Pat Miller

Instructors Course 8-2010 12

 in Academies / Animal Shelters / Animal Training / dog trainer / Dog training classes / Peaceable Paws / positive dog training  tagged Bark / clicker training / contest / dog trainer / Dog Trainer Academy / dog training / Dog training classes / Humane Society of Washington County / Level 1 Training Academy / Level 2 Instructor Academy / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / positive training / shelter by

Yesterday was the closing day of yet another Peaceable Paws Academy – this one our Level 2 Instructors Course. We tend to not get as much interest in this one as our Level 2 Behavior Modification (BMod is sexier), but it’s an excellent opportunity for trainers to hone their teaching skills – teaching humans is a very different skill set from training dogs. The students take turns teaching our Peaceable Paws Basic Good Manners exercises to each other, and as we do in our Level 1 Academy, students are working with shelter dogs. This week’s group consisted of: Bob Ryder, […]

CONTEST: Where in the World is Pat Miller? 5

 in Academies / Animal Training / contest / dog trainer / Dog training classes / Dog Training Workshop / positive dog training / Travels with PPaws  tagged contest / dog / dog trainer / Dog Trainer Academy / dog training / Dog Training Workshop / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / positive training by

Are you ready for a contest???? Description: below are 15 photographs taken during Pat Miller’s travels over the last several years to seminars, workshops, and on the back of the Harley. Your job is to correctly identify the locations of as many of them as possible. Identification must include city, state (if US), country, and a brief description as to what the photo represents or where in the city it is located. The contest will run for 3 months. If more than one person correctly identifies all 15 photos, the one with the most accurate descriptions wins. If there is […]

Downtown Hound 9

 in Animal Training / clicker training / dog trainer / Dog training classes / Dog Training Workshop / positive dog training  tagged clicker training / dog / dog trainer / dog training / Dog training classes / Downtown Hound / fun training / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / positive training / shaping by

Always a popular class, we offer our Downtown Hound experience just once a year, when we can take advantage of the long summer evenings. It always fills quickly, with some of our favorite students. This year is no exception. Our class is: Katie and Brooklyn – an 8 month old Rottie/Shepherd mix (below): Kristy, Bobbie and Grace – a 1 year old Belgian Tervuren: Mary and Milo – a 2 year old Collie mix: Lori and Pearl – a 1 year old Cockapoo: Ronda and Shea – a 7 year old Australian Shepherd (foreground): Karen and Cullen – a 2 […]

Academy Time!

 in Academies / Animal Shelters / Animal Training / dog trainer / Dog training classes / Life on the Farm  tagged dog / dog trainer / Dog Trainer Academy / dog training / Humane Society of Washington County / Level 1 Training Academy / motorcycle / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / shaping / shelter by

Summer is certainly our very busy time here at Peaceable Paws, and the endless weeks of 90-plus degree heat seem to be making our academies and workshops more tiring than usual. So here it is Thursday already, the AC in my office is not working again (and it’s going to be over 90 again), and I’m waaaay behind on getting this blog done. I intended to get to it last Sunday, immediately after our Level 1 Academy, but Sunday was the Humane Society of Washington County’s “Bone to be Wild” motorcycle ride, and I was just too hot and tired […]

Life on the Farm 5

 in Animal Training / dog trainer / Dog training classes / Life on the Farm  tagged dog / dog trainer / Dog Trainer Academy / dog training / Dog training classes / Level 1 Training Academy / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / Tug by

I know I’ve about done the Maggie story to death, but I need to add that Westie Rescue did come and pick her up Saturday, and they report she’s doing well in her new foster home. They agree that her teeth are very sharp, and promise to let me know when she’s placed in her forever home. Here are some last-minute photos of her playing tug and hanging out while we waited for Rescue to arrive:       Other than that… IT’S HOT OUT! – in the upper 90’s the last several days – 98 here yesterday, and predicted […]

