Stays on Thursday night

Continue

More Photos from Awards Night at Applewoods

Continue

Speed felting

Would you like to see how I made this little guy??
Not a tutorial but a speed video
I filmed about 4 hours of me making this guy then I have speeded it up into a 10 min film.
Hopefully it will be interesting and helpfull to some people - I loved watching the eyebrows and eyes take shape in high speed

Hope you all like it, it was fun to make - if we get a sunny enough day again I might make another one

Continue

benmcfuzzylugsgiveaway

First time I have ever done this!!
But I have decided when my facebook page (http://facebook.com/benmcfuzzylugs) gets 1000 likes then I will start a MASSIVE shop wide sale

But thats not all
To get 1000 likes I need help - and you will be rewarded :)
For every person who shares my facebook page or blogs, tweets, retweets, pins or whatever else out there that you are on (and if you can add the words #benmcfuzzylugsgiveaway somewhere on your post it helps me find it easier) and comment here or on my facebook page that you have done it, you will be entered in my draw to get your very own custom sculpture of any animal for free - free worldwide shipping too

And STILL that is not all.
Once I have that 1000 likes I will then start sharing your work with my new adience, thats right, Im bringing back my featured Friday. So everyone who shares my facebook page somewhere, tells me about it and tells me about their work and asks to be included in a feature I will feature your work here on this blog and on my facebook page on a first come first done basis

So one little share by you means a shop sale, a chance to win your very own sculpture AND a feature on my blog

Thankyou for supporting me :)

Continue

Antics with the Applewoods Dogs in Daycare

Some of the bigger dogs dragged this prize "stick" to the front for chewing

Butler tries his paw at Sherpas jowls

Piper checks out the napping Sherpa

Sherpa attempting to nap in the winter sun

Eli is dwarfed by Diesels head

Obi looks on as Sherpa sprawls out

Sherpa meant to bring her shades for sunbathing

Piper wants to join Sherpa in napping but wait, Piper doesnt nap!

Diesel considering a career as a Dental Hygienist 

Piper under cover?

Continue

Wolfie is Eating His Poop!

This is so embarrassing, but my dog Wolfie likes to eat his poop!  Who would think that any animal would want to do that! 

To us humans, this is a pretty disgusting thing, but dogs dont look at this in the same light as us.  There are many products on the market that try to discourage "doggie poop eating" and you can Google them and try them out.  I have found that many of the products are hit and miss and would like to give you some alternative actions to try:

• Wolfie might be doing this out of boredom and lack of appropriate distractions.  If you dont exercise your dog between 30 and 90 minutes a day, the built up energy in them can cause unwanted behavior.  As a first step, make sure that Wolfie has a good deal of exercise.  Hint:  Walking on a leash down the street is not exercise.  You need to get him running and engaging in active events (based on his age).
• Diet is many times a cause for this action.  If you are feeding Wolfie poor quality dog food, he is not getting the protein he needs.  Switch him to a high quality food without by-products and possibly grains.  You can find a great example by going to this site.
• Manage Wolfies time so that you are with him when he goes to the bathroom.  Correct him as soon as he approaches the poop.  You can also modify his eating schedule so that he is not alone when he normally has to go to the bathroom.
• Think of adding veggies or DanAcive yogurt to his food.  This will help with his digestive process.
• Add probiotic dog supplements to Wolfies diet. 

Poop eating is something that dogs perform to fulfill a lack in their diet or socialization.  We simply need to methodically review different alternatives to meet Wolfies needs.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

Continue

Building Balance like planking we call it MARKING

Balance, confidence, stability, trust and play are Doglandos guiding principles. In all our classes, and especially Doglandos PRE K9, we strive to achieve all those principles in every dog, through exposure of different objects, environments and stimulus of all five senses. We are challenging our current PRE K9 class to have their dog balance or stand on different objects within our environment, objects that are not commonly found or things that the dog would be used to standing or sitting on. They are to find 5 things and have their dogs stand or sit on, and they must provide photos of their dog up on those objects. We are trying to create a planking effect for puppy hood, were going to call it Marking. Today, in our BS level class, Duncan demonstrated his confidence and balance to stand up on a cement ball at UCF. Here he is:

While searching for photos of dogs on different objects, I came across Maddie the Coonhound. Check out Maddie Marking.

Take photos of your dog Marking and share them with us. Let us create a movement for more stabled, balanced, confident, trusting, playful dogs! Mark with Doglando.

Continue

Keeping Wolfie Away from The Front Door with Guests

Wolfie always likes to run to the front door whenever anyone comes over.  He is just so annoying and bugs many of my friends!  What can I do?

Many dogs like to run to the front door when they hear a knock or a ring.  They normally bark, jump, sniff, nudge, nip, and sometimes run out the front door.  These are all things that we really dont want to happen when we have people over.  It is just rude and embarrassing.  So, what can we do about this? 

We have to make a very simple rule that we can enforce when people are at the front door.  If you think about it, if Wolfie would just stay away from the front door, all those annoying things that I mentioned earlier could not happen.  Great, lets just make sure that Wolfie isnt near the front door when someone comes by.  There are many ways that you can accomplish this, but let me discuss one.  The most important thing with any educational process is that it allows you to maintain focus with Wolfie and that you are calm and collected in your demeanor.

Lets set up an exercise for you to practice. 

• First, lets put Wolfie on a leash and ask another family member to hold the leash with Wolfie about twenty feet from the door.
• You will be standing at the door, facing Wolfie.
• You need another person to be outside and to knock and/or ring the bell.
• If Wolfie starts to move towards the door, you face him and verbally correct him in a stern manner.  Have the person with the leash do the same while giving a slight  tug on the leash so that Wolfie looks back at the person holding the leash.
• Repeat this process until Wolfie is calmly sitting and not approaching the door.
• Open the door and let the person in, always being aware if Wolfie is going to try to run to the door again.  If so, repeat the process above.
• Close the door behind your guest.  If Wolfie is still calm, invite him over to meet your guest. 
• Repeat this exercise several times a day.  In a few weeks, Wolfie will no longer be running to the door.

Again, I want to emphasise that this is one of several methods that can be used to keep Wolfie back from the front door.  Some methods work better for specific dogs.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

Continue

Old Mill agility Beginner homework week 1

Beginner classes started this week at Old Mill Agility. A great bunch of dogs (and owners) I think we are going to have some real speedy guys here :)
Week 1 homework is beginnings of circle/flat work
This starts out just as loose lead walking, rewarding your dog for walking nicely at either side of you and not pulling ahead. The challenge here is to try and not use the lead to pull the dog back to position or punish the dog (yuck) but to reward often enough so your dog enjoys staying in position.
Once they are doing this nicely then try it off lead (or you can start off lead if you are in a safe place) Then add walking in circles (easier outside circles (dog on the outside of the circle) ) figure 8s and then jogging and running with your dog.
I think this exercise is really important for an agility dog, it gets them used to focusing on you and where you are going, it is also great fun and you can practise at the park on walks without equipment - so its free

Although a bit cold the weather has been totally lovely for our first classes - and the brand new jumps look quite stunning

Continue

Daycare in the Snow

Continue