Train My Dog
To start training for a well-behaved, well-mannered family dog, which is what we offer, focus on the basics through group classes, behavior consulting, private training, online training and/or books. To see our offerings, please click the appropriate image below.
For our group classes and private training, we serve the south metro area of Denver, Colorado, including Ken Caryl, Littleton, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Pines, Castle Rock and Larkspur.
If you are looking for what's next after basic obedience training, we offer advanced and targeted training in classes and private sessions. Click those offerings below to learn more.
We offer targeted training around specific areas delivered online.
Training Articles, Videos and Infographics
We have an extensive library published on our website.
You can also perform a search from the search box in the upper right corner of all pages on our website.
Our goal is to positively impact the lives of as many dogs and their families as we can, in part through our extensive library of video, infographics and text articles. 
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Dog Training
- Leaving alone baby toys
- Find It – fun game AND useful tool in your dog behavior modification toolbox
- Teaching your dog to Heel
- Teaching a Go To Mat/Place Cue – sending your dog to a specific location
- Does your dog have a reliable Come / Recall?
- Boredom
- A Joxer Story: Everyone, Including Dogs, Learns at Their Own Pace
- Jumping and appropriate greetings
- Helping Your Dog Refocus with the Up & Down Game
- Touch or Nose Target
- Wait and Release at Gate, One Dog at a Time
- Recall/Come with Zooka and Blitzen
- The Blitzen Bulletin: August & September 2022
- The Blitzen Bulletin: July 2022
- Zooka’s Polite Greeting at the Door
- Blitzen’s Breakfast Training Session Including Heel Work
- Is a tired dog really a good dog?
- Jumping – when a dog is too excited to sit
- Chasing cats
- When does my dog move from adolescence to maturity?
- The Blitzen Bulletin: August & September 2021
- Can two intact male dogs live together?
- Introducing a new dog to the resident dog
- Helping a new dog adjust to a new home
- Counter surfing
- Feeding human food to dogs
- Begging
- Polite greetings – teaching people to be polite to your dog
- Polite greetings – visitors to your home
- Weaning a dog off the crate
- Follow your dog’s nose
- Zooka’s Rules to the Elaborate Game of Chase
- The Blitzen Bulletin: March & April 2021
- 24th Month / Weeks 101-105: Zooka is now TWO YEARS OLD!
- Can your dog control his emotions?
- Are there ever exceptions to the rules for dogs? A Romeo's Adventures Story
- A Gunner Story: Working For His Food and a Refusal
- A Gunner Story: The Long Walk and An Argument About Which Way to Go
- 23rd Month / Weeks 97-100: Zooka’s roles as big brother and my assistant
- Dogs pay more attention to vowels than we do
- Meet Blitzen, an 8 month old Vizsla and our newest addition to the family
- 21st Month / Weeks 88-92: adjusting to his new younger brother
- Reactive dog? Here are four categories of alternative behaviors we use
- 20th Month / Weeks 84-87: a month of some progress and no regressions
- Door Darting – Part 2
- Door Darting
- 17th Month / Weeks 71-75: more hiking, a stay in the mountains, and lots of snuggling!
- 16th Month / Weeks 66-70: more hikes, group classes, and helping with demos and training other dogs
- Does your dog howl?
- Barking for attention
- Barking
- 15th Month / Weeks 62-65: more outings, more visiting dogs, continuing classes for Zooka
- Zooka’s “play date” with the stuffed dog
- Fear of other dogs
- Sudden Fear of Strangers
- Fear of strangers
- Fear of men
- Fear of children
- Puppy toys for human-puppy play – go big or go home!
- 14th Month / Weeks 58-61: more outings, first encounter with a bull snake, continued training
- 13th Month / Weeks 53-57: some training progress and some back to basics, an injury limits his activities
- Consequences for off leash reliability failures – a Romeo story
- 12th month / Weeks 49-52: turning ONE YEAR OLD! plus fewer outings due to stay-at-home order during this pandemic, more training at home
- 11th month / Weeks 45-48: working on NOT chasing, upping some of our training challenges, continued socializing
- Hiking/walking with your dog: Zooka, 10 month old Vizsla @ Dawson Butte
- Zooka, puppy napping in his crate
- Puppy leash manners on a hike, Zooka just under 4 months old at Snow Mountain Ranch
- Zooka < 4 months old climbing on a tree stump at Snow Mountain Ranch
- Socializing your puppy during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic
- Puzzle toys and mental stimulation for a dog on limited exercise or surgery recovery, Zooka @ 15 weeks
- Zooka @ 10.5 weeks, puppy training session in new places like a local park
- Does your dog chase cars? Zooka is thinking about it
- Puzzle toys are great mental stimulation for puppies, Zooka @ 14 weeks
- Zooka @ 10.5 weeks, safely introducing your puppy to new dogs
- Zooka @ 10.5 weeks, what puppy walks should look like
- Zooka intro to the puppy kiddie pool at 10.5 weeks
- 10th month / Weeks 40-44: more adolescent antics, humping, advancing our training and continued socialization
- How do I exercise my dog aside from going for walks?
