August Newsletter

Summer is practically over and seems like it just started!  I guess we should be grateful for the weather not being too hot, but a happy medium would have been nice.  I hope everyone is having a nice Summer.  I have been enjoying my Summer but very busy raising a new puppy!  Venom, our 14 week old standard Dachshund puppy is doing GREAT!  We are having a blast with him.  If you are interested in following his blog please visit www.teachingvenom.blogspot.com. Please take a look at the schedule as we have a lot of classes coming up that I think you will all enjoy!

DOG OF THE MONTH
Lily Morse

Lily has been taking classes with Braveheart for a while now.  After completing our Beginning Obedience/Manners class her mom Barbara decided to give agility a try.  I am so glad that they did because Lily is a natural!  You never saw a more eager and happy agility beginner!  She loves it and we love her!



Upcoming Classes
Rally On!, Wednesday, 8/10, San Leandro, 7:30pm, 6 weeks, $150
Rally is a fun, relatively new dog sport that emphasizes teamwork and communication as dogs and handlers navigate a course of varied and interesting obedience exercises.  This class will teach you and your dog how to perform a wide variety of Rally exercises, how to read the Rally signs, and how to string the signs together into full Rally courses.  You will learn Rally exercises from both APDT and AKC, as well as the similarities and differences in rules and scoring between these two venues.  Rally is great fun whether you are interested in competing or just looking for a new and challenging activity to try with your dog.  Dogs must have completed at least a Beginning Obedience/Manners class or have the fundamentals of sit, down, stay, and loose-leash walking.  Due to space constraints, dogs must be dog and people friendly and able to handle confinement in a crate or car away from handlers.
 

Confidence Building for Marshmallows, Monday, 8/15, Dublin, 6pm, 3 weeks, $75
This class is designed specifically to help shy, fearful or insecure dogs gain more confidence and to help owners of these dogs learn how to read and help their dogs.

Skills for the Show Ring, Thursday, 8/25, Dublin, 7:30pm, 5 weeks, $120
This class will combine show ring run throughs with skill building exercises to help owners learn to better present their show dogs.

Puppy Preschool, Saturday, 8/27, Dublin, 11am, 6 weeks, $150
This class is the first step in getting your puppy headed in the right direction!  We work on socializing to people and other puppies, puppy raising issues and getting started on training some basic behaviors such as sit, down, come here and more.

Beginning Obedience/Manners, Saturday, 8/27, Dublin, 10am 6 weeks, $150
This class is designed to teach owners how dogs learn.  Students will be taught how to train their dogs to heel, sit, come, lie down, stand, stay as well as others. 

Fun with Agility, Saturday, 8/27, Dublin, 9am, 6 weeks, $150
This class allows clients and their dogs to experience agility.  Dogs will learn how to complete several different obstacles including jumps, tire, weave poles and tunnels.

Introduction to K9 Nose Work, Thursday, 9/29, San Lorenzo, 6pm, 6 weeks, $150
Dogs have an amazing sense of smell and a natural desire to hunt. This class focuses on teaching you how to encourage and develop your dog's natural scenting abilities by using their desire to hunt and their love of toys, food and exercise. It's a great class for your dog to have fun, build confidence and burn lots of mental and physical energy and to find out just how good is your dog's nose. High food or toy motivation is beneficial for this class.
Dogs must be able to handle confinement in a crate away from handlers.
Introduction to Odor, Thursday, 9/29, San Lorenzo, 7:30pm, 6 weeks, $150
This class advances the dog's scent discrimination skills taught in the Introduction to Nose Work Class. All dogs are taught to identify the first target odor, a natural essential oil. Additionally, we introduce techniques and tactics for building better dog/handler teamwork.
Dogs must be able to handle confinement in a crate away from handlers.

Please visit the website to see our complete schedule!

Tomorrows Lecture on the Lawn has been canceled.

No Play Group on July 13

There will be no play group next Wednesday, July 13.

July Newsletter

I hope that everyone had a nice 4th of July.  Generally, I stay home on the 4th to make sure the dogs are okay with the fireworks that always go on.  Fireworks are illegal in my area but people still set bombs off all through the night.  With this being Jenny's first 4th with us and with this being Venom's first one, I wanted to be here with them.  As soon as the fireworks started I would give them treats after every crack or boom.  Pretty soon they were running to me every time they heard a noise.  Venom played and slept through everything and couldn't have cared less.  Jenny got more and more worried as the night went on, even not wanting to go outside to potty before bed, which I, of course, didn't make her do.  The biggest surprise was Winnie, my 11 year old Dachshund who has never been firework sensitive or noise sensitive in general.  She actually seemed stressed and I was up several times through the night sitting with her and petting her.  Eventually, she settled down and went to sleep.

