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Going forward and more about saying goodbye sort of

As most everyone knows, I have moved to our new home in lovely Manteno, Illinois:


Here, surrounded by family, nature, and my many animal friends, I am working hard to establish the latest aspect of my long career, training service dogs for wounded United States Marines through the Semper Fi Fund.

Before this, since I was 15 years old, I have focused my efforts on teaching human family members to better understand and communicate with their companion dogs. I spent the last 18 years in Lemont, Illinois, where I enthusiastically raised my children, enjoyed my life, and trained many dogs and their people, to the irritation of my neighbors, who grudgingly tolerated me running my business from my home.

Now, we have accepted an offer on that home, and will be closing the doors on that chapter of our lives in mid to late spring, 2015 (Ill be occupying the house and will continue to offer some classes and lessons there until that time).

In keeping with all of these changes, I want to let you know about the training services I will (and will no longer) be offering to my existing and new clients, going forward.

First, the "no longer", and this is where saying goodbye comes into play; as of this past Sunday, I have ended my long-standing "501" class, which has been meeting on Sunday mornings at 9:30 for many years. We had lots of great discussions specific to matters pertaining to both canine and human behavior, and it was loads of fun. All of the classmates were good friends, and I am sorry to say goodbye.

That being said, anyone who wants to evolve and transition forward with me is invited to participate in the programs I am adding and/ or continuing to offer. These include:

  • Spring/ Summer/Fall field trips in the Lemont/ Downers Grove area. These will be enrolled classes, rather than drop-in, with preregistration required, and will be offered on Sundays at 9:30, weather permitting. They can be signed up for one at a time, rather than committing to a series of lessons, and Ill create an online enrollment form on my website.
  • Half-day training and play workshops, offered in two blocks (morning and afternoon) on Saturdays, weather permitting, at my new place. Again, preregistration, up until an hour before class, will be required and available online. These will replace current 201 and play classes.
  • 101 level group training, taught in a concentrated, three-lesson curriculum, meeting every other week over a five week period, in Manteno. 
  • 101 level group training, taught in a concentrated two-lesson seminar curriculum, meeting every other week over a three week period.
         (Both 101 classes can be repeated at no charge, and crossover attendance between either                       curriculum is permitted.)
  • Topic-specific clinics, including: sniffer dog, canine disc, agility, musical freestyle, herding, carting, and competitive obedience.
Going forward, Monica will continue to offer in-home training, and also in-home care and training for people who prefer not to board their dogs.

I look forward to an exciting, fun future with you and your dogs!
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So far no more beavers

I just got back from a visit to the property with my friends Gisela, Kathi, and Joanne, and so far so good! Not a single buck-toothed, buzz-sawed bite of baby oak tree has been taken since we battened down and built the anti-beaver protective tree cages. Yea!
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Pet Reptiles Now More Popular Than Dogs

Pet Reptiles Now More Popular Than Dogs


Reptiles like bearded dragons, snakes, and geckos are now such popular pets that they outnumber dogs, new research has discovered. This compares to an estimated dog population of 6.5 million.

Chairman of the Federation, Chris Newman said: "There are now, without question, more pet reptiles than pet dogs in the UK.

The popularity of Reptiles as mainstream pets has grown amazingly. Reptiles fit into a busy life as they are less time-consuming, and can also be easier to keep, than other traditional pet species.

The five most popular species are {leopard geckos, bearded dragons, corn snakes, royal pythons (ball pythons), and Hermanns tortoises| bearded dragons, corn snakes| leopard geckos| royal pythons (ball pythons), and Hermanns tortoises.

http://www.ashtonbiodiversity.org/images/pet_reptiles_front.jpg

Reptiles like bearded dragons, snakes, and geckos are now such popular pets that they outnumber dogs, new research has discovered.

Who would have thought that could ever be the case in a country, where we have always been known as a nation of dog lovers. Seems like the dog has gone the way of fish and chips, which itself has been replaced by curry as our most popular dish.

A report by the British Federation of Herpetologists (BFH) indicates that there are now as many as 8 million reptiles and amphibians being kept as pets in the UK. This compares to an estimated dog population of 6.5 million.

Chairman of the Federation, Chris Newman said: "There are now, without question, more pet reptiles than pet dogs in the UK. You only have to look at the way the market has grown. I have no doubt that there are now between seven and eight million reptiles living as pets in the UK”.

The popularity of Reptiles as mainstream pets has grown amazingly. There has been an explosion in numbers. They have moved from being niche to being mainstream.

Reptiles fit into a busy life as they are less time-consuming, and can also be easier to keep, than other traditional pet species.

Numbers is so rapid that within years they will surpass the countrys nine million cats to become Britains pet of choice.

Reptiles are fairly inexpensive to set up and look after. Most are kept in heated tanks for at least part of the day. They require less attention than other caged animals, as their waste is dry and solid.

The calculation of reptile numbers has been made from the volume of food suppliers to the market, based on things like insects and mice. Since 2004 when the reptile populations was recorded as 5m, cricket sales has doubled from 10 to 20m a week, Locusts had more than quadrupled to around a million a week.

The five most popular species are {leopard geckos, bearded dragons, corn snakes, royal pythons (ball pythons), and Hermanns tortoises| bearded dragons, corn snakes| leopard geckos| royal pythons (ball pythons), and Hermanns tortoises.

Other popular species are the colored snake, veiled chameleon and crested gecko. This is now the fifth most commonly bred lizard in captivity.
The biggest snakes being kept as pets are thought to be Burmese pythons, which can grow up to 20ft in length, with the biggest lizards being water monitors, which can reach sizes of up to 7ft.

One of the most common reptiles is the bearded dragon, they are very sociable and are happy to sit on your lap watching TV, then run off around the room for a play, many report that they fit in well with their existing more tradition pets also. Although it is an odd sight to see a dog, a cat a tortoise and a lizard all curled up together in front of the fire!

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Making Dog Walking Outings More Fun For Your Dog You

As Poncho and I were on our evening stroll today here in Ventura, we played our "lets say hi to our neighbor dogs as we walk by" game, which made it a lot more fun - for the both of us!  

Every time we walked by a house where the dogs started barking, Id say *Hi!*, mention their names (theres Mookie, Zorro, Nick, Guinness and Waylon, red house dog, blue and white house dog, and Heather), and give Poncho a little piece of leftover chicken.  

This is a fun game - Poncho loves it! And of course now, thanks to learning by association, he loves when other dogs bark too...

This is a really simple and fun activity - its actually one of the activity cards found in my Out of the Box Dog Training Game.

What are you doing to make your dog walk outings more fun? For your dog and for yourself?
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