- What is your dog’s personality? Zooka’s personality or temperament examined
- Zooka training session – Heel, Fetch & other stuff
- Dealing with your dog’s distractions: Zooka on a walk edition
- 9th month / Weeks 36-39: adolescence in full swing, countersurfing, and other fun things!
- Housetraining Tips
- Walk the dinosaur – I mean, the dog. Leash manners with Zooka
- Weeks 32 through 35 / 8th month – adolescence, marking, and starting our off leash work
- Week 31: turns 7 months old, how did that happen?! Dog adolescence is in full swing
- Week 30: teaching Zooka to use a scratchboard for nail filing, continue training and play dates
- Week 29: Zooka’s big road trip #2! Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona and New Mexico
- Week 28: a big field trip and a big test of his abilities in public this week!
- Week 27: 6 months old, vet visit, and an off leash play date!
- Week 26: focus on ramping up training and expanding field trips; plus more SNOW!
- Introducing your new puppy to your resident dog
- Zooka’s new game: Full Contact Fetch!
- Week 25: new cues for training, allowing more access in the house, and his puppy teeth are gone!
- Fear periods or sensitive periods for puppies – Zooka goes through one
- Week 24: fear/sensitive period, continued work on social skills, and the baby teeth are almost gone!
- Week 23: continued training w Heel, Fetch, Stay, etc.; first overnight human visitor, lots of play with other dogs
- Week 22: continued stay away from home and learning first steps to a fetch/retrieve
- Week 21: Losing puppy teeth, more play dates, and our first overnight trip to the mountains!
- Week 20: traversing full flight of stairs on his own; continuing training, outings and play dates
- Week 19: progressing with training, continue play dates and outings, discovered the joy of DIGGING!
- Week 18: lots of play dates, more outings, raising expectations and adding new things into our training
- Does your puppy sleep through the night?
- Week 17: continued limited physical activity; more training & mental stimulation; return to walks & field trips
- My puppy started a fire! How you can prevent it from happening to you
- Week 16: Lots more training; more mental stimulation due to limited activity for surgery recuperation
- Week 15: Play date, pool party, ER visit, surgery for rock obstructing his GI system
- Week 14: More play dates, more training, more field trips
- Week 13: More play dates, more field trips, continue Puppy Class, start Shaping in our training
- Week 12: Pool party, more play dates, continued training, more field trips
- Weeks 10 and 11: intro to new dogs, field trip, kiddie pool and new obstacles
- Setting up for a new puppy
- Week 9: pick up Zooka from the breeder in North Carolina and settle in at home in Colorado with our eating, exercise, training and sleeping routines
- Week 7: field trips – horse barn, farmers market and a pool party!
- Week 6: field trip offsite, Puppy Party, new people and beginning clicker training
- Week 5: getting started on housetraining, crate training, recall (come when called) and eating a raw diet
- Week 4: Met a new dog, getting more outside time, beginning to wean pups off mom
- Week 3: Introduction to more toys, textures, sounds and goats’ milk
- Week 2: introduction to stuffed animals, distinct odors through essential oils, sound desensitizing music and toenail clipping
- Week 1: Introduction to calming music and biosensor early neurological stimulation
- 97 Ways To Create Great Puppies
- Is My Dog Making Good Choices: Zuzu and the Deer
- How do I stop my dog from digging?
- Communicating with our dogs
- Should we get a puppy or adult dog?
- Keep these in mind about training your dog and you’ll keep your sanity
- Is your dog barking at nothing? Or is there really something there?
- Walking with your dog: are you both tuned in?
