The Dog Blog

Whew! Just finished an outside lesson with a client
and the car said it was 102 when I got inside. The dog was hot after the lesson, the owner was Really hot after the lesson and I was sunburned to a fare the well. Forgot the sunblock 70 again.

On the way out of my clients’ neighboorhood I saw one of those street corner guys selling cold water from coolers he had. No shade in sight for this guy at all and it made me feel really lucky that all of the dog I’d worked with today got to go inside to the AC and a cool tile floor after the heat of the lesson. Long and short of it is that I would rather be training dogs outside than selling water like these guys. THAT is a hard way to earn a living.

After an hour of long line work this pup could manage a heel off leash with her owner. Such is the power of good training and an attentive handler.

By the way, this is only the second lesson for this pup. The owner is working hard and it shows.

Steve Haynes

Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

When training a dog to be off leash we always start with a super high tech dog training tool known as a long line. 20 feet of string that is generally really hard to use correctly for most non dog trainers.

There is no shortcut though for doing this the right way. Anything else is shortchanging the dog.

Off for an hour of longline work with a client now!

Dog trainers don’t really go all in for technology. I mean the collars and leashes really haven’t changed that much in the past 2000 years. That doesn’t stop my clients from wanting to know what we trainers do all day. So in response to my blog readers, I’m going to start publishing some posts from the road using the now ubiquitous iPhone.

Yep, photos, words, the whole gig. You want a feel for my days, here it comes. Hope you all enjoy.

To inagurate this endeavor, here is my first mobile post and photo of the things most dear to me this time of year for dog training work. Enjoy!

All my best,
Steve Haynes
Fidelio dog works

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

What do you do with your toddler when your out training with the hunting dogs?

My oldest had a great time the day we took this picture. She “trained” the dogs for about two hours and was a great help throwing the dog slimed hunting bumpers. I guess I can be proud she started a couple of years before I did with dog training!

Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works

I’ve been training with these clients for a couple of months. They called me when the classes they were taking at another location just weren’t meeting their needs. As I’ve said before, dog training is more art that science, and the trainer at the other place they went was a pure “method” trainer and couldn’t work outside her box.

In any case, this lab pup has proven to be a complete joy. She’s been a challenge at times for the owners but she’s really smart and really willing to do what you ask of her. The main issue now is that she has gotten bigger and has TONS of excess energy. So today, in the cool of the morning, we stated training her to “heel” to a bicycle. After they build up her stamina (takes training just like it does for us) she’s going to be a trail running dog at Emma Long Park and will accompany her Dad on his morning bike rounds of the neighborhood. She’s got a good life for sure.

Our next step with Maddie the Lab is to get her off leash trained so that she can “bike” and “run” without the hassle of that darned lead on her. It won’t take her long to get there.

Note of Caution: Do NOT just take your dog out attached to the bike. You’ve got to train them to do this correctly or you’re in for big trouble. Also, be sensible and don’t make them run long distances with you during the head of the day. They don’t handle heat as well as we do.

Enjoy the Picture!

Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works

Most of my day doesn’t really consist of dog training. Since Fidelio is a “come to you” service I would venture to say that 50%-65% of my day is spent in the car navigating between clients. I spend LOT of time in traffic and a LOT of money on gas, as I average 100+ miles a day of driving between the 3-4 clients I can actually fit in each day.

Part of the reason we do this at Fidelio is that we believe it is more efficient for our clients. No loading the dog in the car after work, trekking across town to a lesson, then loading the dog back in the car to go home. We come to you, do the lesson, and then hopefully, you take the time you’ve saved by not driving to actually practice what we teach during the session. This type of service isn’t cheap because of all the windshield time we spend between clients.

Most people acknowledge that what we do is expensive, but when you factor in the time you save to be with your family, you dog, your neighbors, and in your home, it ends up being FAR less expensive than spending 3 hours for a one hour lesson. We just happen to spend that other two hours getting to and from your home to the next client.

Enjoy the picture. It’s what I see for hours every day.

Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works

I just finished reading a fantastic small article in the NY Times today. They have an ongoing series on life with a new puppy and today’s installment was on dealing with a dog trainer.

