Back in 1989, the American Kennel Club began their Canine Good Citizen program, a 10-step test that stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs. The CGC gave owners a goal to work towards and gave dogs the training they deserved. The program is now a launching pad across the world for many organizations including therapy, service, agility and search and rescue dog organizations.

However, the world that we live in today is much different than the world we lived in back in 1989. Dogs are taken out in public more with the increase in pet-friendly locations such as hotels, motels, outdoor café’s and recreational areas. We now have dog parks and daycares in every city from the East coast to the West coast. As owners, we are expecting more from our dogs but the training styles and the certification programs haven’t evolved with the times. Group classes are still concentrating on the basics of sit, stay, down, come and heel. Puppy classes are still offering minimal training with lots of socialization, but the socialization is between puppy and puppy and owners still believe that the most important things for their dog is exercise. There are many trainers in this country that do a great job teaching real life manners but the most popular are the training classes that are offered from franchise facilities and large organizations. Many of their “trainers” have the same amount of knowledge as the common student and don’t realize the importance of teaching real life manners.

I’ve realized that society needs a new form of certification; a new goal to reach and dogs are in need of new and different manners. The basics just don’t give the dog what he needs. So I have researched and developed a new certification program called Real Life Rover™ which is a 25-step test either following a training program that teaches dogs the manners they need to be accepted in today’s society or taken individually. This program isn’t so much about how your dog responds to commands as it is about how he responds in real life situations, from interacting with other dogs to sitting nicely in the car as people and dogs walk by. All of this is with or without your direction and commands.

For more information on Real Life Rover Certification classes or evaluation dates, please email DogSpeak.

Next 10-Week program starts April 2nd, 2011. Cost is $600 and includes evaluation fees and evaluation. Limited space available. Past clients receive a $100 discount.

Evaluations are June 18th for those that wish to test without taking the training class. Contact us for more information.

Meet Peanut Roxie Rose a Pit Bull/Jack Russell Terrier mix. Rose is approximately 1.5 years in age and seems to have had a litter of pups in the past. Rose came to us very fearful. She was afraid of the crate, the leash, standing people, cats, going through doors, being petted, and loud noises. It took us twenty minutes to get her into the house the first time, forty-five minutes before she would move from the first spot she found and two hours before she felt comfortable enough to lie down. Rose was not housebroken and would easily pee inside her crate and in the house.

The first day she was with us she would stick to me like velcro as long as I was in the living room. She did not feel comfortable leaving that area. She was only allowed in her crate at night or when we were away so we didn’t allow her to avoid the “scary” things. We spent the first day telling her “good girl” for anything positive like eye contact, head up, walking around the room or being around the cat and other dogs. We would not pet her when her head was down and if she tried to put her head down while petting we’d pet her under the chin and make her hold her head up. By day two, we were able to give her a bath.

After four months of the program, Rose is a happy, go lucky, dog. She’s so grateful to be alive and she shows it every morning. Click Here for a great video showing just how happy she is and how well-mannered she is at the door!

Rose has found her forever home!

DogSpeak’s SCAR(Second Chance Animal Rehabilitation) Program was established in January, 2010. With SCAR, qualified dogs from different shelters and rescue organizations are invited to spend two weeks living with our trainer, Nikki Ivey. Nikki works with each dog individually building confidence, teaching self-control, problem-solving skills and beginning the teachings of real life manners. Many of the SCAR program dogs have fears, phobias and poor manners. Many don’t know how to walk on a leash, deal with loud noises, other dogs or cats, and don’t even know how to be a dog. Once their two weeks is up they return to their foster home with detailed instructions on the next level to continue their training. This allows us to help more dogs. Once they get adopted, if their new parents are local, they’ll receive a FREE training session in the privacy of their home.

DogSpeak has a wonderful group of assistants with her partner, Kim, who’s in the process of learning all the skills it takes to help these dogs, Bandit, the 16 year old mutt that is small and compact but is great with signals and has met very few dogs she didn’t want to be friends with, Adonis, the orange cat whose 12 and would be happier if we’d just stop bringing dogs in, TBAA, the 8.5 year old Rottweiler, who shows all the dogs the path to real life manners, Amethyst, the 6 year old cat that loves dogs and thinks she should hang out with them and then there’s Duke, 1.5 year old Dachshund mix that loves to play and makes every dog feel welcomed.

These dogs learn how to act around food, how not to bolt out the door, how to act around cats that are friendly and ones that are not, how to walk on a leash, potty outside, ride in the car, be out in public and any specific issues that need to work out such as fears of loud noises, men, women or children.

Our first guest arrived on Feb. 28th.

This is Rose, a Jack Russell Terrier mix from Russell Rescue. Rose is very fearful of people, dogs, cats, leashes, thresholds, crate and more. She’s learning how to be more relaxed in the crate, to walk nicely on a leash, to ignore loud noises, to potty outside, to sit  nicely for dinner, to wait for permission before going outside and more. We’ll continue to update the status of Rose as the days move forward. Keep checking back for a profile on Rose to see if she’ll fit with your family.

Click Here to learn more about Peanut Roxie Rose and our NEW SCAR Dog.