This week was all about proofing — taking everything the dogs have learned and putting it to the test in the real world. Kayla loaded up the entire group and headed to a local park to work the dogs in a completely new and unfamiliar environment. New smells, new sights, new people, and plenty of distractions — this is where training either holds up… or falls apart. Up to this point, the dogs have been learning and practicing in a more controlled setting. Now we’re asking a different question: Do they actually understand the commands, or were they just performing in a familiar routine? Throughout the session, Kayla worked each dog through their core obedience: Heel with focus despite distractions Sit and Down with duration Place in an open environment Recall with competing stimuli You’ll see moments where the dogs succeed, and moments where they struggle — and that’s exactly what we want. This is how we identify gaps, build clarity, and start creating reliability. This phase is where training starts to become real. Not just obedience in the training room… but obedience that holds up in everyday life. We’ll continue building on this by increasing difficulty, reinforcing expectations, and helping each dog gain confidence and consistency no matter where they are.

Mimmo has been home for a week and is doing amazing! I love that he chooses to go on place independently to relax when we’re working in the kitchen area. He’s so much calmer in the house and did phenomenal with his obedience with 5 house guests last evening. He’s much improved outdoors and most of the focus needs to be on me with my cues for him at this point as he still likes to dial in on triggers (people and dogs). I’m determined and practice multiple times per day with him! Thanks so much to Jeff, Kayla, and Aryn for helping us! It’s a whole new improved world!

While out practicing heel, a 4 foot boulder-like Christmas inflatable lawn ornament came blowing right at us from behind a tree. It was red and scary. There might have been some jumping and barking, but I won’t say from whom.

I hope you guys all had a fantastic day and a great weekend ahead with friends and family. I dug up this old video ad I made for facebook I thought you all would get a kick out of. I had to train my dog to jump on the table to do this. He was so skeptical because he knows without a shadow of a doubt that he is NOT allowed to even sniff at food on the table. 😅