- Long Line Exercise: Voluntary Connection
- Loose Leash Walking Long Line
- Come With Distractions
- Come: Importance of Reward
- Come
- Leave It: Advanced
- Leave It
- Stay
- Wait vs. Stay
- Door Wait: Demo Finished Behavior
- Food Bowl Exercise
- Teaching the “what can you do” cue
- Default behaviors from your dog
- Demo of Parkour Skills and Giving Your Dog Choices
- Why Your Dog Training Efforts May Fail If You Overlook This Crucial Element
- Making Good Choices: Zuzu and the Goats – Part 2
- Making Good Choices: Zuzu and the Goats – Part 1
- Tips on managing and monitoring productive puppy play groups
- Does your puppy know “Sit”? Are you sure? (Hint: it's about the context!)
- Introduction to other dog for class
- Barking at the fence
- Clicker training with a Corgi puppy
- Video of Dog Parkour Class with a Greyhound, Lab mix and a Golden Doodle
- Loose Leash Walking, Part 1
- Sure fire ways to stress your dog
- Crate Training
- What is an ideal walk with your dog? (Hint: if you ask your dog, it includes sniffing!)
- Cues and Expectations
- Beginning training with 8.5 week old puppy
- Dog Training Choices
- Benefits of training your dog
- Planning for the new year – dog training edition
- Loose Leash Walking, Part 2
- Off-leash control on a hike
- Play Dead (or Go to Sleep) tricks video
- The perks of play with puppies (and adult dogs)
- Rules for playing tug with your dog (infographic)
- The rules of puppy play – and eliminating puppy nipping
- A short video of the leave It exercise not quite working out as hoped with this Terrier
- If your dog is aggressive or reactive on leash toward other dogs
- Dogs need mental stimulation too – not only physical exercise!
- New puppy? Here's what to do next
- Loose Leash Walking With A Short Line
- Benefits of in-home private dog training
- Want to know more about service dogs?
- Lifelong stages of training – and happy 7th birthday Romeo! (June 2016)
- Does your dog have a high “prey drive”?
- When will my dog stop the biting, nipping, mouthing behaviors?
- Is your dog aggressive or reactive when on leash?
- Fading out treats
- Benefits of dog sports for non-competitors
- Shaping with a box
- Dog Body Language: Body Blocks
- Dog Body Language: Body
- Dog Body Language: Tail
- Dog Body Language: Biting
- Dog Body Language: Barking & Growling
- Dog Body Language: Whinning
- Dog Body Language: Shape of Teeth & Mouth
- Dog Body Language: Yawning & Tongue Flicking
- Dog Body Language: Mouth
- Dog Body Language: Dogs With Fluffy Hair
- Dog Body Language: Eyes
- Find Person
- Jumping during play
- Teaching Polite Greetings with Visitors
- Management and Training for Jumping When You Arrive Home
- New Puppy? Here's What To Do Next
- Door Wait Exercise
- Benefits of group dog training classes
- Drop It or Object Exchange
- Assessing the status of your dog's training
- Rewards
- Is an assertive dog good or bad?
- Does playing tug with a dog cause aggression?
- Is your dog burying a bone or other objects?
- Is your dog biting the leash?
- Is your dog earning freedoms?
- Watch Me – Part 2
- Sit with a large dog
- Why didn’t I think of that?!
- Teaching Polite Greetings
- Jumping
- Taking Treats Gently
- Body Blocking
- Watch Me
- Down: Troubleshooting
- Down
- Sit From A Down Position
- Sit: Part 2
- Sit
- Dogs don’t do deadlines!
- Reinforce behavior you want
- Training Options: Capturing, Luring and Shaping
- Exposure to new things, Halloween version
- The moving wait dog training tip
- Trimming dog nails
- Guarding bones
- If your dog digs holes
- What are your dog’s motivators or rewards?
- When walking your dog is no fun
- Targeting with a ball
- When your dog “only does it when I have a treat”
- Restricted activity after a spay, neuter or other surgery
- Do you take your dog to dog parks?
- Train in short sessions
- A reliable “drop it” can save a life!
- What size crate for a puppy?
- Is walking your dog a drag?
- The Name Game
- Handling, nail trimming, brushing teeth for your dog
- Training tip – Use it or lose it!
- Puppy biting getting worse?
- Training tip – your most important “tool” with your dog is patience!
