We're just about through the month of January and really, we've had a great winter so far. I know folks who enjoy snow sports haven't been too happy because we haven't had much snow, but this is Wisconsin. We still have a couple of months yet of winter. Snow always comes, sometimes later in winter and almost always in early spring. But for me, I've been thoroughly enjoying the winter we've had so far.

I just wrapped up my first 8-week session of winter classes. The next session of classes begins the week of February 6th. Please visit the Class Schedule page to view the list of all classes being offered and the times for those classes.

Also, watch for an upcoming article on "Bloat". Sadly, my 10 year old German shepherd, Mojo suffered an episode of Bloat on New Year's Day. I rushed him to the Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals where an emergency gastropexy was performed on him. This surgery saved his life. Had I not known the early signs of Bloat, Mojo would have died within a matter of a couple of hours.

I had the privilege of interviewing the surgeon, Dr. Roz Elliott for the article I will be writing on this often fatal condition. I want to get the word out on how serious this condition is and to educate dog owners on the early signs of Bloat so their dogs' lives may be saved too.

I'm wishing all of my wonderful students and friends of Paws-A-Tive Choice a very Happy, Healthy and Safe 2012. And if you're looking for something fun to do with your pooch during these remaining winter months, join one of our many fun and family friendly dog training classes. Your dog will thank you for it!

Stay pawsative and train happy!

Kathy

Thanksgiving has passed and now we're gearing up for the Christmas season. Not only are the holidays upon us, but so is the WINTER SCHEDULE here at Paws-A-Tive Choice. (Visit the Class Schedule page for details.)

Originally I was going to be back in Texas to teach for the winter, but the marvelous opportunity was given to me to stay here in Wisconsin and continue teaching dog training classes at my learning center in Union Grove.

Even though I am sad that I won't be having fun this winter with my students in Texas, I am very excited to keep the fun going with all of my dedicated Wisconsin students.

It has been such a thrill for me to reconnect with each of my wonderful students here. I feel honored to have the on going opportunity to train with them and their lovely dogs.

I'm working on some fun things for the winter that should help shake off those cold-weather blues. I will post more information on that later.

On December 16th at 6:30 p.m. I'm hosting a Cocoa & Cookies Holiday Pooch Party. This will be a fun evening of dog socialization and for their people to get together and enjoy sharing the holiday season with fellow dog-lovers. There will be cocoa and goodies for the party-attendees. Each person who would like to participate in the doggy-cookie exchange will go home with a bag of goodies for their pooch.

This Pooch Party is open for all dogs that are dog/people social. If your dog is shy, fearful, sensitive or reactive toward other dogs or people, this would not be the appropriate event for your canine companion to participate in. However, people are welcome to join in the fun and leave their pooch at home to relax in the comfort of their own home.

There is a $5 Pooch Party Fee for NON-ACTIVE Students of Paws-A-Tive Choice and no charge for currently active students. If you are interested in joining in this holiday fun, please contact me no later than Wednesday, December 14th as I will need a final count on participants for the doggy-cookie exchange. Email: softailkat@gmail.com

I'm looking forward to keeping the fun going here in Wisconsin!

Here's wishing you and yours a very Happy and Safe Holiday Season.

Kathy

Paws-A-Tive Choice

I have to say I have the most loyal, patient students as well. They are always willing to wait for my return. Of course my Wisconsin students don't want me to go back to Texas and my Texas students don't want me to head up to Wisconsin. At least I can say that I feel very appreciated by each of them. They are the reason I do what I do! My students and their dogs bring so much joy to my life. I can't imagine doing anything else as a profession.

One of my Texas students just sent me this lovely letter sharing her thoughts about the K9 Scent Work-Fun class she took with her Standard poodle, Bella earlier this year. She wanted me to share this with all of my web readers.

Thank you, Kimberly for taking the time to express your enjoyment of training with me. You and Bella make a great team.

_____________________________________________________

Hi Kathy,

Hope you are missing us here in the blistering heat…LOL  We miss you, and can’t wait for your return!

