July 10 Canine Circus to Benefit Columbia Family

Kaitlyn & MisteA 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.

Dogs visit Ellis Library as stress relief

Rudy_at_EllisRudy 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.

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 oPay attention to your dog to get the dog's attentionne 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.

Can this UK therapy dog read?

Dog_readerHuff Post news editor Hilary Hanson says ‘no’ – see the physical body cues the handler gives, she says in this cute article. 
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.

Ten steps in training

Stuart_6.7.14_E_lrHere is a brief list of ways to train your dog.  The list corresponds closely to the approach we have found effective in our training school. The basic concepts — be consistent with the language and physical signals you use, be persistent recognizing that it may take repetitions for your dog to learn what you want, praise your dog for compliance,The list was published on the website of a New York state newspaper.

‘Leave it’ – highly useful lesson

'Leave it'At this holiday season there surely are lots of things in the house one wants to have the dog leave alone.  Curbing a dog’s counter surfing is a common goal. One can teach the ‘Leave it’ command as a follow-on to the ‘Stay’ exercise.  This is one of the lessons in our beginning courses. You can apply that command to the leaving things on the table, as we are doing with this Dobe to curb his table surfing.

Classes prepare your dog for the CGC & therapy tests

Examine the dog's teeth during the 'sit' exercise

In our basic classes we  prepare dogs for the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen test.  Examining the dog’s teeth is one of the test steps in the exam.  This step also tests the dog’s understanding of the ‘stay’ command — sit and remain in place.  Use the ‘Contact Us’ tab to ask questions or discuss training issues.

Examining a dog’s mouth is an important part of early training.

The exercise has many purposes.  The exam is part of the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizenship test.  It is the beginning of dental hygiene.  It is a control exercise over one of the dog’s tools — his mouth.  It proofs the sit/stay command.

Stuart has his mouth examined as part of early, routine, basic training.  The exercise has many purposes.  The exam is part of the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizenship test.  It is the beginning of dental hygiene.  It is a control exercise over one of the dog's tools -- his mouth.  It proofs the sit/stay command.

Stuart has his mouth examined as part of early, routine, basic training.