Divide by Zero

AKC German Shepherd 03 - 11 - 2014

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Hustle vom Haus Tyson, 13 weeks.

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Professor Zero returns to you this #smartsunday with another tip!

Do you struggle with the motivation to train your dog? Whether you’re a first time owner, a seasoned veteran of pet dogs, working with sports dogs or training any multitude of dogs for multiple people, we all experience burnout. . Remember that the quality of your sessions will outweigh the length and the difficulty. It your dog has an easy day, that is not, inherently, a bad thing! You still did something, and they practiced something that may be useful as a foundation behavior later on down the line. . Don’t set yourself (or your dog!) up for failure. Three to five minutes is plenty of time to devote to one session. I tell my clients to train during the commercials when their favorite TV show is on! A short session will prevent you both from getting bored or restless, and will keep it fun, as well as ensure you end on a high note. . Take breaks if you start to feel frustrated, or if your dog is struggling with something. Go back to an easier thing. Try again later. Don’t burn yourself out - the feeling of failure will only discourage you in the future. . Zero hopes you have enjoyed her lecture and encourages you to try some new things! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 🌟 DISCOUNTS 🌟 ZERO15 @thesilverhoundco ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 🐾 Check out our pack! 🐾 @floof.boof @dakonicgsds @the_walkin_dogs @gsdunited ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #pupxenopus5 #dogtraining #peptalk #getoutandtrain #chompchomp

[millenniallust4death]

Congratulations! You won a BRONZE gift certificate for a FDSA course.

Martin inspired me every day to get up and work my dog - he still does. 

Training your dog is exactly the way Martin would like to be remembered.

Unfortunately, I can only award two Gold gift certificates so my mom is giving you a Bronze gift certificate because she appreciates your entry.

Please private message me your email address and your state/province/country (my mom is curious).

[zwingervomrabenauge]

At the sake of sounding like a “your mom” joke... I appreciate your mom just as much as I appreciate you. <3 Thank you for the consideration and generosity. I will continue to move forward and train my dog with (hopefully) as much passion and understanding as I can muster. If I can even reach an ounce of Martin and Bosco’s relationship with my dog, I will be truly happy, and truly blessed.

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Now that the snow is all gone, it's back to our regularly scheduled programming and training. . Well. Not quite. This is my entry for the giveaway being held by @laura271gsd in honor of Martin Taves. . I don't know where to begin. Martin was an inspiration. His relationship with his dogs, his drive and passion to constantly improve, and his love for what he was doing were all so brilliant that, honestly, sometimes I was blinded. Martin inspired me every day to get up and work my dog - he still does. It took me so long to enter this because, truthfully, I wasn't sure if what I wanted to say was enough. . I would really like to take Shade Whitesal's Crutial Concepts of Competition, or her Developing Cooperation and Play. Both would, ideally, offer both my dog and I more clarity and help me improve my bond with her. Relationship is so important, and frankly, Martin's relationship with Bosco was goals. . Regardless of whether I were to win, Laura, I need you to know how much of a difference you and Martin have made in my life and in my training. I am eternally grateful to have known both of you. 💕 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Don't forget to check out our crew! @floof.boof @dakonicgsds @the_walkin_dogs ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #pupreindeer1 #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #exploremore #adventureswithdogs #instadog #dogsonadventures #dogstagram #thegreatoutdogs #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogsofig #thestatelyhound #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #optoutside #dogsthathike #germanshepherds #mydogismy #gsdofinstagram #topdogphoto #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #hikingdogsofinstagram #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #martinsfdsagiveaway

[zwingervomrabenauge]

"I will not be another flower, picked for my beauty and left to die. I will be wild, difficult to find, and impossible to forget." . That water is natural, by the way. I didn't mess with the color sliders on this photo at all. . It's called The Blue Hole - I think that's a pretty apt name. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Don't forget to check out our crew! @floof.boof @dublin_theparti @dakonicgsds @the_walkin_dogs ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #pupotter6 #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #exploremore #adventureswithdogs #instadog #dogsonadventures #dogstagram #thegreatoutdogs #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogsofig #thestatelyhound #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #optoutside #dogsthathike #germanshepherds #mydogismy #gsdofinstagram #topdogphoto #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #hikingdogsofinstagram #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #impactpups

