Well, October sure crept up on us quickly, didn’t it? I took the summer off from group classes and only did a couple 1:1 sessions. I spent most of my summer focusing on my kids, the house, my weekend job, and my weekly volunteer time doing Pack in the Park. Shannon helped me with hosting this summer and it’s been so great having her part of the Pack in the Park team! She hosts most Sundays at 11am (check the Fort St. James Dog Owners Facebook Group for current dates) and I spend those mornings happy at work knowing you’re in good hands with Shannon!
My weekly Pack in the Park date had to move around a bit with changes in my childcare, but currently they are held most Mondays at 11am (please note this is subject to cancellation due to poor weather).
I’ve been slowly editing my Dog Guides (I have yet to come up with a better name for them than this) and have early released a mini guide titled “Dogs and Children“. This mini guide is a portion of Guide 1: Safety, Bylaws and Care. Safety between dogs and kids is important to me, which is why I created such an in-depth section about them in Guide 1. As part of this mini guide’s early release in my shop, I’ve been posting some facts and information about dog and children safety on my Facebook Page.
Bite prevention is so important to me that I added Bite Prevention Educator to my list of certificates and this spring April and I brought the Be a Tree program (with FSJDT flair) Girl Guides and Nak’albun Elementary kindergarten students. We are reopening these presentations for the new school year! Educators and program directors can get in touch to book a presentation with us. I am currently seeking sponsorship for this program, so if your company is interested or you know of a company that may be interested in sponsoring this type of program please do get in touch.
I decided to run another Basic Obedience workshop this fall, to test the waters on how receptive they would be for this time of year. It was a struggle and I still did not manage to fill the class 100% and offered drop-in. There were no drop-ins during this time, just one person who signed up late. This class was both fun and challenging with mostly puppies/young dogs with a bit of reactivity.
I’ve had a lot of interest in these group classes but unfortunately, not enough commitment. Due to this fact, I will not be offering group classes again until next year. Winter is a busy time for us with our kids, we have two birthdays and Christmas all one after the other, so I’d like to take the next couple of months to focus on those special events and make memories with my family.
I am always available for over-the-phone or email consultation. If you need help with your dog this winter while I am not offering 1:1 or group classes, then a consultation is the next best option.
I took a bit of a break this summer. Consistent childcare, access to a vehicle, and finding the right training space are all challenges that make 1:1 training difficult. On top of that, after running five group obedience classes back-to-back in the spring, I was feeling pretty burnt out. Taking the summer off gave me the chance to recharge and enjoy more time at home with my kids.
While I was home, a few realizations stood out:
Group classes are definitely in demand here.
Without reliable childcare, a car, and a consistent training space, 1:1 clients are nearly impossible to schedule.
It’s okay to ask for help.
GROUP CLASSES ARE COMING BACK
As I shared in my last post, group classes were a huge hit this spring, and I’ll absolutely be bringing them back this fall. If you’d like to join, make sure you’re on the waitlist — I’ll email you as soon as the dates are finalized.
PRESSING PAUSE ON 1:1 TRAINING
As much as I love working with 1:1 clients — it’s where my training techniques really shine — I’ve decided to temporarily suspend private sessions. This includes:
Puppy Training Sessions
Obedience Training Sessions
Problem Behavior Sessions
Trick Training Sessions
The 1:1 option of the Boundary Training Workshop
If you’re already a 1:1 client or have upcoming sessions booked, nothing changes. I’ll honor all current appointments and contracts. Starting today, though, I won’t be accepting new 1:1 clients until my schedule is more flexible.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO SHANNON
I have to give a huge shout-out to my friend and fellow certified dog trainer, Shannon Joe, who stepped up to help with Pack in the Park. She’s been an absolute delight — showing up consistently, creating her own event pages, and even taking and sharing photos in the Dog Owners Group afterward.
Because of Shannon, Pack in the Park continues to run weekly. She usually hosts Sundays and often covers weekday events if I can’t make it. I honestly couldn’t keep it going without her. Thank you, Shannon!
TRICK TRAINING: A PERSONAL PASSION
Shannon and I have also been tossing around the idea of starting a Trick Training Club in FSJ. While I’m not sure I have the time to commit to a full club, I will be adding a trick training class this fall — so keep an eye out for announcements!
Trick training has been one of my favorite things since I was a kid. Between ages 11 and 16, I taught my dogs an impressive number of tricks — all without formal knowledge. I learned by breaking behaviors down step by step. My dogs could grab drinks from the fridge, vault off my back to catch a Frisbee, balance on my feet — you name it. While other 13-year-olds were exploring makeup and hanging out with friends, I was at home teaching my dog to perform circus acts.
These days, I’m working toward earning my dog Zelda’s Novice Trick Dog Title. We already have enough tricks to qualify, but I’m polishing them up before submitting. Once Zelda earns her title, I plan to launch a trick training class designed to help owners do the same. By the end of the course, you’ll have enough tricks to submit to Do More With Your Dog for your own Novice Trick Dog Title!
Designing the class and all the supporting material will take some time, but I promise it will be worth the wait.
WHAT’S NEXT
Before trick training begins, I’ll be running more Group Obedience Classes — as many rounds as there’s demand for. Right now, I’m updating the class material. Once that’s ready, I’ll confirm dates with the United Church.
I know this post is a lot of “what’s coming soon,” and I wish I had exact dates for you already. My best guess is that group classes will start rolling out in late September or early October.
Thanks so much for your patience and continued support — I can’t wait to get back into training with you and your dogs!
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.
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.
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 