Heidi's Happy Hounds
Essex St N1H3K9 Guelph, ON, Canada

This trick is best if you capture it. I put my hand low, but far enough away that Juniper couldn't reach it in her sit. The second that she lifts her paw (even just a little bit) I mark that behaviour and move my hand out of the way so she doesn't touch it. Reward. Repeat. When she's done it multiple times I start moving my hand further away from her and a bit higher, like a wave. When she's done it a few more times with the new hand signal, I had the word.... The video is of the final stage.

Letting Juniper explore the kiddie pool, without water, to get used to the texture, how it wobbles around, climbing in and out of it. Threw in some kibble reward her bravery!

Dog Hack: teach your dog to 'find it' and you can scatter kibble in the backyard, your dog will have to find it by using their nose. Great mental stimulation, a great opportunity for some easy scent work, and keeps your dog entertained for a while!

Another great auction from another great Canine Rescue! FYI there are two 30 minute walks donated by Yours Truly, they are NOT solely for new clients. So ... since you're going to pay for walks anyway why not bid on them here, maybe get a discount, definitely help a good rescue!

A great auction for a great Canine Rescue! FYI there are two 30 minute walks donated by Yours Truly, they are NOT solely for new clients. So ... since you're going to pay for walks anyway why not bid on them here, maybe get a discount, definitely help a good rescue!

Thank you for everyone who nominated Heidi's Happy Hounds for best dog walking services in Guelph. Now it's time to vote! ** you do have to be logged in the Guelph Mercury to cast your vote. But it is a very simple registration, and they never send any spam.... https://www.guelphmercury.com//subcat/dog-walking-services

Enjoy your retirement, Charger!

Possibly the cutest best friends ever!

New blog post from Riki's Rescue Consulting.

Don't forget we offer overnight dog care in our home! Your dog will enjoy quiet, child-free home with a fenced-in backyard, lots of walks, and their regular feeding schedule. $50/24 hr + HST Visit our website, email, or message for more information or to set up a meet and greet.... www.heidishappyhounds.com [email protected]

Are you one of the many people in Guelph who added a puppy to their family this year? Are you wondering what you do when you go back to work, or if your kids go back to school? Heidi's Happy Hounds offers a unique experience for puppies between the ages of 2 and 6 months. Our Successful Puppy visits help set your dog up for success by making every moment we spend with them a learning experience. While other dog walking companies simply let your dog out to pee, do a short walk..., and have some play time, we believe puppies need and deserve more than that. We incorporate socialization, handling, impulse control, and gaurding prevention into every visit. We focus on building confidence, reinforcing desired behaviours and discouraging unwanted ones. As your puppy learns, they will be continously challenged so they grow into a happy, well balanced dog. We can follow the training program you already have in place, or create a new one for you. (Although we highly recommend enrolling your puppy in a group puppy class!) Does your puppy have special needs or sensitivities? We will tailor the visits to provide the best experience for each individual puppy. And of course we also tend to your puppy's feeding and elimination needs, including a pee break as soon as we get there and right before we leave to help with house training. We also take care of any potential accidents from tiny bladders. The first few months of your puppy's life are so important. They determine how they will interact with people, other animals, and the world around them as adult dogs. Help them thrive by signing them up for our Successful Puppy visits! $40/day (two 30 minute visits) + HST Visit our website, email, or message for more information or to set up a meet and greet. www.heidishappyhounds.com [email protected]

You haven't had a chance to leave a review for our company please take a moment to do so. We really appreciate it!

Some really good info for anyone looking to adopt a rescue dog!

If you have a second please nominate Heidi's Happy Hounds for best dog walking services in Guelph. * you have to be signed in for your vote to count. It only takes a minute and I've yet to receive any spam emails from them!

