Kind Animal Services took the dive early summer in 2021 to start investing in our continued education and affiliations with organizations in the industry. The first, a membership with Animal Training Academy (ATA) . Prior to joining I (Kelsie) have followed and enjoyed the free content from ATA but until recently I had no idea just how amazing and deep this community is! If you are a training and behavior nerd like I am I can't recommend the Animal Training Academy podcast is worth a listen. (By the way these links and discussion is more to share the oasis I have found. I am not gaining anything by sharing this with you.) If I'm being honest I don't think I will be able to part from ATA now that I'm here. The member community is so supportive, responsive, and most of all kind! When Kind Animal Services gets a tough case or needs some input in solving a behavior related dilemma the awesome (and often much higher educated) colleagues within ATA step up to the challenge. They go beyond just solving animal behavior challenges and providing intelligent feedback, they offer the pat on the back and motivation through social belonging to keep my head up when things get difficult. The last year in 2021 Kind Animal Services was rocked! As I wrestled the business to stay on track through the continued COVID issue; my own health deteriorated rapidly. Everything was magnified when I got in a horse accident. Over each hurtle I faced ATA found a way help in ways I didn't know I needed. Shortly after healing form the horse accident, a tumor was found and removed. Hardly healthy again I found myself with 2 wonderful foster dogs. I struggled to pay for their food and care, to provide them with daily enrichment and activity. By the end of 2021 I have been suffering form some of the worst burn out / compassion fatigue. The ATA community of 500+ people is like my tribe now. Beyond my personal experiences with ATA the membership is a tremendous benefit to you as well. ATA provides KAS with new science, procedures, and information about what is happening within the applied behavior analysis environment and animal training. They provide multiple web classes to members covering a variety of topics to their members. Our process currently usually looks like this: I am an active member in the group and participate in as many web classes as I have time for. When I come across applicable information that will directly benefit our training or care processes I then regurgitate the information to the KAS team. Our team practices and plays with the new strategy to refine it for our purposes . As a team we then communicate our findings till we master the new concepts enough share them to you (the pet owner). All this means that you are getting the most up to date and humane information about how to handle and live with your canine. I understand that you want answers and you don't want to go out and spend your time becoming a dog trainer. We are doing the hard research for you. Besides a good animal trainer knows they don't have all the answers. I sure don't, but I have the network behind me and means I can discover answers I don't know. The mark of a quality trainer is one that is constantly learning and then helping you make educated and humane decisions about your animals care and training. Are you experiencing with a behavior problem with your pet? I wish you would reach out. The knowledge and information is available . For no charge at all I enjoy talking about my passion and may be able to help set you on the right path from one conversation. Let me know your questions about anything written here or other animal training questions in the comments. I will try to answer them in future blog posts.

