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BetCo February 2017 Newsletter

Hello ,

 
I'm happy to see so much snow again this year - I missed that! I'm also glad that the worst cold spell seems to be over, that was something! Some of our dogs enjoy being out in the snow with us, and some are anxiously awaiting for warmer temps and grass. 

For our snow lovers, despite the snow, we won't have our own skijor or mushing clinic this year. 
We do have skijor equipment and a book about skijoring available for sale. The book is written by locals from Fairbanks! The Anchorage Skijor Club has its own Facebook page and invites you to different events throughout the season, including beginner clinics. Some of them are held in conjunction with REI, so check with them as well! 
 
For our 'survivors' waiting for spring, we have a lot of indoors activities to offer! Make it a priority to spend some quality time with your dog and learn something new by the way!

Monthly Training Tip at the end of this newsletter:
The Guilty Conscience - A Myth Debunked

The Better Companion is now an official vendor for the Mat-Su Central School! This means the school could pay for your child taking a class with us! At age 8-13 we ask that an adult takes the class together with the child, after that other options might be available. 

All CLASS-BA and CGC-Prep students: we added an evening for evaluations!!! Wednesday, February 22nd; CGC-test at 5pm (all teams come together), CLASS-BA will be scheduled every half hour, starting at 6:30pm. Watch for an email in your inbox or check here

Interested in volunteering with your dog as a Pet Partners
® team, visiting nursing homes, hospitals, schools or libraries? South-Central Alaska offers their own therapy dog handler course - instructors and evaluators! 

The next Pet Partners
® Therapy Animal Handler Course is scheduled for Saturday, February 18th at the Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. 
Contact us to email you the flyer and registration form, or contact the instructors directly:
Terry Yeomans: email, 907-694-4777, 973-513-0103
Pete Klebes: email, 907-727-8633.

Ready for another class? Check below for upcoming behavior and sports classes - here a short overview, more details are further down:

1) Winter is here and indoor sports classes are a hot item!

FebruaryRally College will start February 6th, and we do have spots available. Rally College is for Junior High graduates and Rally Practice students. (Mondays)

February: Agility classes will start February 25th, and we do have spots available in most of the classes! (Saturdays)

February: K9 Nose Work is the fastest growing sport for lots of good reasons! Join us as we learn to better understand our dog's 'view' of the world! (Sundays and Tuesdays). A fun game for indoors and outside! 

April: Freestyle Beginner is back for dogs of all ages! Pre-requisite: you and your dog should have taken one behavior class with us. (Thursday evenings). Combine easy to learn tricks (spin, peek-a-boo, etc.) with heeling to music and you'll be "dancing" with your dog in no time! 

2) Interested in improving your dog's manners in more behavior classes? We have the right class for you!

February: Grade School  - practice manners in an increasingly distracting environment. (Mondays and Thursdays)


April: CLASS-BA Course (Canine Life And Social Skills) - games and role play to improve your dog's behavior in public, working towards the CLASS-BA evaluation. (Thursdays)

All clickable links in this newsletter are in PURPLE.


Enjoy life with your better companion,

Claudia

Abby visiting Jerry at St. Elias Specialty Hospital while he recovered from a serious accident. Deb and Abby had passed the evaluation and were a registered Pet Partner team while helping Jerry gaining back his brain functions faster through his interactions with the dog. 
1) Sports classes:

All Junior High graduates and Rally Practice participants, join our next Rally College, starting February 6th, on Mondays at 7:30pm. All Rally College graduates (no matter if you attended a Rally Practice since) can repeat Rally College and hone their skills through two options:
- reserve a spot for your dog for all 6 weeks by signing up for the class
- gamble on the class maybe not filling and then use your sports punch card to reserve a spot just like for Rally Practices. Reserve up to two visits in advance, just like a practice. Maximum 6 dogs (class students and practice participants).
There will be a course each week that will be run 1-2 times, depending on how much time we spend on practicing single stations and short sequences. 

Start or keep going with our popular Agility classes! If we have enough additional interest, we'll even double up whichever classes are necessary, so times as listed could still change. Starting February 25th, on Saturdays, this class will run for six weeks, finishing April 1st.

