Dog Trainer in Ventura Hits Blogosphere!

I never thought my mom would be a blogger, but all my dog friends and dog owners kept saying that my mom needed to take her love of dog training and put her tips and advice out to the world wide web to help more dog owners and pups!

My name is Poncho (I have my own dog blog and actually started blogging way before my mom!)

My mom's name is Joan, she is a dog lover and works in a profession that we both love (as a trainer and dog behavior instructor in Ventura, Ca) I go to work with her every day.

She created this blog to share her passion about dog training to extend my dog training work in Ventura to the blogosphere!

My mom is a graduate of the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers where she studied pet dog training, behavior problems, client coaching and teaching. Her experience also includes training shelter dogs at the San Francisco SPCA where she specialized in dogs with behavior problems.

In addition to my mom being a great dog treat giver-outter, she is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT) through the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers (CCPDT), a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), and an affiliate member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC).

She attends conferences all over the place (when I do not get to go I sort of get upset, but then I get to hang out with dad and have lots of male-bonding fun) just to stay current on the latest in animal learning theory and behavior, to incorporate cutting-edge science into her work with owners and their canine companions.

As Joan's dog, I can vouch that her approach comes from personal passion and love of animals (me!!)– it is all about positive reinforcement and owner-education in reward-based training sessions.

So far, all the work my mom does with me makes me super, so keep reading my mom's dog training blog! :)

-Poncho http://ponchosprose.blogspot.com/

Self awareness...what a beautiful thing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone! Wow! And what a beautiful first day of the year it is. Windy like all get-out here in Ventura, but fortunately the SBAA was holding their annual Resolution Run today - in gorgeous Santa Barbara - with zero wind! I decided to head up this morning... Ran both the 5K & 10K...plus got a nice new t-shirt...saw some folks I hadn’t seen in awhile... So, why am I bringing this up? Well, just as I was rounding the final 10th of a mile of the 10K into the chute of the finish area, I was passed by an awesome strong runner (wahoo!) then he and I were both cut off by a lovely non-race woman walking her very well-behaved Australian Shepherd - right in the middle of the path of the finish line chute!

I’m sorry, but what was she thinking??? And, what were the event people thinking? The poor guy that passed me was really quick on his feet - literally! He hurdled himself over the poor dog - brushing the top of the dogs head with his foot - then she swerved to the other side just in time for me to slam into her - ugh. It was like one big Sig-alert! I felt badly for her and the dog - I know they weren’t there intentionally - I’m sure the tree the dog was sniffing was quite appealing - but come on folks, a little self-awareness goes a long way... Please, when you’re out and about with your pooches - be aware of your surroundings...especially when your dog can get injured or scared... Hopefully it’s the worst things that happens to all of us this year... And of course, it could have been much worse... But we all finished with a smile - including the dog... Happy New Year to all! May you have a safe, injury free, positively reinforcing 2008!

Rambling finally pays off! At least in my own mind...

Hello and welcome to my blog... Finally! All these years of rambling behavior, in emails, phone calls, and everyday conversations, I now finally have an outlet where I can just let it all pour out! I love modern technology! Thank you Google and Blogspot - and of course Lorrie Thomas for encouraging me to become a blogger!

So, what is all of my blogging going to be about? What are my goals? My intentions?

Mostly professionally related dog training topics - training and education for canines and their humans... But with a side order of my own personality ;-) Tips and tidbits on the basics of training your dog, trouble-shooting issues I commonly see or am frequently asked about, interesting cases I’m working with (real names protected of course), addressing interesting emails I may receive, responding to comments, or simply my very own humble opinion on life’s daily adventures...I’m thrilled you’re here, and am looking forward to having you join me on this new and exciting blogging experience...

Joan (AKA: Poncho’s mom)

The Inquisitive Canine, LLC