- Crawl
- New people & experiences are critical for puppies
- Minimizing puppy biting
- Rollover
- Backup
- Speak
- Catch
- Go Around
- Spin or twirl
- Targeting with a lid
- What is Targeting
- Shaping With No Props
- What is Shaping
- Training tip – working with multiple dogs
- Adjusting to a new dog sibling – Romeo and Zuzu
- When to start training a new puppy
- Prepping for a puppy
- Training tip – teach your dog a new holiday dog trick!
- Your dog is talking – are you listening?
- Training tip – teach puppies to enjoy grooming & handling
- Clicker Training Video
- Puppy Nipping Dog Training Video and Handout
- Dog training tip – changing your household rules for your dog
- What are your household rules for your dog?
- Choosing the right dog training equipment
- Breaking a bad habit – for both you and your dog
- Use chilled or frozen treats when it’s hot out!
- Dog training tip – timing is everything!
- Training tip – incorporate quickie training sessions into your dog's routine
- Should dogs greet other dogs when on leash?
- Does your dog hate getting a bath?
- Training tip – chase game with kids and dogs
- Kids and puppies go together – or do they?
- Help, my dog doesn’t listen when we’re outside!
- Ever lost your dog?
- Eat your veggies, and you can have dessert!
- What is “maintenance” training for your dog and do you need it?
- When should I start working on my dog’s behavior issues?
- Fear of men: do NOT try this at home with your dog!
- Is your dog afraid of men, children, or others?
- How predictable are you in your dog training sessions?
- Dog Body Language: Ears
- Dog body language: Introduction
- Is your dog reactive toward other dogs when on leash?
- How soon can you start training your puppy?
- Think your dog will never bite someone?
- Helping a child overcome his fear of dogs
- My dog is too distracted in class!
- Does our dog have a time limit on his patience or easy-going attitude?
- What does it mean to give your dog “a job”?
- I’m glad my dog disobeyed me!
- What message are you really conveying to your dog?
- Do your emotions impact your dog training?
- Do we expect too much from our adolescent dogs?
- Romeo earned his Advanced Trick Dog Title (August 2012)
- Are your dog training goals setting you up for failure?
- Real life tests of off-leash reliability
- Building trust with your dog
- Burning off energy in the summer heat with your dogs
- Dealing with difficult distractions – wildlife version
- What percentage of the time is your dog well-behaved?
- Changing our dogs’ bad habits – and ours
- Troubleshooting: when your dog training isn’t working
- Help, my dog’s jumping is getting worse!
- Preventing possessiveness or resource guarding with puppies
- Practice with your dog makes perfect – or at least more pleasant!
- When a dog’s arousal is high, it’s hard to make good choices!
- When your dog’s “fun tricks” come in handy
- Is your dog an escape artist?
- What are the consequences for a dog who misbehaves? Part 2
- Does stress affect the performance of your dog?
- What are the consequences for a dog who misbehaves?
- Training tip – polite greetings from the dog’s perspective
- Reduce anxiety by teaching your dog to focus on you
- Nipping puppies and mouthy adolescents, part 3
- Dog bites news anchor: who is to blame?
- Nipping puppies and mouthy adolescents, part 2
- Training tip – for nipping puppies and mouthy adolescent dogs
- Teach your dog opposites (in/out, over/under, and others)
- Stop your dog from eating rocks, socks and other non-food items
- Teach your dog something new!
- Does your dog have trouble with stairs?
- Some situations call for a default behavior from our dogs
- Successfully training a dog not to chase cars or anything else
- The benefits of play for dogs
- “Out” is a useful cue with your dog when preparing your holiday meal
- Set your dog up for success over the holidays!
- Testing off-leash readiness with your dog, revisited
- Testing off-leash readiness with your dog
- Emotions in dogs – acknowledge but don’t overanalyze
- Case study: relinquished dog has trouble with household dogs
- Have you heard of the sport of K9 Nosework for dog training?
- What does sheep herding have to do with dog training? Hint: body blocking
- Training challenges: overcoming “My dog will only come when she wants to”
- Addressing separation anxiety in dogs
- Is your dog jumping on you when you arrive home? Try this!
- How I Use Off-Leash Control With My Dog
- Cool dog treats for hot summer days
- “Dog training” works on people too!
- Take Your Dog to Work Day is Friday, June 24 (2011)
- Persistence pays off with “stubborn” dogs
- Good leash manners prevent injuries
- It seemed like a good idea at the time!
