Laurie Luck Archives - Smart Dog University

Step Out from Behind the Camera – Meet the Blogger

December 18, 2013

I’m a professional dog trainer and I’m also a writer. I blog a lot. But I don’t really know many other dog bloggers. This effort of “Meet the Blogger” was dreamed up by a fabulous blogger named AJ who runs a great blog called I Still Want More Puppies.

The standing joke among dog people is “I know your dog’s name, but I can’t ever remember your name.” In blogging, it’s the same way. We read the blogs and can identify everyone else’s dog immediately, but wouldn’t know the blogger if they ran into us on the street. This blogging effort hopes to change that by getting the bloggers to put their picture <gasp!> out there on their blogs.

I feel like I’m kind of cheating. I am very often behind the camera, but I’m also very much in front of the camera. Since starting the Smart Dog University video series back in the fall, my ugly mug’s been in front of the camera once a week bringing you a dog training video or training tip. So I’m not really invisible. But I want to play along anyway!

Part of the post is devoted to answering some questions, too.

Who’s your favorite actor? Oh, there are so many. I’m in love with George Clooney. I adore Julia Roberts. A wish I could be real-life friends with Melissa McCarthy. And I want to be Sandra Bullock’s bestie.
Which skill would you choose to otherwise refine or excel? I wish I could sing. (So does my husband.)
What one word would people who know you use to describe you? Traveler.
What is one thing you’ve done that you’re most proud of? Starting my own business and making it grow.
What melts your heart? I have two and can’t decide which one melts more. So here they both are. (1) When my yellow Labrador (seen in the picture above) lays his head on me. He’s not a big snuggler, so it’s a big deal when he graces me by placing his head on me and snuggling in for a good nap. (2) The second thing is seeing a service dog that we’ve raised working as a solid, devoted, and skilled partner. We’re raised 15 dogs so far. And that gets me every single time.

Some other stuff you may not know about me:

I never wanted kids. I don’t consider myself a mom to my dogs, nor do I think my dogs are kids with fur.
I jumped out of an airplane at 13,500 feet and was scared out of my skin. But it was the most exhilarating moment of my life.
I’m an only child and love it. I never wanted a sibling. Ever.
I’m a word nerd — I like to dissect words, learn their history, know their antonyms and synonyms. I’ve actually read the dictionary for fun.
I have a crazy vivid imagination. Sometimes it’s too vivid and I scare myself.

We’re supposed to use current pictures, but I had to throw this one in. It’s one of my favorite pictures of Tango and I. It’s several years old. My hair is now much shorter. Tango’s hair is now much grayer. Any picture with Tango is actually one of my favorites. He makes any picture better!

<!– start LinkyTools script –>

Attention! Get Your Dog to Pay Attention [Video]

November 21, 2013

Getting your dog to pay attention can be a challenge. There are so many interesting things out there! Squirrels! Birds! The wind! Joggers! Dogs! Pee! It hurts to know that pee ranks higher on your dog’s list of interesting things than you do, doesn’t it? The good news is that it doesn’t have to stay that way. You can be more interesting than the wind. Or pee.

This is the first video in a series where you’ll teach your dog to pay attention to you. This is pretty powerful stuff – are you ready for it?!

Let’s get started with some of the most common mistakes I see dog owners make when they try to get their dog’s attention:

Nagging. It sounds like this “Fido. Fido! Hey, Fido, look here! C’mon, Fido! Look at me, would you? Hurry up, you stupid dog. FIDO!” It’s almost like begging your dog to look in your direction. Does your husband, wife, child, boss ever get what they want when they nag you? Probably not. And if you do what they want, it’s probably grudgingly. I want your dog to want to look at you!
Bribing. Almost everyone is guilty of this mistake. Your dog won’t look in your direction, so you wave a treat directly in front of his face. Or maybe you say a favorite word like “treat,” or “go for a walk.” Bribes have no place in dog training. Bribes create sloppy and unreliable behavior from your dog. And you always run the risk of not having a good enough bribe.
Demanding. Some people demand that their dog pay attention. You’ve seen it, I’m sure: they’re at the park and they call their dog’s name. The dog is looking at the dog across the way and doesn’t turn around to his owner. The owner yanks on the leash, forcing the dog to turn his head away from the distraction and toward the owner. If there’s something I like less than bribes, it’s demanding something from your dog.
Being stingy. Occasionally, your dog will turn away from something really interesting and instead of having a party and celebrating this huge success, you ignore their success — or worse: you tell them to do something unappealing (like leave the dog park, for instance).

This video shows how you’re going to right those wrongs and get your dog’s attention quickly and easily.

Start in a quiet location — preferably in your house. Have some really delicious treats. Schooner’s eating cubed cheese and summer sausage. Wait for your dog to look at you.

Remain silent. You’re not doing anything to get your dog to look at you. Your job is to click at exactly the same time your dog looks at you or in your direction. That’s it.

Gradually, your dog will realize that looking at you causes you to click and give him a treat. This is where things get really fun! Your dog will start looking at you to get you to click. You saw on the video how I let the clicker do all the “talking,” and I stayed quiet while waiting for Schooner to look at me.

Before long, your dog will spend more time looking at you than at his surroundings. This is good! You’re making progress! It’ll then be time to add in some distractions. That video will be coming shortly. Until then, keep working on the steps in the video and you’ll be ready for the next installment of teaching your dog to pay attention to you!

Great Lengths

January 2, 2013

Pay no attention to the ominous angle of that ladder. In the snow. Against a prickly evergreen. Where Tango’s ball is lodged. At the very tip top, of course, the tippiest of tops.

