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PAWS, 381 West Hospital Drive, Orofino, ID (2026)

05/11/2026

ZOE
Since last weeks update, things have been about the same but still very good for Zoe and her progress since entering the program. The team has put lots of work in with her and have loved and cared for her deeply since her arrival. This week I took Zoe out for a few car rides to drop crews off and she wasn’t very fond of the car. She doesn’t exhibit any negative behaviors while riding in the car, in fact she does fine. Zoe does need help loading up as she tends to cower like she doesn’t know what’s going on, and in the car she will lay down in the seat but she has some anxiety for the first little while. After a few minutes she will calm down as far as her panting goes and continue to lay down but more relaxed and can fall asleep at that time. I don’t have a great way to work on this as she isn’t always able to go with me so the best I can hope for is to desensitize her enough to the car rides in hopes that she becomes a little more comfortable and feels safe. Zoe is also hesitant to unload and needs some guidance, but the last two times we went she has jumped out on her own and was very happy to be back on solid ground! The team and I are continuing to work on some of Zoe’s tricks and always pushing her obedience skills. She continues to kill each task every day and does so great at growing and wanting to work more and more!

05/11/2026

WEEKLY SUMMARY (WEEK FIVE)
LINEBACKER
In addition to working on impulse we’ve also introduced “leave it” as Linebacker is always looking for additional distractions to entertain himself; he is easily distracted when he becomes tired. For instance, I have been doing a lot of off lead training when out of nowhere he decides to see what’s in the trashcan, or knock over someone’s coffee cup – “leave it “is a good replacement for the word No! When compliant the command is followed rewarded with a verbal good, and the behavior is rewarded.
Linebacker is a low-medium energy dog, he loves to just kick back with his people, and I’ve noticed this week with the weather warming that he seeks out the shade rather than the sun. His highest energy level is in the morning and when he plays with the ball. He is destructive with toys that are not meant to chew on; so I have a bone on had for him to chew when taking his ball away. We’ve made good progress on playing fetch and him giving the ball back: that command “give” means he must give it up, or the play stops.

04/27/2026

WEEKLY SUMMARY (WEEK FOUR)
ZOE
This week has been so great with Zoe! We have worked lots on her duration commands as well as distance. Zoe is getting to the point in her training where she is starting to anticipate the next command. When this happens, for instance, if Zoe is in a down and pops back up into a sit at any given time without being released from the down position I will tell her “nope” which means for her to try again. After I say the word “nope” I will give her a second to correct her mistake and if she doesn’t then I will use my lure to put her back into the position she broke from. Once I put her back into position I will reward her with my “good” marker and her food reward and then release her. Overtime as we start to build duration in each command, the dog needs more rewards to let them know that they are doing the right thing. We have to be highly engaging and confident in our body language so that the dog isn’t guessing to hard into what we might be asking for next. To work on Zoe’s duration in her commands I have simply been more rewarding verbally and feeding her more frequently in between markers so that she knows that what I am asking of her is correct. When she is super engaged she likes to anticipate a lot which is never a bad thing, it just means as a handler we need to take a step back and find where the dog is going to work best in those moments and sometimes that means shorter durations or distances in order to keep her driven and willing to work! When she becomes more relaxed and focused is a good time to start pushing the duration of her commands as well as the distances we can perform each command. One thing over the last week I have noticed with Zoe is she is starting to put on lots more weight and looks healthier and healthier as time goes by. She was very skinny when she showed up so one of my goals was to get her looking pretty and at a healthy, maintainable weight! We have been working on a few tricks such as place, shake, and rest. These are just a few we have worked on in order to break up the monotony of basic obedience training. This gives her mind something else to work on and pushes the trainers on the team to work towards something they might not always get to teach a dog.

04/27/2026

WEEKLY SUMMARY (WEEK FOUR)
LINEBACKER
Following the stages of learning we know that dogs learn from shaping a behavior and reinforcing it with a reward; when Linebacker exhibits a desired behavior we reward it, shaping a behavior we show the dog what we want them to do and reinforce that behavior. For Linebacker we have three options for reward: treats, toys, and love, all are of equal value and worthwhile to him – this is acquisition, the next in learning is automation. In this stage the dog learns to automatically offer a behavior, or to respond to the command given without luring him into position. Stage three is generalization, the dog has learned that even if different people give the command, in different locations, and even with distractions that the response will be the same.
Currently Linebacker is between automation and generalization, he is both smart and stubborn in this area, in that he will respond well with myself and co-trainer; while at the same time testing other handlers who don’t work with him as much. With that being said and recognized we will be dialing him in this week.

Linebacker has made some serious progress with regards to impulse control, just a few weeks ago he would tear into the basketball, pickle ball, or co****le bags. Now he observes impatiently from the sidelines hoping someone will throw him a “bone.”
Linebacker has huge love for everyone and is a great dog to have worked with, he will undoubtedly make some family very happy for years to come.

