Videos

Kirk Cushing shows us what just 5-days of setting house rules, boundaries and limitations will do (even for a kennel terror)! The Pit Bull was going to be put down because of his aggressive behavior towards other dogs. He became a rehabilitation case for The Dog Masters. As far as we know Marbles is still looking for a home.

Papou and Dude wrestle!

In this video, I play referee between Dude and Papou. I decide when to pause and when to call it quits. As a result, the boys had a lot of fun wrestling and boxing. Currently, Dude is back with his rescue mom, Renee Dzamko at Peanut's Place Bully Rescue in Yoder, Colorado. This is the same Dogo I drove from Houston to CO in October. I have learned much from this magnificent and powerful breed. In order for him to be a balanced dog, we learned he needs someone to enforce rules, boundaries and limitations. He's big, has a huge head and tests his leaders. I think of him like a young boxer in the ring learning discipline to maintain his composure and control and do as his coach tells him. He needs a coach that calls him on his backtalk. You'll see that in my next video.

Posted by The Dog Masters on Friday, March 17, 2017
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Typical evening at The Dog Masters. Cat training with Neeps, our Flame Point Siamese. He looks terrified, doesn't he?

Posted by The Dog Masters on Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Dude and Kirk reunite!

This video was taken after Dude played with Papou. I needed to evaluate how he plays with people. Mouthing is the most social way dogs communicate with one another. This is how they claim space, push limits, make rules and ultimately, develop greater respect and trust towards each other. We have to teach our dogs when it appropriate to mouth us during play (social interactions) and when it's not okay. There was a point at the end of this video in which I wanted to establish I wasn't okay with him mouthing. He disengages and we move on. What are your limits? Each owner can choose if they wish to allow their dog(s) to mouth. It's simple to eliminate when you are calm, assertive and there is mutual respect.

Posted by The Dog Masters on Friday, March 17, 2017

Back at Kirk's parents for the week. It's been a recharge of batteries for us both. Kirk's been able to get back to his husky pack roots. Before he lets each of the dogs out, he needs them to sit and to make eye contact with good focus, then they can come out and play. That reinforces that he's in charge. Letting them out is on his terms, not theirs.

Posted by The Dog Masters on Monday, July 18, 2016

Papou is on wheel right. Look at him go. Never stopped pulling. It worked. He's an official sled dog! You can take a city dog, work on your relationship through respect, trust and love, integrate him into a pack and voila! Well it sounds simple. But, we did it! A huge thank you to my sister, Janna Lee, for making that possible.

Posted by The Dog Masters on Monday, December 26, 2016

Interviews

“Listening to [The Dog Masters] interview confirmed everything I needed to know about Kirk. Especially his teaching philosophy. He’s a very good teacher and clearly incredibly passionate about his work with dogs and people. I am very impressed how concise his message was; it’s all about teaching people how to communicate with animals. I can only compare him with Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer’ Godfather.”