Time for the 2020 Reader's Choice awards again. If you have a second nominate Heidi's Happy Hounds! https://www.guelphmercury.com//subcat/dog-walking-services

Hey guys! The rescue that I work with Taffy's Legacy Canine Rescue & Rehabilitation has been nominated for best animal rescue in the KW area. If you have a second, click on the link below, scroll down to Taffy's Legacy Canine and give them a nomination vote. They are in an amazing organization that helps Northern mutts find homes in Southern Ontario. I absolutely love their training style, the way they vet their foster and adoptive families, the medical care they give their d...ogs, and how they really take the time to match each dog with their perfect forever family. https://www.therecord.com//pro/subcategories/animal-rescue

For anyone with a new puppy!

A big Happy First Birthday to this smart and sassy nugget! For those who don't know Colton is my foster dog and he's available for adoption through Taffy's Legacy Canine Rescue & Rehabilitation

Tonight at 7 p.m. Free Facebook live teaching loose leash walking and marker training.

PUPPIES! They're so cute, but a lot of work! When thinking about socializing your puppy it doesnt just mean having your pup meet a bunch of dogs and people. Its about introducing your puppy to the world and all the people, animals, sights, and sounds in that world. You want positive experiences and interactions. The more positive experiences a puppy has the more accepting an adult dog will be of something they havent experienced before.... Using positive reinforcement (treats or praise) when your dog is experiencing new 'scary' people, objects, places, situations, and sounds will help them form a positive association with these things. Be sure to work slowly and gradually, and under your puppies threshold. Never force your puppy into an interaction, let them determine how far and fast to go. A few tips to get you started: 1) CRATE TRAINING It makes potty training easier and gives your puppy a safe spot to be when you can't give them 100% of your attention. Puppies should be in a crate or pen whenever you're not actively engaging with them. This will help them avoid getting into mischief or having accidents. 2) HANDLING Make a point to touch your puppy all over. Dont be forceful, just gently touch and hold and reward thier acceptance with kibble. Handle their ears, paws, nails, tail, muzzle. Check their teeth, wipe their eyes, ears, and paws. Brush, bathe and towel dry your puppy. Practice restraining them and working with nail clippers. Get them used to different harnesses and collars, jackets, and booties. 3) HAND FEEDING Make your puppy work for all their food. Hand-feed and use kibble throughout the day to reinforce behaviours that you want repeated. Feeding from a bowl is a wasted trading opportunity! 4) PEOPLE AND ANIMALS Let your puppy meet (or even see from a distance!) people of ALL ages, shapes, genders, races, sizes, and mannerisms. People with umbrellas, glasses, hats, masks, big coats. The more (and different) the better! Find other dogs of ALL shapes sizes, coats, colours, and breeds. From a distance is good, you don't have to actually meet the dogs, and actually until you puppy is fully vaccinated you should only meet dogs that you know, that are well socialized, and that are fully vaccinated. Don't forget about wildlife. Squirrels, geese, birds, bunnies, cats. 5) LOUD NOISES AND NOVAL OBJECTS Vacuum cleaner, washing machine, things dropping, the doorbell, lawn mowers, wheelechairs, scooters, bikes, traffic, buses, trains, motorcycles, garbage trucks, sirens. Play youtube videos of babies crying, thunderstorms, fireworks, construction sites. Walk through busy downtown's, over sidewalk grates, cross bridges, climbs stairs, and ride elevators. *** Have fun!

Yay! I'm so happy to tell you all that we are ready for walks again starting Tuesday, May 19th. It has been far too long since I've seen many of your sweet pups and I'm excited for the day I get to see them again! I know a lot of you are currently not working, or working from home and I want to let you know that there is no rush, there will be a spot waiting for you when you're ready to return! If you are currently working from home, and you're not necessarily looking to star...t up regular Monday to Friday walks just yet, but perhaps just a walk or two each week to give yourself a little break every once in awhile, please reach out! We'd like to accommodate everyone and we understand that your needs may be different right now. We will also be opening some special spots for anyone with a young puppy who is looking to kick-start socialization and basic training! These can be a mix of walks or backyard visits, with or without the owners present, and can be geared more towards training or more about socialization, with another person (me!) and potentially another dog. Please email me for more information: [email protected] Stay safe everyone and I look forward to seeing you soon

Please donate if you're able to. Or share this post to help Lulu get the help she needs!