- Outwit, outplay, outlast – motto for Survivor and our dogs
Continuing Education
- What exactly are therapy dogs?
- Therapy dog vs Service dog vs Emotional Support Animal
- Reduce anxiety by teaching your dog to focus on you
- Keep your senior dogs active!
- What does your dog hear?
- Do you expect perfection?
- Lessons learned when the instructor becomes the student
- Side effects of punishment, part 3
- Side effects of punishment, part 1
- Is punishment necessary in training?
- The science of sniffing
- What happens when your dog is spayed or neutered?
- Increasing the value of your dog's food
- Never too old to learn
- Tops Tips From Top Trainers
- History of pets in America
- Ready to Rally?
- Dr Dodmans Well-Adjusted Dog Seminar, part 2
- Dr Dodman's Well Adjusted Dog seminar
- What is safe to feed our dogs?
Dog Case Studies
- Willy and the scary stuff
- A Willy Story: The Betrayal
- A Willy Story: The Bunny Hunt
- A Willy Story: The Good News Bad News Walk
- A Willy Story: The Minnows in Ice Game and the Upside Down Day
- A Willy Story: The Scary Scarecrows
- A Joxer Story: Everyone, Including Dogs, Learns at Their Own Pace
- A Gunner Story: A Hike and Trusting Your Dog
- A Jahzara Story: The Suit
- Dog doesn’t like being petted by visitors
- A Jahzara Story: Pet Me NOW!
- A Jahzara Story: It’s Hard to be a Bunny!
- A Jahzara Story: I am Watching
- A Gunner Story: The Out-of-Reach Trash Can
- A Jahzara Story: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
- A Gunner Story: The Open Door
- The Story of the Magic Collar
- A Jahzara Story: Learning how to play with a cat
- A Joxer Story: Excessive Licking or Stereotypic Behaviors
- A Jahzara Story: Fear of Everyone
- A Gunner Story: The Day He Ditched Me on a Hike
- A Jahzara Story: From Potential Resource Guarder to A Wonderful Well-Adjusted Dog
- A Joxer Story: From Poor Social Skills to Super Helper Dog
- A Gunner Story: The New Bed
- A Gunner Story: The Sunrise Walks
- A Joxer Story: Fear of Balls
- Follow your dog’s nose
- Happy 6th Birthday to Romeo! No longer an adolescent dog (June 2015)
- How spring gardening may lead to your dog digging and how to prevent it
- Is your dog marking in the house?
- Dog training session vs the real world
- Does this dog sit or not? The choice has consequences
- Does your dog have trouble with stairs?
- Are you looking out for your dog's safety?
- Does stress affect your dog's performance?
- Practice makes perfect – or at least more pleasant!
- How many cues does your dog know?
- Address your dog's real behavior problem not the symptom
- I should have spent more time training. . .
- Want a “handy” training tool?
- Overcoming a dog's intense reaction to the vacuum
- Getting in touch with her inner Terrier
- Is your dog feeling under the weather?
- What's in a name?
- Set your dog up for success over the holidays!
- Training tip – easy nail trims
- Crate training – does your dog love his crate?
- If a dog bites, is she dangerous? Part 2
- If a dog bites, is she dangerous?
- Give me a break!
- How to ruin a perfectly lovely puppy
- Is your dog at risk of being strangled?
- Training your dog should be fun!
Romeo's Adventures
- Weaning a dog off the crate
- In Memory of Romeo:
June 8, 2009 – May 18, 2018 - Romeo: a birthday (2017) and the story behind his name
- Do dogs really develop a “taste for blood”?
- Does your dog trust you?
- Happy birthday Romeo! Our Vizsla turns 3 (June 2012)
- Where did Momma go?
- What’s the “magic” number for maturity?
- Could massage help your dog?
- The ultimate “drop it” test – baby bunnies version
- Dog social skills with puppies
- What is the most important thing you can teach your dog?
- Weaning a dog off the crate
- Exposure to new things: Romeo and the lambs
- Testing off-leash readiness, revisited
- What is the epitome of adolescence?
- How good is your dog's memory?
- What is your dog's hunting style?
- Testing off-leash readiness
- Celebrate the successes!
- Overcoming setbacks in training
- Walking your dog – is it really good exercise?
- Hide and seek with your dogs
- Does one adolescent dog and four young boys mean chaos?
- Is your dog a retriever?
- What does it take to wear out your dog?
