Thuper Thursday - Meet Burger

Lookin' for the thuper dog of the week??

Our blog has moved to www.kahunask9s.com/blog.

Come on over - the water's fine!

E

We're moving!

Moving - it's scary and exciting all at the same time.

What will it be like once we get there?

I hope we meet some people we like.

I hope people like us!


I hope our old friends keep in touch!

Don't worry - we're only moving cyber-spaces!

We're "chewing-on-our-nails" nervous (which is a pretty regular thing for J). But, like we promised back in January, we're moving to another blog host and nothing's gonna hold us back.

Please help convince us we're not crazy by going with us! You're really the reason we are afraid to leave. We've made too many good friends here in BloggerLand!

We'll be providing a link at this site but once the new site is live, you'll have to update your feeds, burners, gadgets, updaters, readers, etc.

We promise we'll make it worth your while!

Visit us at kahunask9s.com/ and sign up to follow us!

Training Basics - Getting to know the clicker

Before you begin: 

• Make sure your dog is hungry!
• You will need a clicker and lots of treats (about 50). Pea-sized treats for a German Shepherd - if your dog is smaller, so are the treats.
• Make sure there are no distractions for the dog - ask other dogs, kids, and people to leave the room.
• "C/T" means "Click, then Treat"

Goal:

Familiarize your dog to the sound of the clicker. You're looking for your dog to recognize the sound of the click to mean there is food coming.

Instructions:
1. Sit down on the sofa in the living room. Place 10 treats in your fist, then place your fist behind your back.

2. At random, click and toss a treat on the floor. It doesn't matter what your dog is doing - all you are teaching your dog is that right before the tasty food falls to the floor, this click sound happens.

3. Always remember: it's a 1:1 deal - one click is always followed by one treat, even if you accidentally click.

4. Repeat this exercise until all 10 treats in your fist are gone. Then praise your dog and play a little game with one of their toys - something fun for a few minutes.

5. Begin a session again, all the way back to step one in this lesson. Continue this until all 50 of your treats are gone then call it a day!

How'd you do? How'd your dog do? 
Important notes: Make sure you and your dog are still having fun!! If at any point you or your dog feel frustrated, end the session and try again later. :)

Happy training makes happy dogs!

Thuper Thursday - Meet Guinness

In celebration of St. Patty's Day, today's Thuper dog is Guinness!!

Name: Guinness Stout Kummings

Age: 2

Location: Chester, Maryland

Owner's Name: Diane “Momma” Kummings

Breed: Boxer

Other Names you go by: Boo Boo, Mr. G, G-Man

Are you single, dating or in a committed relationship?  Committed relationship with Macy – Golden Retriever….

Favorite food: Taste of the Wild

Favorite resting spot: Mama’s Lap

Favorite human: Mama

Biggest fear: Vacuum

What do you do the best: Run like the wind

What do you do the worst : Dig in the trash and counter surf

If you were on a tv show, which one would it be and why? The adventures of Superman, cause I am faster than a speeding bullet.

Who would play you in the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster about your life?  Lassie of course, he always found his way home.

If you got paid to do your dream job, what would it be?  Run like there is no tomorrow, and have tons of friends with me. 

Stay tuned! Next week, we're featuring a doggy celebrity!

Thuper Thursday - Meet Sheldon

TADA! [Imagine a dog just jumped out of a cake - it's that kind of awesome!]

We promised something fun was coming and here it is: Thuper Thursday!!

Yes, the name is ridiculous. But here at Paws to Rufflect, if it's ridiculous and fun, then the fun wins out!

We noticed more folks are jumping on the PtR party train and therefore, wanted to get everyone acquainted. What better way than to introduce people's dogs! Thinking of a name for this event was even more fun:

we're huge fans of silly alliteration and we think you and your dogs are super soooo...

THUPER THURSDAY!


(if the name didn't make you smile one bit, then we've failed you!)


Without further adieu, this week's thuper dog:

Name: Sheldon

Age: 1

Location: Texas

Owner's name: Toni

Breed: Border Collie

Other names you go by: Shelly, Shells, Sheldy, Bubba, Bebe

Favorite food: everything but my own, but I go crazy for cheese whiz

Favorite resting spot: my bed, the couch or somewhere cool like tile floor

Favorite human: my mommy's friend, Juno

Biggest fear: the bathtub

What do you do the best? Look cute, go potty and play fetch

What do you do the worst?  Jump on people when they come over, I'm just so excited to see everyone

If you were on a T.V. show, which one would it be and why? The Big Bang Theory. I would be Sheldon Cooper's side kick

Who would play you in the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster about your life? Jim Parsons aka Sheldon Cooper

Does your dog want to be interviewed by our top pup journalists here at Kahuna's K9s?

Send in your answers to the interview questions above and several good quality photos to info@kahunask9s.com.

(By emailing us your photos, you are giving us permission to post them)

Stay tuned...next week we're featuring an Irish dog for St. Patty's Day!!

