Mollie gives Bluffton MS 7th grade health classes hands-on lesson about therapy dogs 

Even the students who would normally doodle and daydream through their health class perked up at the sight of their classroom guest, Mollie. As a component of their 7th grade health class mental health subject matter, Mollie paid the students a visit.

Training Your Golden Retriever To Come-fore And Go-to-heel

The come-fore teaches your Golden Retriever to sit and face you instead of sitting toward the left side. Keep your lead slack when teaching this exercise. Command Front! and then walk backward without moving the position of your hands on the lead. As the dog is coming in front of you, gradually gather the lead up and coax him in close. Hold the lead tight and command Sit! Praise him immediately and then command Stay. Step back to heel position without circling.
Once again, walk backward, keep your lead slack, then command Front! Don’t drag your dog around on a tight lead. The lead is used to bring the dog in close and to make him sit in front. Step back to heel position. Command Front! Remember, the dog does the turning! All you do is walk backward two or three steps. When the dog turns around, gather the lead up and prompt him to sit. Praise at once.
Stand up straight and do not lean forward towards your Golden Retriever. Hold your hands low and close to your body. Pull up on the lead to make the dog sit. Insist that your dog sits straight and squarely on both hips. If he sits at an angle, hold the leash tight and cuff him on whichever hip is out of line. Every obedience exercise includes the come-fore position. Therefore, it is important that the dog learns to do it correctly from the very start of his training so he will not get into the habit of doing a sloppy work.
Go-To-Heel: The going-to-heel exercise teaches the dog to go to your left side from the come-fore position. With your dog in the come-fore position, take hold of the lead the same as you do when heeling. Say Heel! walk to the right of your dog and keep going. The dog will swing around to your left side automatically. Tell your dog to sit, then praise him! Command Stay! and step in front of him again. You should be as near your Retriever as possible. Again, command Heel! Walk past your dog and keep going.
The left hand guides the Golden around into place at your left side. Make your dog sit! Tell him to stay and face him again. This time, to make your dog go to heel position, step backward with your left foot after you command Heel! and jerk the lead with a snap. This will bring the dog to all four feet. Now walk forward. Guide the dog around into place with your left hand. Make him sit immediately.
In doing the two exercises together, first start with the come-fore. Command Front! Walk backward with little motion of your body. Stand up straight. Keep your lead slack while the dog is making the turn. Gather up the lead as the dog comes in front, and hold the lead tight until he sits. Praise and pat him. Next, command Heel! Jerk the lead as you take a step backward with the left foot. Praise the dog at once as he swings around to heel position.
You may have to walk backward two or three steps at the beginning, but soon your dog will get the idea of going around to your left side by himself whenever he hears the command Heel! In practicing the going-to-heel exercise, give the command without moving the leash, then snap it when you step back with your left foot. Praise him immediately. Move your feet less each time so that the Golden Retriever must do most of the work.

Community 

Charles Twine of Chapel Hill has been named winner of the second annual Grandfather Mountain Hummingbird Photo Contest. Twine’s photo was taken Aug. 19 during Grandfather Mountain’s annual camera clinic.
Source: www.chapelhillnews.com

jumping through hoops: and enjoying every minute

Missoulian - Slick hits the edge of the poles and in a blur of golden fur threads his way through them nearly as She found Slick - a field variety yellow Labrador retriever - north of the border reared by a proven breeder. There are two varieties of Labs, she Read

Winchester Star - SCHNOODLE : Schnauzer and poodle. MALTIPOO : Maltese and poodle. BUG : Pug and French bulldog. GOLDENDOODLE : Golden Retriever and Though labradoodles have just recently gained popularity as designer dogs, a local dog breeder lays a unique claim on Read

pet calendar 

Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo: Hundreds of pets available for adoption by several animal welfare groups, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 23-24, Detroit Zoo, Royal Oak. Admission and parking are free. www.michiganhumane.org.

Tips For The Aspiring Golden Retriever Dog Handler

Handling golden retriever dogs for competition, as well as a living, is an art that can be acquired only through experience. It is not anything you will pick up in several months. It is the culmination of all the knowledge that you have attained through different sources such as reading, studying the different breeds of dogs, digesting the Obedience Regulations, conducting frequent practice sessions, observing top handlers in competition, and developing your own style for Obedience competition. Of course the first requisite is a genuine love for dogs, and if you have that it should follow that you will have the patience and understanding to cope with them. The second requisite is perseverance, for without it you will not get very far. And last but not least you must have a sense of humor, for in obedience trial competition anything can happen.
If you want to learn something you should go to the person who is most qualified to teach it. By qualified I mean he is at the top of his profession because of what he has accomplished personally. The teacher who has made a fine record himself in Obedience is the one who can help you. There are hundreds of Obedience trainers in the country, but most are passing on bits of training advice they have picked up here and there. With coaching like this you can expect very little consistency and much confusion.
The first thing you will notice when you watch a top handler is the relaxed, easy manner in which he controls his Golden Retriever and the rapport that is evident between the two. The dog will be attentive and responsive to the handler’s firm but soft-spoken commands, the signals will be given with just one hand and arm, and the exercises will be performed very smoothly and skillfully. The first time you witness this type of handling you will be more impressed with how easy it looks than by anything else. If you haven’t started training you will be quite certain that you could do it yourself - it looked so easy.
The first step to becoming a good Golden Retriever handler is to train your Retriever correctly. Good handling is synonymous with expert training. Your voice is important - give the commands in a firm, well-modulated tone and praise your dog in a very pleased tone that rings with sincerity. When the dog is close to you teach him to respond to commands that are given to him softly. When working away from you, teach him to execute the commands that are given crisply but just loud enough for him to hear. Don’t keep repeating commands, rather correct your Retriever for not paying attention.