First, I just wanted to thank everyone who has participated in the survey. I’ve been going through the responses and have been beyond overjoyed with the kind comments made by so many of you! Just gives me the warm and fuzzies 🙂 If you haven’t filled a survey out yet, you can do it here and be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card! Over the next month or so, a few new series will begin on It’s Dog or Nothing. Stay tuned!
Now, on to the post!
January is National Train Your Dog month. As weird as this probably seems, I really enjoy training with Mauja and Atka. Even though their pyr independence prevents “perfect obedience”, I love the challenge. Their minds are fascinating and I enjoy working with their instincts (and laughing when their instincts take over).
My obedience training with Mauja is fairly limited due to her anxiety. If you’re not aware, Mauja struggles in new places. She’s completely fine outside, but she becomes immediately stressed when we go inside. Some places are worse than others, but there are very few places that she is truly comfortable. We’re not sure what triggered this anxiety as she went everywhere with us as a puppy for socialization. When she was about 7 months, something changed. We keep working with her, but I doubt she’ll ever be completely comfortable in new places. That’s okay – I’m a bit of a homebody, too 😉
Atka is a completely different story. He is the most chill, laid back dog ever. He’s such a “go with the flow” guy and makes himself at home wherever he goes. I admire that about him! Because he’s such a social butterfly, we can do a lot of work out in the community. This also makes him perfect for therapy work!
Sometime this year, we will complete Atka’s therapy dog test. There really aren’t any evaluators near us so we’ll have to plan a trip; hopefully by summertime! Atka will be pretty busy with therapy visits, but I want to find other activities to do with him. Two have come to mind: rally and agility.
We won’t be winning any awards for speed! 😉
I know what you’re thinking… “A pyr in rally? A pyr in agility? What?” You heard me right! Do I think we’ll be competitive? No. Do I think we’ll have fun? Yes! Nothing makes me happier than spending time out and about with Atka and I know he feels the same. We just need some more activities. Unfortunately, we don’t have any places nearby that offer rally, but hopefully, we’ll have options next time we move (whenever that may be).
Since January is National Train Your Dog month, I’m going to try and get Atka signed up for some sort of agility class to learn the basics. We recently learned that he can jump (more on that silly story later!) and he did very well in puppy agility.
For Mauja, we’re going to work on her novice title from Do More With Your Dog. I think she could pass right now, but I’d like to do a bit of sprucing up on her skills first!
Do you have any plans for National Train Your Dog month? Have you particiapted in rally or agility?
This post is part of the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop, hosted by Cascadian Nomads,Tenacious Little Terrier and Rubicon Days. This month’s theme isNational Train Your Dog Month and the next hop begins on February 1st. The hop happens on the first Monday of every month, and is open for a full week – please join us in spreading the word about the rewards of positive training!
or 
. Mauja will knock the ball around to get the treats and Atka will follow behind to gobble up the treats she misses. Teamwork. Adding peanut butter, yogurt, wet food, or your dog’s favorite treat to a 
and popping it in the freezer is also a great time-consuming activity.
or head to your local hardware store to create your own!