Chewy foster pupdate!!
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10 days into foster, Chewy is beginning to relax. He's not fully there yet, but signs are there that he's progressing.
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Yesterday he initiated play with one of the fosters dogs, today he's snuggling with a new found buddy.
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Chewy could definitely move into the right home any time now!! We love seeing our pups blossom!! ... See more

Wonderful update from Kerri's foster this morning!! We cannot stress how important fosters can be in helping a pup move into their new life. Kerri needs TLC and understanding, and her foster sure has that!!
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Wow, totally different dog that woke up this morning! Kerri, popped out of her crate and she gave me a little nose boop before prancing over to Rio. She was all tail wags and wiggles and giving Rio nose boops and licks and she immediately grabbed one of the stuffed toys to play.

She really,really,really likes having Rio around, very big brother vibes/feels more secure when he is home. While I was getting ready for bed (Rio sleeps on my bed) I honestly thought she was going to jump up because she just kept looking and nudging him a little bit. Anything Rio does, she will do. If I offer her a treat and she doesn't take it, but I offer the same treat to Rio and then to her again - she'll eat it after seeing Rio eat it. She will play with him, but its still a bit mild. She is starting to chase after toys I throw for her a bit more and she just discovered a kong ball and seems to have a lot of fun with that. The Himalayan yak bones she enjoys and will chew on them maybe once or twice a day.

Walks have been going well, we still go early morning where there's not a lot of people or cars. She surprised me this morning because she peed and pooped on the walk. I also accidentally petted her yesterday when Rio was at daycare. There's a bump in our road and can cause delivery trucks to make a loud noise when they drive through. Rio tends to get so into sniffing that he'll be startled and can sometimes jump - so usually, I put a hand down to give him a light touch so he knows. I did this accidentally with Kerri, and it ended up being a lil tap on her head. She ducked a tiny bit and just turned towards me, no leash pull, no snipping, no cowering. Again, I did not do it intentionally, but I was still surprised by her reaction.

Eating - she's a little weird here. She will eat about half her dinner and then will stop (usually because Rio has stopped and he is a SLOW eater) and I then just hand feed her. She has started eating from the tips of my palm as opposed to the finger pinching of the food- if that makes sense

She is getting more comfortable around me, I can sit on the rug and the distance she puts between herself and me is getting smaller and smaller whether she is laying down or running after Rio. If I am close to her I still use slower movements and she seems fine with that.

She is still sleeping a lot, but Rio sleeps a lot. We started off with potty breaks every hour, but now its more like 1.5-2 hours and we'll go outside for a break. Rio is bell trained, so there are bells on all the doors, I'm not sure if she's made that connection yet, but we've only had 4 pee accidents since she's been here.

She is also "comfortable" with the stairs in the house. I'm not sure if I would have her go up and down without Rio to follow, but she is okay with them now! ... See more

What sorts of things are you doing to help your pups stay social during the pandemic?
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Skylar and Sarah have been making weekly trips to the farmers market with their pandemic puppies. Sarah may get brave and take two dogs now that the weather has warmed up 😉 Skylar is always brave 😂
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Tell us what you're doing!! Bonus points for photos!! Share in the comments below!! ... See more

It's been a while since we shared an update about Kerri, mostly because while she's better here on the farm, we weren't super confident with her ability to be 'ok' in a home.
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One of Skylar's daycare clients expressed interest in helping with Kerri - her dog likes Kerri and it seemed like a good dog fit, and they live close by to the farm so we have it a shot.
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Well, Ms Kerri had a surprise for us when she very quickly settled in and has even begun to play.
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Kerri will still need a home willing to be careful and patient, but we're very hopeful that's something that's in her future!!
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It's incredible what a good foster home can do for a dog. Such a gift - for us and for the dogs cared for in foster.
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#rightdogrighthome #fostersrock ... See more

Our good buddy, Hickory was adopted over the weekend, and we've received a sweet update with photos of him with his new BFF. Such a good, good boy!!

Great illustration of beginning to proof with distractions! Helping your pup learn to cope with and ignore their environment when needed is a super important part of training and helping them to become the best dog they are able to be!
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Many people assume that you must go away from home to proof, which may be difficult these days. Starting at home to create a solid foundation will help your pup when they are able to venture out into the world!
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If you are already struggling with reactivity or anxiety, this type of training and desensitization is great for every dog at every age. No dog is too old (or young) to learn new tricks 🙂 ... See more

Adding distractions to a behaviour is a really important part of bringing a cue under stimulus control.

A distraction is anything that draws your dogs attention from performing a behaviour and things that make it harder for them to respond to a cue.

Distractions come in many forms and we should take extra care to introduce distractions slowly and in controlled doses. Think of it as layering your distractions 😉 Start as easy as possible and build up slowly.

Today our distractions were,
👂 Session 1: Auditory Distractions (radio playing, Dad moving boxes)

👁 Session 2: Visual Distractions (hand movement, Dad moving through the house)

🤚 Session 3: Tactile Distractions
(Introducing touch)

🔵 Session 4: Using all 3 in low levels to make it as easy as possible

If your dog is struggling to respond to a cue, go back to somewhere with no distractions at all and reintroduce them slowly. When you’re introducing a distraction throw in lots of easy repetitions so you’re not just making it harder all the time 😁

Great job as always Rosie baby! 🌹 ... See more

Kerri is heading off to foster this morning so we got up early to practice our crating skills.

For those unfamiliar with her story, Kerri came to us as a feral dog and is going to need a confident home to learn humans aren't so scary. For more information on Kerri, please see her description and photo album on our Facebook page. ... See more

Early morning walks with Skylar's kennel crew!

Remember Lee?
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He's a big dog now!! He's joined the elite pack of MABCR dogs that manage the goose population on Governor's Island!
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Introducing Governors Island’s newest working dog, Leader! Leader joins the rest of the pack (Max, Quinn, Chip and Aspen) to help keep the Island free of Canada geese, which can be aggressive, harm the landscape and introduce invasive species. Leader comes to us from Mid-Atlantic Border Collie Rescue, just like the rest of the working dogs. At 7 months old, he's getting along great with the other dogs and is enjoying exploring every inch of the Island. Learn more about Leader: https://www.govisland.com/blog/welcome-governors-islands-newest-working-dog-leader ... See more

Maya (was Hanna) went to her new home last week, and after a few bumpy bits, is settling in very nicely with her new family. Updates like this is why we do what we do!!