Leash Handling Class

Leash Handling 101

April 28th 6-8PM

For Dog Owners Only

Dog owners who want to calmer & safer walks with their dog will be interested in this low cost leash handling class. Trying to teach a dog how to walk nicely on leash is one of the biggest challenges that dog owners struggle with. It's easy to place tools on a dog that deliver pain when the dog pulls, but that doesn't foster a relationship based on love & trust. At Yooper Paws we help dog owners learn how to have safe walks without the use of pain, force, fear, or intimidation to stop behaviors.

One of the biggest challenges with leash manners is that no 2 people have the same expectation of what a walk should look like. My husband likes to walk at a comfortable speed for him and be consistent, moving at the same pace without stops or urges from the dog to move faster. Dogs by natural design have a faster pace then most humans so walking at a human's pace is challenging. This conflict of interest between human and dog is why walks become so hard for so many.

At Yooper Paws we teach owners how to use a longer leash of 10+ feet connected to a harness and teach the dog how to yield to the leash pressure. This takes time and practice for both the dog and the human in very low distraction environments and slowly build up to more active environments as both dog and owner gain better skills.

This class is designed to help dog owners learn the basic handling skills that we use for Group Walks to help dogs learn to remain calm when seeing other people & dogs out in the world.

One of our biggest activities each spring and fall is our Group Walk outings! In order to be eligible to participate in group walks, Owners are required to do a minimum of 3 Sessions with Yooper Paws of Love. This class counts as one of those sessions. If you've already taken classes or private lessons, this class can fulfill the pre-reg requirements. If you are new to Yooper Paws, I'll be offering a discount of $200 for the remaining pre-reqs for group walks to those who attend this class. The offer will include a full behavior assessment session + one private walk session to practice the skills with your dog.

For the Leash Manners 101 Class you will not bring your dog! 

This class is a human only class. 

• We will cover the skills needed to manage a longer leash safely and securely with different approaches based on the age and size of your dog. 
• Each person will make a longline to take home to practice on their dog. 
• During this class, each person will be able to get some practice in with our demo dogs. 
• We will also be discussing the types of harnesses we recommend and how you can use the harness to teach your dog not to pull, but still allow them to enjoy sniffing and playing in the environment.

Register Here:

If you have multiple dogs, only fill out one form with info based on the dog who has done or will do training with leash manners soon.

Thank you for registering, a trainer will be in touch with confirmation and payment info.

If you don't recieve a response, email us at yooperpaws@gmail.com

 

Positively Puppy Class

 

We are currently accepting registration for the next Positively Puppy Class at the Yooper Paws Training Center! This is a basic class that includes SAFE Socialization, basic manners & basic training techniques with games to teach a wide variety of behaviors to puppies under 6 months old. All training is done with fun, games based techniques that are designed to build a strong bond between the owners and the puppy.

The next class will start May 5th

Time to Be Determined!

Class meets weekly for 6 sessions.

The Positively Puppy Class will be using force free training methods and creating a games based approach to teaching concepts based on teamwork.

Topics Include:
Basic Training Methods

Basic Family Pet Manners
Safe Socialization
Enrichment Activities
Establishing Routines
& Good Behaviors

Safety is our top priority! We suggest that your puppy has had at least 2 doses of the DHPP vaccine & the Bordetella (Kennel Cough) vaccine before attending class. Please follow your Veterinarian's guidelines for safety! 

Register Here:

You will receive an email or phone call from the class trainer after you fill out this form.

Payment will be do by May 5th

Contact Penny at yooperpaws@gmail.com if you have any questions.

March Madness Movement Puzzles

 

March Movement Mania!

We had lots of fun this month with Movement Puzzles in our our groups. I created a short video that shows how 4 different dogs can do the same puzzle and work on completely different skills based on what they needed most!  Check out the video below.

Movement Puzzles are similar to obstacle courses except the main goal is to make the act of moving more reinforcing then the treats or toys we also have to offer. You may start out using treats at every part of the challenge or teach one challenge at a time. By doing the puzzle, one challenge is designed to reinforce the challenge that happened just before it.  For example, if you want the video you will see a bucket followed by the stepping stones then by a pallet followed by the trampoline. The dog gets to race from the starting line around the bucket as fast as they can, then slows down for target practice on the stepping stones and gets a treat. Then the dog waits on the pallet, may shoot through the tunnel if they like, then race to the trampoline for a bounce. This allows the act of racing to the trampoline to reinforce the wait or stay on the pallet as they anticipate the handler telling them when to go.