04/20/2026

WEEKLY SUMMARY (WEEK THREE)
ZOE
Over the last week Zoe has been improving greatly in her basic obedience training. Since her arrival we have worked lots on continuing to charge her name by pairing it with a reward, recalls at different distances in different environments, sits, sit stays, downs, down stays, and this week we started to work on the stand command. Zoe has potential for good duration commands as when she is working she can be very attentive in the correct environments. We have got to a point this week where we are pushing two minute downs and three minute sits with very little reinforces while she is in the command. I rely on little reinforcement when I feel like a dog is at the stage to make the right or wrong decision and if I feel that the dog is getting bored or has a chance to check out and break from the command, I will mark the dogs behavior for holding the position and reward them with a food reward to keep them engaged and focused as well as to prevent the dog breaking from the current command it is in. Zoe has a big tendency to sniff the ground a lot, especially when she isn’t constantly being rewarded so it is easy for her to check out. By keeping her engaged and maintaining her attention on me, I can use my food reward to show her that by holding a command; she will get a better reward out of me than she will from the ground. This week we have also worked lots on creating distance commands for both the sit and down positions. Zoe has done extremely well at picking this up and the team has done a great job with constantly working with her on all of her commands! We are able to sit and down her from about 10 feet away which is a great sign of obedience and engagement. Zoe continues to do well in her kennel and hardly ever makes a sound. We have been choosing certain hours of the day to work on her kennel time and during those extensive hours she does absolutely great. We have got to a point where if Zoe does whine in her kennel I know it’s because we need to go out and go potty because she is to the point where she does it for no other reason. Over the course of this week I have tasked the team to work on “place” with Zoe which she has gotten down very well now, even at a distance, and longer loose lead walking. We are at a point where I expect much more duration out of her while in a heel and it has been showing that the team is putting in the work because she has been walking greatly for much longer distances than she was last week.

04/20/2026

WEEKLY SUMMARY (WEEK THREE)
LINEBACKER
Linebacker is so good when it comes to grooming, clipping nails, flushing out his ears, and bathing: his trust and patience with his trainers is unprecedented. This week, in addition to basic obedience training commands of, sit and stay, down and stay, heel, come, leave it, wait, and ready; we’ve worked on impulse control through proximity to basketball, pickle ball, and corn hole, which he doesn’t understand why he cannot play. His play drive is huge, and he wants in. through consistency and patience he is slowly learning that sometimes he must take to the sidelines.
Linebacker is in the process of learning to trust when it comes to his ball. Installing the command “’give” when engaging ball play, careful not to use a double command sometimes it is necessary to have a ball of equal value on hand, to offer an exchange rather than engage in “ tug of war.” High value food also works.
Linebacker genuinely loves people, often dogs in the program are quick to check someone out for the benefit of receiving a treat, not so with Linebacker he will stay to be petted and engaged, he loves to be loved.

04/13/2026

WEEKLY SUMMARY (WEEK TWO)
ZOE
Zoe has been doing so great since her arrival! She has adapted very well to her new surroundings and has started to make big changes in her behavior and obedience stages. Since her arrival, we have been working on charging her name a lot, focusing on loose lead walking, kennel anxiety and behavior, as well as her recalls. Zoe has been doing much better about going into her kennel on command but she still needs a little bit of guidance and luring which is great because it’s always something we can work on daily and continue to make it a positive experience for her! We now sit her in front of her kennel and tell her “wait” and once we open the door we will tell her “kennel” as we throw a little piece of high value into the back of it. Once she goes in we praise her with verbal and reward her with more high value as we shut the door. She has a kong with a bone in there that she loves to play with so it keeps her company throughout the duration of her kenneled up. Often times the last few days we have been able to just use the verbal command “kennel” and she will go in without a lure. When she goes in on her own we will highly praise her and give her plenty of treats to make the experience pleasant for her so that she keeps wanting to repeat that same behavior. We haven’t had much issues with her whining in her kennel at all anymore. After about the fourth or fifth day she adapted pretty well to it and slowly started to get less vocal. Zoe does great at walking on a lead, but sometimes she gets a little ahead of herself and forges past her handler, but with a little redirection such as her name and an active release, lure, or bout/left about turns she will fall back into the heel. When she is in the correct position we will continuously reward her to show her that’s the behavior we like as we are also rewarding her positioning. We keep up the reward process as we walk for a few steps then release her making a fun event and immediately get her back with us and engaged. We keep this process up for a fair amount of time (depending on her drive to stay focused and engaged) until we either end the session or increase the duration of the heeling process.

04/13/2026

4/12/26
This has been a great week with Linebacker, who has settled in nicely with the environment and his team. Linebacker is getting use to his boundaries, both physical as well, what is expected of him. This week’s basic commands of sit, sit stay, down, down stay, heel, and short lured recalls are coming along; additionally we’ve established “place” a training platform we’ll use from here on.