Hot Diggity Dog!

Squeeeal! Tomorrow (which will be 'today' by the time this blog gets out) is the day Mr. Kuna Burger and I go to our first Karen Pryor Academy workshop! I'm geeked out and nervous all at the same time.

Since Toons and I will be training practically ALL day, he needs to have a lot of good treats. Mediocre treats won't cut it! So I made a trip to the nearest My Organic Market (MOMs) and picked up some mouthwatering grinds:

I also grabbed some ham and chicken deli cuts and hot dogs in beef and chicken flavor.

Hot dogs are awesome for a high-value treat. (Remember, this isn't for all dogs. Your dog may consider toys more high-value!)

Then I chopped it all up in to little pieces:

Next, in to the microwave for, um, forever. I use 1 1/2 to 2 minute increments so that nothing burns. Just stir everything around and pop back in the microwave. On average, it takes about 14 minutes.

In the meantime, I made some salad. (Ohp! What's that?! Is that me reppin' some Kahuna's K9s gear!?!)

After 14 minutes, your treats will look like this:

Mmmm...delicious, less-slimy hot dog treats. 

What scrumptious treats do you make for your pups??

How to Save $29.99

Dog training can cost some cash, this is true. And since every trainer pretty much sets their own price, you're going to find many variances. To help out, we're going to show you how to save at least $29.99.

You ready for this?

It takes virtually no time at all! You don't even have to get up from the couch!

The secret to saving nearly 30 dollars is.......

Don't buy this.

Easy enough, right?

Decoding the lingo

Right off the bat, the description gets on my bad side.

"You can now speed-train your Dog by taking advantage of their natural desire to obey you."

I wanna hurl. We've covered this before. Thinking it's a dog's instinct to please us is selfish. Thinking it's their desire to obey is insane. Do not base your dog's training on this fantasy - you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

Read more of the description below - see if any more words jump out at you. Naturally, I added my two cents.

"Introducing shakeTrainer... the first gentle training system [hearing "shake" and "gentle" in the same description makes me scratch my head in bewilderment] created by professionals, approved by vets, and works on virtually all dogs in just minutes. You can quickly put a stop to endless barking, rapidly end destructive chewing, reduce indoor "accidents", and much more, all without using harmful training collars [hooray!!!!] or paying for expensive obedience classes [disappointed 'aw']. The secret to eliminating these annoying behaviors is shakeTrainer's super fast two step training system. Not only is it easy to use, you'll have fun too [WHA!?!?! I mean, how much fun can you really have shaking a can??] You'll see results immediately-shakeTrainer works like magic even if you've never had any luck training your dog before. A fresh approach to dog training [um, nuh-uh. This is totally old school] shakeTrainer has everything you need to end all of your dog's unwanted behaviors. [They forgot to add that it also has everything you need to send your dog to the looney bin!]" 

It almost sounds like those ads that tout "immediate weight loss! No exercise or dieting required! Lose 15 lbs in 2 days!" As desperate as my waistline is for this to be true, my brain says "uhhh, I don't think so sister" or in the words of Aunt Bunny, "Guuuuuuurl please."

No Pain, We Train!

Something that makes noise to stop behavior is a punishment. In other words, it is something unpleasant (an aversive) that is done on purpose to stop behavior (a punishment). Other examples include: spray bottles, yelling at your dog, slamming books, etc.

It isn't "training" your dog. Training would be teaching them to perform a different behavior:

Leave It - Mouth stays off of whatever the dog is going for

Out/Drop It - If something is in your mouth, let it out

Quiet - cease emitting sounds from your mouth



Ya better hurry...


In the time that it took me to author this dang post, BestBullySticks.com is pulling the item; it's rumored that the next update for their site is March 4th.

Therefore, if you want to see just how ridiculous of a product this is, ya better skee-daddle over to their site. And when you're done giggling at this silly shake "trainer", peruse the Best Bully virtual aisles because their site rocks.

Make that "rocks super hard" considering they did an awesome job responding to a few cranky (rightfully so!) trainers.

E

We'll Stop Blabbing...

...if your dog starts talking!

We want to get to know your dogs!! If you'd like your pup to be featured in an upcoming series, email us and we'll get back to you with instructions on how to join in the fun!
Well, I will. Bizzle will just keep sleeping.

Happy Training!

E

It's Okay. You Can Say It. Your Dog Bugs You.

Kuna is so annoying. The two and four-legged (and feathered!) in our home agree on this.

Yes. There are times we love our little boy. But he's usually getting yelled at like he's Yogi and I'm the park ranger. "Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

It's funny (ha-ha, not strange) that I'm even writing this post, considering he was only supposed to be a "foster".

Some advice: When your mouth says "Sure, we'll foster this adorable little puppy until we find a home for him!" listen to your brain that's saying "this guy is here to stay".

So, in honor of the monster adorable youngster, I thought today's post should celebrate all the annoying things our dogs do.

Let it out - we won't judge. What does your dog do that drives you bonkers?




Image here