Training Tips for Youth

When I work with dogs and kids and the kid is going to be the main person in the house to train the dog. Most times the dog looks at the kid as a fellow pack memeber with the same "rung" on the ladder. The first thing I suggest is the kid takes over the feeding of the dog. Most of the time the child is around at feeding time. I can tell a big difference between the youth that follow that advice and the youth that do not. The dogs are much more likely to listen to the child that is feeding it. It raises the child up a level in the "pack".

I try to relate training their dog to the way their parents take to them. Especially when working on recalls. I give verbal examples of if your mom calls you this way are you more likely to go see what she wants or less likely.

And I remind the youth that yes, they are going to get frustrated with their dog because their dog is not always going to listen to them. And that's it's ok to take breaks. I also tell them that if their dog just isn't getting something and you get frustrated, go back to something the dog knows and end on a happy note. That will make training more enjoyable for the dog and for the youth.

Next post will be about tools that can be used.

Finally....

Finally, I have decided on a direction for my blog. The majority of my blogs will be about animals and training. It's going to be educational and informative at the same time.

I will talk about a variety of animals that I'm knowledgeable about, such as, dogs, cats, cattle, horses, just to name a few.

I will also talk about the training of dogs, and how I've used some of the same methods to work and train horses and oxen.

If you ever have a question that you'd like me to address, feel free to shoot one my way. I will do my best to answer it.

I'm very excited about this new focus of my blog.

Proud Mom

For those who don't know, Will is a Cloverbud in 4-H this year. This past weekend in Anoka County it was Spring Workshop Day and as part of the activities was the spring pet show. Will has a fish at my house, and this weekend he got to show it for the first time. He did a fantastic job during judging. He answered all the questions although we will have to work on the answer to the how often should the tank be cleaned. He answered when the water turns green, which, technically is true, but well, we'll work on that.

There were also Alpacas, which Will has decided when he's old enough he wants to show an Alpaca. He already wants to show a sheep, which we are working on for next year. We have a lead for someone to help him and from whom we can lease a sheep from. Now he's informed me he also wants to show a horse. I definitely think he is my child.

Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera, so I have no pictures. I know, I'm a bad mom. I just want to share this.

4-H

There was a story in the metro area newspapers about a county cutting funding for their 4-H Program. To read the full story please follow this link here.

Why am I blogging about this? Because I want to disspell the myth about 4-H that it's just for youth that live in the country or the only time 4-H'ers do anything is at county fair time. It may surprise you all that I was a member of this fine organization that, at least in the great state of Minnesota has been around for more than 100 years.

For those that are not aware, 4-H stands for Head, Hands, Heart, and Health. As the 4-H Pledge goes, that is said at every meeting along with the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge my Head to clear thinking
My Heart to greater loyalty
My Hands to larger service
My Health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world.

With the 4-H Motto being:

To Make the Best Better.

I am a prime example of what 4-H can do for a person. I did not grow up on a farm nor in the country. I grew up in the middle of suburbia. I didn't even know 4-H exsisted until I was in 4th grade. It was than when my younger brother and I took an after school activity class on Clowning. The adults and youth teaching the class where part of the Anoka County 4-H Program, and they were in the Clowning project. They looked like they were having so much fun. It was actually my brother that started asking my mom if we can join 4-H. She contacted the county extension office, got some information, and before we knew it we were signed up for 4-H.

I was a very quiet, shy person as a child, and to some extent I still am. For whatever reason, I was not thrilled about joining 4-H. I was already a Girl Scout. The first year my mom made me take Clothing and the Food project. She thought it was important for me to learn how to make my own clothes and food. I didn't understand it than, but now, as an adult I do understand why throughout my entire 4-H career my mom didn't let me drop out of the Clothing project. During the summer of my first year in 4-H my family got our first dog. She was a little mixed breed puppy, Gizmo, she was the cutest thing you ever saw. She originally joined the family to be a 4-H project for my younger brother, however, he was not interested in that project for whatever reason.