[zwingervomrabenauge]

As you drive around hunting for the best deals today, please remember to be safe on the roads, and considerate to those of us who are working to make sure you have a relatively stress free shopping experience. . If you're taking your dogs to dog friendly stores, be EXTRA careful! A crash tested car harness or crate is a necessity! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Don't forget to check out our crew! @floof.boof @dublin_theparti @dakonicgsds @the_walkin_dogs ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #pupotter4 #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #exploremore #adventureswithdogs #instadog #dogsonadventures #gsd #dogstagram #thegreatoutdogs #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogsofig #thestatelyhound #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #optoutside #dogsthathike #germanshepherds #mydogismy #gsdofinstagram #topdogphoto #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #hikingdogsofinstagram #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #impactpups

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! 🦃 . Did you get the opportunity to get out at all today? Zero and I are home alone while the boyfriend visits family, so I made sure we took time for a walk and some training. . Position changes are going well, at least! She's a bit slow here and there, but I can't imagine the top of that old kiln is super comfy anyway. 😜 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Don't forget to check out our crew! @floof.boof @dublin_theparti @dakonicgsds @the_walkin_dogs ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #pupotter3 #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #exploremore #adventureswithdogs #gsd #instadog #dogsonadventures #dogstagram #thegreatoutdogs #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogsofig #thestatelyhound #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #optoutside #dogsthathike #germanshepherds #gsdofinstagram #buzzfeed #topdogphoto #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #hikingdogsofinstagram #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #impactpups

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Go on... Boop the snoot. You know you wanna. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Don't forget to check out our crew! @floof.boof @dublin_theparti @dakonicgsds ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #dog #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #exploremore #adventureswithdogs #gsd #instadog #dogsonadventures #dogstagram #thegreatoutdogs #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogsofig #thestatelyhound #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #optoutside #dogsthathike #germanshepherds #gsdofinstagram #buzzfeed #topdogphoto #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #hikingdogsofinstagram #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #impactpups

[millenniallust4death]

Martin passed away early this morning. In his case, death was an infinitely beautiful gift. Thank-you to our followers who have been so kind to me while I struggled to keep going. You stayed up with me all night while I sobbed in shock at his diagnosis and you patiently waited with me by his hospital bed last night. Thank-you.

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Martin inspired me every day. His relationship with Bosco was one of beauty and passion, and if I could have half of that relationship with my dog, I would be blessed.

My heart weeps for you, Laura; it's an awful, terrible thing to lose your soul mate to cancer. We're here for you if you need us - I don't care if you need someone to talk to at 3 in the morning, you are more than welcome in my inbox, and you are more than welcome to my phone number if you need to talk.

He might be gone, but I don't think he'll ever be forgotten. 💕

[mygermanshepherd]

After being in groups of animal professionals and talking to other people that worked in a daycare/kennel has made me realize how shady and negligent the kennel I was working for was. If anyone is looking into daycare or boarding for their pups, REALLY do research on the kennel. Some things to consider are:

How many other dogs will be in together and how many employers watching them

Does the kennel assess the dog beforehand (and doesn’t just allow any dog to come)

If the kennel has had complaints or negative reviews, how do they handle them? (Do they take responsibility, try to improve so things are better, etc)

If you’re positive only or FF, check to see how they handle the dogs if you don’t want heavy corrections etc

How they evaluate each dog and match them with other dogs to get along. Do they stick all the dogs in one pen, or do they separate small dogs and big dogs, timid dogs etc?

Make sure the kennel owner/employer/employees aren’t charged or convicted of animal cruelty 

What do they do in case of emergency. Flood, tornado, fire, etc. 

