars, short leads to long leads, play to reduced social interaction, dog kibble to McDonald’s cheeseburgers and everything in between. We all know that food is typically the best motivator for getting our dogs to do things that we want them to. We must first find out what our dog finds the most rewarding: a certain type of food or a special toy… We can use these things to lure behaviors and reward behaviors. Through this process our dog learns that when we say sit we expect him to sit.

Once a dog understands what we want we can quickly phase out the tools. This means you can start to give the treat (or other reinforcer) to the dog only intermittently, say after doing two behaviors that we want, then every three behaviors, back to every two times and so on. What really works great is mixing this up so we make it like a gambling experience. If we put in a jackpot every now and then (a jackpot needs to be something so wonderful the dog will never forget that he got it for doing what you asked) the dog will always wonder if he’ll get that jackpot for doing what you ask. Incorporating in what has now been termed ‘life rewards’ also makes this transition easier.

Life rewards are rewards that you don’t have to carry in your pocket. These are things that your dog naturally finds rewarding in life, like sniffing. Here is one example: when your dog walks nicely on a leash you get to go forward (when the dog doesn’t walk nice he has to walk in the opposite direction until he is in the right spot and then he can go forward again). Here is another example: when your dog sees something that he is afraid of and does what you ask (i.e. gives eye contact and doesn’t immediately start reacting badly) you then take your dog out of the situation that scares him. You can also train with a friend and see if your dog will do what you ask when you aren’t looking at your dog(if no one is available to help maybe you could use a mirror).

In short, we should all remember that whenever we are with our dog we are training. Or maybe that we should always be ‘real’ with our dogs and training is really just interacting with our dogs and communicating.

Does your dog have a special trick? Share it with us!

If you have ever wanted to see sheep herding you wont want to miss the first ever live national sheepdog semi finals and finals LIVE here on Sept. 25 and 26. The National Sheepdog Finals website is supporting this service for free!

Evans Brother’s is teaming up with Panhandle Animal Shelter to raise money for the animals in Sandpoint who need help.

The Panhandle Animal Shelter is located in Northern Idaho and provides services for approximately 1300 lost, abandoned, neglected and abused animals every year.

“Come hang out, enjoy the great weather and listen to Mike Strain and friends. The new Neighborhood Coffee Bar will be open, Panhandle Animal Shelter will be hosting a bar featuring Laughing Dog Beer and Pend Oreille Winery Wine for a donation and Studio 524 is featuring artwork with a Dog theme.

For all you dog lovers this is your night. We will have an off-leash run set-up, Roxy’s Pet Grooming will be there offering nail trims, Something Blue Photography will have a fancy couch or chairs set-up for dog portraits and the shelter will have a dog micro-chipping clinic. Get your dog chipped for $20 compared to $55 at your vet. EzyDog merchandise and the Sandpoint Book will be available for purchase.

Have Kids with dogs??? Bring your children and dogs for a free dog training session with trainers from Pawsitive Works at 5:30p. Your children will learn some basic techniques they can practice at home.

Hungry? We will have snacks at the bar, possibly a BBQ going and frozen yogurt for the pooches.

We hope you can make it whether you have a dog or not. This will be a fun night to come hang out!

Any questions, email Mandy Evans mandy@evansbrotherscoffee.com”

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Kootenai Co. will finally have their very own off leash, fenced in dog park! The grand opening is Labor day from 11:00-3:00, of course, dogs are welcome too! There will be hot dogs and refreshments and fun for all. Just go to the intersection of Atlas Road and Nez Perce Drive, in Coeur d’Alene, which is adjacent to Northshire Park.

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