Summer Heat

I can't stress enough how important it is for us to take the heat seriously when it comes to our dogs.  Please do not walk your dogs during the hottest times of the day, instead walk early in the morning or in the evening when it is cooled down.  Keep in mind that the pavement gets hot, I actually see dogs lifting up their feet because of the hot pavement and their owners not even noticing!  Make sure your dog always has plenty of cool water.  Most importantly, please do not leave your dog in the car even on warm days.  Dogs can overheat quickly and die even when it doesn't seem like it's that hot out.  These things are important to keep in mind for all dogs but particularly important for brachycephalic (flat faced) dogs like French Bulldogs, Boxers, Bostons, Shih Tzus, etc.  I know of a dog that overheated recently and unfortunately didn't survive.  It's serious stuff which is why I keep trying to hammer the importance into everyone.

DOG OF THE MONTH

 DEXTER DEGUARA

Dexter has been coming to Braveheart since he was a tiny puppy.  He and his mom Robin have gone through several of our classes from Puppy Preschool through Fun with Agility.  Dexter is a super fun and friendly dog.  We love having him in class!

More K9 Nose Work Classes Added

As many of you know, Yvonne and myself are currently going through the K9 Nose Work Instructor Certification course.  We are now offering a variety of Nose Work classes including Intro to Nose Work, Intro to Odor, Ridiculous Boxes and a drop in Nose Work class for those who have completed either Intro to Nose Work or Fun with Scentwork class.  Nose Work is a great sport in that it is fun and easy to do and the dogs really love it.  We hope you will give Nose Work a shot!

Upcoming Classes

Ridiculous Boxes!, San Leandro, Fridays, 7/22, 6-7 and 7-8pm, 5 weeks, $120 - Yvonne Chohan

This class is being offered to clients who have taken either Intro to Nose Work class or our Fun with Scentwork class.  We will be continue with our box work which is the foundation of nose work by being very creative with boxes.

Rally On!, San Leandro, Wednesdays, 8/10,7:30-8:45pm, 6 weeks, $150 - Dawn Bushong

Rally is a fun, relatively new dog sport that emphasizes teamwork and communication as dogs and handlers navigate a  course of varied and interesting obedience exercises.  This class will teach you and your dog how to perform a wide variety of Rally exercises, how to read the Rally signs, and how to string the signs together into full Rally courses.  You will learn Rally exercises from both APDT and AKC, as well as the similarities and differences in rules and scoring between these two venues.  Rally is great fun whether you are interested in competing or just looking for a new and challenging activity to try with your dog.Dogs must have completed at least a Beginning Obedience/Manners class or have the fundamentals of sit, down, stay, and loose-leash walking.  Due to space constraints, dogs must be dog and people friendly and able to handle confinement in a crate or car away from handlers.

Skill Building for the Show Ring, Dublin, 8/25, 7-7:45pm,  5 weeks, $120 - Vicki Ronchette

This brand new class will include practice run throughs as in our drop in classes but will also include group class drills and skill building exercises to give students more practice on the individual show ring behaviors.  It should be a lot of fun!

Fun with Agility, Dublin, 8/27, 9-9:50am, 6 weeks, $150 - Vicki Ronchette

This class allows clients and their dogs to experience agility.  Dogs will learn how to complete several different obstacles including jumps, tire, weave poles and tunnels.

Beginning Obedience/Manners, Dublin, 8/27, 10-11am, 6 weeks, $150 - Vicki Ronchette

Beginning Obedience is recommended for dogs 5 months of age and older.  This class is designed to teach owners how dogs learn.  Students will be taught how to train their dogs to heel, sit, come, lie down, stand, stay as well as others.  

Puppy Preschool, Dublin, 8/27, 11-11:50am, 6 weeks, $150 - Vicki Ronchette

Puppy socialization class is for puppies between the ages of 2 and 5 months old.  This class is designed to socialize puppies with other puppies as well as new people and to help owners deal with puppy issues such as potty training, biting, jumping up and more.  We also get the puppies started on learning the fundamental obedience behaviors such as sit, down, come and loose leash walking.

Intro to K9 Nose Work, San Lorenzo, 9/29, 6-7:30pm, 6 weeks, $150 - Vicki Ronchette 

This class will introduce you to the sport of K9 Nose Work.  You will learn how to teach your dog the fundamentals of searching for odor.  Dogs must be able to handle being crated away from owners.  Owners must bring their own crates to class.

Intro to Odor, San Lorenzo, 9/29, 7:30-9pm, 6 weeks, $150 - Vicki Ronchette

This is the next level of Nose Work where odor is added.  Students interested in this class must have completed at least one session Intro to Nose Work or Fun with Scentwork and must have instructor approval to register for this class.  Dogs must be able to handle being crated away from owners.  Owners must bring their own crates to class.

The New Tuesday Nights!

Effective August 2 we will be alternating our 7pm time slot each week between Drop In Conformation class and Drop in K9 Nose Work class.  August 2 will be Conformation,  August 9 will be Nose Work, August 16 will be Conformation, and so on.  This is listed on our Google calendar on the website too so people can always check what class will be held on a particular day.