Save both Veterans and Rescued Dogs today!

A subset of the Operation Freedom Paws mission is to educate the public about dogs in general and service dogs in particular. Among other methods, we use social media to share information; we call these weekly posts "Mentoring Mondays". We try to write about information that is relevant to a wide audience of dog owners and dog lovers, and include one or more photos to illustrate the topic and further engage the audience.

Following the unprecedented heavy rains California has endured, a recent topic was how to train dogs in inclement weather:

Today’s tip is about doing "chair exercises". As I’m sure you all know, it's finally been RAINING here in California, which is very exciting after all the drought we've been experiencing. The downside is the rains have been torrential, and not many of us want to work our dogs for 2 hours a day when there’s a river flowing down the street. And some of our dogs feel exactly the same way! So how do you continue to consistently train your dog in inclement weather? Start by placing a chair in the middle of the room so there is access on all sides. Put your dog's training collar and leash on so she knows it's time to train, and have your cell phone or a timer handy. Sit in the chair, and have your dog do a "heel" and "sit". Work on hold times by having her hold the sit for a timed minute. Put a treat on your knee and have her "leave it". Work on "stand" (have her stand calmly on all 4 feet at your side---very useful for grooming, vet's office, etc.) and again, time her. Gradually increase these times so she can eventually hold her position for 20 minutes. Work on the "watch me", which is SO useful when you need to redirect her focus from another dog. Puppy-pushups are another excellent chair exercise. Spend 30 minutes sitting in your chair working and rewarding your dog, then remove the training gear and give her the "free" command. She'll be ready for a nap and you'll have taken advantage of a great training opportunity---without getting wet and cold! Oh, and P.S., these also work when it’s too hot to go outside in the summer, or ANY OTHER time!