- Why does snow make dogs go crazy?
- Romeo's recuperation – no running or jumping?!
- Romeo's neuter – was it harder on him or me?
- Does your dog's reliability change with the context?
- Romeo's favorite napping spot invaded!
- Is your dog a good traveler?
- Hiking with Romeo: it's an adventure!
- Celebrating an anniversary
- Putting “leave it” to the test
- Did my dog eat a toxic plant?
- Does your dog have a job?
- Favorite chew items for dogs?
- The boy (dog) who cried wolf
- 14 months – on the road to maturity, but a long way to go!
- “Irrational” fears are not always irrational
- When your dog doesn’t care about your treats
- Is your dog distracted at the start of training class?
The Zooka Tales
- Recall/Come with Zooka and Blitzen
- The Great Bunny Escape
- Dog Parkour with Zooka & Blitzen
- Zooka & Blitzen’s Dramatic Door Manners
- Zooka’s Polite Greeting at the Door
- Can two intact male dogs live together?
- Zooka’s Rules to the Elaborate Game of Chase
- 21st Month / Weeks 88-92: adjusting to his new younger brother
- 20th Month / Weeks 84-87: a month of some progress and no regressions
- 19th Month / Weeks 80-83: addressing his nemeses, getting in the van and slippery floors
- 18th Month / Weeks 76-79: progress of two steps forward, one step back
- 17th Month / Weeks 71-75: more hiking, a stay in the mountains, and lots of snuggling!
- 16th Month / Weeks 66-70: more hikes, group classes, and helping with demos and training other dogs
- Does your dog howl?
- What a tuned-in walk with your dog looks like: Zooka at 14 months
- Just for fun – Zooka loves playing in the water from the hose
- 15th Month / Weeks 62-65: more outings, more visiting dogs, continuing classes for Zooka
- Zooka’s “play date” with the stuffed dog
- Puppy toys for human-puppy play – go big or go home!
- 14th Month / Weeks 58-61: more outings, first encounter with a bull snake, continued training
- 13th Month / Weeks 53-57: some training progress and some back to basics, an injury limits his activities
- Zooka’s Funny Faces
- 12th month / Weeks 49-52: turning ONE YEAR OLD! plus fewer outings due to stay-at-home order during this pandemic, more training at home
- 11th month / Weeks 45-48: working on NOT chasing, upping some of our training challenges, continued socializing
- Hiking/walking with your dog: Zooka, 10 month old Vizsla @ Dawson Butte
- Supervised appropriate puppy play: Zooka, 12 week old Vizsla in Puppy Class
- Zooka 11 week old Vizsla puppy self play with inappropriate objects
- Zooka puppy play with Power Tug Toy and BONUS GoPro blooper!
- Puppy and adult dog play: Zooka at 11 weeks with Ollie
- Appropriate play between puppy and adult dog: Zooka @ 14 weeks with Loki
- Zooka, puppy napping in his crate
- Puppy leash manners on a hike, Zooka just under 4 months old at Snow Mountain Ranch
- Zooka < 4 months old climbing on a tree stump at Snow Mountain Ranch
- Puzzle toys and mental stimulation for a dog on limited exercise or surgery recovery, Zooka @ 15 weeks
- Zooka @ 10.5 weeks, puppy training session in new places like a local park
- Does your dog chase cars? Zooka is thinking about it
- Puzzle toys are great mental stimulation for puppies, Zooka @ 14 weeks
- Zooka @ 10.5 weeks, safely introducing your puppy to new dogs
- Zooka @ 10.5 weeks, what puppy walks should look like
- Zooka intro to the puppy kiddie pool at 10.5 weeks
- 10th month / Weeks 40-44: more adolescent antics, humping, advancing our training and continued socialization
- What is your dog’s personality? Zooka’s personality or temperament examined
- Dealing with your dog’s distractions: Zooka on a walk edition
- 9th month / Weeks 36-39: adolescence in full swing, countersurfing, and other fun things!
- Walk the dinosaur – I mean, the dog. Leash manners with Zooka
- Weeks 32 through 35 / 8th month – adolescence, marking, and starting our off leash work
- Week 31: turns 7 months old, how did that happen?! Dog adolescence is in full swing
- Week 30: teaching Zooka to use a scratchboard for nail filing, continue training and play dates
- Week 29: Zooka’s big road trip #2! Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona and New Mexico
- Week 28: a big field trip and a big test of his abilities in public this week!
