This is a subject I’ve been meaning to talk about for some time but I wasn’t quite sure how to address it. Dogs running loose on their own is a massive problem in our little community. I wasn’t sure how to address this issue until recently I couldn’t help but comment on a public post about “bad dog owners”. I pointed out that it’s a lot easier to educate people when you don’t insult them, and the response was another barrage of insults but this time directed at me. At first I was annoyed, maybe even mad, and very confused as this person was making zero sense. But I collected myself and remembered that when people respond that way it’s because they’re feeling backed into a corner and defenseless. They were too stubborn to change their own mind and so all they had left was insults to hurl.
But it got me thinking… how do I help educate people on this important topic when there are people resulting to insults hiding behind an anonymous name? I decided to start where I thrive best; educational material online. Just like my Dogs and Children series, I have structured it much the same with info graphs and this post to elaborate a little more. I know it won’t change the minds that really need it, but maybe it will help people understand that this is a broad issue, as well as to bust some common misconceptions I hear.
When Dogs Run Loose it’s often referred to by professionals and bylaw officers as “dog at large”. It means a dog is off their property without an owner or caregiver and without a leash.
There are many reasons it is unhealthy for a dog to run around public and private properties without an owner accompanying them. There are risks to your dogs health and life if you let them run loose.
“LET THEM BE DOGS”
I hear a lot of different reasons why we should “let dogs be dogs” and let them roam the streets and live their lives as they please. I often am told that different cultures have always raised dogs differently, and essentially, who am I to come in and tell them how to raise their dog? Sure, the traditional way to raise dogs makes sense when you think about it in traditional times. But this is 2026 and this is a vastly different world we live in today. It’s time for all humans to step up and take care of our animal friends in a way that keeps them safe and healthy in all regards.
CALL ANIMAL CONTROL
When and if to call Animal Control is going to depend on different factors. I’ve heard a lot of different reasons from people against calling Animal Control (which, in our town, is the Fort St. James District bylaw officers). There has been a lot of controversy ever since they opened their doors January 1st, 2025. I’m not here to touch on most of that, but I am here to bust a few myths I’ve heard floating about.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
If, after reading the above points you still don’t feel right calling AC on your friends and neighbors dogs, then maybe offering help is more your style. Sometimes people need help more than judgement or consequences.
They might need help accessing the right equipment (like a proper tie-out), they may need help building a fence, they may need financial aid (there are many resources available for this), or maybe they need the number of a reliable dog walker. There are so many solutions that they could need help with and all you have to do is nicely ask them.
IT IS A COMMUNITY PROBLEM
Dogs at large and left to wander is a community problem. It puts the dogs at risk but it also puts the public at risk as well. When dogs are scared, feel threatened or cornered they will often resort to biting as a means of escape. It doesn’t make them bad dogs, they just feel threatened and are trying to protect themselves. When multiple dogs are left to wander they can “pack up” and become even more dangerous in groups. Even just 2 or 3 dogs running wild can be dangerous and considered a pack.
This is a problem that requires solutions from both the governing body (for us, it’s the District of Fort St. James) as well as community members. If you can hep a dog in need, do it. If you can help a person in need, do it. If you can’t, find someone else who can help and/or enforce the laws we all have to live by for a functioning and safe society.
Now I have little faith this post will solve the problem. But if it helps change the mind of just one person to be more willing to reach out and help instead of judge, or if it makes one person considering finding a way to keep their dog safe at home, then it was worth writing every word and designing every graphic.
Spring time came and hit so fast I feel like I could blink and miss it. My April was incredibly busy; between my daughters year-end dance performance, group classes and one-on-one training sessions my month was jam-packed. I was able to put on two training classes for April and have two more for May. My busy schedule was also due thanks to my husband being home for breakup. This has helped me open my schedule for a lot more dog training.
With spring time always comes “puppy season”. I had a few puppies for 1:1 sessions and those are always a blast. I absolutely love training puppies; so if you acquired yourself a puppy this spring and would like to know how to get the best start on training send me a message!
One puppy came to me for trick training, to help them reach their goal of earning their Novice Trick Dog title through Do More With Your Dog. I absolutely love trick training, and this is a personal goal of mine for my own dog.
Myself and some fellow dog enthusiasts are mulling over the idea of putting together a trick training club. If this is something that sounds up your alley, let me know! The more people we have interested in it, the more likely we will do it.
Registration for my next class has ended, but you can READ HERE more information and to add yourself to the wait list for the next class.
Running group obedience classes was always the goal but one that took me a while to check off my list. It took me a while to have the confidence to run a class, and it only came after my experience with running Pack in the Park.
Last spring I approached the United Church about using the space for group classes. I remember there being group obedience classes there that I took my puppy to when I was about 15. I remember at the time thinking “wow, I want to do this. I want to run a class like this”, so to think back on that and realize that I not only have reached that goal I set so long ago but I’m doing it in the same space where I first set the goal is really quite bittersweet. However, last spring my group class turned into a 1:1 when I only had one person sign up for it. This made me a bit hesitant to put on classes again, but I gave it a shot and was blown away at the response I received. Not only could I put on one but TWO classes with an additional 2 more the following month. I’m not really sure what the difference between last spring and this spring is, but I’ll take it. I’m just happy to see so many people training their dogs!
Group 1 was my “Girlies”. This was a class full of women and their female dogs. It had a great vibe, despite two reactive dogs in the class, and everyone has progressed and learned so much in those 4 weeks. We have our last class tonight and then that is a wrap on Group 1.