I’m sure I’ll add onto this later. Feel free to include anything. I personally won’t use any boarding or daycare kennel anymore. But it’s come to my attention it seems quite common that a lot of boarding kennels/daycares are very negligent and only cares about the $$ and not the care of the dogs but there are things to look out for to try to weed out the shady ones. 

[twobigears]

I’m sure there are some that are shady and only care about the money. Probably also high employee turnover rates contributing to negligence. For the most part though, I think a loooot of boarding kennel owners and employees just have plain lack of knowledge about dogs and/or are stuck in old misconceptions about dogs and training methods.

[beauton]

I’m currently working at a kennel and have been for a little over two years and I second everything in this post wholeheartedly. I don’t know how other places are run but I know I have so. Many. Issues. with the place I work at.

[mygermanshepherd]

Ugh yes, the lying. I wasn’t aware my boss basically lied to everyone and told them everything went well. Made for some awkward moments when I was honest with the owners and then she would be like NO EVERYTHING WENT REALLY WELL when they asked her about it. There was one dog that was so timid and terrified of other dogs that she basically came for daycare and sat inside the whole time and got no exercise. There was also a dog aggressive BBM that had attacked other dogs so many times my boss finally told the owner he would only be walked and handled by her but instead of doing that she would just stick him in a tiny kennel all day (then after awhile she sent him out with me and the pack anyway without working with him, which to no one’s surprise ended up with a dog getting attacked that I had to rush to a vet). Like these people are paying for daycare?? Their dog isn’t doing anything? I’d be pissed if I was sending my dog a couple times every week for daycare and they weren’t getting any exercise.

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Additionally, if the kennel you're going to offers training, make sure the person who is doing the talking and selling the training is doing the training itself.

The daycare I worked at has a head trainer who boasts having a BA (though doesn't tell you it's in business), CPDT, CBCC, VSPDT, being a member of the APDT (no longer applicable, but still has it listed) and a CGC evaluator (same as APDT membership). She would sell training as if she would be handling the training for your dog in day training - this was not the case. She left the interns to do it.

I had absolutely no real fucking clue as to what I was doing regarding the behavior cases. Sure, I can train pet dogs and I can manage with sport dogs, but rehabilitation? Intrahousehold aggression? Status related aggression? I had no experience. I was still left to handle those behavior cases as a complete fucking novice.

See how the trainers handle their own dogs. I, myself, use pretty much everything at my disposal for training as necessary. But I am always trying to go the kindest route first. If your trainer boasts FF, but brags about sparking her dogs and has been seen smacking them with the end of a leash, you might wanna reconsider.

Make sure that what you're being told is truthful. I was made to tell people that my head trainer was the one training all the dogs (lie), that all the dogs got an hour or so of training collectively throughout the day (lie), that dogs who did daycare were generally better all around (I don't believe this one, personally), among other things. I hated it. I sure as hell won't be doing it again.

[zwingervomrabenauge]

I'm working today, so have a throwback to our trip to Ohio last October! . I can't believe it's been more than a year since we had the chance to go romping through some of the most beautiful forests. I'm counting down the days that we can head back up north, and maybe we'll get to do some winter hikes with snow this time around! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #dog #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #exploremore #adventureswithdogs #gsd #instadog #dogsonadventures #dogstagram #thegreatoutdogs #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogsofig #thestatelyhound #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #optoutside #dogsthathike #germanshepherds #gsdofinstagram #buzzfeed #topdogphoto #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #hikingwithdogs #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #impactpups

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Halfway through the week and trucking it towards the weekend - were almost there! . #thursdaythoughts - what are you guys planning on doing this weekend? It's still quite warm here in central Alabama, but I think we can swing an evening hike if we stave off the rain. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #dog #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #gsd #puppy #german #instadog #dogs #dogstagram #instapuppy #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogs_of_instagram #k9 #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #petstagram #doggo #germanshepherds #gsdofinstagram #buzzfeed #gsdpuppy #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #hikingwithdogs #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #impactpups

[zwingervomrabenauge]

