Hope2K9 Foundation

Hard to keep a good dog down! Our newest ADOPTABLE is one I (and Laszlo!) will have a hard time letting go of, this chick is a sweet, sensitive, playful pup. Truly a DOLL. Although she arrived as Brandi, we are thinking to call her Sloan when we start her training... what do you think? ... -Cam

We're here to help with another Fix It Friday coming your way! Drop your questions in the comments below, or email [email protected]. Then, tune in on Friday, April 16th at 12PM PST where Cam will answer your questions. Can't wait to hear from you!... -April See more

Kovu sure is a smart, high drive and sensitive guy, who arrived with a pretty good obedience foundation, yet his mental game still needs addressing in order for him to make calm choices around dogs. After an indoor training session with focusing on the basics and coexistence around calm dogs, Kovu is rewarded with a game of ball, yet still working that brain of his. It's all about balance. Kovu needs a work hard, play hard routine while also creating relevancy and connection ...BEFORE he acts, which will affect his success and choice making around dogs. -KB

ADOPTABLE, Sid and Cheeto start their morning with a fun romp in the yard. They're definitely coming out of their shell, which means we are starting their official training while learning more about them to determine their adoption placements. -KB

Cerberus is about half way through his training program and is making great progress.. He's an easily excitable, yet insecure guy, who can be highly reactive, so patterning a calm state of mind INSIDE the house is the foundation for him to be successful outside where the stakes are higher. We define 'Place' as a time for your dog to park it and relax until told to do otherwise. However, your dog isn't truly relaxed if their head and ears are up and scanning the environment.... A dog's mind follows their body, so to help your dog truly master the concept of 'Place', then we need to coach them into relaxation by requiring their heads to be down and not in an aroused/excitable/anxious state of mind. These little moments count in the BIG picture of your dog's overall obedience and making appropriate and rational choices. How's YOUR dog's 'Place' command? Are they truly relaxed or are they ready to move at a moments notice? -KB

Kovu is ALL ears and ready for his 3 week finishing school with us. As an adolescent Shepard mix who already has some training (remote collar) under his belt, he still struggles with reactivity on walks, dog socialization, impulse control, and some overall insecurity. Kovu is a smart and sensitive guy, so are starting with reviewing his e-collar understanding and establishing a solid foundation before we dive into addressing his other behaviors.... Stay tuned as we build this handsome guy's confidence and skills to help him reach his highest potential as he continues to mature. -KB

So, we fully sanitize all the chairs and cots after each community class now (thank you, Emily!!), but that’s only effective if the quarantine dogs do NOT then shmeer themselves all over the place. Thanks a lot, Holly and Raul. [These kids are in our adoption program! Stay tuned, and watch our stories for more updates - that’s the content you see when you click on our profile pic icon, for those newbies to the media happs. ]

Thank you, Liz H., for your generous donation of collar and leash sets for our new rescue pups! Cheeto, Sid, Holly, and Raul sure will be styling when they find their forever families. If YOU feel inclined to support our rescue pups as well, then check out our Amazon wishlist for a list of needed supplies. ... http://bit.ly/Hope2K9Wishlist With your support we are able to say, YES, to more dogs in need. -Kerianne

Just a cute mug for a Saturday smile. Yeezy-bo-beezy

Many of the puppies who enter our puppy development program, do so because they’re already exhibiting the concerning behaviors at a very early age. One such pup was Blue, and as I have previously shared, he was an extreme case of separation anxiety and social fear, before he was even four months old. Take a look at when Blue was here for a week a few months ago, versus yesterday, during a morning social. The same insecure and fearful pup is still under the hood (and in some... ways, always will be), because he had serious hardwiring and genetic deficits we’re up against, but the months he has spent at home being worked with by his owners, combined with the WAY we structure our socials and consciously blend dogs with rules and guidance, had made for a huge leap forward. -Cam

Our resident Dogs on Deployment pup, Onyx, sure is earning his keep as he works his social magic with Zeus and Cerberus. Zeus is only 5mo and by playing with Onyx, he's learning valuable body language cues from an adult dog, as he develops his social skills. Cerberus is already dog social, but its still valuable for him to interact with his own kind, especially a confident dog. Ultimately, Cerberus' long term success would benefit by living with a confident dog, and for him ...to not be an only dog. In the meantime, Onyx will be a valuable contributor of Cerberus' training program by being a calm influence around strangers. -KB

We had a fun afternoon getting to know the new adoptable pups yesterday, they’re all a little different, and all very sweet. Thanks for following our Facebook stories, plenty more of these cute mugs to come! Kerianne has taken the lead on Chonita and Rocky (whom we are already affectionately referring to as Sid ), while Holly and Raul are staying with me. All the dogs need to be screened for tick-borne diseases (new protocol due to the high risk environment they come from)..., and Holly has an open wound on her leg. Huge thanks to our donors and volunteers, who support us in making stories like these possible. REMINDER: We have a waitlist for adopters, so if you’re interested in adopting from us, the first step is to go to hope2k9.com, and complete an application. These dogs are not guaranteed available, as we are working to match the patiently waiting prior applicants first, but we can’t know exactly how things will line up just yet. -Cam

Picking up four gorgeous souls in less than an hour, stay tuned to our Facebook stories for more details!! Like my sunglasses? An incredibly thoughtful friend and follower sent those recently. Thanks, Chrissie!

THANK YOU, Robin MacFarlane!! You speak for all of us. Here’s to the freedom, connection, safety, calmness, clarity, inclusion, and so much more... that our clients experience with their properly remote collar trained dogs.

Shelby is rocking her remote collar training, she’s yet another adolescent here right now for the latter half of their Puppy Development Program - growing up with a plan, a process, and a trainer in retainer. One thing that struck me this week looking at all these six and seven-ish month old puppies, is how BIG they are. You look at these KIDS, and you think they’re full grown adult dogs. No wonder owners struggle to maintain course (or confidence), when slogging throug...h weeks of developmental ups and downs. Puppies grow big and strong before they’re rational, have self control, intuit, and so on. It’s why we can’t be shocked when they use teeth, claws, or vocals to our dissatisfaction, because these big babies are just ultimately still learning for such a long time to come. We know the human brain isn’t fully formed until something like 27 years of age. So while humans may LOOK mature and fully grown, boy can we do stupid sh*t for a very long time as we grow. Even when we absolutely know better, amiright?! Just reminding you... Set the bar, and put in the work to equal the outcome you desire, but also remember that big beasty thing you’re living with, may still have a baby’s brain. Deep breath (or ten of them), and be patient. The results will come. Shelby was a diva, a punk, and a pill her first week back at the beginning, but she’s really coming along nicely right about now! Props again to another client family stepping up and following directions along the way, with early intervention to balance out their unknowns. -Cam