I know you’re wondering, so here it is…

Today, finally, the sun shone. Brightly, oh so brightly. And finally the wind stopped howling at gale force and the dogs actually wanted to go outside. Being the excellent dog owner that I am, I obliged Tango when he brought me his tennis ball. All was well for about 5 minutes on the retrieve-throw-retrieve merry-go-round. Until I tried to get fancy and throw the ball where Tango least expected it. I meant to throw it over the tree. Over. But no, cue the sunshine! Next thing I knew Tango was dancing around that evergreen. I knew the ball had gone in there — that’s the only time he dances around the tree.

I got countless prickly pine needles in my hand trying to find the danged ball, but was unable to locate it. I guessed it was up higher than I could reach. So, home alone (well, with the dogs, so technically not alone, but no one to call the paramedics if I happened to disappear into the prickly evergree, so that qualifies as alone methinks), I had to right this wrong. In a valiant effort, I brought out the little ladder I keep in my closet to reach the sweater shelf. Ha! Not even close.

I went into the hall closet for the step ladder. It, too, fell far too short. I had to go all the way into the garage and get the giant ladder (maneuvering that thing around our garage [with two cars inside at the time] was no easy feat, but I didn’t ding a one, I can report) and trudge all the way around back (uphill in a snowstorm both ways) to get a ladder tall enough for the job.

The dogs (Lily) had dug a little moat under that tree when it was hot last summer, hence the precarious perch and tilt of the ladder. It only took me a few minutes — with Tango cheering me on, safely from the ground — before I found that stupid tennis ball. It really was at the very tippy top.

These are the great lengths we go to for our dogs. I know you do, too, don’t try to deny it. So leave a comment below and tell me what great length you’ve gone to…

Depressed Dogs – Vacation’s Over

August 20, 2012

Yes, it happens to dogs, too. My guys are sad it's Monday. Specifically, they're sad they're not on vacation anymore.

Here's some of the fun we had last week:

Lily enjoying her "fishing time."

Our view most days….

It's nice to just get away and leave your worries in the dust. Or in the wake. Or whatever. It was good.

Tango is never without his bumper.

This dog LOVES his bumper. He's never without it at the lake.

Vacations…nothin' better.

We had our own private island. Except that it wasn't ours. And it wasn't private. But it might as well have been — we had it all to ourselves every day for vacation.

Sleepy Nemo

Even Nemo was worn out and had to take a power nap in the boat between swimming holes.

Well, it's back to reality today. But it sure was nice to spend our vacation with the dogs. At least we're all feeling a little sluggish and mumpy-grumpy together today.

Beat the Heat: K9 Nose Work for Your Dogs

July 18, 2012

Most of the U.S. is battling a heat wave as I write this. My dogs go out early in the morning for a romp, then we head back out after the sun has gone down for another play session. At 100 degrees and 85% humidity, it’s simply too miserable to spend any time outside.

Even resting quietly under the shade tree is too hot — the dogs beg to go inside as soon as they do their business.

Trouble is — it’s boring inside. There’s nothing to do.

Oh really?

I switched things up for my dogs today and set up a few birch hides. What’s a birch hide, you ask? It’s pretty simple — it’s an essential oil (betula lenta) on a cotton swab. That cotton swab is then placed into a straw, pen cap, or other small container and hidden. Get the low-down on K9 Nose Work.

You can do K9 Nose Work just about anywhere. This morning, I took the dogs to the local park where I placed three hides: in the trunk of a tree, on the base of a picnic table, and on the leg of a piece of playground equipment. One by one, the dogs took their turns searching for the scent of birch. They were rewarded with cheddar cheese (melty and gooey even at 9a because of the heat – it was pretty gross from my perspective). Each dog got two sets of three hides this morning, which set me up for a good long stretch of uninterrupted work-at-my-computer time because I’d tired the dogs out.

Later today, when their boredom peaks, I’ll stay in the comfort of our air-conditioned home and place some interior hides for the dogs. They love the game of K9 Nose Work — they get to be little doggie detectives, looking for scent clues to lead them to the source.

I love it because it’s a way I can tire my dogs out without worrying about heat stroke. Or taking a shower in the middle of the day because I’m dripping wet. I can stay cool, exercise the dogs, and improve their scenting skills. There’s no downside to that scenario!

If you’re interested in a fun and easy way to stay cool AND get your dog some much-needed exercise, check out K9 Nose Work! We have new classes starting in September…just in time for “back to school” season!

Caysun’s Next Journey to Becoming A Service Dog

July 10, 2012

The Dreaded Day: Turn-In Day. It vexes all puppy raisers, but I’m especially traumatized by turn-ins. You’d think that with enough experience, I’d get better at it. Have fewer tears. Hurt a little less.

Nah.

It’s always the same: the day is filled with dread, I wish that time would stop (and I could run away with Caysun before anyone knew the difference), there’s the final panic when I know it’s time for me to leave, and of course, the inevitable tears.

Yesterday was no different. On a whim, as I was walking out the door to drive to Service Dogs of Virginia, I grabbed my iPad and decided to document the day. Lots of people ask what it’s like to raise a service pup for a year, then just hand him (or her) back over. Let me tell you friends, it’s torture. Not the whole part — most of it’s the most fun you’ll ever have in your life. But you pay for it on turn-in day. Or, at least, I do.

Here are the videos documenting what turn-in day is all about. There were laughs, there were tears.

Video #1:

Video #2:

Video #3:

Video #4:

Video #5:

Video #6 (Final Video):

Even with all those tears, we’re anxiously awaiting the next pup to grace our household. Are we brave? Or stupid? I don’t see the difference, really… Either way, I’ll end up crying.

Menu

Laurie Luck

Subscribe to Email Updates

What People Are Saying