Group 2 was a bit more challenging with many dogs and owners at varying levels. We had some owners who just needed the added level of distraction for their dogs to work in and we had others who were puppies just learning with their first-time puppy owners. This made for an interesting dynamic in class. Everyone learned in different ways and rates but everyone kept up with the same curriculum. Group 2 graduated first, as Group 1 had the Easter holiday push their classes back by a week.
As I prepare for Groups 3 and 4 I am using everything I learned from teaching Groups 1 and 2 to make the class even better. I plan to always revise it in this way, ever fine-tuning it to be more efficient and effective.
The most important thing to me is creating and supporting a safe, relaxed environment that is easy to learn in. I will keep offering this class as long as there are people who want to take it.
This month Fort St. James Dog Training, sponsored by the Fort St. James Animal Care Team Society (FSJ ACTS), is bringing the Be A Tree dog bite prevention program to the community’s children. We are starting with our local Girl Guides. Myself along with volunteer April Dimond will be presenting the Be a Tree information, along with some added tweaks to make the program better to understand and remember for children of a variety of ages. This program helps teach children what to do when encountering a strange dog and what types of behavior/body language they can observe and interpret to help them understand whether a dog is safe to pet or not. This information is vital for preventing dog bites in children.
This is a goal I’ve been working towards for a long time. I’m very thankful for FSJ ACTS part in helping me achieve this goal. I’m also incredibly thankful to April, for her insight into teaching children has been absolutely vital, and I’m very grateful for all the hands-on work she’s done to help me bring this program together.
Next Pack in the Park Date: May 7, 2025 Time: 11:00am Location: Goodwin Park
Pack in the Park is a FREE event for all dog owners of all skill-levels to attend. It is great for reactive dogs to learn to work within their comfort zone (you may need to add more space between your dog and others until you reach that comfort zone). This is an owner-lead event; which means you plan the type of training you would like to do with your dog. This is NOT an obedience class.
Be aware: there are dogs behind fences that bark and sometimes there are loose dogs that wander by this park. If your dog is not ready for that level of distraction then you may want to work in a quieter environment still until your dog is ready.
Rules: 1. All dogs must be on leash (NO retractable leashes) 2. Dogs must NOT meet face-to-face; this is not a play date 3. All owners must pick up after their dogs! This is a public park and if we wish to continue to bring our dogs to public spaces we must be respectful.
As the end of the year gradually races towards us, I find myself reflecting on the past year and considering the year ahead. Last year, dog training was a whirlwind of client after client. This year was a slow business year. I think a part of it is that this is a small town and eventually clientele will slow down no matter what, but also I think a lot of it has to do with my own time management.
We started FSJ ACTS in February/March this year and we hit the ground running. I could probably write an entire blog on just this year with ACT. I am constantly feeling pulled between my family, my jobs and my volunteer hours. I love all of it, but I don’t really have time for all of it. I’m so exhausted all the time that I don’t push myself as hard I could to make my dog training career more successful. I keep telling myself it will come with time as my kids get older.
That being said, when I look back on this year and everything I’ve done and learned I realize it’s been a pretty big year too. Just in more subtle ways. I did my first group class in June, which flopped as a group class but I met one wonderful person and her spunky hound dog pup and we still connect and stay in touch. My ideal client is one who shows up on time, does the work with their dog and stays in touch to let me know how it goes in the long-run. I don’t want to ever have a client tell me their training didn’t work out (or worse, hear it from someone else) when I could have been there to help guide them in a different direction. Dog training is kind of a mix between science and art, it isn’t always so black and white. Some things will work with some dogs but not others. Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error to find what does work.
2024 also taught me how important Pack in the Park is, and it breaks my heart that I haven’t been able to host one in months. I’m currently putting together a new Host training program, so if you’re local to Fort St. James and would like to try to host a Pack in the Park let, me know! I wish I could be there myself, but I just can’t at this time in my life. So I’m hoping to find one or two more individuals who’d like to host it.
I took on a foster puppy for the first time since I was involved with the humane society in 2008-2012. It was extremely challenging. I underestimated how chaotic our house would feel with one more young being in it. Boss was such a great foster pup, the best I could have asked for. So chill, calm, and happy to please. But even with all those wonderful traits it made my house feel more chaotic. I’ve learned that if I do take on a foster dog it has to be limited to the summer when I can utilize my outdoor kennel more. I don’t know if my family will even be ready for another foster dog by next summer, though. Saying goodbye to Boss was really hard. Luckily, he is with a really wonderful family and I still get to see him on occasion when he comes for play dates with Zelda. Boss taught me it’s possible and completely okay to love a dog that isn’t part of your family.
I helped spearhead the Art for Animals Gallery Fundraiser and we learned so much from that. It wasn’t just about the money, it turned into this amazing opportunity to connect with the public about what ACT does. We reached a lot of people and taught them who we are and what we do. We had students come through the gallery and learn about art and our cause. For the amount of work and time it took, it wasn’t exactly the most profitable fundraiser but it turned out to be so much more than a fundraiser. I’m really proud of this one.
Last Sunday we had the first Annual Santa Photos fundraiser; which was so much more than just Santa Photos! We also had a little Christmas pet shop, nail trims by Katie, Dog Training Consultations by me and live music by Natile, as well as a few cool door prizes! We raised $790 and had a total blast meeting everyone and their furry family members. I think with more time to plan it next year we will bring it back next December, even better!
At our last ACT meeting we established the roles we would all like to play. I am now the Humane Education Coordinator. I joined Doggone Safe and am currently enrolled in a course so that I can be certified to teach dog bite prevention. I’m about halfway through it, as I write this, and I’ve learned so much already. It’s a very thorough course and I highly recommend it to any dog enthusiasts or anyone who works with dogs. I have plans to upgrade my education with more than just bite prevention as well. With these upgrades, I can’t wait to bring more humane education programs to Fort St. James in 2025.