- Week 27: 6 months old, vet visit, and an off leash play date!
- Week 26: focus on ramping up training and expanding field trips; plus more SNOW!
- Zooka’s new game: Full Contact Fetch!
- Week 25: new cues for training, allowing more access in the house, and his puppy teeth are gone!
- Fear periods or sensitive periods for puppies – Zooka goes through one
- Week 24: fear/sensitive period, continued work on social skills, and the baby teeth are almost gone!
- Buried treasure. Does your dog bury things? Zooka does!
- Week 23: continued training w Heel, Fetch, Stay, etc.; first overnight human visitor, lots of play with other dogs
- Week 22: continued stay away from home and learning first steps to a fetch/retrieve
- Week 21: Losing puppy teeth, more play dates, and our first overnight trip to the mountains!
- Week 20: traversing full flight of stairs on his own; continuing training, outings and play dates
- Week 19: progressing with training, continue play dates and outings, discovered the joy of DIGGING!
- Week 18: lots of play dates, more outings, raising expectations and adding new things into our training
- Week 17: continued limited physical activity; more training & mental stimulation; return to walks & field trips
- Week 16: Lots more training; more mental stimulation due to limited activity for surgery recuperation
- Week 15: Play date, pool party, ER visit, surgery for rock obstructing his GI system
- Zooka’s ER visit and surgery
- Week 14: More play dates, more training, more field trips
- Week 13: More play dates, more field trips, continue Puppy Class, start Shaping in our training
- Week 12: Pool party, more play dates, continued training, more field trips
- Weeks 10 and 11: intro to new dogs, field trip, kiddie pool and new obstacles
- Week 9: pick up Zooka from the breeder in North Carolina and settle in at home in Colorado with our eating, exercise, training and sleeping routines
- Naming a dog: how Zooka got his name
- Road trip to North Carolina to pick up our Vizsla puppy, Zooka
- Week 8: more field trips, temperament and conformation evaluations, and heading to new homes
- Week 7: field trips – horse barn, farmers market and a pool party!
- Week 6: field trip offsite, Puppy Party, new people and beginning clicker training
- Week 5: getting started on housetraining, crate training, recall (come when called) and eating a raw diet
- Week 4: Met a new dog, getting more outside time, beginning to wean pups off mom
- Week 3: Introduction to more toys, textures, sounds and goats’ milk
- Week 2: introduction to stuffed animals, distinct odors through essential oils, sound desensitizing music and toenail clipping
- Week 1: Introduction to calming music and biosensor early neurological stimulation
The Zuzu Chronicles
- Follow your dog’s nose
- Missing Zuzu
- In memory of Zuzu: October 28, 2013 – June 30, 2019
- Is My Dog Making Good Choices: Zuzu and the Deer
- My 2019 Spring Break Trip With Mom and Dad
- What is your dog’s favorite napping spot?
- Is your dog barking at nothing? Or is there really something there?
- Making Good Choices: Zuzu and the Goats – Part 2
- Making Good Choices: Zuzu and the Goats – Part 1
- Zuzu's 5th Birthday
- Short video compilation of Zuzu, our Greyhound and the goofy things she does
- Is your dog wearing ID?
- Close encounters of the snake variety with our dog
- Overcoming fear of novel things
The Blitzen Bulletin
- The Blitzen Bulletin: October, November & December 2022
- Recall/Come with Zooka and Blitzen
- The Blitzen Bulletin: August & September 2022
- The Blitzen Bulletin: July 2022
- The Great Bunny Escape
- Dog Parkour with Zooka & Blitzen
- Blitzen's Polite Greeting at the Door
- Zooka & Blitzen’s Dramatic Door Manners
- The Blitzen Bulletin: April, May & June 2022
- Blitzen’s Breakfast Training Session Including Heel Work
- The Blitzen Bulletin: January, February, and March 2022
- The Blitzen Bulletin: October, November & December 2021
- The Blitzen Bulletin: August & September 2021
- The Blitzen Bulletin: June & July 2021
- The Blitzen Bulletin: May 2021
- The Blitzen Bulletin: March & April 2021
- Blitzen Bulletin: January & February 2021
- 22nd Month / Weeks 93-96: Zooka and his brother Blitzen learn how hard it can be to share!
- Meet Blitzen, an 8 month old Vizsla and our newest addition to the family