Zooka Tales
Our most recent posts are shown first.
Trouble getting a harness on your dog? Harnessing Station, part 2
In our previous post about a Harnessing Station, we discussed in detail how to set up a Harnessing Station for dogs who really struggle with the process of getting a harness put on them. [...]
Recall/Come with Zooka and Blitzen
What does a Recall or Come look like with my own dogs? You can see it here in this video. If you've done any group classes with me, especially Puppy Preschool or Basic Training, [...]
The Great Bunny Escape
Zooka, Blitzen and I headed out on our afternoon walk as usual. They both stalk out the front door, past the garage, and past the chicken coop in hopes of catching a bunny off guard. [...]
Dog Parkour with Zooka & Blitzen
Zooka and Blitzen love parkour! This blog contains videos of Zooka and Blitzen practicing parkour on some of our obstacles. Dog Parkour is an adaptation of parkour for humans. Sometimes called urban agility, participants [...]
Zooka & Blitzen's Dramatic Door Manners
What does it look like when you head out the door for a walk with your dog? I bet it does not look like this! Watch the video to see how Zooka and Blitzen [...]
Zooka's Polite Greeting at the Door
Does your dog greet you politely when you return home? Watch the video to see if Zooka greets me politely. . . We love how excited our dogs are when we return home. Who [...]
Can two intact male dogs live together?
You have probably at some point heard that two intact male dogs cannot live together. They won't get along. They will fight. They will both try to be the alpha. Will intact males dogs fight? Possibly. [...]
Zooka's Rules to the Elaborate Game of Chase
Zooka first met Willy the Goldendoodle when he was just a baby. Willy was very tolerant of Zooka the Puppy's ear pulling and other puppy antics. Their play has changed over time. Zooka is less [...]
24th Month / Weeks 101-105: Zooka is now TWO YEARS OLD!
Zooka's 24th month of life, April 2021, ends with hitting his 2nd birthday! He still seems like our baby boy, but he's creeping closer to maturity. Vizslas have a tendency to be a bit on [...]
23rd Month / Weeks 97-100: Zooka's roles as big brother and my assistant
Zooka's 23rd month of life, March 2021, hits our 100th week of life! We don't usually talk about things in weeks by this point in time, of course. We don't even usually talk about it [...]
22nd Month / Weeks 93-96: Zooka and his brother Blitzen learn how hard it can be to share!
Zooka's 22nd month, February 2021, was settling into the fact that Blitzen is here to stay and he actually has to SHARE stuff! Since the time Zooka first arrived and was just a baby, we [...]
21st Month / Weeks 88-92: adjusting to his new younger brother
Zooka's 21st month, January 2021, was all about his new brother joining the family. Pretty much everything I had hoped to accomplish with Zooka this month got pushed by the wayside. The major activity this [...]
20th Month / Weeks 84-87: a month of some progress and no regressions
Zooka's 20th month, December 2020, was fairly uneventful. There were no setbacks, and there was some progress. While I had hoped to get out more in public this month, as we all know, sometimes the [...]
19th Month / Weeks 80-83: addressing his nemeses, getting in the van and slippery floors
Zooka's 19th month, November 2020, was focused mainly on getting out in public more (safely) and working on getting more comfortable loading up in the van to go places. His two main nemeses these days [...]
18th Month / Weeks 76-79: progress of two steps forward, one step back
Zooka turned 18 months - one-and-a-half years old! The month of October 2020 was mostly one of steady progress forward. But as you all know, progress is never completely a straight line forward. It often [...]
17th Month / Weeks 71-75: more hiking, a stay in the mountains, and lots of snuggling!
Zooka's 17th month, September 2020, was full of hikes, visits to the mountains, and snuggles - many of my favorite things! Your dog's adolescence is a time generally filled with great progress mixed in with [...]
16th Month / Weeks 66-70: more hikes, group classes, and helping with demos and training other dogs
The month of August 2020 was filled with getting away from home more and more helping me out with my business. Normally, we are booked up with boarding dogs during the spring and summer months [...]
What a tuned-in walk with your dog looks like: Zooka at 14 months
Most of us who have dogs enjoy taking walks or hikes with them. That's one of the reasons we have a dog. Someone who enjoys getting out as much as we do. Well, probably [...]
Just for fun – Zooka loves playing in the water from the hose
Some dogs love water. Some love water in some forms and not others. Some are not big fans of water - other than to drink it. Even some breeds that are supposed to be [...]
15th Month / Weeks 62-65: more outings, more visiting dogs, continuing classes for Zooka
July 2020. One year ago we drove to North Carolina to pick up Zooka. On our way there, we did not know which puppy we would be bringing home and we did not have a [...]
Zooka's “play date” with the stuffed dog
Do stuffed dogs make good play mates? Well, Zooka decided to give this stuffed dog the benefit of the doubt and find out. From the time Zooka was a young pup, he has had [...]