I wanted to take time to thank you so much for the K-9 Scent Work-Fun class that Bella and I were so lucky to participate in. I’m not sure who had more fun, Bella, the other dogs or me! Rig, my better half of course would laugh every night on our way home asking that very question.

What a great activity for us to participate in during my convalescence. You were right; this is definitely a sport for all ages and physicality of our canine buddies and human friends alike. And what FUN we had, the term Pure Joy definitely applied for me!

Bella, who loves to play, was going through a tough time with losing her companion in December and then her mommy getting sick in January. She really needed that extra stimulation she received and enjoyed with K9 Scent Work.

Bella, finding the "hide"It was absolutely thrilling to watch how quickly Bella and all of her other buddies caught on to the sport.  What a beautiful thing to experience when you actually see their little minds working for the goal. How they tune everything and everybody out, and are so intent on what they need and want to do. They didn’t even mind the over excited human, clapping her hands, and awing for their finds!

I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the different reactions of each dog when they picked up the scent of their hide, or how they knew ok, got this one where’s the next one! And let's not forget to mention how the excitement level would increase as we progressed through our training. It was like, well I have a job to do, let's getter done! Especially Phoebe, she was one hard gal to fool! (Phoebe was a Labradoodle in the class.)

Your love and passion for what you do shines through, and we were completely blessed to find you. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication! I can’t wait for Scent Training 201 when you return from Wisconsin.

Warmest Affection,

Bella, Kimberly and Rigaud

It's that time of year again when we're kicking off summer fun for you and your dog at Paws-A-Tive Choice in Union Grove, WI.

The class schedule has been set. (Please visit the Class Schedule page to view classes offered and times for each class.) All classes begin the week of May 23rd, so if you want to jump start your summer fun, enroll NOW. Class size is limited with only a few openings left for each of the classes. Enrollment deadline is Friday, May 20th.

If you are interested in registering for a class, please email me at: softailkat@gmail.com or call me at: (262) 994-3487.

I'm so looking forward to having fun with all of my students and sincerely welcome all of you new students to the Paws-A-Tive Choice family.

If you're looking for something new to do with your canine pal, enroll your dog in the K9 Scent-Work Fun class. This is a brand new class being offered at Paws-A-Tive Choice. This is a sport that any breed of any age can enjoy. The dogs use their natural ability to smell in order to search for a scent, (food) in the introductory class. In advanced classes, the dogs learn how to search for a particular odor. The dogs love this game and their people have a great time watching their dogs do what comes naturally, SNIFFING! (Please visit the Services and Classes page to read about the class descriptions.)

Classes offered: Agility (Beginner through Advanced); K9 Good Neighbor Program (Adult doggy manners, based on the AKC Canine Good Citizen criteria); K9 Scent-Work Fun and Puppy-Love Beginner Puppy class.

Private lessons are also available if the class time of your choice does not fit your schedule, or your dog has special needs. Call me and I'll happily work with you to help you and your dog achieve a harmonious relationship and be successful each step of the way.

Let the games begin!

Until next time, be well and train happy!

Kathy

Phoebe searching boxes

"I didn’t know what to expect when Kathy mentioned rolling out her new class, K9 Scent Work-Fun. The information Kathy provided stated this was a new sport and is a fun game for the dogs to use their keen sense of smell. All the dogs in our class have so much personality and really enjoyed their turns at the game. They are so smart and I like to think each one knew they were entertaining all of us pooch parents.

My 4 ½ year old dog,  Phoebe has so much energy to Phoebe finds the hide under the laundry basketbegin with; this was a great way for her to release her energy while figuring out where the treasure-treat was hidden. It was also comforting to see Phoebe become more confident putting her cute little head into the boxes and objects each week, since she was pretty timid at the beginning. We play the game at home and she just loves it!

