Here you will view each current guest and learn what they are up to as well as viewing pics and videos of the current month's dog games. We also post pictures and videos on our Facebook page.
Enjoy!
Note: We will only be posting blogs and pics of dogs we're training, or are otherwise involved in activities such as swimming, hiking or showing. If you want pics of dogs who are here for only boarding there will be an additional fee of $15 per picture session as it's time consuming. Note: Often, however, our play yard videos (on Facebook) will feature all of our K9 guests; even those who are not scheduled for additional activities.
If you're interested in reading more about dogs, cats or horses, subscribe to my Substack Newsletter below. I am always happy to receive topic suggestions, too. Just send me a message at: [email protected]
July 2025
Dexter
Dexter is a senior Doberman who has been visiting us since he was a puppy. As we trained him, and his peeps continue to remain consistent, he responds well to cues and is very pleasant to have around. He did a swim on Sunday and will be hiking every day this week.
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Pearl
Pearl is a young Golden Retriever. She's so sweet and sensitive and affectionate. Everything a Golden should be. And she's also super intelligent and motivated to learn. The only challenge (at this point) is getting her harness on. She throws herself to the floor for belly rubs as I attempt to snap the sides closed. Once done, though, she's ready to go. On day 1 we worked on heel, sit, down, come, finish and initial stay exercises. She had no interest in the counter as she was focused on me. She's going to be lots of fun...plus I get my Golden fix!
7/7: Pearl is quickly progressing. I began walking around her during her sit and down stays. We also began working on the loose leash walk. She excels in everything!
7/13: This little girl has my heart. Of course, she's a Golden! I have to be careful to not allow her to mouth or jump up. I swear we're working on that, between hugs and kisses! I'm walking all the way around her during her stays and starting to add distance. I can drop the leash during her loose leash walking and during her sit/stays. Her heeling is great as she really wants to focus on me all the time.
7/7: Pearl is quickly progressing. I began walking around her during her sit and down stays. We also began working on the loose leash walk. She excels in everything!
7/13: This little girl has my heart. Of course, she's a Golden! I have to be careful to not allow her to mouth or jump up. I swear we're working on that, between hugs and kisses! I'm walking all the way around her during her stays and starting to add distance. I can drop the leash during her loose leash walking and during her sit/stays. Her heeling is great as she really wants to focus on me all the time.
Bentley and Bella
I'm getting my Doodle fix with Bentley and Bella, two sweet Goldendoodles. I get to spend 2 weeks with them. So far, we're working on stopping the jumping up (mainly Bentley), come, sit, down, and some stay. It's obvious to me that their pet parents have already given them a head start with how to learn and they're both very motivated.
7/5: Bentley is moving ahead of Bella. She can be a bit insecure sometimes. He's open to anything. I've begun teaching them to stay. With Bella I can only get a few seconds duration with a quick movement in front of her then back to heel position. With Bentey, I can move halfway around him and he has decent duration already. Both are heeling nicely, perform sit and down on cue, come on cue and are learning the finish.
7/7: Bella has had some good training days. I can now move 3/4 of the way around her during her sit/stay and began working on down/stay. Her heeling, comes and distraction proofing is coming along nicely, too.
7/8: Bentley is learning lots of new tricks. He can spin, shake and crawl. He's also doing well with his obedience stuff. I can move all the way around him during his sit/stays, stand upright during his down/stays and easily redirect him when distracted. We also began working on loose leash walking.
7/10: Bella and Bentley are doing very well with heeling and loose leash walking. Very focused. The stay work is coming along slowly. We are gradually building up duration and motion. I am now using slow feeders for them as they tended to inhale their food, which could be dangerous. I also increased their meals to 4 cups per day as all their activities are burning lots of calories.
7/13: My Doodle babies are coming along. I have begun adding distance to the sit/stays and movement during down/stays. Heeling, comes, and finish are terrific. Their loose leash walking is also terrific. Jumping up is diminishing but not totally gone.
7/5: Bentley is moving ahead of Bella. She can be a bit insecure sometimes. He's open to anything. I've begun teaching them to stay. With Bella I can only get a few seconds duration with a quick movement in front of her then back to heel position. With Bentey, I can move halfway around him and he has decent duration already. Both are heeling nicely, perform sit and down on cue, come on cue and are learning the finish.
7/7: Bella has had some good training days. I can now move 3/4 of the way around her during her sit/stay and began working on down/stay. Her heeling, comes and distraction proofing is coming along nicely, too.
7/8: Bentley is learning lots of new tricks. He can spin, shake and crawl. He's also doing well with his obedience stuff. I can move all the way around him during his sit/stays, stand upright during his down/stays and easily redirect him when distracted. We also began working on loose leash walking.