In the video, Puppy Penny is the youngest of the mix at about 8 months. She is very hyper and easily distracted by the other dogs in the room which is very common at this age. By doing the movement puzzle is learning to focus on her human more than the other distractions and listen closely to the directions the human is giving. The human is learning how to deliver reinforcement in the form of treats in a faster way to keep the engagement higher.

The next dog, Daisy and her human are learning how to use toys as a reinforcement for the high speed racing challenges. While Daisy is very food motivated, she can't walk passed a toy without asking to play. Her human is learning how to use that play time to reinforce the skills he wants such as ignoring the other dogs in the room, climbing over obstacles, waiting patiently for the cue to move to the challenge.

The 3rd dog, Muona, is mostly having fun as he learned the puzzle challenges really fast but needs to work on staying engaged with his human instead of checking out what his brother is doing in one of playpens. This a dog who really loves being told what to do and when to do it!

The 4th dog, is brother Mocho, who is on the slightly shy side. He is building confidence for working with his human to complete challenges, stepping on unusual surfaces, going into and through the play houses. He is also working on ignoring his brother. Both boys are learning how to take turns with one dog watching while the other dog does something fun, then trading places.  This is part of our resource guarding training.

The best thing about Movement Puzzles is they can be set up to practice the skills you really want your dog to be great at and provide a fun way to reinforce those skills more naturally instead of always using food.

There are many more Movement Puzzle videos on our YouTube Channel!

If you are interested in learning more about how games based dog training works, you might enjoy this end of March Madness Special with 10 Sessions for just $450. This is perfect for fearful and fizzy dogs that need to take the slow approach to learning how to remain Safe, Calm & Happy.

This package is only available until March 31st! 

You can schedule your first session and pay for this package via our online scheduler here.

 

March Madness & Movement Schedule

As we kick into spring and start out the month of March we are excited about a few new things happening at Yooper Paws of Love.

Throughout March we will be working on multiple projects that all revolve around the Madness that can happen when distractions enter the environment & using movement to our advantage to encourage more of the behaviors we love. This is going to include some free resources on our social media accounts and our blog, plus a free bonus available for Patreon Members.

Yooper Paws Coffee Hour

To start things out, we are going to bring back the Yooper Paws Coffee Hour on Mondays from 10-11AM at the Training Center. This is for dog lovers to come and connect with other dog lovers without their dogs & for drop ins who want more info about the Yooper Paws Training Center. I'll have coffee available, but you are free to bring your own snacks or breakfast as well.

YP Nosework Club

We are now hosting nosework practice at the Yooper Paws Training Center on Wednesday nights from 7-8pm and a private session for beginners is available at 6pm. The cost is $10 per session to join. Please RSVP with Tammy or Penny the day before if possible.

Movement Mania Thursdays

Continuing on with a Game Night Theme from February we will be doing 2 Movement Puzzle Groups on Thursday nights 5-6:30 PM & 7-8:30 PM. We've had a short taste of spring here in the UP, but we know that we still have some cold weather. If you're racing to get in some movement with your dog by doing fun challenges that build up skills to help you with leash manners and focus around distractions, then this is the activity!

The early group from 5-6:30 will have a staggered arrival time for dogs that need some extra time calming down around other dogs. You'll be assigned an arrival time when you sign up, then you'll leave about an hour later.

The later group will all show up at 7pm, give or take a few minutes but may be working in multiple rooms to help space dogs out a bit.

Helping Fearful Dogs Feel Safe Club

We will continue to see clients both in-person and virtually in private sessions as we prepare for the Group Walk Season that will soon be here.

In the mean time you can join the ​Helping Fearful Dog's Email Club​ for a 5 day free email update that will share info about resources that are available to help you + one bonus email a month with training tips. And you can sign up for the YP Patreon Membership for ​Helping Fearful Dogs Feel Safe​ with 20+ posts in that collection. If you like that and want more, the Turning Struggles Into Strengths Collection has 15+ posts available loaded with 1 hour workshops you can watch at your own convivence. Both Memberships will have access to the Confident Canines Collection that will be available in April!

Sign up on the ​YP Patreon Memberships​ now so you have time practice training skills before the summer vacation season is upon us!

To sign up for our in-person classes, please email us at 

​yooperpaws@gmail.com

FAD Workshop will take place in our FREE Patreon Membership March 24th-28th! Each day members will get an email with a video and written text filled with tips to help develop teamwork and teach your dog to focus on you around distractions.

This workshop is open to family pets and working dogs!

Sign up for FREE at the C2C Patreon Membership page.