Allison rewards Phoebe for finding the hideI appreciate Kathy giving us the opportunity to try out this new and special class. Kathy does all the hard work to study, stay on top of everything that’s going on in her field, prepare and create an environment where our dogs and us can just have fun."  Allison Verstappen



Nellie finding the hide in the box

What is a dog to say about scent training with Ms. Kathy? I gotta say that the best part about it is all of the treats, treats, treats and more treats. During my first scent training class, I was unsure what I was supposed to do. I got to roam around in a partitioned area (first with a leash and then without a leash!) There were some other dog owners watching me explore and boy did I love all of this attention. There were lots of rectangular brown things (boxes) in the room. Then I started to walk near a certain rectangular brown thing (box) and smelled that there were some goodies hidden in it. Ms. Kathy wrote "Food" on that one box but after a little bit, I got really good at sniffing to find that box. (My owner thinks that I learned how to read. I just couldn't break it to her that it's just that I quickly learned how to smell for treats. The nose knows.....) 

After the first week of class, I totally looked forward to going back to scent training class. As my owner The hide is behind the bag that Nellie is searchingand myself drove to class, the closer that we got to Ms. Kathy's training facility, the more excited that I got. My tail would wag quicker the closer that we got to her property. If my owner had a tail, I'm sure that hers would have been wagging too. 

As the scent training weeks went on, there began to be new strange objects placed in the training area like cones, a small trashcan, a mop bucket, dog bowl, paper shopping bags and so forth. On a typical day at home,  I would have been afraid of these unidentified objects. (Underneath all of my fur and big nose was a real fraidy cat. Don't tell too many people that I was the type of dog that startled and then barked at new things in my environment.) However, I learned that these new objects were fun to search because the humans would tuck away yummy treats in some of them. I'm not as scared as I used to be and have become what humans would say as "more confident".

Nellie being rewarded for finding the hide on the step of ladderDon't get me wrong. The scent training class was work. Using my nose required quite a bit of concentration. I was completely exhausted by the time that I got home from class. As my "smart" owner tried to tell me, the mental challenge was healthy for me and my brain. After getting home from class, I would go right to sleep right next to wherever my owner was sitting.

I think that this scent training class has made me even closer with my owner. I am so grateful that she took me to this class. My owner is pretty awesome and I gotta thank Ms. Kathy for organizing this class for us and for making it so much fun!! I still can't quite figure out why Ms. Kathy threw a party for me every week.  

The scent training class made me happy, and also Nellie is rewarded for finding the hide while doing a vehicle searchmade my owner happy. The other people in the room looked pretty dog-gone happy too. The scent training class was great but let's just keep it a secret.  There's not enough room in this world for very many smart, confident, and happy dogs like myself!!



Throughout the six weeks, I continued my correspondence with one of the founding members of the National Association of Canine Scent Work, Jill Marie O'Brien. Jill graciously provided input and guidance on my weekly sessions. Every week we added more challenging searches for the dogs and every week the confidence levels noticably increased with each dog.

1st K9 Scent Work Class at Paws-A-Tive Choice in Dripping Springs, TXI so enjoyed my first group of K9 Scent Work participants. The people and their dogs had such marvelous enthusiasm and every one got involved throughout class. This was definitely a class like no other I've taught or attended personally.

Since we wrapped up our 6-week session, I've received some very nice correspondence from my students, the first from a student whose dog was painfully shy and fearful of new situations. My student has granted me permission to post her letter to me to share her and Cappie's experience with the K9 Scent Work class.

 Hi Kathy-

Here are some comments on the nose work class. I appreciate your generosity in giving myself and Cappie the opportunity to reach another level in our training together.

I was not sure what to expect when I signed up for the "nose work" class earlier this year. The ideaCappie finding the "hide" under a box
of my dog, Cappie learning about seeking and working for her treats made me think it would be a good exercise to learn and have as an alternative activity or game.

The class has turned out to exceed my expectations. The game has also turned into a kind of awakening in my once painfully shy companion. Her curiosity and confidence in everyday life have both been pushed to a whole new level.

She is generally much more engaged and eager to explore her environment, "nosing" around with her tail high and wagging, seeing what might be in and around, even when we are not playing any games. The change has been noticeable over the weeks since we started with the "party in a box" pursuits.