I will be closed from December 19, 2024 until January 7, 2025. Happy Holidays!
FSJ ACTS will be closed from December 21, 2024 until January 2, 2025.
I’m going to quit promising any kind of posting schedule or content because it’s clear I can’t keep up on it long-term. I will post when I can or when I have anything worth posting about.
Dog training has been slow for me, but not because there aren’t dogs who need training. I have myself invested in a lot of places. I have two kids (7 and 2) and since school just started back up we’ve had back to back sicknesses. We’ve just started potty training the two year old and that’s a whole new level of challenge. I am on the board of directors of the Fort St. James Animal Care Team Society (FSJ ACTS) and the animals of FSJ keep us very busy. I just started working weekends at The View Hotel, which means I no longer have availability on the weekends for dog training. My husband drives logging truck and his hours are long and all over the place which also makes scheduling difficult. As a side project, I’m also helping put together an art show for FSJ ACTS and (separately) I have put my crochet critters at So Divine Artisan Boutique. Not to mention, the kids activities, taking care of our home, and dealing with my injured foot for going on 16 months now.
I don’t normally air my personal life on here, but the reason I am explaining all of this is to ask you to please be patient with me. Scheduling is difficult right now, but I hope that by next summer I will find a new rhythm that will fit dog training into my life more. One of the things I really wanted to do was to check in with past clients. It’s been a year of dog training (already!) and I haven’t heard from most of you which I hope is a good thing. I would love to reach out to every single one of you. If you are a past client reading this, please feel free to get in touch with me and let me know how you and your dog are doing. I really love hearing updates. I love the good updates and I want to hear the bad updates so that I can help support you further.
FSJ Animal Care Team Society and Pope Mountain Arts are teaming up together to put on a group art show that will benefit the animals in the care of FSJ ACTS.
It’s open to all artists and all mediums. There is no theme, but an animal them or inspiration is encouraged. There’s no limit on the number of pieces to submit, but do keep in mind that this is a group art show and there is limited space.
For more information you can download our Information Package or email fsj.act@gmail.com
Once again, I’m slightly restructuring how I offer my services. There will be no price changes though, if anything, I am expanding my services. Since it’s become quite difficult for me to schedule training sessions and my space to train in for the winter is not ideal, I’ll be focusing on offering training consultations over the phone, Facebook messenger or e-mail.
Not to be confused with my previous consultations offered to help structure your training session to meet you and your dogs unique needs. To avoid confusion, the Over-The-Phone Consultation will now be known as a Phone Evaluation and the Online Consultation will be known as an Online Evaluation. The price of the training session will still be broken up between the Evaluation and the training session and will remain at the same price.
So what will be involved in a consultation that makes it different from an evaluation?
The evaluation is there to help make the most effective training session I can offer by evaluating your dog and your goals and values. With this information I will create a hands-on training session that will benefit you the most.
The consultation will include the evaluation but will also focus on advice I can give right away and a back and forth conversation that will help me determine the best advice I can offer over the phone or online. There is no broken down price because there is no hands-on training session. I may advise a training session for a later date, but the consultation will involve planning and create a training plan that is just for you that you can start right away on our own at home with your dog. The price for a consultation is $50 and includes a phone call or online based conversation that will cover the evaluation and then continue on with advice I can give right then and there. A follow up e-mail will be sent to you with a breakdown of what we discussed and any files or links to resources you may find helpful. If you require additional help then another consultation may be scheduled or you may schedule an in-person training session, if both parties agree that it is necessary.
I hope that with this new service I will be able to help more people shape desired behaviors in their dog and build healthy, long lasting relationships built on trust and respect.
Apparently, after promising to at least commit to the monthly updates I completely skipped June. I really didn’t have a whole lot going on in June, to be honest. My group class (that only had one person) ended in the beginning of June and then I just focused my time on my family for a little while.
Dog training picked up in July and I’ve been semi-consistently busy this month. LOTS of puppies! Which is always fun, I love working with puppies (I mean, who doesn’t?).
FAVORITE NAME FOR JULY
I feel like I should say my favorite name for July is Nova, since that is my youngest daughters name, but I sorry Nova, I think I have to go with Mungo for my favorite dog name of July. It’s honestly just so fun to say. I’m not sure if it has any sort of meaning behind it, I really should have asked the owner. But it doesn’t even have to have any sort of meaning, it’s just fun to say.
Mungo is one of the puppies that our Animal Care Team took in. In our care, his name was Dusky. He was a foster fail, and his new family just adores him and gave him the name Mungo. Which I think really suits him.
I didn’t get any photos of Mungo during our training session, but I did get the above photo of Mungo and his owner working beautifully together during Puppies in the Park.
FSJ ACTS UPDATE
FSJ ACTS officially has Society status now, which is so exciting. It means we will have access to a lot more funding. Unfortunately, we are still not a registered non-profit and can’t issue receipts for tax purposes, but with society status we will be able to help the animals just a bit more.
On July 7th I picked up my foster puppy Boss. FSJ ACTS has lots of puppies looking for homes that are currently in foster care. We have an awesome team of volunteers to help with kennel duty, but we wanted to give our volunteers a break and give our puppies a chance to learn how to live life in a family and home environment.
Boss has fit in really nicely. Zelda wasn’t too sure about him at first but he slowly grew on her and now they are Besties. He’s great with my two girls (7 and 2 years old) and is learning not to steal snacks or toys. He’s learning a lot of things in our house and I’ve given him a slow adjustment to house life. To make this easier for him to learn the rules (especially for house training) I have kept him on leash in the house a lot of the time. He gets leashed to either myself or a study piece of furniture so that I can keep him within eye sight at all times. He’s also been introduced to the cats. My older cat Jarroko has been extremely patient and the best cat to teach him the ropes about cats. My poor younger cat Alice is terrified of him and has been living behind the hot tub for the last couple weeks.