You know, you'd think, what with it being October and all, it would stop being 85 degrees, but I need to remember we live in a can of soup most of the year... . Still, it was way less hot during our hike earlier in the week, and the creeks and swimming holes were full of cool water - something I know Zero very much appreciates! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #dog #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #gsd #puppy #german #instadog #dogs #dogstagram #instapuppy #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogs_of_instagram #k9 #gsdlove #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #petstagram #doggo #germanshepherds #gsdofinstagram #buzzfeed #gsdpuppy #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #hikingwithdogs #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #impactpups

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Hold up - is that a Lugia I see?! . I've completely lost myself to Pokémon Go again. Haven't played the game in damn near a year, but with the release of the legendary birds and generation 2, I'm slowly spiraling back into taking gyms, hitting every pokéstop I can, and catching literally anything that pops up on the radar. The raids are GREAT for experience, too, since I'm only level 23 y'know? 😂 . Zero has been enjoying more car rides, more walks, and meeting lots of new people. This game can really bring out the best in people! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #dog #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #gsd #puppy #german #instadog #dogs #dogstagram #instapuppy #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogs_of_instagram #k9 #gsdlove #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #petstagram #doggo #germanshepherds #gsdofinstagram #buzzfeed #gsdpuppy #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #alabama #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #impactpups

[zwingervomrabenauge]

Hold on, gotta get my sniff on... . Another wonderful nose work session this past week! I'm really pleased with how much she's grown into this sport and how much she's starting to commit to efficiently sourcing odor. Now, if it could just cool down a bit, we might be able to go for longer! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #dog #germanshepherd #dogsofinstagram #gsd #puppy #german #instadog #dogs #dogstagram #instapuppy #germanshepherdsofinstagram #barkpost #dogs_of_instagram #k9 #gsdlove #germanshepherddog #dogoftheday #petstagram #doggo #germanshepherds #gsdofinstagram #buzzfeed #gsdpuppy #weeklyfluff #dogscorner #instagrambham #alabama #deutscherschäferhund #petsofinstagram #impactpups

[zwingervomrabenauge]

It's #tongueouttuesday ! . One of the caveats of living in the south is that, while some mornings are absolutely gorgeous, most afternoons and evenings are heralded by approaching storms. I guess that's what we get for living in close to 90% humidity all the time! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #germanshepherddog #germanshepherd #gsdlove #gsdstagram #germanshepherds #gsdpuppy #bicolorgsd #bicolorgermanshepherd #germanshepherd_corner #germanshepherdpuppy #germanshepherdsofinstagram #gsdofinstagram #gsdsofigworld #germanshepherdsofig #dogscorner #dog_features #dogsofinstagram #dogsofig #dogtraining #birminghamdogtraining #dogtrainersofig #dogstagram #buzzfeeddogs #dogsofbham #dogsofalabama #alabamadogs #instagrambham

[zwingervomrabenauge]

We did it! . Our first weekend attending a Barn Hunt trial, and we Q'd damn near every time! As the weekend went on, both of us became more comfortable; she began to work more diligently and I began to watch more carefully, as well as trust my dog. We went from our first qualifier on day one clocking in at 1:47.74 to our final qualifier clocking in at 00:31.4! She even went High in Class; twice!! . I am so proud of this dog. She gives me every ounce of effort she can, pushes through obstacles, and trusts that I won't steer her wrong. . Next time, we'll run Open. What a weekend! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #germanshepherddog #germanshepherd #gsdlove #gsdstagram #germanshepherds #gsdpuppy #bicolorgsd #bicolorgermanshepherd #germanshepherd_corner #germanshepherdpuppy #germanshepherdsofinstagram #gsdofinstagram #gsdsofigworld #germanshepherdsofig #dogscorner #dog_features #dogsofinstagram #dogsofig #dogtraining #birminghamdogtraining #rosette #barnhunt #dogstagram #buzzfeeddogs #dogsofbham #dogsofalabama #alabamadogs #dogsofalabama #instagrambham