How to Take a Good Picture
BE PATIENT
PRAISE THE DOG
BE PATIENT
If I am working with a cell phone, having patience is so very important. Take a moment to maintain composure and reset the picture again. Take MANY in Many positions. The odds are stacked further in your favor using this tip.
BE CALM
PRAISE THE DOG
BE PATIENT
A great candid photo requires patience and calmness. No toys, no treats - just following around and snapping photos of them doing dog things. If you are lucky you may get a free stack when they smell something in the air.
PRAISE THE DOG
PRAISE THE DOG
PRAISE THE DOG
When they pause, look at you and you swear they are posing - PRAISE THAT. They are trying to do what you want but often in our picture taking, we forget this very crucial part of getting great pictures.
Nov 25, 2017
Aren't Bullies just Pit Bulls?
Novemeber 1, 2017
No, not at this time in the human enforced evolutionary track of a new breed. The American Bully has been recognized by the UKC since 2013. It is in it's infancy as far as dog breeds go but is well past the original mixing of making a new breed.
We are now into the selective breeding process of the new breed tract. That is why many dogs out of each litter may be pet quality. Selective breeding is taking select specimens of the breed to make them closer to the breed standard. All dogs at this time should be bred American Bully to American Bully.
When selective breeding is completed, many many generations down the road. All American Bullies will look very similar in appearance, much like all poodles look similar even if they are different sizes.
American Bullies will get there in time, it is a new exciting breed that needs serious enthusiasts to push it to be what the potential is there to utilize.
As a dog nerd, I am ecstatic to be part of the making of a dog breed.
How Many is Too Many?
Sept 8, 2017
This is an individual decision that must be made with the dogs' best interest at heart. Once your time becomes too divided between too many duties, one must ask themselves how to proceed.
- Scale down the operation.
- Ask for help.
- Hire Help.
If these options are not viable, please reconsider taking any more on or doing any further breeding.
Every dog should have 2 hours of free play outside in a yard, 20 minutes of individual one on one loves and pets and 20 minutes of structured training or play. MINIMUM.
EVERY SINGLE DAY. RAIN OR SHINE.
Stacking 101
Decide on the command
Position yourself for success
Position yourself for success
Wait / Stay / Stack
are the common varieties
Make it easy for you
to say and easy for the
dog to hear clearly.
Position yourself for success
Position yourself for success
Position yourself for success
Place the puppy on a table or platform. Place the collar high on the neck, put one hand on the collar raising slightly up and the other in between the back legs. Say the chosen command and wait for a VERY SMALL pause in motion. Praise. Increase the very small length of time gradually.
BE PATIENT
Position yourself for success
BE PATIENT
If you are frustrated, save the training for another time. The very last thing you EVER want to do is make stacking scary or unpredictable. You want the words, the motions, the touch and the energy to ALWAYS BE POSITIVE.
Sept 5, 2017
How much exercise is enough?
August 24th, 2017
This is dog dependent. There is no true and easy answer to this question. It depends on the age, size, condition and breed of the dog. A puppy should be spending a minimum of 2 HRS outside in free play and a short walk on a leash of about 5-20 minutes. Under 4months is what I consider to be a puppy.
A dog that is 6mos to 10mos can get a little more structured play like tug or fetch, but on flatter easier grass ground. They still require minimum of 2 HRS of free play to do what they want OUTSIDE. Many times people think free play is what they do inside, but that is just wasting time in a dog's eyes. Outside is where the health and happiness of a dog lay.
An adult dog should be slowly increased in structured play, 10mos is easier and shorter than 16mos.
Exercise must be happening on some level EVERY SINGLE DAY. Not once a week, or once in a while. EVERY SINGLE DAY.
The dog's coat, condition, top lines, feet and breathing will improve 10X on this advice.
Pay Respect Where It Is Due
August 16, 2017
This breed is super new but super old at the same time. It is new being recognized by a common registry but the actual lines have been around for a very long time. These breeders and enthusiasts of the past are due big respect to getting the breed to where it is today.
We love meeting a familiar face from online in person. To see a face or dog in a magazine or promotional video and then meet them in person is a thrill to a serious enthusiast. We enjoy picking up old magazines and spending hours thumbing through them.
