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Lady Priscilla Earns Her AKC Trick Novice Dog Title and Conquers the Tunnel We weren’t expecting a breakthrough. Honestly, we thought it would just be a solid private lesson: some confidence-building, a few laughs, maybe a little agility. But in 30 minutes, Lady Priscilla didn’t just meet expectations—she shattered them. First came the tricks. Jenny,…
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We walked into our final CGC class not quite knowing what to expect. It wasn’t the official exam — just a dry run of the CGC test for dogs — but if you know our trainer Jenny, you know that “dry run” means prepare for the toughest version possible. In the real AKC CGC test,…
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How to protect dog paws from hot pavement without the bootie battles We adopted Lady Priscilla in the spring, when hot pavement wasn’t yet a major concern. But Florida warms up fast, especially here in Orlando, and we knew we needed a plan before summer hit. So, like any good dog parents, we bought booties.…
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The Pace of Progress in CGC Training Dogs in an AKC Canine Good Citizen class often surprise their handlers. Just when you think they’ve plateaued, they level up in ways you didn’t expect. The challenge is figuring out when to ease off the gas… and when it’s time to speed up. We knew CGC would…
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After a two-week break, Lady Priscilla walked back into the Zoom Room Winter Park for agility class like she owned the place. No barking, no pulling, just calm focus and a handful of high-value treats. If you’ve been following our journey, you know that training a rescue dog for agility hasn’t exactly been a smooth…
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CGC Training: A Turning Point We had been in CGC training for exactly two sessions. Just seven short days between “Is she even ready for this?” and “Wait…did she really just do that?” Lady Priscilla came in hot. Her training had been going well at home and in public, but performing her skills in a…
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The Long and Winding Road to Finding the Right Vet When we first adopted Lady Priscilla, we chose her vet the way a lot of people do—based on convenience. The clinic was just down the street, open late, and even offered boarding. It seemed like a no-brainer at the time, but finding the right vet…
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Mapping the Fog: Bringing It All Together This post on final service dog prep for HHN concludes the 5-part series. Don’t forget to start at the beginning, if you haven’t already! Or check out Inside the Fog to find out how it all came together. By this time, it was early October and HHN was…
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The Accidental Curriculum: How Real Life Became Haunted House School If you’re new to this series on HHN service dog training, be sure to start at the beginning with Part 1! Around this same time, I discovered a service dog blog by a trainer who lives in this area. She says that in addition to…
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The Training We Didn’t Know Was Training: Learning in All the Wrong—and Right—Places If you’re new to this service dog public access training series, be sure to catch up on Part 1 and Part 2! These early chapters follow Lady Priscilla’s progress as she prepares to navigate Halloween Horror Nights with confidence and calm. Thank…