I have always been an animal lover, and wanted so bad to show a horse and a cow in 4-H. However, living in the city wasn't conducive to showing a horse or a cow. So, I decided to train and show Gizmo. That was one of the best decisions I have made. It was something that I was actually good at and it helped me to bond a lot more with my dog. It also started to fuel my love of showing dogs and teaching youth. I was very active in the dog project through out my 4-H career. I joined the county dog committee, helped train and develop one of the first training curriculums used in Anoka County.

However, that was not my only project, nor my only interest. That's what I love about 4-H there is a project for whatever you are interested in. My array of projects included clothing, food, cat/small pet, home improvement, citizenship, youth leadership, shooting sports, rocketry, just to name a few.

Today I have no problems with getting up in front of a group of people and giving a speech and/or presentation. My numerous demonstrations I gave as a 4-H'er helped me with that. My very first demonstration I gave, the posters kept falling off the easel, and I gave it during the tractor pull at the county fair. 4-H helped to build my self-esteem, teach me about sportsmanship, help me to learn more about myself.

I learned so much about myself. I learned about my family through the citizenship project. 4-H literally has something for everyone.

Even though I'm now way too old for 4-H, I am still active as an adult volunteer, and now my son is starting his 4-H career. He will make the 5th generation of 4-H members in my family.

4-H is truly an organization that the whole family can get involved in.

Body Image

Over the last few weeks there have been a lot of press regarding a certain celebrity's body. First of all that was a very unflattering angle for the picture in question. Second of all, what business is it what someone weighs? There are a estimated 5 to 10 million females and approximately 1 million males (http://www.healthyplace.com/eating-disorders/main/eating-disorders-common-in-young-girls/menu-id-58/) have an eating disorder. Every week there is some sort of publication has celebrities on the cover saying who looks best in their swimsuit, who could loose weight, etc.

Why? What's the point? People come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. There is no one way anyone should look. I admire the celebrities that stand up to this criticism. The ones that say they are happy with their bodies. I wish more would stand up for the way the look.

Me, yes, I've recently been struggling with my weight. Yet at the same time I'm happy with the way I look. And I'm the one that wants to change the way I eat. Would I like to be a size 2? Who wouldn't, is that something that possible for me, probably not. Do I care? No.

I wonder what would happen if all of a sudden the media talked about something other than a celebrity being "fat" and focused some of the good that they do?

Ever Changing

Life is an ever changing journey. There are no do overs. Although, once one becomes an adult, you wish there were. However, than you think about all the things that would not have happened if you did get a do over. There are also the times where if you were able to have a do over, maybe things would have been completely different.

Last year I was finally diagnosed with Depression, among other mental ailments. This has been a battle I've been facing all of my life. I often wonder what would have happened if I would have actually admitted some of the depression symptoms I experienced in my childhood. How would my life be different than it is today?

But yet at the same time, I don't want or change anything about my past that would take my son away from me. While there are certain parts of my life that I would change in a heart beat if I had a do over, most of the time I would chose not to because of my precious little boy.

It was because of him that I finally started to seek some sort of treatment for whatever it was that I was feeling at the time. I started seeking treatment long before I divorced my ex-husband.

Eventually I will tell what prompted me to finally seek the treatment I really needed. But I do believe this is enough for now.

Wow!! My First!!!

Wow! This is my first blog here on Blogspot. I've blogged on Myspace before, but this is new for me. I'm not quite sure how often I will be blogging, but I look forward to sharing various things with my friends and family.

This is me in the picture below.
I am currently employed with an insurance company as a CSR. I really do enjoy my job.

I grew up in the Minneapolis area. Graduated from High School. Went to community college for a couple years, and than ventured to the University of Minnesota. I obtained my Bachelors in Science in Agricultural Education. I love anything that has to do with science, agriculture, and animals. If I could find a way to combine my love of all three, I'd be very happy, plus teach youth at the same time.

I am a proud mom. This is William, my son, and Gidget my dog. This picture was taken a few years ago. William is now 6 years old. Gidget is an Australian Shepherd and she is 7. These two are best buddies.















That is all for now. More to come later.