7/10: Bella and Bentley are doing very well with heeling and loose leash walking. Very focused. The stay work is coming along slowly. We are gradually building up duration and motion. I am now using slow feeders for them as they tended to inhale their food, which could be dangerous. I also increased their meals to 4 cups per day as all their activities are burning lots of calories.
7/13: My Doodle babies are coming along. I have begun adding distance to the sit/stays and movement during down/stays. Heeling, comes, and finish are terrific. Their loose leash walking is also terrific. Jumping up is diminishing but not totally gone.
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Birdie and Martin
6/22: These two siblings mixed breeds just arrived yesterday, all the way from Vienna! The reputation of SMPR is far and wide!!! They're here for a month of training and fun. So far, so good. We started come and sit and heel and sit yesterday. They have great social skills and super sweet personalities. Birdie jumps up a bit, but not Martin. He prefers hand kisses as I walk around the yard and he's so SUPER cute! He'd make a great production dog, once trained. Supplemental: It appears Birdie likes to photo bomb. She wants to be in every photo.
6/24: These babies are progressing quickly. They've obviously had some previous training. Nice focus means nice heeling, sits and downs. We're gradually building some solid stays and working on teaching Birdie to not jump on people.
6/27: These guys are quickly movign through their basic obedience work. We can now move around them and are reducing the targeting as we do so. Heeling is great. Recalls and finishes are great. Their behavior in the play yards is perfect and they always respond to cues to go into or out of their suite areas. Such great dogs!!!
6/28: Birdie and Martin had a break from regular obedience class with a hike in the cool woods going up Shady Mountain. You can tell by their smiles that they loved it! They were also super well behaved throughout.
7/4: We did some dog distraction work today. Martin was more distracted then, Birdie but both actually continued to perform well. They're making progress on their stays and heeling, too.
7/7: Both dogs had great training sessions today. We're heading into off lead! The leashes are being dropped during stays and comes. Birdie is still a little insecure about remaining in a down/stay and is taking a little longer on that one than Martin. Both dogs have become territorial about their suite, so I've had to separate them from the other dogs. They appear much happier with that situation.
7/10: We are working on increasing stay duration and distance. This has been a challenging concept for them, but they're making progress. They're also making progress on distraction proofing. Martin has mellowed a bit about his suite, or the other dogs have learned to stay away, so I'm allowing them to interact with the general population.
7/12: Birdie and Martin are improving their stay duration as well as distance. We can get 15' of distance, now that they're more stable on it. It has been quite challenging with Birdie, in particular, with her down stay, but we're getting there. Martin has chilled a bit more about other dogs entering his domain but tends to spend most of his time in his room. This coming week we'll be working more on loose leash walking and hiking the mountain.
6/24: These babies are progressing quickly. They've obviously had some previous training. Nice focus means nice heeling, sits and downs. We're gradually building some solid stays and working on teaching Birdie to not jump on people.
6/27: These guys are quickly movign through their basic obedience work. We can now move around them and are reducing the targeting as we do so. Heeling is great. Recalls and finishes are great. Their behavior in the play yards is perfect and they always respond to cues to go into or out of their suite areas. Such great dogs!!!
6/28: Birdie and Martin had a break from regular obedience class with a hike in the cool woods going up Shady Mountain. You can tell by their smiles that they loved it! They were also super well behaved throughout.
7/4: We did some dog distraction work today. Martin was more distracted then, Birdie but both actually continued to perform well. They're making progress on their stays and heeling, too.
7/7: Both dogs had great training sessions today. We're heading into off lead! The leashes are being dropped during stays and comes. Birdie is still a little insecure about remaining in a down/stay and is taking a little longer on that one than Martin. Both dogs have become territorial about their suite, so I've had to separate them from the other dogs. They appear much happier with that situation.
7/10: We are working on increasing stay duration and distance. This has been a challenging concept for them, but they're making progress. They're also making progress on distraction proofing. Martin has mellowed a bit about his suite, or the other dogs have learned to stay away, so I'm allowing them to interact with the general population.
7/12: Birdie and Martin are improving their stay duration as well as distance. We can get 15' of distance, now that they're more stable on it. It has been quite challenging with Birdie, in particular, with her down stay, but we're getting there. Martin has chilled a bit more about other dogs entering his domain but tends to spend most of his time in his room. This coming week we'll be working more on loose leash walking and hiking the mountain.
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Play Yard Fun
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Shady Mountain Pet Retreat Proudly Uses and Recommends NuVet Nutritional Pet Supplements. For More Information Click Here.
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800-474-7044
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