Forty-five years ago Toni Pearson set eyes on a “Samoyed without a tail” that jokingly morphed into an Australian Shepherd. Today, Team Pearson (her husband, David, and twentysomething daughters, Anna and Laura) are all in on this versatile breed under the umbrella of Timberwood Aussies, in Granite Falls, Washington. “When I married David (an Englishman), […]

The Aiken County Council is scheduled to again consider an overreaching animal ordinance at its meeting on Tuesday, August 18, 2020.  The most recent version of the proposal (as available on the county website at the time of the legislative alert) can be viewed here. Concerns, commentary, and recommendations:  Section 4-22 would require registration of […]

As their breeder, you have done everything you can to socialize your puppies before they go to their new homes, and you’ve gone the extra mile to accomplish this in the face of challenges due to COVID-19. But one thing that is very different now is the puppy’s first visit to his new vet. Veterinary […]

https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/fact-sheet/fact-sheet-national-canine-division https://youtu.be/Sz2gTaLFD2o At an EU/US working group meeting I recently attended, there was much reference to the national odor recognition test that was established by the ATF. The ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms), DOS (Department of State), and FPS (Federal Protective Service) all mentioned the use of the preliminary test for their certification/validation […]

8 week old GSD scent discrimination Shaping odor recognition with a puppy. Use of food reward machines removes handler from the dog's natural search patterns. Two of the target containers have the same dog food in them as the dog is being fed from the food reward machines. Initial stages of food machine training A […]

Task and Trip at Tractor Supply An example of working the pups through Tractor Supply for environmental stability (ability to work around a variety of things without distraction) and socialization (ability to work around people and animals without distraction). Clown Challenge The Department of Defense has added the Bop n Bozo to some environmental testing. We thought we would […]

https://fs.blog/2018/12/spacing-effect/ I like the above article because it reminds us that rote and repetition are not necessarily the best tools for learning. Ebbinghaus’ theories, which were based on language and symbols, are still reasonable in considering training our dogs. Great food for thought! Ebbinghaus found: 1. It takes longer to forget material after each subsequent […]

When comes to creating desire for the reward object there are only two approaches. The first is to make use of a young dog’s desire to play and the second is to train the dog to engage the reward object. Play is much easier to use and develop. Using food motivation or negative reinforcement to […]

One of my biggest challenges is transferring my experience to those who would like to benefit from it. Having spent a number of years training animals in zoological, aviary, and aquarium settings, I have a lot of experience in working with animals that are not leashed. This requires a lot of observation and really good […]

https://fs.blog/2018/12/spacing-effect/ I like the above article because it reminds us that rote and repetition are not necessarily the best tools for learning. Ebbinghaus’ theories, which were based on language and symbols, are still reasonable in considering training our dogs. Great food for thought! Ebbinghaus found: 1. It takes longer to forget material after each subsequent […]