Boss knows how to sit, down and “go kennel”. He’s learning to sit at doorways and gates (this is very tough for him), he sits for his meals and he sits to be leashed. He is a very sweet boy who loves people and wants to please. This makes him quite trainable. He has the sweetest disposition and loves catching a nap in a good sun patch. Boss is also really great on leash and responds well to loose-leash training.
If you’re interested in adopting Boss, please let me know if you’d like to arrange to meet him!
FSJ ACTS FUNDRAISERS
For the month of July the Fort St. James Bottle Depot collected donations for FSJ ACTS. The total raised in the month was $1,000. Thank you SO much for your generosity. This money will go towards our vet bills.
There is a fundraiser through As You Wish Custom Designs (based in Prince George) where $2 for every purchase goes to FSJ ACTS. FOLLOW THE LINK to order yours! Here are some handsome pooches with their stylish custom tags…
PUPPIES IN THE PARK
On July 20th I hosted the first Puppies in the Park; a spin on our classic “Pack in the Park” but it was for puppies up to 10 months old (who have been vaccinated). There’s a lot of fear about Parvo (and for good reason) so I had a lot of interest but a lot of puppies who aren’t vaccinated enough yet to attend public dog events like this. I had a couple of people attend and it was a blast of course, puppies always are, but there is a definite need to do this again next month once more puppies have had their shots.
I’ve had tons of people ask me about when I’ll do another Pack in the Park and I decided to create a texting list for those who want to be notified when the next Pack in the Park is happening. If you’d like to join this list, please let me know.
The Fort St. James Animal Care Team is in need of foster homes and we’re looking for forever homes. A great option is to “try it out” first and Foster to Adopt. When you Foster to Adopt you make no commitment to keep the animal and if they are not a good fit for your household and they can be returned to our care.
For more information about any of the dogs below, please contact FSJ ACT by email fsj.act@gmail.com or Facebook Messenger.
If you’re interested in fostering, please fill out a Foster Application.
I promised this long list of upcoming articles and then completely fell off the face of the Earth. I thought if I had a schedule of articles to stick to it would help me post consistently, but it did not help at all. Spring hit and I’ve struggled to even open my laptop ever since. After some self-reflection, I’ve decided that the only blog posts I’m going to commit to posting is the monthly updates. I may throw in other posts here and there, depending on my time and mood. However, I think for the summer it would be best to cut back on my post commitments.
BASIC OBEDIENCE WORKSHOP
May was a bit of a slow month for me, when it comes to training. I had one private lesson and launched my group class which, unfortunately, only had one person sign up. I’m struggling to get commitment from Fort St. James dog owners and I’m wondering if it’s the same Spring time struggles I’m facing with committing to anything consistently myself, right now. Whatever the reasons, I’m still going through with the class. I designed the price so that if this happened I wouldn’t be losing money and it still felt somewhat worth going. My one client in this group class has the most amazing soft, floppy hound pup so that definitely makes it worth-while.
The United Church has been awesome to rent, though. I’ve rented the space in the past for the K9 First Aid Course and it’s very affordable (especially if you provide clean up afterwards, which I totally don’t mind doing) and they allow dogs. When I started phoning around looking for a space to do a group class in, the United Church wasn’t my first pick, simply because it’s not the biggest space and wouldn’t allow for very many people and their dogs. However, I ran into issues with many places not wanting dogs in them and/or issues with insurance. The United Church is very accommodating and laid back to deal with; they’ve been fantastic.
Since I was unable to fill the class up, I do have a few spaces available and am opening it up to Drop-Ins.
Drop-ins can attend any of the following classes, and do not need to commit to the whole course. It is $40 to drop in, and I take cash or debit.
Saturday, June 1st
10am-11am
Stay
Stay Circle
Jackpot Rewards
Distractions and Challenges
Saturday, June 8th
10am – 11am
Watch Command
Automatic Sit
Come (recall)
Saturday, June 8th
10am – 11am
Heel
Phasing Out Treats
FAVORITE NAME FOR APRIL & MAY: ZERO
I actually didn’t really have a favorite name from my clients dogs (sorry!). I only had a few clients and all of their dogs had pretty normal names that could even pass for people names. I like quirky or weird names on animals… We have a Zelda, Jarroko and Alice (named from Alice in Wonderland by my daughter) in our household. So, while I thought those dogs all totally suited their names and they are great on them! There aren’t any that stand out as a favorite…
Except Zero, whom is a dog I met but did not work with. I love the name Zero on a dog because I have always adored The Nightmare Before Christmas and the ghostly dog Zero. My sister used to have a dog named Zero that I adored, a well. I did not get a picture of the Zero I recently met though, I wish I had as he was a beautiful dog. Here’s a photo of my sister’s Zero dog with my two (who have since passed a long time ago). Left to right: Coal, Linkin Bark and Zero.
FORT ST. JAMES ANIMAL CARE TEAM SOCIETY
The FSJ ACT is becoming FSJ ACTS! We are getting our society status. We still won’t be able to write receipts for donations as we won’t be a non-profit, but as a society we are eligible for more funding that we desperately need.
FSJ ACTS took on a one-time difficult case with a dog named Meeko who needed some medical care and we decided to take on the challenge to help. He is a very special dog and worth the care and effort. A great big THANK YOU to our team members Shannon, Katie and April for taking care of Meeko. Shannon has fostered him and cared for him and Katie has helped with his daily bandage changes and medical care. April helped bring Meeko to the vet every week, which is a couple hours from our community. We really need help with his overwhelming vet bills. Please read more of his story HERE and if you can contribute anything (even $5) to help with his medical costs we would greatly appreciate it.