Her problem solving, and her communication with me have both benefited from the positive reinforcement. This intense weekly exercise has made Cappie a better companion and her life that much more fun!

Cappie finding an elevated "hide"As a result of both the nose work and Paws-A-Tive Choice agility training, my little Cappie dog is ready to present herself proudly and respond to a variety of situations and feel safe and well adjusted. It is hard to believe such an inexperienced dog, if properly worked with, can transform and come to find their way to interact with such charm and good manners.

Thank you so much! It's great work you are doing with the dogs AND the people! I hope things go well back home in Wisconsin. We look forward to seeing you again in the fall.

Warmest regards,
Judie

This is going to be an exciting weekend for me. I'm headed to Pearland, TX for a K9 Nose Work workshop. I have my 9 year old German shepherd, Mojo enrolled in a working spot. This is a brand new sport for me and my pooch.

I first learned about K9 Nose Work when I attended the Association of Pet Dog Trainers conference this past October. After hearing the presentation by two of the founders of this sport, Amy Herot and Jill Marie O'Brien, I was totally hooked!

For those of you who are not familiar with what K9 Nose Work is, it's a new dog sport that allows your dog to use his natural ability to detect scent and determine it's source. The dogs learn to find a novel scent anywhere in a room, a field and a car search.

The downside is that because this sport is relatively new, there are not many classes available around the country. My intention for attending is to learn more about this sport, gather information about what it would take to start holding K9 Nose Work classes, but mostly to give my dog another fun activity.

Even though Mojo is still healthy and is a wonderful agility dog at 9 years old, there will come a time when he will no longer be able to do this intense sport. I want to give him another outlet that will be enjoyable and will utilize his natural skills without taxing the physical body.

This sport has so many positive characteristics. Dogs of all ages can participate; any breed can do this; even dog-reactive and people-reactive dogs can do this sport and be successful. Dogs that lack handler focus, are shy or dogs that are not physically able to do high-drive sports can participate. This almost sounds like a "dream sport".

I am very much looking forward to this weekend and will post an update next week. If I'm allowed to post pictures of my dog working, I will do that as well.

Until then, be well and train happy!

Kathy

Well, I'm not in Wisconsin as I originally had planned. I made the decision to cancel my trip yesterday morning. I had two delays flying out of Austin to Chicago with anticipated delays and flight cancellations from Chicago to Milwaukee.

With having two flight delays in Austin, I would have missed my connecting flight to Milwaukee. But even if I had been able to get up to Milwaukee, all of my planned classes and private sessions would have been canceled due to the snow storm that is hitting the Midwest.

This storm is supposed to run its course over three days. My area of Union Grove, WI will be hit with high amounts of snow. The latest prediction I read today was 20 inches with up to 8 foot drifts! That's a lot of snow!

No doubt I would have had some brave students willing to drive in those treacherous conditions just to have some fun with their dogs, but safety must come first.

I am so disappointed this trip didn't happen. I planned this week of fun with students two months ago, but all is not lost. I was fortunate to reschedule this trip for the week of April 11th. I sure hope the weather will be much nicer in that neck of the woods by then.

I know the possibility for a snow storm still exists. It seems every year my area in Wisconsin gets a final blast of winter in early April, but hopefully not the week I plan to be up there.

This will be perfect timing, as that weekend, April 16-17 I'll be attending the Steve and Jen White seminar in New Berlin, WI. I'm so looking forward to that seminar and reconnecting with long-time dog training friends.

So, even though Mother Nature prevented me from going on this trip, I have another wonderful opportunity to go up to Wisconsin in April to get in some fun with family, friends and students.

Until then, stay warm and stay safe my dear Wisconsinites. I'll see you in the spring.

Train happy!

Kathy

This is video footage that was taken of my 9 year old German shepherd, Mojo running an agility course with me handling at a distance. This was done to show my students that you can teach a dog to run a course without the handler being right beside the dog. I was not pushing for speed on this course, but was looking for Mojo to respond to my cues without me being there directly along side of him.

Mojo and I don't compete, but we love training and having LOTS of agility fun!