Many new happenings!!
Mood:  happy

What an exciting time here at Jumpin JACS!  We have narrowed down the locations for our group classes, and developed a program to offer something for everyone-and every dog!  You will find the maps to our Shelby Twp., Madison Hts. and Troy locations along with start dates on our Training Locations and Schedules page.

Our Working Dog program is really ramping up, especially with the break in the weather coming.  Spring will have us outside and in the woods and fields putting our furry friends to work and challenging teams skills between you and your dog.

With the Grand Opening of the Troy Play and Stay in a few short months we plan for some great dog sport events such as weight pull, flyball and terrier racing.

Where else can you find all this excitement in one place?  No where but Jumpin JACS!

See you soon! 

Cesar Milan Seminar
Mood:  energetic

Well, yesterday was the big day-went to see Cesar Milan.  What an entertaining man!  He really has a great delivery on his information.  Very funny, and has some good points.  I don't know that I learned alot from the seminar, only because I watch his show as much as possible and have read his book.  If nothing else, I do recommend his book, as he has many good ideas to properly tire your dog out-and a tired dog is a good dog!

I do want to thank my area manager at Petco for offering these tickets up as part of a district contest.  I think there would have been some dissappointment had I paid $80 DOLLARS A POP!!  The merchandise was definitely reasonable though-I was expecting $50 dollar shirts and such, but I am glad to see his marketing dept. hasn't completely gone crazy.

All in all, it was a great time, and if you have the money to spare it is definitely something to see.  If $80 dollars is a little steep, I would say stick with the book and the freebies on the National Geographic channel...The Dog Whisperer.  It seems he is doling outmore info as the seasons pass.

And don't forget-exercise, then discipline, THEN affection!!

A disturbing experience
Mood:  irritated
Well, I just had one of the most infuriating experiences ever as a dog owner/trainer. I went to an agility class to see a friend's dog run, and the trainer (and owner of the facility) did something so incredulous that I was actually home before I got past "if she ever did that to my dog I would punch her square in the #$%@ing mouth". In the beginning agility class was a young dog handled by a young girl. This dog looked to be a pit shepherd mix, but could very well have been something else. Anyway, the dog was on the floor running through the course with another dog on deck. This dog's attention turned to the other dog, and it approached with some seriously dominant posturing, and an agressive demeanor. Mind you, it had no leash or even a tab (very short piece of leash) on for control. The instructor grabbed the dog by its collar, pulled it up onto its hind legs with her hands into the collar, essentially choking the dog for an EXCESSIVE amount of time, screaming at it, and while the dog was thrashing she delivered a knee to its side. The dog then slipped its collar and was running completely loose and naked. Apparently this dog has shown signs of dog agression before, and is a new trait for her. She has been in classes since she was a puppy. Also, this particular instructor is not at the classes all the time, so is pretty much a stranger to this dog. And this is a technique she uses on a regular basis. So now we have a dominant dog, who is terrified, running around with no way to control it. As a one time observer, my professional opinion is that neither the dog or the owner learned anything of value during this episode. Other students in the class interpreted this as the dog learning that aggression is an inappropriate behavior. What I interpreted it as was the dog learning this person, who she barely ever sees, is very scary. So now should this dog be submissive to the instructor, or adopt a "get her before she gets me" attitude? And if she is submissive to the instructor, what good does that do the owner on a day to day basis? Is this dog now going to be afraid of other strangers? If she is not taught correctly, I dare to say YES!!! Now for the owner. Since this is a new behavior for the dog, I would guess she is not one of the rare ones that just isn't wired right. There is something going on with her handling that has allowed her to develop this dominant posturing issue. So what has the owner learned from this episode? NOTHING!!!! I am sure she realized before this that the aggression is not appropriate. Has she learned how to handle her dog? Has she learned what to watch for in the dog's body language? Lastly, why on earth was this dog in a class with off-leash activities? As an instructor that handles classroom settings, I would have not allowed this dog into such a class until the issues were dealt with. That is my JOB!! The safety of everyone in the class, and the education of the PET PARENTS!! Not scaring the crap out of a dog so it will behave. I truly hope this owner contacts me, so we can work throught these issues before they become a danger to others and to her own family. UGH!!!!! HOW FRUSTRATING!!!!!

Fear agression
Starting out with a success story. I have a 10 yo GSD/mountain dog mix who was rescued (Rufus, from the home page). He developed a severe fear agression, probably from my inexperience and turmoil at the time in my personal life. Anyway, I was very concerned with his temperament, as he would lunge and/or bark at people (and objects) without direct provocation.....just what he determined to be provocation.

I spent about 6 months walking him through pet stores and anywhere else I could think of, and consistently working his obedience commands while telling people not to pet him as he was "training". This exercise built up his confidence enough and acclimated him to different environments to where he felt no threat from strangers. I was starting to be discouraged when he walked up to someone to sniff him and get a scratch!!

Now, I do not want you to think this will work with every dog/handler combination. I was vigilant on watching his body language-I certainly did not want him to hurt anyone. I still am very aware of his state-he has shown aggression, but only when warranted and not overly so. But I do not trust him completly, and as a responsible dog owner watch him very carefully.

Good luck to you all, and I look forward to hearing your stories, and helping where I can!

Erica