We’ve also been working hard at fundraising, spay and neuter trips, vaccine clinics and general animal emergency help. To be honest, I could very easily write a whole separate blog about the Animal Care Team and what we’ve been up to. The animals are keeping us busy!
Every single one of our Care Team members is so valuable and every single person who helps volunteer and connect us to the resources we need are the blood pumping through our team’s collective veins. The individuals on our team bring so much skills, knowledge, heart and determination and the community helps support us in reaching our goals. It’s been amazing to be a part of and watch what people are capable of when we put a little effort and cooperation in.
TRICK OF THE MONTH: CENTER
Definition: the dog approaches from behind you, goes between your legs and stands shoulder to knee between your legs
Use: a great way to keep your dog very close to you. It can be helpful in crowded or small spaces (ie; an elevator)
How to teach “Center”
Teaching your dog requires a lure (I use a bit of a tasty treat) and you need to start from the end result and work backwards. First you will stand right in front of your dog (facing away) and lure/call them between your legs.
Once your dog is understanding that you want them to stand between your legs and stay there, you can start to add in distance and different angles to approach from so that you can call your dog to the trick from anywhere.
Instead of standing (with your back to the dog) directly in front of them, start a little ways away from them and start to creep to the side a bit. Keep adding more distance and different angles until you can call your dog to the center position from anywhere (with them in front of you too). It just takes adding that distance (and angles) very slowly and gradually over time.
You will also need to gradually increase the amount of time your dog spends staying in this position. Once rewarded, dogs often consider their job over. Remind them that you would like them to stay in this position until released. If they break too early (whether you rewarded them or not) get them back into position and try again. Give your dog the release command and then toss a jackpot reward a little ways away from you, so that your dog knows it’s time to leave the position. When you reward your dog for staying in position you can slip little tidbits down to them so that they don’t need to move to get their reward. After several repetitions of this, your dog will learn the difference and learn to stay in position until a release command is given.
I’ve done a brief video to demonstrate how to train this trick. I hope it helps! It was my first time doing a video like this and it came with it’s own unexpected challenges. Hopefully next month I can come up with something a little better. Please let me know if you have issues playing it due to Instagram, and if so, next time I’ll load it to YouTube to embed it better.
The rest of March and this first half of April have been a bit slow for me, when it comes to dog training. I haven’t been advertising a lot or taking on very many clients. With spring break for my eldest and break up for my husband I just focused on spending time with my family.
But I’ve also been brewing up some ideas for workshops this summer. I am working on a big workshop that will be 4 weeks long with an optional open day for practice as well. This workshop is titled “Building Your Dog’s Confidence” and I’ll be sharing more details about it once I feel confident it will be happening. Currently I’m working out how I can do it from my back yard. This workshop will also involve dog agility equipment, which I only have a few select pieces left from my agility days in my teens/early twenties. Building and obtaining more equipment is my first goal and once I do that I’ll have a better idea of how much space I need and when the workshop will happen. I don’t want to do it in the dead of summer during peak fire season either, so I am trying to get it done as quickly as I can, but there’s been a few set backs.
The second workshop I’ve been working on will be a smaller one that will just be a one day thing (probably 1-2 hours long). This one will be in a public space, but I have yet to secure one (though have a few options). It will be a larger group than the confidence building workshop. I haven’t landed on a title yet and I haven’t outlined it as well as I have the other workshop, but I have an idea of what I want it to include. It will be all about leash work. Sizing a leash, good leashes vs bad leashes, about leash laws an why leashes are important, how to achieve loose-leash walking, the difference between loose-leash walking and heel (and how to teach heel). Basically, it’s a 101 on leashes. So these are some things I’ve been working on a bit, and will hopefully be happening this summer (fingers crossed we don’t have an insane fire season that limits me to needing to train indoors).
I find it awkward that my monthly updates cover half of this month and half of last month… so I’m going to come up with some sort of schedule for how I post on the Dog Blog and these monthly updates will fall on the last Wednesday of the month instead of the second. It just makes more sense. This means a longer wait for the next monthly update, but the next one will cover half of April and all of May.
FAVORITE MARCH NAME: WALTER
I love that all the dogs from this litter were named starting with “w” and they all got these totally normal people names. I first met Winston when I was dog walking and last month I had the honor of meeting Walter, Winston’s brother. Such a sweet, calm dog who’s personality is nearly opposite to his brother. I really enjoyed working with him and his owner has clearly put so much time into him already.
Runner up was an adorable little frenchie named Meki.
FORT ST JAMES ANIMAL CARE TEAM
We’ve settled on a temporary name, although I have a feeling this is going to end up sticking. It just works really well. At first, I was a bit bummed because I have a sentimental attachment to the Fort St. James Humane Society, but now that we have landed on a name we’re using I have done some thinking and I realize that a new name is probably for the best. We aren’t the same society that was established back in 2008. It’s a new group of people (a few are the same, but mostly new people) and we are moving forward. We are going to take what we’ve learned from the last society and move forward with it.
We currently really need volunteers and donations. Pretty much all types of donations are being accepted. We have a bunch of raffles and concessions coming up for fundraisers and we could use donations of baked goods and warm food. We also need more people to help with these types of fundraisers and events.
If you’d like to volunteer please send a message on Facebook or come to the next meeting. Our next scheduled meeting is Sunday, April 14th at 1PM at The View Hotel (come straight through into the dining area and to the right).
