You're a winner!

You're a winner!  -- Words that will always sound good to us, right?  Well let's make everyone a winner.  To celebrate National Train Your Dog month (January, in case you didn't catch that) we are going to offer up some fun stuff (that means prizes and cool stuff!) to get you off the couch and training your dogs!

Please check out www.trainyourdogmonth.com for some excellent resources, free webinars by top trainers in the country and more!  National Train Your Dog month is brought to you by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT).

Here is the gist of it, but please be sure to read the specific details at the bottom of this post.

GET YOUR VIDEO CAMERA OUT.

You will need to video each phase of this little shindig.  We want to see the "how" of this, but more importantly this will enable you to see how you are doing or what you need to improve.  Trust me, after videoing any of my training and then watching it I often (like really often!) think, Really? Did I just do that?  Am I that bad in front of my clients? Eeesh!  So, don't feel bad.  We are human, all of us but this will be a learning experience for us all as well as a way to get you training your dog!

PICK YOUR POISON.

What do you want to accomplish with your dog?  Set a goal for the month of January.  Loose leash walking?  Coming when called?  Sit in all environments? (See the Sit Challenge here)  Wave?  Roll-over?  --Whatever you want to make your goal make it your goal.  But try to make it one goal for the sake of this particular contest.

READY, SET, GO!

Now get your training gear, thinking caps and yummy treats and start training! 

ITTY BITTY DETAILS ABOUT ALL THIS.

1)  Set your goal and then email it to Stacy with the following details.  

 - Your full name

 - Your dog's name

 - Dog's breed/mix

 - Dog's age

 - Goal & explanation (if you desire) & why you chose this goal in particular

2) Video your training from the beginning to the end.

3) Send the video(s) to Stacy by Monday, January 30, 2102 at 12:00am CST.

4) Three winners will be chosen for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.  Prizes will be given to all winners which will be announced on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 by 12:00pm CST.  Winners will be notified via email and will be announced on our Facebook page as well.  Prizes will be a surprise but will be a generous prize made up of dog-related items and services.

MORE SPECIFIC STUFF.

You cannot use any forceful type of training to accomplish your goals.  We will not allow anyone to participate using choke chains, prong/pinch collars, shock/electric collars, leash jerks or harsh physical means to manipulate your dog.  We encourage the use of clickers and lots of rewards!  And please don't forget to tell your dog when she's right, lots of praise, lots of it!

You must complete an entire video series showing your dog's progress from start to finish.  You may take as much video as you like or as little as long as it includes the before (show that your goal behavior is not reliable with the dog), in-progress (practicing/training to reach the goal) and after (goal is accomplished or very close to being accomplished).  You do not have to have your goal 110%.  If you can show that you have trained the dog toward your goal and there is progress being made, that is perfect too!  It will be really great to see any challenges you encounter and how you were able to overcome them in order to reach your end goal.  Please use language that is appropriate for G-rated audiences in your videos!

All video should be submitted to Stacy via email (stacy@aictdfw.com) and you must give permission for the video to be used online via Facebook, Twitter and/or this blog!  If you will not allow the video to be seen/published online you will not be able to take part.

brought to you from Stacy Greer of Adventures in Canine Training, Inc.