Research, Marketing and Development of your brand are the trademarks of a successful kennel.
Maintaining full integrity, passion for the dogs and being humble are the trademarks of a lasting kennel.
Many of the names of yesterday are present online today, you just have to do your research and due diligence to recognize them. They don't often scream "HEY I MADE THIS FUCKING BREED YOU FUCKING MORON."
I made a newbie mistake in my first year in the bully breed. I know dogs through and through and a bully is a dog first and foremost. Therefore, I know bullies.... I joined an online group and proceeded to berate them for having fat sloppy bullies. I had lots of attitude for many of the group members and quickly got put in my place by some very high up members of the ABKC. My face turned red and I apologized for my naivety but the fact remains - those OGs are still out there in the interwebs.
They have a wealth of knowledge to share if we would all just listen.
Teaching Handler Focus
Call them to you
Pause before the item is offered
Pause before the item is offered
Every time you feed them, give them water, play with them, offer a toy or let them outside -
Call them clearly by name.
Pause before the item is offered
Pause before the item is offered
Pause before the item is offered
Create suspense.
The dog will look to you with eagerness, knowing they will be getting
food/water/treat/play.
Extend the time
Pause before the item is offered
Extend the time
Gradually increase the suspense, encourage eye contact even if it is fake in the beginning. Create a habit of the dog searching your face for cues. Offer a gentle smile when doing good.
August 15, 2017
Why a blog?
August 11, 2017
I found myself, years ago, investing time in other peoples' dog issues by responding to help posts about training and behavior.
I would spend a good amount of time thinking about the situation, the dog, the person and how I would efficiently state what I felt would be helpful.
Only to be met with anger, hostility and an unwillingness to step up and be a good dog partner.
Many times these posts would be deleted and discarded without any thought to the time and energy I had put into that post.
I no longer waste my time on other people's self inflicted dog issues :). That may sound harsh, but my time is better spent on my own family and my own kennel.
When I have a moment and I have a thought, I can record it here for eternity and no one can discard it. People who want to help themselves can read the information and the ones that want free good help, won't get it from me at the drop of the hat.
A blog allows me the freedom to state what I really feel instead of fearing a ban or block, simply because the truth is hard to hear some times. No matter how tactfully stated.
The biggest advice I can ever give to any one about ANY dog issue is - MORE EXERCISE, MORE EXERCISE and MORE EXERCISE.
Best wishes!
Staying in your own lane
August 1, 2017
I practice this daily. And it takes practice. Lots and Lots of practice.
When I find myself feeling the need to type a long reply to someone online somewhere, I ask myself the following:
Could I be doing something else more productive?
Is our family taken care of?
Are our dogs all taken care of?
Is our business taken care of?
Is the person listening or defending themselves?
The bully world is full of very sensitive souls, both the people and the dogs. Sensitivity is hard to manage for the most common of folk and this is where the fights lie. Staying in your lane requires strategic word play to share an opinion. It looks like this: "Bro, your dogs head is amazing but it looks like his feet need a little help."
This is provided the person asked for opinions to begin with. Start positive always and the response to the criticism are much less fueled.
If a person just posts a picture of their dog, it does not require an opinion.
Yes means Yes and No means No
July 25, 2017
This is the very basis of what I believe is the most efficient way to train a dog. Dogs are very perceptive creatures, giving them both a positive feedback AND a negative feedback gives the best results.
Never hit your dog or punish with any object. A simple stern NO or a stomp or clap is a very easy way to give negative feedback. A treat or a simple "YES" or "GOOD!" should work for positive feedback.
It goes without saying, the more you work your dog the more results you will get.
Working your dog does not mean out in the yard issuing commands but rather supervision. Praise the dog when he sits at the door on his own. Pay attention to their natural tendencies, guide them when they are in the decision making process. If they sniff at the garbage you can wait and see what their decision may be or if you know what the decision will be, offer guidance. "Heyyyyyy what are you doing?"
If you start these methods when the dog is young, the results are better.
If you are working with an older dog, please know that negative feedback could be a correction on a collar, a mild shock from an e collar, a squirt gun or any other multitude of tools to use.
