Fast Pup Dogs On Safari

The Fast Pup Dogs admired all the exotic taxidermy at a recent retrieve seminar at Cabelas

Don't Let Your Dog Become Gun Shy Over Fireworks

 Happy Fourth Of July!  Hopefully you have fully conditioned your hunting dog to LOVE the sound of loud gun fire.  You have gotten your dog really excited about retrieving and introduced your dog to soft gun fire from a distance out of a starter pistol--the sound perhaps muted by the white noise of a nearby freeway.  You have slowly worked your dog up to closer and louder gunfire and now you have a maniac that eagerly looks for birds anytime she hears the sound.

If you have not done this--whoa!  Get ready to take precautions over the Fourth of July!  Close the windows and get plenty of noisy things going--such as television, radio, air conditioner, etc.  Whatever you do, do not baby the dog and try to reassure her that "it's OK," when she startles over the explosions.  If you are tempted to do that, better to put her in a kennel, as far away from outside noise as possible, masked by white noise.  And leave her alone. 

Telling her "It's Ok," when she is frightened can communicate to her that you are anxious or concerned about it.  And that will make everything worse.

A gun shy dog is a very common problem, and one that can be easily avoided with a little advance planning and plenty of common sense. 

It Takes More Than Money To Own A Falcon

My favorite blogger, Terrierman, recently posted this post about what a falconer must go through to qualify to legally own one of those magnificent birds of prey.  Unfortunately for Parrots and Pit Bulls, he points out, one needs only cash. 

Too bad for many pets that their owners did not have to qualify to prove competency as owner/handlers!

Fast Pup Dog Training Works Street Corner Meeker Days

Hundreds of people snapped pictures of the Fast Pup Dog Training dogs as they worked the corner of Pioneer and Meridian at the 2011 Meeker Days Festival.

Join Fast Pup Dog Training at Puyallup's Meeker Days Festival

June 17, 18 & 19, 2011

Father's Day Weekend!

Fast Pup Dog Training will be at this year's Meeker Days Festival.  Be sure to come by and see out dogs.  Here is video from the festival 2 years ago.

Nice Weather Brings Heat And Other Dangers For Dogs

It has been eight long months since we've seen temps in the 70's.  It is finally nice weather, right?  So the last thing we want to do now, is worry or complain about the heat.  But we need to be extra careful about watching our dogs for any signs of heat stress.  Fact is, that here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, we just are not acclimated to ANY sort of heat--and neither are our dogs.

Packing water and a container with the dogs is a great idea for relief from summer heat.

I have a rule that whenever the temps get over 85 degrees, I train retrievers only on water--or have plenty of water available for the dogs to soak in--such as a pool like the one pictured above. Yesterday, during retriever training, I was not prepared with supplies for cooling dogs, like a pool full of water or ice filled "Kool Collars."  After all, it was only going to be in the mid 70's, right?  But--bottom line--is that the dogs, all of them, were significantly heat stressed after running four long marks of several hundred yards and a couple of long blinds.  Going from training regularly in temperatures of 30's, 40's and 50's, the dog's cooling systems were not prepared for the shock of training in warm weather.

Living someplace warm, of course, the dogs would be used to the heat.  But here, we need to take it slow and understand that our dogs need some help adjusting.

Other dangers for dogs associated with the heat of course are from leaving them in a car or letting them swim in a swollen river still running high with snow melt.  Even with the windows cracked, the temperature inside a car left in the sun on a 75' plus day can quickly go to over 100's and can kill a dog fast.  The local rivers are running high and fast right now, and while dogs seem to fare better in the cold water than people do, it is still not a good idea to take a chance.