Maggie Faith Follow-Up 9

 in Animal Shelters / Animal Training / Dog Behavior Modification / dog trainer / Gold Paw / Uncategorized  tagged Behavior Assessment / bite inhibition / dog / dog trainer / dog training / Humane Society of Washington County / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / shelter / Tug by

Okey Doke – I promised you a follow-up on the Westie pup left abandoned in our driveway, so here it is. Never let it be said I don’t keep my promises… Maggie spent the week while we were on our biker vacation happily making friends at the Humane Society of Washington County. They assessed her at the end of her stray holding time, and found that she was friendly, outgoing, resilient (as in nothing rattles her) and very quick to use her mouth. They weren’t sure if she was using it aggressively or not, so were not willing to make […]

From the Back of the Bike 10

 in Travels with PPaws  tagged dog / Harley / motorcycle / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / shelter by

I hope you’ll excuse a blog that has little to do with dog training this week. We just got home from vacation – where I spent the last eight days and 1,840 miles on the back of Paul’s Harley. Yes friends, if you weren’t already aware, this dog trainer/behavior consultant is also a biker chick. So, I fully intended to keep a daily journal so this blog would be a quick bit of editing and push-the-button done, but of course that didn’t happen. My intentions got soggy the first day and never quite dried out. Of course, I always take […]

You Just Never Know… 14

 in Animal Cruelty  tagged abandon / dog / dog training / Humane Society of Washington County / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / shelter by

You just never know what surprise is waiting around the corner. I was wrapping up a private consult at about 5:30pm yesterday when one of our 6pm class students arrived and informed Shirley that there was a dog in a carrier halfway up our driveway. Since our drive is about a half-mile long, there’s no chance this dog crate bounced out of the back of a passing pick-up truck; someone must have left her there deliberately. PPaws apprentice Jenn Rutter and I hopped in my van and drove down to investigate. We found the world’s most adorable 12-week-old Westie pup […]

The Nose Knows 6

 in Animal Training / dog trainer / Dog Training Workshop  tagged dog / dog trainer / dog training / Dog Training Workshop / Nose / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws by

This past weekend was Nose Games time at Peaceable Paws – and what a fun time it was! We spent two days playing with dog noses, and ended Sunday afternoon with tired and happy canines and humans. This was the first time we’d offered this workshop, and I can’t wait for the next one! Our Nose Games workshop differs from the competitive Nose Work seminar that’s touring the country, in that we explore a variety of scenting opportunities rather than just focusing on the competition, although what we do lays a solid foundation for Nose Work, if that’s where you’re […]

All That Is Necessary 7

 in Animal Training / dog trainer / Dog Training Workshop / Travels with PPaws  tagged Bark / Cesar Millan / dog / dog trainer / dog training / Dog Training Workshop / Dog Whisperer / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / Premier by

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” This quote, often attributed (perhaps incorrectly) to Irish political philosopher Edmond Burke, is at the heart of the debate between many otherwise philosophically aligned positive reinforcement trainers. Do we speak our hearts about the atrocities committed by TV personality Cesar Millan in the name of “dog psychology” or do we simply commend his success in encouraging more people to seek help for their dog’s inappropriate behaviors as we work to repair the damage done to some or our canine clients whose humans have tried […]

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION TRAINER ACADEMY

 in Academies / Animal Shelters / Animal Training / Uncategorized  tagged dog / dog trainer / Dog Trainer Academy / dog training / Humane Society of Washington County / Pat Miller / Peaceable Paws / shelter by

Okay, I’ll admit it, I have favorites. I teach several different trainer academies throughout the year, and my Level 2 BMod is always my favorite. I sometimes forget how much I like them until another one rolls around, but the group that just finished last week reminded me, in spades, how rewarding this work is. I like the BMod academy for several reasons – one of which is I get to see return students. Successful completion of my Level 1 Academy is a pre-requisite for Level 2. There are some “equivalents” but most of the Level 2 trainers are Level […]