Longsnouts Dog Training

Where working with your dog feels like recess

At Longsnouts, we use science- and reward-based dog training to enrich the human/canine partnership. We’re huge fans of making our dog ‘homework’ feel fun so we’re all more inclined to “do the work” and feel successful. In fact, most of our training exercises are heavy on what feels like play – we want high energy and smiles all around!

The Longsnouts team also focuses on giving dog choice-making skills, so we don’t have to manage them (and their behavior!) for a lifetime. Why? Well, dogs do what works: those behaviors that get the attention or treats or outside or walks (and more!), that’s what shows up. Our dogs don’t differentiate between “good” or “bad” attention; it’s all just attention and it “works.”

So, where to start?

Enrichment Tools & Puzzles for Dinner

If your dogs are anything like ours, they have inquisitive minds and enjoy challenges! Some days, we long for couchsurfing, nap-taking dogs, but curious, active dogs always end up being our ‘thing.’ So, we’ve come up with a long(ish) list of ways for our dogs to feed themselves that don’t involve continually spending money on the latest slow feeder, but truly engage some of their most primal instincts.

Some of our favorite suggestions include:

• Tricky Treat Ball:  http://www.omegapaw.com/products/tricky-treat-ball.html
• Tug-A-Jug:  http://store.petsafe.net/busy-buddy-tug-a-jug
• Kongs:  www.kongcompany.com
• PVC feeding tube: https://houndandthefound.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/how-to-make-a-dog-food-puzzle-toy/

For the kongs, we stuff them with all sorts of food items, like Happy Howie’s food rolls or mix up a bunch of food – fruit, veggies, yogurt, wet food and freeze! While these are a few of our tried and true favorites, there’s a facebook group dedicated to sharing even more excellent ideas!

Engage, engage, engage!

It’s no secret that a ‘brain tired’ dog is more tired than a physically tired one…and better behaved, to boot! With that in mind, that’s how the Longsnouts team works with all dogs, from client to foster to Perma Dog. In fact, we’ve designed our classes aroud ways that we can engage and include our dogs in day-to-day life; everything from learning how to be polite in the real world through Urban Manners and practicing in businesses around town.

New to the class roster is Nosework. It’s true, with a history of having hounds in her life and currently training with Dougal for Search & Rescue, Hannah is leading the charge in nose-obsession. It’s the only thing that has ever fully exhausted Livvie, the current Longsnouts coonhound. (And, if you’ve met her, you know that’s quite the feat!).

Check out our class list here.

Reading List (we encourage all sorts of reading!):

• On Talking Terms With Dogs, by Turid Rugaas
• The Other End of the Leash, by Patricia McConnell
• And Bones Would Rain From the Sky, by Suzanne Clothier
• The Connection Collection, by Suzanne Clothier
• Perfect Puppy in 7 Days, by Sophia Yin
• What the Dog Knows, by Cat Warren
• Secret History of Kindness: Learning From How Dogs Learn, by Melissa Holbrook Pierson (SUPER Dog Nerdery here!)

Don’t forget we want to meet our dogs where they are, not where we expect them to be.