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balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
@balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
23 followers 20 following 44 posts
33|F|She/her|dog trainer|service dog handler|

Ask me about private lessons! Virtual private lessons also available!
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balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Unpopular opinion: Autism SDs for minors should NOT be taught anchoring as a task. It's unethical due to the safety risk it presents to both the child AND the dog. There are other tasks that can help but it's the *parents* responsibility to make sure your child doesn't run off.

#dogsofbluesky
April 24, 2025 at 4:47 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
I will die on this hill:

Retractable leashes, prongs, & e-collars are just TOOLS used to COMMUNICATE with your dog. Can they be abused if used improperly? Yes. Do the majority of the people who use these use them improperly? Yes. Does that mean the tool is inherently abusive? No.

#dogsofbluesky
April 24, 2025 at 2:35 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Walking after work before the rain hits. We worked on recall while I was walking since I've only really practiced stationary recall. We also encountered a barking dog and a reactive dog on the walk and he didn't react at all! I'm so proud 🥹

#servicedogintraining #dogsofbluesky
#xlamericanbully
March 30, 2025 at 11:37 PM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Went for a sniffy walk after it stopped snowing. Everytime we walk by this patch of flowers, he has to stop and sniff EVERY SINGLE ONE lol.

#servicedogsofbluesky #dogsofbluesky
#servicedogintraining #xlamericanbully
March 26, 2025 at 3:04 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Just a reminder that not all training days are good. I struggled today due to lack of sleep and our training session today suffered as a result. I wasn't clear enough with what I asked Raidou to do and we were both getting frustrated. It's okay to end a session early!

#dogsofbluesky #dogtraining
March 24, 2025 at 1:37 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Dog owners, what are your proudest training moments?

One of mine came today. I started teaching tasks to my SDiT today. He's my first SDiT and I'm so happy he's picking it up so quickly. I can't wait for him to be fully trained so I can get some semblance of freedom back.

#dogsofbluesky
March 23, 2025 at 1:05 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Another walk outside today. This was after we spent time sitting on main street just watching the people and traffic go by. He got rewarded every time he checked in with me and everytime I called his name and he made eye contact despite the distractions

#servicedogsofbluesky
#dogsofbluesky
March 20, 2025 at 4:37 PM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
A walk in the #rain on Monday. In true #upstateny fashion, it was 60 and stormy Monday, 35 and snowing today, and back to 65 and sunny tomorrow.

#servicedogsofbluesky #dogsofbluesky #americanbully #xlamericanbully #servicedogintraining #raidoukuzunoha
March 19, 2025 at 2:24 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Working on Raidou's "place" cue here. He's solid 90% of the time but I want that last 10% before I work on increasing the duration any further.

#dogsofbluesky #servicedogsofbluesky #servicedog
#americanbully
February 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
A list of cues and SD tasks I hope to teach my puppy before he hits 1 year old in June:

Lap
Chest
Front
Rear
Center
Orbit

Plus continuing socialization, PA, and cooperative care training.

#raidoukuzunoha
#servicedogintraining
#americanbully
#dogtraining
February 16, 2025 at 5:52 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
A full list of cues my dog knows at 7 months old:

Sit
Down
Wait
Okay
Place
Stand
Heel (right side)
Other side (heel but left side)
Spin
Twist (spin but the opposite way)
Go potty
Go poop
Paw
Other paw
Touch

How many cues does your dog know and how old are they?

#dogtraining #dogsofbluesky
February 16, 2025 at 5:15 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Today's training session was in the dining room/kitchen. We started adding distractions. Despite this only being his second time in that area of the house, he learned paw/other paw this evening! I'm so proud of him 🥰🥹

#raidoukuzunoha #servicedogintraining
#servicedogsofbluesky
#americanbully
A 7 month old tan and white XL American Bully puppy sits on a brown hardwood floor and looks up at the camera with his head tilted slightly to the side.
February 15, 2025 at 11:52 PM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Pouting because we're practicing settle and he'd rather be on the couch with me lol

#raidoukuzunoha #servicedogintraining #servicedog
#dogsofbluesky
#servicedogsofbluesky #dogtraining
A 7month old tan and white XL American Bully puppy sits in a down position on a grey carpet with his face half obscured by the couch cushion. He is giving side eye because he is not able to sit on the couch with the human
February 14, 2025 at 9:16 PM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
An ethical dog breeder should choose the puppy for a family based on the results of temperament tests and discussions with the new owner. Not having these discussions with owners and allowing them to pick whichever dog they want is how dogs end up in shelters.

