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Ever wonder what our Nose Work classes are like? Let Edna and Pi show you!

Nose work is a hugely popular, but it’s difficult to quickly explain what it’s all about so we made two movies to let Edna and Pi show you.

One of the most frequent inquiries I get is to explain what our nose work classes are all about.

Telling folks that it’s about building the drive to search for scent, creating targets that are smaller and smaller, or telling them that it’s about teaching the dog enough self-confidence to be able to work on their own with no direction from their owner typically doesn’t give them the answer that they’re looking for.

Falling back on the idea that a picture – or movie! – is worth a thousand words on my part, let’s have Edna and Pi show you what it’s all about.

A little bit of background: both Edna and Pi are in the Three Dogs Training Nose Work III class, and in these videos are looking for an anise-scented target that’s been concealed in a small plastic egg with a couple small holes drilled in it.

Edna

Pi

Let us know what you think!

How did Boo spend his day today?

A ton of visitors were at Three Dogs world headquarters today, all to see Boo! Fun was had by all and the day ended with Boo totally pooped.

Lots of activity at Three Dogs Training world headquarters today – and it’s all because of Boo (and Lisa)!

Visitors were up from New York City today, braving the wind, rain, traffic, and unseasonably warm temperatures to come all the way to Carmel just to see Boo.

And why were they here?

All the downstairs hallways filled with electronic equipment…

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The dining room cleared out and blocked off by screens…

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Behind the screens lighting equipment piled up to the ceiling…

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It’s not boudoir photography – it’s Boo-doir photography!

We can’t say why they were here – yet, but soon! – but it was a blast having them here and Boo absolutely loved being the center of attention for the entire day!

By the end he was pooped and slept like a log, and I’ll bet dollars to donuts he was dreaming about spending the rest of his days as a supermodel.

 

What’s our Tricks and Clicks class like? Pinball vs Skateboard, Episode I

Ever wonder what our Tricks & Clicks class is like? Rather than take our word that it’s silly, great fun – how about a movie?

Ever wonder what our Tricks and Clicks class is like?  We think it’s a huge amount of fun, but rather than take our word for it how about taking a look for yourself?

The setup for this movie is that, during class, I took out a toy that Pinball’s never seen – a skateboard – and am clicker-training him to figure out what to do with it:

Sure, it’s a silly movie but it made us laugh.  Let us know what you think!

Our first annual Three Dogs Silly Holiday Photo Contest

Winter’s upon us and so’s the Three Dogs Training silly holiday photo contest, so join the fun and send in your silliest holiday dog photo!

[box type=”alert” style=”rounded” border=”full”]Update – our Silly Holiday Photo Contest is now closed.  See you next year![/box]
The air is crisp, it’s getting dark just after lunchtime, and the holidays are upon us so we thought we’d do something fun to make the start of Winter more fun:  our very first silly holiday photo contest!

The rules are simple:

1.) Fill out the form below with your name, email, phone, and attach your silliest holiday dog photo.

2.) We’ll collect them and Lawrence will judge the top three silliest entries.  Why Lawrence?  To avoid favoritism since I know so many of your dogs personally.

What do the winners get, beside the knowledge that they’ve got the silliest dog in the Hudson Valley?

The first place winner will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to the Three Dogs Training class of their choosing.

The second place winner will receive a $10.00 gift certificate to the Three Dogs Training class of their choosing.

The third place winner will receive a $5.00 gift certificate to the Three Dogs Training class of their choosing.

The contest begins immediately and will run until noon on December 23rd.  Once the winners are picked, we’ll post the results on the blog as well as get in touch with everyone to let them know they’ve won.

Good luck and happy holidays to everyone!

 

Hunter the Golden, Remembered

Hunter was a great therapy dog and an even better friend – our heart goes out to his family now that he’s gone.

Hunter-PortraitWhen Dante and I first met Diane, she had a wonderful German Shepherd named Jesse and it was with Jesse that Dante started his visiting career – and never had there been a better guide for him.

However, there was a better buddy!

Hunter the Golden Retriever came into Diane’s life sometime in 2000.  He had been released from the Seeing Eye program for a medical condition – he coughed when too much pressure was put on his collar.  Otherwise, he was a solid working-dog-to-be.

Diane immediately began training him for visiting work.  He was a natural – always the perfect gentleman on visits – calm, beautiful, and inviting, he charmed the pants off of many a visitor.

Diane, Hunter, Dante, and I spent many a visit together in those early years of HART Programs. And while our boys worked well together they also played well together off-the-clock.  While on duty they made a good odd couple with the serious Hunter offset by the goofy Dante.  When a client needed a balancing, barking goof-ball they got Dante, but when a client needed a snuggly, beautiful golden ball of “more fur than fingers could penetrate” for a good cry or hug, they got Hunter who leaned quietly up against anyone who needed it.

Mind you, when he was off duty Hunter was the quintessential golden with as much goof as Dante.

Hunter’s stories are legendary:  from the little boy at the Family Assistance Center post-9/11 who spoke first to Hunter about the loss of his father to the man in the rehabilitation area of the hospital who had not been allowed to get out of bed all day due to his fluctuating blood pressure but who insisted he get to see the golden (and insisted they monitor his BP the whole visit – which remained perfect for the entire visit with Hunter).  Hunter brought joy and healing to countless strangers.

As a visiting therapeutic activities dog his accomplishments were great, but they were secondary in comparison to the love he gave his own family.  Hunter was always there for Diane through major life changes—including both ups and downs and he was there for his new little charge Emi when she came to be a part of his family.

Hunter’s story moved from the Hudson Valley south to Tennessee and then west to Texas.  Hunter left a swath of love and affection as he moved with his family across this country.  Knowing Hunter and knowing Diane I have to assume he continued to bring joy to anyone who reached out to pet and engage him.

Each dog who comes into our lives – our own and our friend’s – brings us a morsel of love and knowledge.  It is up to us to accept both of these gratefully, knowing that it is a gift from the Universe.

Thank you, Hunter, for all that you brought all of us and thank you Diane for letting us share in his love and understanding.

I know that somewhere out there Dante just came running up to the new arrival, ball-in-mouth, saying “Hey buddy, good to see you – wanna chase?”