There is absolutely quite a bit of “science” in dog training but there is equally, if not more, “art” to it. A lot of dog training involves being able to communicate with the owners AND the dogs and that’s were things fall apart for most dog trainers. The question of method comes up so often and this wonderful quotation from the article is what I repeat so many times to potential clients on the phone. With due credit to the NY Times here it is:

Shawn Stewart said “No one out there can say that any one method will fit any dog or owner.”

I just love it and it is ever so true.

The article is here and I do recommend you take a look if you have time. Article

Also, if you have the time and want to hear a bit more about my “philosophy” take a look at my previous post “No Guru no Method“.

Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works

Steve–I have had Mickey for three weeks while Austin was on vacation. I thought you might be interested to know that he remembers all we taught him! He is such a great dog–I really am attached to him! But I wanted to tell you that if you need any letters of reference or if you want to give my name to anyone who is considering having you help them train their dogs, feel free!

By the way, there is another dog at my house–another grandson just got a miniature dachshund (about 4 months old). I will be working with him more when Mickey goes home Sunday, but a little dog is not as much fun for me as a slightly bigger one.

Thanks again for helping me make Mickey the joy that he is.

Pat and Mickey

O.K. I just had to put this photo up of my Nanny’s dog Bailey. This is the epitome of how a dog should be spending it’s time this summer in the heat. Shades, Pool, and life jacket for continuous floating in the pool. I’m jealous!

This is truly a dog's life

Hi Steve,

Bailey, Ami and I just got back from a walk in a very busy neighborhood. Just want you to know that she was “perfect”. Hard to believe this is the same ” out of control” dog I used to walk.

thanks again, Sharon

In the world of all things dog training, service dogs rank up there as the most of the most. The people that work with them are incredible and the amount of effort, time, and patience that goes into making a capable service dog is simply mind boggling to the average human.

With that high praise for service dogs and their trainers a given, I ran across an article in the New York Times today that illustrated some new “Jobs” for these service dogs that have previously not been publicized as much as they should. These dogs in the article are doing wonderful work for their humans and the organizations that train them deserve any spare donations that you could provide.

So without further delay, the article is HERE You may have to sign into the Times for a free logon but it’s worth it.

Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogs.com

I’ve had a lot of people pay me a lot of ways over the years, but one of today’s clients did it up right!

Here’s the setup:

A great golden retriever puppy that is 14 weeks old.
A very cool client family with 2 kids which are fantastic and work a lot with the puppy.
A lot of hard work done over the last three weeks training with the puppy.

So, after the lesson today the Mrs. says “hey, we need to pay you for the lessons, let me get the checkbook” and walks inside the house. When she comes back outside Stella (the puppy) runs over to her on the front porch and waits while she writes the check. After she finishes signing everything she rips the check out, hands it to the puppy and yells at me to call Stella over. One quick “Here” command and Stella flashes across the yard to bring me the check! No chewing, no slobber, no running off with a multi-hundred dollar check, just straight to me in that wonderful Golden Retriever “I’m doing the right thing” way. Amazing.

Now, I ask you, is that a well trained puppy or not?

So, if I can have a wonderful ending to any Monday I think this would be it. A Golden puppy running across the yard bringing me a check. That makes today a VERY good day indeed.

Steve Haynes
A very PROUD Austin dog trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogs.com

Steve,

It was a very effective and useful lesson we had yesterday, and I learned a lot from it, I really appreciate your service. Vocal & Skinpy are behaving much better now. I will keep practicing on all you’ve taught me and let you know how it goes in the near future.

Thank you and Vocal & Skinpy want to say thanks to you too!

Carol

Steve,

I was walking Niko last night when a loose dog ran up behind us - you should be so proud of us - I used my big dog voice and Niko went into a down without me saying anything to him and waited for me to deal with the other dog. He didn’t even woof! This morning he got up on the bed, after sleeping in his crate all night, for his early morning cuddle and gave me a “loving” ear nibble - I really love him.

I could email you all the time with these moments and I don’t think any of them would be possible without the help you gave us - thanks.