There are two upcoming vaccine clinics for residents of Fort St. James, Nak’azdli and surrounding communities. $100 exam fee, and each vaccine is $26. There will be dewormer available as well, the price varying quite a bit based on animal size and species. These clinics are booking up fast so don’t hesitate to contact Katie if you want to get your pet in!
Our little animal rescue group is also looking for any type of dog and cat food donations. ANY kind of food is accepted regardless of brand, size, canned, kibble, raw etc you name it we will take it. I will always preach about good nutrition to dog owners and how important it is to select quality food for your pets, but when it comes to starving animals fed is better than dead. Quality isn’t a concern when it comes to just feeding starving animals.
Food donations can be dropped off at The View Hotel. If you require it picked up please contact the Fort St. James Animal Care Team to make arrangements.
TRICK OF THE MONTH: SPIN
Definition: from a standing position, the dog spins their body in a tight circle (from head to tail)
Command Variations: “spin”, “twist”, “circles”
Use: fun trick
Caution: spin is not advised for dogs with spinal problems, hip problems, or any sort of mobility issues that may cause pain or exacerbate their condition
How to Train “Spin”
Begin with your dog in front of you, in a standing position. Hold a yummy treat in your closed hand and lure it in front of the dogs nose. When you have your dogs attention move your hand in an arc toward the dog’s back end, and follow through around in a full circle. The dog should follow the treat with their nose and spin in a circle as they follow. If this doesn’t happen, your hand may be too close or too far away, or you may not be giving enough room for your dog to comfortably spin around. When your dog completes a full circle praise and reward with the treat.
Once your dog seems to be catching on, start using verbal and hand commands and try it without luring. If your dog struggles, go back a step and continue to lure while giving the command and then try again without the lure.
VARIATIONS: You can teach your dog to spin clockwise, counter-clockwise or both! Simply teach your dog to spin one way and then teach it the same but in the opposite direction.
Add Distractions
It’s important to always gradually add distractions when training any new command. Once your dog is understanding without a lure in a quiet room move on to a less quiet room. Start throwing in distractions of other people, animals, and different places. You can test your dog by throwing a small box across the floor, have someone else blow a whistle, roll a ball past the dog, throw a treat etc. There are endless ways to test your dog out. Create the distraction and give the command, “center” and if your dog struggles to look at you despite the distraction then you need a bit more work in the quiet room or with a less challenging distraction. Slowly build those distractions inside your home and then try outside your home. Try in your yard and then move on to a local park, beach, down town etc. If your dog struggles with the new level of challenge then you need to take a step back and work a bit more at a lower challenge.
ZELDA WITH BOOKS: A BOOK REVIEW
This is a new section to my monthly update, but not a new practice for myself. I have always been an avid book reader, but unfortunately since having kids and the responsible adult life it’s been harder to find time to read. I’m also a super slow reader, I just always have been. Because of this, I’m not sure exactly how I’ll do this section. I have feeling it may not stick as a monthly feature because I may not have enough new content for it every month (I tend to read books for months on-end). I’m also not sure if it’s appropriate to write my reviews for anything I’m reading here or if I should stick to dog-related books? I certainly do have a lot of those that would provide content for some time, but I’d much rather tie this post into my Instagram account which is where these reviews will be most likely coming from. I’ve been partaking in “bookstagram” since 2020 and it’s been a fun little side hobby. I enjoy photography and the added challenge of photography with books and my dog have been a fun way to bond with her and teach her new tricks and behaviors. I think, to start, I am going to write about the last book I finished and reviewed, and you guys can give me some feedback on whether you want to see more like that or if you want me to only review dog-related books. Another option is to focus mostly on dog-related books and throw in other genres here and there. I mostly read horror, and I feel that’s a bit niche. Let me know your thoughts on this!
Humane Sacrifice by Felix I.D. Dimaro
5/5 stars
What a super fun read! Melvin Cockburn was failed by everyone in his life, except his dear little cat Lucy. But Lucy has a terminal tumor, and Melvin can’t stand the thought of losing his only friend, so when he’s offered a chance to save her, he takes it; no matter the costs.
This book is a wild ride. Horrifying in the ways you expect from Dimaro but surpsingly also filled with a lot of heart. I just felt bad for Melvin, despite the horrific things he does.
This was a 5 star read for me. It may even be my new favorite Dimaro book. It was delightfully twisted, surprised me at several points along the way, and of course, I’m a sucker for books featuring animals. It was also super fun going back to Saturn City, seeing the Pitchman again, and the little nods to other Dimaro stories I’ve read.
You’ll like this book if you like gory, violent, shocking horror, if you’ve liked previous Dimaro books, and if you like stories involving animals.
If you are a bookworm but struggle to commit to any sort of reading schedule then perhaps the Fort St. James Public Library book club is for you! The following is from their post:
The 4R club is a “silent book club” for reluctant, returning and reclusive readers!
The first 30 minutes are an open discussion about books – you can share (or not) about a book you have read in the past or are reading now. The following hour is a time to pick a cozy spot and read in silence. The last 30 minutes are an opportunity to socialize.
Feel free to attend some or all of the session. This is an opportunity to set aside time to read without distractions.
The 4R Club meets the last Thursday of each month from 6:00-8:00pm.
I was going to post something different this week; I wanted to post a blog I have written about what to expect from Fort St. James Dog Training. It covers everything from first contact to the consultation, session and follow up. However, since I missed posting the last two weeks that bumped us into the middle of the month faster than I expected and it’s time for another monthly update! The post I had planned for today will instead be bumped to next week.
So far, the month of March has been pretty quiet. My family have just been battling one cold after another. I think I spoke too soon when I said we got away with less sickness this winter than last and the germs are trying to show me to put my foot where my mouth is. It’s like we suddenly got hit with all of it in one month. Which is why I missed posting the last two weeks.
