Happy Howl-O-Weiners To Y'all

I love Halloween! I get to go to parties where I meed other furiends wearing funny dog costumes, and I get tons of dog treats just for being there and posing for funny dog pictures. Speaking of funny dog pictures, it's time to share Pedro's. I have to give credit to everyone who assisted in this task. Chihuahua puppies are not easy to work with. Ready?

 Roxie, the boston terrier arrived, dressed to kill.

She made fun of lil' Pedro, the chihuahua puppy, for not wanting to wear a costume.

She sweet talked him until he said he'd try.

But he didn't really try, did he?

He fought and made snarly faces, but in the end . . .

Pedro, the jester!!!

He posed proudly (for a split second) for the camera.

Unfortunately, Pedro wasn't the only puppy to suffer the humiliation of the cat costume (yes, it was a cat costume, shh)

Chiweenie Jester 

The chiweenie isn't so sure about Halloween.

As for me, Twinkie, the tiny diva, I already had a sweet deal in place. 

The Petco contest was the only time I'd be wearing a dog costume, and there was not a chance in the world I'd wear a cat costume. M didn't even try. I've trained her well.

The Love Goat and all of us would like to wish you a

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Twinkie

Boston Terrier Visit

Roxie stopped by for a visit, but I didn't enjoy it much. I'm a tiny delicate teacup chihuahua and she's a healthy hyper Boston terrier. I got in my dog stroller, and she still didn't get it.

I gave her a piece of my mind.

Thank dog for my dog stroller!

Twinkie

Our Next Future AKC Canine Good Citizen

Roxie, the Boston Terrier, aka Boston Bull, from puppy training class, decided to become a canine good citizen, and I'm going to be auditing her class while bringing you new ideas and canine good citizen and general dog obedience training tips. Roxie is still a puppy and she's part brindle. Her markings are extraordinary in the sense that she looks like she's dark chocolate with white, but a slightly closer look proves she has a lot of brindle in her. A brindle boston terrier! So unique!

This is Roxie, our next AKC Canine Good Citizen

This is her second class and she's still getting used to the "no dog treats" concept

***AKC Canine Good Citizen Dog Training Tips: No dog treats are allowed during the actual CGC test. If you're training your dog using dog treats, it's a good idea to start to wean him/her before your first AKC CGC class. You can start alternating dog treats and praise or favorite toys or a low grade" treat, such as kibble. This way your dog will not be shocked like Roxie or our chiweenie. 

Step 1: 

Accepting a Friendly Stranger

Roxie did great with that one in the beginning of class, but then, a little girl showed up at the end and wanted to pet her. Roxie's owner, she's truly on top of her training, made Roxie go through the proper steps.

She let Roxie say a gentle hello from the standing position

Step 2:

Sitting Politely for Petting

The owner asked Roxie to go "down" to demonstrate her self restraint

Roxie was perfect, considering this she is so new at this, and only once did she try to jump on the girl's arms. Roxie's mom corrected her instantly, as one does for proper training, but the girl's mom had a panic attack and yanked her child away ... (no comment)

***AKC Canine Good Citizen Dog Training Tips: Instant corrections and rewards are the key to all animal training. Dogs do not remember what they were doing a few minutes ago. They live in the NOW and should be handled accordingly.

Step 3:

Appearance and Grooming

During this part of the test, your dog must demonstrate that he can be easily examined and groomed. The evaluator will brush him and perform a quick exam of the ears, teeth, paws, tail... and your dog must remain calm, but is allowed to move around. 

Roxie is being perfect again.

She lets the trainer (on the right) check her out and brush her.

She's looking at her mom for "help" but she's being good for the trainer

This is what the evaluator wants to see

More AKC canine good citizen test items and tips, dog obedience training, and puppy training tips in the weeks to follow. Stay tuned.

Twinkie