If you are familiar with most training programs, they talk about the importance of teaching your dog to go to a place . Some basic classes will focus on teaching the dog to stay in a position such as sit or down . Kind Animal Services teaches both of these beneficial skills to classroom students and dogs attending our Dog School. However, I think it is worth teaching both behaviors, I want to discuss the difference between the two and the situations where each has it's time to shine. What is the down behavior? Down is when you ask the dog to lay down in their current location no matter if they were previously sitting, running, or standing. Some alternative vocal cues people use for down are: "lay down", "manners", "settle", "drop", "ground". What is the "place" behavior? Place is when you ask your dog to go to a specific and definable (to the dog) location. The dog is then required to stay on the said place until they are released. Some alternative verbal cues people use for place are: "settle", "mat", "bed", "go to __", "board", "on your mark", "station". The difference might be visible to you with a brief description of each. Yet, I find human students struggle with when to use the correct cue. To start, both behaviors are taught as stationary or stay behaviors. This means that the dog is not allowed to leave or get up voluntarily. They MUST be invited to resume their normal doggy behavior and move from the position or location. Next, it's important to point out that the place action does not and should not require the dog to be in any position (sit, down, or stand). It is okay to use your requested location to maintain the dog's focus and stack additional cues on top of it during training exercises. Though on its own the place command should allow the dog freedom of comfortable movement. When the dog is allowed freedom of movement while staying in it's set location makes it the preferred option when the duration of the behavior is important. Personally, I have also found it easier to teach and maintain the place behavior in high distraction as well. This is probably because the dog is allowed to move and look at the distractions versus having to look away when they don't have the self-control to do that. The place does require the aid of a definable object, preferably one with clear boundaries. Some examples: A truck bed (or car), picnic table, or park bench can make natural place locations when out and about. In the home: a bench, mat, or lifted dog bed and dog crate (with the door open) can be used as places. Personally, I prefer my lightweight travel training platform. The point is as long as your dog can define the edges of their place, then you're in business. One more note about the objects you use as a place; be aware of the dog creeping or dozing off. If you use a dog bed, mat, or crate, you might find you and your dog getting frustrated due to creeping. If your dog is sneaking, then the edges are not defined enough, and possibly the bed or rug is not big enough. Another thing you might think about is how confusing it can be to the dog when they wake up after dozing off. How will they know if they are or aren't allowed to leave the location? For this reason, I avoid using rugs or dog beds that the dog has constant access too. In the case of a crate, you will want to keep the crate door closed when not requiring the dog to stay there. In contrast, the down command asks the dog to lay on the ground in whatever location they are currently in. This behavior is much harder to teach in a variety of locations, as many dogs are picky about where they lay down and might come to find the act of laying down a punishment because of discomfort. In this way, you will start to get more resistance to the cue. To avoid a breakdown in your dog's down behavior, it would be wise, to consider if the situation calls for a down or a place . I use down for temporary or inclusive conditions. What do I mean by inclusive? Situations where a child asks to pet your dog (assuming your dog want's to be pet) or at a time when I am sitting on the ground, and I would like my dog to lie down at my side. I use down for more extended occasions on clean or comfortable surfaces. Lastly, down might be used for safety, such as halting the dog in mid-run to avoid getting hit by a car. When it comes to down , you should be selective about asking your dog to lie down. By all means, pull out their dog bed and ask them to down on that and stay until they fall asleep. Alternately, if you need your dog to stay out of the kitchen for an hour while you cook dinner, it would be best to set up a defined location and ask them to remain in that location. By now, I would think that you are starting to see the difference between the two behaviors. At Kind Animal Services training programs, we use place in most situations and only teach down as a backup and for manners when inside buildings or greeting small people. If you want more information about integrating these two behaviors into your daily life, check out the video (coming soon). Comment below and tell us: have you taught one or both of these cues? When do you find each of these cues most helpful?

My family and I had a wonderful experience with Kelsie and KAS.  Kelsie worked with our 9 month old Goldendoodle for 2 months 3 times a week.  A few wonderful things about Kelsie and what she taught me about my dog and how to best work with her: Even though Lola was great at home, I needed to get her out and about with people, downtown traffic, with other dogs, and even skateboards, if I want her to be able to go everywhere and be calm.  I know, silly that I didn’t realize that on my own. When I confessed I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend that much time training my dog she smiled and said thats why I was bringing Lola to her. Kelsie gave me realistic expectations of Lola.  She explained things that I would need to work with Lola on more, things might always be harder for Lola, and what things were obviously easy for her. The training schedule with KAS is consistent and yet flexible with changing daily needs. Lola is now a year and a half and doing great.  I can take her indoors anywhere dogs are allowed and she behaves well.  She is a great leash walker, attentive to the person in charge, and able to take commands from different people.  She loves other dogs and is able to respectfully play with them.   I highly recommend KAS and Kelsie.

"Kelsie came out to my house multiple times a week and worked with my dog since she was a puppy. Kelsie committed to training my dog and agreed to come back and work with my dog whenever if I was having issues later on down the road. This was one of the things that attracted me most about her program.  In addition, she would take Bella for hours at a time not just one or two. Sometimes she take her most of the day. I was very pleased with how Bella turned out. only after just a few lessons I was able to work with Bella alone. I had used two other trainers and nothing worked for Bella or myself but Kelsie figured out away for training to click for both of us. It was very nice for Kelsie to come to my house to do the dog training as it made it much easier. The training went very good and my dog has transformed into a wonderful friend. I would really recommend KelsIe for any one that wants to have professional training that works." - Brandon & Bella