In February I had set the goal of doubling the amount of dogs I trained vs the month before, and I not only met that goal but surpassed it. I knew that setting a similar goal for March would be unrealistic as I just don’t have enough available hours for training to work with 20 dogs in one month. I’m fine with that, sometimes we need our goals to be realistic so that we don’t become overwhelmed in reaching them. I’ve trained a handful of dogs so far this month and each one is always so special to me. Even if I only trained one dog in the month I’d still consider it a success because I was able to help someone with their dog. After all, that is what I’m here for.
Favorite February Name: Tyrion
One of the many little delights I’ve found in dog training is learning what people name their dogs. My favorite dog name from February was a sweet little dog named Tyrion. As a Game of Thrones fan, this name is an absolute hoot (especially on a small dog).
Tyrion’s owners were also very enthusiastic about training; they are working hard to reach their training goals and I loved seeing them attend Pack in the Park and really put in the work. Way to go guys!
A close second was a corgi named Kevin.
Business License
Fort St. James Dog Training was supposed to start as an official licensed business March 1st. I was sick leading up to March so I didn’t get a chance to get to the District Office before March 1st but went in on the day of. It was my experience (from eons ago) that you could get a business license the same day. I even downloaded their form from the District website and filled it out beforehand to save time. When I brought it to the office I was met with a lot of confusion. I was told they couldn’t do it that day. When I expressed my surprise, I was told ” yeah, we have to do it the right way now.” I was a bit shocked at that answer. “You weren’t doing it the right way?” I asked and the answer I got back was “no” and then a mumble about high turnover. So I think maybe the people at the office just didn’t know how to do it? I was told they’d be in contact with me after looking it over. It’s been almost 2 weeks since I dropped it off, how long does it take to look over one sheet of paper? I phoned this morning and was told they e-mailed me, but I never got it. I don’t understand why they didn’t phone. I feel like people have lost the art of the phone call these days (does complaining about that make me old?). They needed my registration number and I don’t understand why that wasn’t an option to fill out on the application. At any rate, I am annoyed and I have to say, after that experience I’m really not left with a lot of confidence in our District workers.
animal welfare updates
Our little group has been working really hard to re-establish the Fort St. James Humane Society. We’ve dotted most of our i‘s and crossed most of our t‘s but there’s still a few little things to work out so we’re keeping our rescue missions on the down low until they are finished so that we don’t become overwhelmed. There are a LOT of animals needing help in our community and a lot of owners who need help with their animals. It’s going to take time to really start making an impactful difference.
Last week we executed our first big rescue mission since re-assembling an Animal Care Team. It was a drop in the bucket of a larger issue, but we changed the world of 17 puppies and that’s amazing. People from difference communities all came together to make this mission a success. In honor of an Animal Care Team member who passed away recently, we named this first rescue Mission Chantel. Chantel loved animals and really wanted to see our efforts in animal rescue be successful.
One Saturday, March 9th, 16 puppies (one ended up being adopted by one of our members) were loaded up and transported to Quesnel, where the Victoria Humane Society transport driver met our driver with their beautiful van and the 16 puppies were transferred from one vehicle to the other. VHS drove them back to Victoria where they were all quickly bathed, vetted and placed in foster homes.
As I said, a lot of people were involved in this rescue mission and it went quite smoothly and I would say was a total success! A huge thank you to the people who worked hard to orchestrate the whole thing and cared for these sweet little babies while they waited for transfer. This mission would not have been successful without everyone who played a part.
You can learn more about Mission Chantel on Facebook here and here.
If you would like to be a part of the solution get in touch with the Fort St. James Humane Support Group and see what you can help with! One thing we never seem to have enough of is foster homes. Since we don’t have a physical building to house animals, we need people to open their hearts and homes to house any animals we take in. If we don’t have a place for them to go, we can’t help them.
Novice Trick dog
One of my goals with Zelda is to get her a Novice Trick Dog (NTD) title. I love training tricks to dogs. I love the way they need to be broken down into different behaviors that you then shape together.
Trick dog titles can be obtained through Do More With Your Dog. For a NTD you need 15 tricks to be evaluated by an evaluator either online via video or in-person. Some basic obedience counts and advanced and expert tricks count as two towards the NTD. For more information, check out their website.
Zelda’s trick list currently consists of:
(1) sit
novice
(2) down
novice
(3) shake hands
intermediate
(4) sit pretty/beg
intermediate
(5) spin circles
novice
(6) roll over
intermediate
(7) leg weave
intermediate
(8) center
novice
(9) stay
novice
(10) touch hand (nose touch)
novice
(11) focus (watch me)
novice
(12) drop on recall
advanced
Trick of the Month: Center
Definition: Come from behind and stand between the handler’s legs (shoulder to knee)
Command Variations: “center”, “peekaboo”
Behavior: Break down into two parts: dog stands between your legs and dog moves from in front to behind you
Use: To position a dog where you want them
This trick doesn’t have a lot of practical use, but is a fun extra to train your dog. It can act as a party trick or can come in handy when participating in dog sports, such as dog agility, where you want to get your dog set up in a specific spot to start.
How To Train “Center”
Stand in front of your dog but facing away. Bend down and hold a treat in one hand and motion with your hands for your dog to come through your legs. As soon as the dog is in position reward them. Keep practicing until you feel like your dog understands to stand between your legs. Start connecting your command with the behavior.
Next you will need to teach them to go to that position from anywhere and facing you from any direction to start. Since you started teaching this trick with your dog behind you, gradually start to turn your body so that they’re approaching from the side. Practice many times until your dog is doing it smoothly. Try again after turning your body a bit more and continue to train this way until you have turned enough to be facing your dog when the command is given. The dog must go around and then get into position from behind you.
