A reminder — the Canine Circus benefit from Shawn McCoy and his family is tomorrow (10th) – 2 to 4:30 pm at Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Road, Columbia.
Scotia and her canine buddies are ready. The tents are up. The tables for the silent auction are set. Popcorn is ready to be popped. The hotdog vender is on the way. The face painter has her brushes ready. Books are laid out for Reading to Rover.
All that’s needed now — is you and your family. Details here: http://goo.gl/GVbAoX
Scotia invites you and your family to the circus benefit for Shawn McCoy and his family July 10.
The tables are loaded with crafts, tools and dog care items.
Comments Off on July 10 Canine Circus to Benefit Columbia Family
A July 10 canine circus, silent auction, face painting and several children’s events will benefit the family of Columbia man, severely injured May 17.
The benefit will aid Shawn McCoy and his family. He was the victim of a severe collision on US Highway 63 in Columbia when a tractor-trailer crossed the median into the path of McCoy’s car.
His injuries have required multiple surgeries and a recovery period of six to eight months or longer.
The benefit will be at Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, dog training school in Columbia. The address is 325 E Dripping Springs Road. The benefit circus begins at 2 o’clock.
The canines are members of the Teacher’s Pet Dog Drill Team. The dogs perform advanced obedience skills matched to music. Between the Drill Team performances, the event will include face painting and several children’s activities.
“To add to the circus atmosphere, we will have free popcorn, soft drinks circus music,” Ann Gafke, event director, said. “Admission to the event is free; however, we ask that guests make a contribution of the McCoy benefit.”
“We are also collecting items for our silent auction. One can bring the items to the dog school. One may also make direct cash contributions with checks made to the Shawn McCoy Benefit at Landmark Bank,” she said. “Items donated so far include a sailboat cruise on Mark Twain Lake with a gourmet lunch or dinner for up to four, an 1880’s mandolin, an assortment of power tools, and craft items.”
“The McCoy family has been involved in with our Drill Team and dog school for years. Their daughter Kaitlyn performs with the Drill Team and Misty and Shawn help with the maintenance of the school and preparation for its major programs,” Gafke said.
Performing at the December 2014 holiday program at Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet
Members of Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet Canine Drill Team in a December 2015 holiday show
Children, Teens and their dogs engage in musical chairs with ‘sits’, ‘downs,’ and ‘stays’ in the December 2015 holiday program at Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet.
Try the shade with ‘sit’ and ‘down’ exercises. Those help the dog learn to pay attention and stay on task without either of you having to exert much in the sun and heat of the day.
Comments Off on Dogs visit Ellis Library as stress relief
Rudy holds his ‘office hour’ at Ellis Library last week. He and several other dogs whose owners train with us took their dogs to Ellis Library on the Mizzou campus this past week as stress relievers for student prepping for final exams. Here is a sample of pictures from the week.
Comments Off on Win your dog’s attention with attention – great pay-off
Everyone wants her/his dog to pay attention. Here is a short video on how to earn that attention and another on the fun and joy one can have from that earning. The first [https://youtu.be/O12W4l0tSJQ ] shows how much attention the handler must pay to the dog. The second [https://youtu.be/1yg8x-Rewr8] shows the payoff from that effort.
Who came to visit today? To help answer that, a Lansing, Michigan, hospital is producing trading cards with the faces of therapy dogs who visit patients. The process is similar to therapy teams who train with us distributing bookmarks for children who read to the dogs in Reading to Rover programs. http://goo.gl/FdOxlf
This is an interesting story about the ‘reading to rover’ work of this dog. The handler says his dog’s response to the cue cards stimulates the children to read their lessons. Story includes a short video of the dog’s response to the cue cards.
Many of the folks in our drill team believe dogs can respond to ink on paper cues just as they respond to verbal and physical cues. Why not? The cues are all symbolic representations of what we want the dog to do.
Comments Off on Shy or inexperienced dog? — Try agility.
Even if one never intends to compete in agility matches, introducing one’s dog to the agility exercises and helping the dog accomplish a course, can have wonderful, positive benefits for the dog’s behavior in other situations. See how these two German Shepherds appear to enjoy running a course after just a few play sessions https://youtu.be/-1jSH02mcxY
Comments Off on Why we emphasize obedience so much —
“Everything spawns from obedience, because if they won’t sit when you tell them to sit or heel when you to tell them to heel, they won’t do anything else,” Mike Dowling, former military dog handler, is quoted in this article. The article presents interesting and important information about dog training. The article also links to a video of his TEDx talk about dog training. http://goo.gl/huS8yI The accompanying picture by USAF Master Sergeant Adrain Cadiz.
This Associated Press story describes the seven breeds newly added to the list of accepted breeds by the American Kennel Club. All will complete at next month’s Westminster Dog School in New York City. This picture by Mark Lennihan shows a Bergamasco, a sheepdog and one of the newly accepted breeds. Westminster has also opened its competition in agility and obedience to non-registered dogs. See detail and other pictures in this article: http://goo.gl/xDMgTx
A reminder — the Canine Circus benefit from Shawn McCoy and his family is tomorrow (10th) – 2 to 4:30 pm at Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Road, Columbia.