Why we love Kind Animal Services ………. We first met Kelsie some years back when we were trying to get a Service Dog for my Disabled Veteran Husband. We had been told before that it would not be easy to find a suitable dog, since we had all sorts of two- and four-legged farm animals at the time, along with dogs and cats. At the time, Kelsie was working with an organization in Hood River training Service Dogs for Veterans, and was willing to give it a try. A few months later, she called to let us know that she had found “the perfect dog”. That perfect dog was too old to be trained as a Service Dog, but would we be willing to adopt him anyway? Of course, we would – it was a decision we never regretted! If we had a Dollar for every person that wanted to take that dog home, we’d be really rich now! Kelsie’s judgement was absolutely spot-on. “Luke” is the perfect dog for my husband! Fast forward a few years, and our youngest son was diagnosed with a medical condition that requires extensive physical therapy. Walking/Jogging is part of this therapy. Since there are cougars in our area, we needed a dog to be with our son while running. Luke is getting on in years, and his legs are a little too short to keep up with our son as his jogging partner. Both my husband and I had grown up with dogs and had had one or more dogs for over 25 years, but we are not dog training experts. Neither are we able to pick the “right” dog at a shelter, since their behavior there is usually different from what it is in a home environment. KAS to the rescue! One call to Kelsie, and she started setting things in motion. She took our son to a few shelters to look for another “perfect” dog, and after a short time called to let us know she had found………….WHAT? You want us to adopt a malnourished, scared, hyper, not house-trained female dog that is unable to relax, likes to run away, was probably abused/beaten, and won’t listen? As you guessed it, Kelsie was right again. Her ability to judge a dog is incredible. After spending two weeks with Kelsie, “Serenity” came to live with us, and has become an absolutely lovable, goofy, spoiled family dog. Actually, that dog that was unable to relax has turned into a complete couch-potato. There are no accidents in the house, she loves to snuggle (on her terms), is perfectly crate-trained, roaming the pastures without a leash, always coming back when we blow the whistle. She also seems to enjoy farm-life and likes riding on the tractor with our son. Another “perfect” dog thanks to KAS! We would without hesitation recommend Kind Animal Services to anybody who needs training for their dog. It is important to mention that Kelsie does it all very gently, without harsh words or punishing the dog for unwanted behavior. Not only has Kelsie trained our dog, but she also taught us how to continue training her. Sincerely, M.B.

"I’d met and observed Kelsie while she was training and caring for a few dogs in my neighborhood, so when I adopted a very shy and anxious shelter pup, I called her for training. She has really helped Junebug and me both! Junie has become a more confident and more enjoyable companion, and I have learned how to use simple rewards to get the behaviors I want. Kelsie is very skillful at training the dog, but her real value is teaching the owner (me!) how to work with the dog to practice (and practice and practice) the things she has done with the dog, and how to apply the same techniques to new training needs in the future. She has been positive and kind and patient with us both, and we’re happy “graduates”. - Bonnie & Junebug

I'm utterly captivated by my new baby it's hard to get any work done at all. Seriously, how can such an animal be so beautiful, uncoordinated, strange, and cute all at the same time? Years ago, I had a cockatiel, Dazy; she was my joy. As one would have it, teenage life got the better of me and Dazy was unfortunately neglected. I had no idea what I was doing and compared to the knowledge I have now about parrots. I read one of those booklet things about cockatiels and ran out to get one. One might say she made a good starter parrot. I didn't do everything wrong, I got some things right. She was flighted, her cage was by a window that I had open a lot so she got sun with the option for shade, and I had her on a pellet diet. She was not trained but I had no trouble handling her and she never bit me or was aggressive. Regardless, I vowed that I would get another bird one day and I would be the best bird-mom ever. I would do it all right next time for Dazy's sake. I would make up for my poor choices and lack of research. Wednesday, June 26, 2019, I drove to Portland with my project-dog in tow to pick up my now weened 3-month-old Galah (Rose Breasted Cockatoo). After pulling over once to let Lucy-Lue (project-dog) out to do her business, we made it to the bird shop where my baby was being housed. I would have preferred to hand feed and raise a baby myself, but it all worked out for the better. I work a lot, and it would have been something else to worry about. Now I could pick up a well adjusted young bird ready for life with humans. It didn't take long to get her loaded up in a small dog crate and out to the car. We headed to the avian vet clinic to get her checked out — one of the many stops we planned to make. I wanted to make the most of my long trip to the city. The clinic let me bring the baby in even though they were not ready for my appointment. I took that time to walk Lucy about and get her settled into the truck during the appointment. This clinic was great. Everyone seemed to love the animals genuinely. I felt they were almost as excited for me to have this bird as I was to get her. Two different people mentioned the "Animal Trainer" in my email signature. I think it was a relief for them to work with a client knowledgeable in enrichment and training. I had thought of the name "Fable" on the drive in, and that is what the clinic put down as her name. Initially, I was going to change it by the time I got home, but it has stuck. We called her "Fae". The vet said she seemed to be in good health but noticed some stress bars on her feathers. (Always learning something.) My hope is the diet I have her on, the sunlight she is getting, and the minimal stress these bars should disappear on her next molt. Fable has settled in nicely. I didn't know that bird parenting would be this easy. Seriously! She is quiet. She is already learning her recall/name. She was easy to convert to healthy food. She picked up targeting. (Although she really wants to eat and swing the stick around.) She has learned spin. She is learning to wave and started "eagle wings" today. She also started accepting a head rub every now and then. What am I missing? Everyone thinks that having a parrot is hard and a bunch of work. I guess I was ready. Welcome to the family Fable.