Redd Working Dogs

This will be a great opportunity to do a little structured socialization with a great trainer I know personally. Owner trainers frequently struggle with helping their dogs to be calm and focused around other dogs, because we don't have the advantage that large programs with local teams of puppy raisers do of a built-in socialization group to practice those skills with in a variety of public places, with a professional monitoring the situation to make sure that the environment stays under control and the dogs who attend are going to contribute to each other dog's education, rather than detracting from it. This sounds like it will be a great resource to help fill in some of those gaps.

Text or message us to RSVP! We would love to see you and your pup there!

Serrana, now known as Buttercup, soaking up the sun this afternoon after a good training session. I always forget how fun the fundamentals are... there is something very magical about the way a dog's eyes light up as they realize that they are the ones to control the marker word, and therefore the flow of delicious treats 👀

This is one of those books that I really strongly believe that all service dog owners should read... ESPECIALLY if you're owner training. It's a short. easy read with lots of colorful illustrations, but it is a really excellent resource!!

Serana has decided that she is a big fan of my baby cousin, who is herself a big fan of giving puppies tummy rubs. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement.

The puppies waiting their turns at agility class. Roman is enrolled; Serrana is just there to practice Not Being Annoying Around Other Dogs (an essential part of puppy socialization).

Settling very politely yesterday during scentwork class :) Yesterday Roman did his first ever exterior (outdoors) search! It's so fun watching him follow the scent trail inch by inch until he finds the hide.

We should have taken photos BEFORE we walked all over the Botanical Gardens, not AFTER... we were pooped from all those hills! Great training outing though, there were tons of kids today.

Most beautiful SDiT in the world by the way.

Roman studying for his Public Access Test 😂

RWD is still active and accepting clients on a limited basis, but I have shifted toward spending more time and energy on my full-time job for a time. We will not be placing dogs for the next year or so as I focus on raising and training Roman as my keeper puppy. As you may recall, he's a little bit of an experiment to see if RWD can expand into not just placing labs and goldens, but but also cocker spaniels, and as such I want him to have the best possible chance of succeeding - so I'm not spending a lot of time updating my social media right now.

That said, Roman is coming along very nicely! I'm very pleased with his progress and his present chances at succeeding as a service dog, and he is maturing very nicely in terms of structure and coat as well.

One major concern that has been brought up with cockers is the degree of maintenance their coat can require. However, even with a thick, full show coat, I have been presently surprised at how little time I need to spend on grooming to keep him happy, healthy, and hygienic. I am keeping him moderately coated right now because I enjoy brushing him out once a week while I watch TV (probably about an hour all in all, including shaving his head and carding his back to make him look more like a show dog), but he could easily be kept at a much shorter and more low maintenance length.

A correctly coated cocker, NOT a backyard bred dog with soft curly undercoat, is meant to be able to run through dense underbrush on the hunt without tangling in thorns or picking up too much crud, and we have tested that extensively in the woods behind our house with great success lol. I honestly think he requires less weekly maintenance than most poodles (and certainly far less than many doodles), and poodles are the third most popular and successful breed of service dog candidates. There is obviously always the option to take the dog to the groomer every month or so, but since this program is ideally geared toward folks with less disposable income, I was very pleased to find that taking care of even a very thickly-coated cocker is not too much work.

All in all, I know we've been quiet, but things are going well behind the scenes here.

I will always respect people who spend the time to make homemade treats for their dogs. But I personally have found that almost nothing is higher value to my dogs than one of these Costco liver treats chopped into (honest to god) 16ths - 15 minutes of work, and voila. Barely any effort for something stupidly high value, not stinky, and not wet. Plus it's $16 for a 27 oz bag!