Good Habits & Free Agency
July 21, 2017
My two biggest secrets to amazing adults dogs is forming good habits and the illusion of free agency.
Staying on top of the young puppy and controlling the play, meal times, sleep times, potty times and social times as much as I can.
Our routines are rigid but I throw in off schedule days to mix it up. Life happens.
Never allowing them to jump on the couch, get in the garbage, eat the couch, dig under the fence and so many other behavioral issues can be avoided by supervising. Before long you can trust them to make good decisions based on good habits.
Free agency is a training concept based on letting the dog make the right decision. Living on wooded acreage, for many years our dogs ran free. The dogs that were able to run free had more self soothing and conceptual decision making skills. This makes sense, they are in control of their own lives.
How can you control them and let them have free agency at the same time?
The illusion of free agency can be granted by taking your dogs into areas where they can run free. Hiking, Camping, Beaches, Rivers, Tennis Courts and many other places allow you to let your dog THINK they have the free agency to make decisions. (Make sure you have a solid recall or a long lead or an e collar though)
Keep moving, make your dog follow you. You don't follow your dog. Move quickly and praise your dog when he follows and/or pays attention to where you are. Reward the decision making process and guide them when needed.
These two training concepts are the basis for my adult dogs to be fully socialized and well trained partners for life.
Breeder Propaganda
July 3, 2017
Adopt – Don’t Shop they say.
Breeding is an important to dogs as Adopting is, in just as many ways to just as many dogs and people.
Now in the context I use Breeders in, I am assuming it is a serious individual with the dogs’ best interest at heart. I am not talking about an ASPCA commercial or an episode of Hoarders. Those are not breeders, they are scum. There is a difference.
Responsible Breeders are essential to every dog fancier that exists. Not everyone can train nor mold an individual mixed breed to suit the needs of the individual.
This is why there are different breeds.
Those different breeds with different breed characteristics are matched with families and jobs that suit that breed.
Let us assume for a brief moment that breeding became illegal across the board. ONLY mixed breeds by accidental litters would be registered and licensed.
Any other purebred dog would be destroyed and considered illegal.
What would happen?
Police forces would have completely unknown histories on their partners. Blind individuals would have no stable stock to pull service dogs from. These scenarios can go on and on.
Different breeds and different traits are required at this time in our society.
Breeders who look to keep consistency in a breed are as important as those breeders that wish to evolve a breed. They balance each other out in most breeds. Each role is essential to watch progression AND stability takes place at the same time. The kennels that focus on consistency will be there to pull from if the evolution breeder strays too far from the breed standards. Each valuable in their own right.
Breeders are essential to the evolution of domesticated dogs. As long as the dogs’ best interest is considered, responsible breeders deserve to be celebrated!
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What is a responsible breeder?
These are all important questions that should be answered yes to:
Were the puppies born on the premises?
Does the breeder insist that the puppies be at least seven weeks before being placed?
Did the breeder seem happy that you are asking questions?
Did the breeder ask you lots of questions?
Did the breeder ask you whether you planned on breeding?
Will the breeder be available to offer advice and support for as long as you have the dog?
Does the breeder make you feel comfortable calling for advice?
Did the breeder go over some of the problems some people have with the breed?
Is the breeder a member of a breed club? (An organization sharing information on the breed)
Is the Dam at least two years old?
Were both sire and dam tested for any genetic health problems before the breeding?
Did the breeder volunteer information on the health testing, and volunteer proof?
Is the dam a family pet (meaning does she live in the house as part of the family)?
Have the puppies been introduced to children? To other animals?
Is the breeder concerned enough about the welfare of the dog to promise to take it back (no matter how old) if you can't keep it? (Not necessarily pay you, the purpose is to avoid the shelter, ensure good placement)
Does the breeder believe it is important to keep in contact with puppy buyers to verify the level of success in producing a healthy dog of correct temperament?
Does the breeder intend to follow up on the dog as it matures and ages?
Does the breeder consider himself or herself a dedicated hobbyist to the breed?
If the breeder advertises do they focus on the important qualities such as health and temperament?