Add Distractions
It’s important to always gradually add distractions when training any new command. Once your dog is understanding without a lure in a quiet room move on to a less quiet room. Start throwing in distractions of other people, animals, and different places. You can test your dog by throwing a small box across the floor, have someone else blow a whistle, roll a ball past the dog, throw a treat etc. There are endless ways to test your dog out. Create the distraction and give the command, “center” and if your dog struggles to look at you despite the distraction then you need a bit more work in the quiet room or with a less challenging distraction. Slowly build those distractions inside your home and then try outside your home. Try in your yard and then move on to a local park, beach, down town etc. If your dog struggles with the new level of challenge then you need to take a step back and work a bit more at a lower challenge.
We’re almost halfway through the month so I figured it was time for my monthly update.
In January I helped 4 people gain new skills with their dogs, and for February I’d like to double that number. I’m establishing a weekly routine for dog training now that I’m feeling like I’m starting to get into the swing of. I was mostly a stay-at-home-mom for over 7 years so having a schedule (outside of my kids schedule) has been challenging to stick to. I keep track of all my clients by their first name and their dogs name because I’m more likely to remember their dog than them. Sorry, but it’s the truth, no offense intended.
One of my favorite things so far about training dogs again is learning what people name their dogs. I think this sparks an idea for a new monthly segment on the blog: favorite dog name! My favorite dog name for January was Darla. I know she’s named from the Little Rascals (which in itself is great), but I’ve been re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel for a while now and one of my favorite characters is Darla.
Last month’s update I mentioned changing my prices. I am still planning to raise my prices to help balance my cost after adding the online consultation. Because I had worked my prices to include the phone consultation as part of it, when I added the online consultation I lost $20 off every session. I will be recouping that by adjusting the prices of my sessions. This price change will be in effect starting March 1st, which is our official business launch date! So book now, if you want to take advantage of my current low prices.
On Sunday we had our first meeting for the Fort St. James Humane Society. Currently, just an idea and a dream, but we’d love to re-establish the humane society in our community. The Humane Society was established in 2008, did a lot of good in our community and had a lot of community support, and then it was dissolved about 5 years ago after the founder and some board members moved or experienced burnout. Since then it’s been a small handful of people just trying to do right by the animals. I think we’re in a position now where we have more people to help, more support from community leaders, and people have seen how much these issues have compounded in the last couple years. Heck, it’s why I got back into dog training. I was just tired of people complaining but never trying to fix the problems; I decided I’d actually do something and it all started with Pack in the Park.
You can view the meeting minutes here and the next meeting is February 25th at 1PM at the View Hotel. We had a good turnout last time and I’d love to see even more next time! A special thank you to April, Monica and Lesley for bringing this meeting together and spearheading this project. Another thank you to Diane who couldn’t make it to the meeting but has been doing so much for animal welfare that I feel she deserves a thank you too.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
I can’t talk about local animal rescue without also talking about volunteer opportunities. Want to help and get involved?
There is a raffle for Bingo at Kwah Hall February 22nd, donations can be dropped off between 4 and 5PM. Food and raffle items are needed. Popular foods: soup, chili, chow mein, jello cups with cool whip. Contact the Fort St. James Humane Support Group for more information or to find out other ways you can get involved.
Trick of the Month: Target
I tried to do a “trick of the month” for a trick training club last year and struggled to get interest in it. I think I’ll just be sort of adding it onto my monthly updates as I’m working on them with my own dog Zelda. Right now I am capturing the behavior with “yes” every time she touches the post-it with her nose. We are just starting this trick, but I’ll post progress as we go.
Teaching a dog to target your hand with their nose (touch your hand with their nose) is a behavior that can be shaped into many other tricks such as closing a door or turning on a light switch.
I like to use a Post-it (sticky note) to help make the transfer between your hand and other objects easier. When I first taught my dog this trick, I wanted him to close a door. I first taught him to touch my hand and then when I tried to get him to target the door he just kept booping my hand. The sticky note made it so much easier to communicate to him that I wanted him to touch his nose to something other than my hand.
The command you use should be something simple and easy to remember. You can use “target”, “touch”, “nose” or whatever makes sense to you. You can either start using the command right away, or start incorporating it once your dog is making the connection.
Stick a sticky note to your hand and hold it out to your dog. When they sniff at the sticky note say “yes!” (or use a clicker) and reward them with their favorite treat. Keep repeating. If your dog no longer seems interested in the sticky note at all, you can try holding a treat under your thumb in the sticky note hand or rub a treat on the sticky note to make it smell good. Some dogs may try to bite or take the sticky note; discourage this. Only reward for the dogs nose touching the sticky note. You can also sort of wave the sticky note in front of them, or move it a little closer into their view. Basically, you’re hinting “hey, it has to do with this thing”. Make sure to give them time to work the problem out in their mind. Hint at the sticky note and then wait and see what they figure out. If they don’t seem to be getting it at all then hint harder, maybe use a treat in that hand etc. but try to give the dog time to figure it out first.
Once your dog starts to make the connection that they need to touch their nose to the sticky notet, try moving your hand away from them a bit more, maybe a bit higher or on the ground. Move it around to make it more challenging.
When you know your dog has figured it out then it’s time to try transferring the sticky note to whatever you want them to do. Whether it’s to close a door, flip a light switch or push a ball, use the sticky note to let your dog know it’s time to touch their nose to something other than your hand.
At this point you can also stop using the sticky note and get your dog to touch your hand with their nose without it.
Shara Walsh 