Colton out exploring the world! Colton is available for adoption through Taffy's Legacy Canine Rescue & Rehabilitation

Do you have a new puppy at home? Join this free 5 day pandemic puppy challenge! Click on the post and join the facebook group at the bottom.

Free tricks class tonight at 6 p.m.

Colton is very tenacious. He's determined and persistent and kind of stubborn. He's not that coordinated or graceful (it took 12 tries to jump up and lay down on this sort of slippery log this morning) but he never gave up. What he lacks in skill and coordination he makes up for in confidence! Colton is available for adoption through Taffy's Legacy Canine Rescue & Rehabilitation

Trainer tip of the day: when bringing your dog to the vet or the groomer, make sure to bring really high value food rewards with you to help your dog calm dow...n and think the visit is a good thing for them instead of a scary thing! #trainertips #dogtrainertips #dogssciencepassion #certifieddogtrainer

Taking our place training up a notch with duration. I fastened Colton with a metal leash (so he can't chew through it) and my hope is that if we hang out here long enough, with me dropping a piece of kibble every few minutes, he'll eventually settle down and make the decision to chew on one of his bones or toys... or even fall asleep!

Just in case anyone's looking to get certified (or recertified) in pet first aid! 20% discount with WNWCARES http://walksnwags.com/online-pet-first-aid/

Cooperative care refers to training dogs to be willing partners in the care that they need. This could be regular dog grooming like wiping paws, brushing teeth, bathing, nail trims, but also helping dogs learn to be cooperative during a veterinarian exam. If you got a dog as a puppy this is really easy to achieve just by positove, daily handling of the puppy. When you adopt an older dog sometimes you need to train them to be accepting of regular care. Colton does not like getting his paws wait. Yes I could force him into a sit or a down while he's on leash and wipe them, but I would much rather take the time to teach him that having his paws wiped is a good thing.

Ran into this neighbourhood cat on our walk so we had an opportunity to do a bit more training with Colton. Because he's on a leash this time you want to make sure that you keep the leash loose. You're not correcting him when he looks at the cat or pulling him to look at you. He can look at the cat for as long as he wants, and the second that he looks at you mark and treat. Start as far away from the cat as you need to be for your dog to notice it, but not be lunging or barking yet. Work your way closer as your dog reaction to the cat lessens. I like to attach the leash to my fanny pack so that I don't inadvertently pull. This was really helpful when training my dog reactive dog, because I would get really anxious and tighten up on the leash without meaning too, and that anxiety can transfer to your dog.

In case anyone is interested here's a couple dog training sites that are offering free training. Home School the Dog is offer two months free (no credit card information required to sign up, it just ends after 2 months.) https://dogsthat.com/home-school/... Victoria Sitwell Academy is offering a free starter demo which is 2 videos about building your dog's confidence. https://www.vsdogtrainingacademy.com/enroll/demo/

Socializing your puppy during the pandemic...

This! Sure it was a funny video, but if your dog reacts badly to getting his nails trimmed, having him lick your face while you're doing it might not be the best idea

The video is not that great and you can hear the TV in the background, because I didn't plan this - my cat just came out and I took advantage of the situation! Using Look At That is a great way to help change the way a dog reacts to things. It works for cats, squirrels, other dogs, people. It's a modified Behavior Adjustment Training exercise. Without any prompting, as soon as your dog looks away from the trigger (in this case my 18 year old cat Scrappy), mark the behaviour w...ith a GOOD and give a treat. Repeat until your dog become disinterested in the trigger. In this video I'm using treats, not kibble. You can see that Colton starts to only look at me, so I encourage him to look at the kitty. At this point if I was prepared, I would have switched the kibble, something less high-value. He is still quite reactive to my cat, so we use a food reward. But we also do this exercise on the street with squirrels and I no longer have to use a food reward, I only say GOOD as soon as he looks away.

An interesting blog on how you can use positive, fear free training and still reprimand you were dog when they do something you don't like.

We don't deserve dogs Credit: http://bit.ly/2qmFTDA