#dogsofbluesky
A 4 week old tan and white XL American Bully puppy sits in the grass outside and looks up at the camera
February 14, 2025 at 4:07 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
FPK'S Devil Summoner Raidou

Currently 80 lbs and 21" ATS. Currently my SDiT and know: sit, down, come, okay, wait, upstairs, around, crate time, place, spin, twist, drop it, and still working on heel. We're starting task training soon starting with LPT/DPT and interrupting tasks.

#dogsofbluesky
A tan and white XL American Bully puppy sits in a down position with his head tilted to come side looking at the camera. He is sitting on a grey carpet with a black door behind him
February 14, 2025 at 3:40 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Handsome boy during playtime this evening. He's 7 months now 🥺

#raidoukuzunoha #servicedogintraining #servicedogsofbluesky
#xlamericanbully
#americanbully
#americanbullysdit
February 6, 2025 at 3:58 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
He's getting so thick now 🥺

#servicedogsofbluesky #dogsofbluesky
#americanbully
#servicedogintraining
A 6.5 month old tan XL American Bully puppy with a white chest, white toes, and a grey muzzle sits in a down position on a blue and white striped towel and stares at the camera
January 17, 2025 at 5:22 PM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Worked on "place" again with Raidou today. He's improved so much recently. We're up to 30 seconds in place now but he also managed a few 90 second cues too!

#servicedogsofbluesky #dogsofbluesky #americanbully #servicedogintraining
A tan 6.5 month old XL American Bully puppy with white toes and a teal collar sits in front of the camera facing the handler. The handler is wearing black sweatpants and a black T-shirt that says Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
January 15, 2025 at 6:37 PM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Raidou continues to impress me. We did a short training session when I came home from work today. He learned "touch" with a verbal cue after only a few repetitions. I absolutely adore this dog 🥰

#servicedogsofbluesky #dogsofbluesky
#servicedog
#americanbully
A 6.5 month old tan XL American Bully with a white chest and white toes sits on a bit carpet and stares up at the camera
January 13, 2025 at 12:16 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Raidou doing some informal DPT on my chest yesterday morning. He started doing this informally on his own shortly after he first came home a few months ago. He's SO handler focused. I absolutely love it. He has so much potential, it's just *me* who needs to get their shit together
#dogsofbluesky
A tan and white 6.5 XL American Bully puppy lays down with his head on a blue blanket that covers his owner's chest, who can't be seen in the photo
January 12, 2025 at 1:07 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
A few still shots of Raidou from today's training session since I can't post videos yet. We worked more on place here. He's still not fully reliable with the command, as seen because I'm still luring him quite a bit. We did work on duration today also.

#dogsofbluesky
#servicedogsofbluesky
A 6 month old tan XL American Bully puppy with white toes sits in the "sit" position and os focused on the handler off screen A 6 month old tan XL American Bully puppy sits on an orange, blue, and white beach towel while he practices the "place" cue A 6 month old tan XL American Bully puppy sits on an orange, blue, and white beach towel while practicing the "place" cue and is focused on the handler off screen
December 19, 2024 at 7:10 PM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
A still shot from a short video I took a Raidou working on his "place" cue. Right now, I'm just working on him reliably going to the towel on cue. Once that is solid, I'll start working on duration.

#servicedogsofbluesky
#dogsofbluesky
#servicedogintraining
#americanbullysdit
December 18, 2024 at 6:07 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Dog Training tip of the day:

Socialization is just as important as obedience but remember, socializing your dog is NOT just allowing them to say hi to every human, dog, or object they see. It's gradual exposure to a wide variety of scenarios to train a more balanced companion

#dogsofbluesky
December 16, 2024 at 2:06 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Training tip of the day:

I start and end all my training sessions with Raidou (or any dog) with cues they already know. It helps build engagement and confidence, which I feel helps them work through the frustration of learning a new cue or task.

#dogsofbluesky #dogtrainingtipoftheday
December 15, 2024 at 3:12 AM
balancedmindcanine.bsky.social
Doodles cannot ethically be bred. No ethical breeder will sell their dogs to be crossbred without a purpose, if at all. Companionship is no longer a valid reason to produce untitled, unhealthy tested mutts when literal dozens of other breeds exist for the same purpose.

#dogsofbluesky
December 13, 2024 at 11:14 PM