K9 Nose Work® is the best outlet for any dog; puppies or seniors, shy or outgoing, mellow or energetic, little or lots of obedience, even a little reactive to other dogs - no problem! Channel the energy of your dog into a 'nosy' behavior you can control! Intro to K9 Nose Work® (beginner class) starts February 26th, filling already! Advanced Nose Work classes also available. We might find room for an overflow class if needed ...

Preview April 2017:  After we had to take Freestyle off the schedule for February, we want to try it again with a Freestyle Beginner class in April! Instructor will be June or Ella-Kate. Want to refresh your existing Freestyle skills? You can join the Beginner class again! Lucy did it three times and never got bored! Brand-new to this? Learn a few new tricks, how to chain several tricks together in a fluent sequence and to finally 'heel to music', combining it all!


2) Manners classes

Haven't done Grade School yet?
Puppy 2 - Kindergarten and Foundation Class graduates can continue on to Grade School, offered every month.  Pick the day and time that fits your schedule best! Grade School applies all the learned techniques to valuable exercises, improving your handling skills and your dog's behavior through more practice with controlled but increasing distractions. Next GS starting February 6th, Mondays at 9am and February 16th, Thursdays at 7:30pmIn March on Sundays 

Grade School graduates and any level beyond:
Take obedience to the higher levels in our Junior High class, offered in February or improve your dog's manners in our CLASS-BA Course in April, which also prepares you for APDT's CLASS-BA evaluation (test offered separately). Junior High graduates: Take Rally College in February!
The next Junior High (after February) is planned for June, CGC-Prep in July and Rally College earliest in August. Check our long-term plans HERE (subject to change!)

Want to start your dog now?
Our Package deals are the best option for the young and/or beginner adult dogs - bundle two or more classes for a great discount! You learn valuable lessons and your dog gets the best start. Next Puppy 1 classes: Starting February 6th, on Mondays at 11:30am and February 16th, on Thursdays at 6:15pm. In March on Wednesday evenings. Puppy 2 class starts February 6th, on Mondays at 5pm. In March on Sundays. For dogs over 6 months new to BetCo, join our Foundation Class, also new classes starting every month! Next FC starting February 6th, on Mondays at 10:15am or February 16th, on Thursdays at 5pm. In March on Sundays or Wednesdays.

Here's what one of our clients had to say after taking Puppy 1 - Preschool:
"The greatest benefit from this class is the fun bonding time with the puppy & socialization. I liked most about the training program the positive reinforcement and preventative training. The most interesting exercise of the whole course was learning how to manage play times. Dain came to class at 9 weeks old, a puppy we bred, so socialization was vital. His behavior at home towards our other dogs has greatly improved!" Grace and Crystal with Dain, Puppy 1 - Preschool

Read more testimonies HERE!
Monthly Training Tip:

The Guilty Conscience - A Myth Debunked

My Dog Knows - What Exactly? 

Have you experienced guilt in your dog? Maybe more in the past than with your current family member? Submissive behavior when you come home and the dog had an accident, or chewed on a forbidden object? And they already behave submissive, before we even know about it! That MUST be guilt. They KNOW! No, they don't "know".


Here is what happens: Your dog is alone at home. Bored little Max decides to chew on a shoe lying in the hallway. Lady drank too much this morning and had to pee, so she went in the bathroom and eliminated on the rug there. Here comes the important part: TIME GOES BY. Now there is no way anymore for your dog to connect his/her behavior with you being frustrated when you come home.

 
Several times in a row (2-3 is enough), you come home, look at the destroyed object or at the accident in the bathroom and your mood changes from happy to sad or from neutral to mad. And you say something to your dog in that mood.


When your boss at work comes into your office in a bad mood - whatever his reason might be - don't you feel like crawling under the table and hiding? That's exactly what our dogs do: they behave submissive in efforts to sooth your mood, not because of their previous wrong behavior.


But, you will say, Max only behaves submissive after he DID chew on a shoe, not when he didn't. He knows the difference. And Lady only comes crawling up to me after she HAD an accident in the house. The reality is: Max only behaves submissive, when there IS a destroyed shoe lying around and Lady comes crawling only when there IS pee in the bathroom. They act submissive because they connected the fact with your mood: you get frustrated about the situation at home, not about their behavior hours ago. They only connect the facts about how they appear at the time of your arrival. So don't get mad, ignore and avoid it for next time!

 

Enjoy the Journey of Dog Training!
Claudia

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The Better Companion, LLC, 1400 Regine Ave, Wasilla, AK 99654, United States


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