Linebacker was amazing at his meet and greet with “Plum,”and family. He loved playing ball with the three boys. I believe they will soon be good friends. Linebacker is such a gentle giant that is so fun to train. Stay tuned for next week’s progress.

04/06/2026

WEEKLY SUMMARY (WEEK ONE)
ZOE
A few days ago Zoe showed up and she has been so awesome! Upon arrival, she was very curious about her new environment and had to check everything out! Right off the bat I had to give her a bath and she was outstanding! She remained so calm and confident and totally intrigued with all of the new people standing around her. She adapted very well the first evening with us and had little to no issues settling in besides a few whines here and there coming from her kennel. We are now three days in with Zoe and her colors are starting to show. She is very affectionate with people, plays amazingly with her new friend Linebacker, loves to play fetch with tennis balls, enjoys laying out in the grass chewing her bone, and she is super interested in exploring every inch of the facility! She has such a soft and loving personality and she listens so well! She is extremely well behaved indoors and outdoors. Zoe responds greatly to her name, knows sit, and offers shake. The one thing we have worked on this week is getting her used to her kennel. I have submitted a video with this weekly on how I am working on that so feel free to watch! Outside of just letting Zoe get used to her surroundings and focus on building our bond with her, we have not been working on too much since it is still pretty early on and we have no intentions of overwhelming her. Zoe seems to be trusting of strangers and greets everybody she sees with a happy, wiggly butt! Zoe will let me look at and touch all of her nails, pick up her paws, expose her belly, clean her ears, check and clean her eyes, and examine her teeth. This is great to have in a dog as it shows confidence and great manners. We are very grateful to have Zoe with us this round of dogs and we can’t thank Boise Bully Breed and staff enough for sending her up to us! We are extremely excited to work with her and I can’t wait to see where she goes throughout our program!

04/06/2026

LINEBACKER
4/05/2026

After a rather interesting ride to Orofino Linebacker, Zoë, and the volunteer driver made it in one piece; Linebacker pulled off his best Houdini stunt performance, freeing himself, pooping in the back of the van, then proceed to play a game of soccer with his ball.
We received this bundle of affection into the facility, and straight to the bath, while holding his soccer ball in his mouth for the duration Linebacker did remarkably well standing still and calm. Linebacker has been here for three days now, during which time he has bonded with his team and adjusting to his new environment. The first night was rather difficult for everyone involved, diarrhea being the culprit requiring a few trips outside throughout the night.
All and all Linebacker is doing well. The team has identified a few areas of focus for the first week of training that also align with the training request from BBBR; to include charging his name , establishing “place” for a training platform, and proximity work around the basketball and pickle ball courts.
The video that is included shares the work that has been done with Linebacker thus far. The team is very stoked to have such a great dog to work with.

03/16/2026

Watson
These past six weeks with Watson have been an absolute pleasure. Watson came to us rambunctious and wide-eyed. Full of energy, enthusiasm, and wonder. Our job was to hone in on those traits and the many more Watson would display during his time here. We found out very quickly that Watson was an extremely intelligent dog with some prior obedience and behavioral training. This dog was teaching us tricks before we could teach him! Every day was an adventure as Watson would reveal more and more of what he is capable of. Watson has an amazing personality and is adaptable to any situation.
Watson loves people! One of his favorite things to do is say hello to strangers and friends. Watson had absolutely zero negative interactions with humans, he is no respecter of persons. He loves to be petted and offered snacks by anyone willing. Additionally, he will follow the commands of a complete stranger showing his obedience training expands beyond his handlers reach. His reactions with other dogs have been a different story. Watson’s hair sticks up (aka ‘hackles’) when he is around unfamiliar dogs and he tends to show a dominating drive until he gets to know them. Once he becomes familiar with another dog and understands it’s time to play, he has a hoot and becomes more submissive and less tense. In terms of aggression Watson doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.
This dog is going to bring so much love to any home. I would keep him if I could! Between his quick understanding of markers and commands to his pure joy during play time, this dog will win any heart over. On top of that he is such a handsome boy! Watson picked up on so much in the little time we had with him, I can only imagine the sky as the limit to his potential. Watson can still struggle with his impulse control from time to time, but that’s pretty normal. However, his behavior and obedience has only improved since day one. Watson loves to perform and pulls off some advanced level tricks which are always fun.
In conclusion, you would be a fool not to adopt this pup! He is full of charm and smarts! A dream, am I right ladies? But seriously, what’s not to love about this doggy? He can be so sweet and loveable, but also focused and on task when you need him to be. The perfect pet. Congratulations if you are lucky enough to call this dog – yours.

PAWS

05/11/2026

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04/27/2026

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