According to legend, when King Arthur was gravely wounded in the Battle of Camlann he went to the birthplace of Excalibur to recover.  The mystical island is said to have healing powers beyond which can be imagined.  Against all odds, King Arthur recovered and returned even stronger to lead his people; some even claim he was made immortal and impervious to new wounds.

In honor of the legend this girl has been given the name, “Avalon.”  We call her Ava and she is in need of a family to love her, continue her healing and training and to watch their family become the stuff of legend.

Her details:
DOB: 7/30/2019
Vaccinations: up to date
Spay scheduled for 6/9/2020
Good with other dogs, cats and kids
Lifetime training support included in her adoption fee.

She sounds perfect, doesn’t she?  So why is she up for adoption?

*sigh*

She was born into a horrible situation here in the Susquehanna Valley.  Sadly, this is not uncommon.  A Mennonite “breeder” chose her parents based on the fact that they happened to be brown.  She had to fight for food among her littermates, she had very little early intervention from loving humans and she was purchased very young by a local family.  They did the best they could to help her overcome her issues, even sending her to me for several different board and train stays.

While in my home, with Pony as a mentor and guide, she minded her manners impeccably and was accepted to be absolutely fantastic.  Unfortunately, when she returned home each time, her neurosis resurfaced and she had become quite aggressive with regards to resource guarding her food and crate.  I 100% believed her parents when they told me of her increasingly frightening behavior but since she never displayed them in my home I was at a loss on how to help her overcome them.

Her family made the decision to re-home her and my sister was interested in becoming her forever family.  They had some playdates with her puppy and spent a day with them.  It was looking like a perfect match!  I write “was” because when she went to spend a few days at their house she had become quite comfortable and her anti-social behaviors made themselves known.

I became her guardian and I arranged for her to spend 5 weeks in rehab with another trainer hoping that a new approach would unlock her anxieties.  It’s working!  She is healing.  She is on track to live her very best life.  All that she needs now is a family willing to help her in the final lap of her journey.

She will do best in a home with a family with another, larger breed, strong, well-trained dog.  She really needs a mentor.  She will be fine with kids and cats and would be more comfortable in a home where at least one parent works from home or is out of the house only part-time.  Her training was paid by her first family and it includes lifetime support.  One of the conditions of adoption will be that she attend a group class twice a month. 

I will be asking for an adoption fee to cover the out-of-pocket expenses I’ve covered for rehab and her spay surgery.  Details about the fee and specifics of her behaviors will be discussed personally with interested families.  This is not a dog for a first-time owner or a family unwilling to embrace a balanced approach to training.  She is not a dog for a passive family, she needs strong leaders- both human and canine.

If you are interested in adopting Ava please contact me, [email protected].  She has a safe place to stay with me until her perfect family is found.

This word is tossed around frequently in the dog world.  It’s used most often by rescues and force-free training advocates.  Please understand before you read on that a dog’s mental health and state-of-mind are of supreme importance to me! 

A dog cannot physically learn until he is mentally and emotionally prepared. 

Fact. 

However, the concept of allowing a dog to “decompress” before beginning training is bullshit. 

Fact.

Dogs and people process experiences and feelings differently.  This is not to say we have different experiences or feelings; we just process differently.  People like to dwell.  We like to think, many really like to overthink.  We tend to live in our wounds.  We need a reason for everything.

Dogs do not dwell.

Sure, they have memories and can create connotations to things- that’s the very heart of what makes them trainable.  However, they do not live in their wounds and they don’t always have a reason.

Dogs who shy away from men have not necessarily been abused by men.  If they’ve been neglected or homeless, this is not something they need weeks or months to overcome.  What they need is structure.

I’m often asked, “When is the best time to begin training?”

My answer, “Now.”

But, he’s only 10 weeks old!  Now.

But, he’s a rescue!  Now.

But, he came from an abusive situation!!  NOW!!

The worst thing you can do for any dog is to let them “decompress” and live in the energy of the situation that came before.  Dogs don’t interpret security the same way we do.  Allowing a human child to relax and get used to their new home while providing loving words and hugs, lots of healthy food, is a great idea.  This is because HUMANS crave these things and read them as security. 

Dogs read security in structure and boundaries.  They feel safe when there is a clear leader and hierarchy in place to provide, essentially, defense.  Dogs relax and open themselves when they can reduce their fear of attack.  They are part of our families and members of our pack but never forget that they are animals.  Instinctually, they are on the lookout for predators and they seek safety from them.  Yes, some dogs think the squirrels and leaves are predators, but don’t we all make bad decisions now and then?

When you bring a dog into your home, no matter what the circumstances are, the best thing you can do is provide a strict parameters and clear leadership.  This will allow him to let his guard down, knowing that you’ve got his back.  You will allow nothing to hurt him.  This happens not through allowing him to lounge and be babied for 30 days or three months or whatever arbitrary number you choose to assign.  It happens by setting rules and boundaries, providing healthy food and exercise, giving and expecting respect and TRAINING your dog from the second he enters your orbit.

The longer you wait the longer you force your dog to make interpretations of their experience and circumstance.  You confirm their fears when you placate them.  Stop it.  Help your dogs be the best dogs they can be by treating them lovingly and humanely like dogs.

As of 8:00 PM on Thursday, March 19, 2020, all non-life-saving businesses were ordered closed until further notice. 

I’ve read every article I can get my hands on and I’ve watched as many news conferences as I could.  I’ve taken this to understand that Mia Semuta Dog Training falls into this category.  I will be hosting one last group lesson this afternoon as there will be fines levied at midnight if a business violates the order.  My last hurrah?  Taking the dogs for a walk in the parking lot of my Gramma’s retirement community so that she and her friends can watch us from their windows and I can wave to her.  We will be observing appropriate precautions and keeping our distance from one another but I want to give them something different to look at and I want to get as close to a hug as I can.

I’ve just updated my calendar.  I’m assuming until further notice is at least through the end of next week.  Every client who has a scheduled lesson with me has ben moved forward in the calendar.  After all of this is over, I will make up every lesson even if it’s beyond your contracted time.  I will continue to work with the dogs who are staying at my house and keep the exchanges with their parents brief with no human touch.  I will conduct lessons remotely for all of my clients, I will video and broadcast lessons as frequently as possible and I will open up my Virtual classroom a few times a week.  Even if we are just laughing about cocktails and movies, a little levity during this scary time is valuable, too.

I had the most incredible morning already.  One of my clients asked what she could do to be helpful to Zach and me during this time, another asked if he could send his dog to stay with me for a few days, charging him full price.  Thank you!  Yes, I put the dog on my calendar immediately and to answer that first question: We still need new students.  Our bills won’t stop even when our income does.  We still have families to feed and lights to keep on. 

This is an incredible time to train your dog!  Although we are unable to provide the hands-on training we’ve become known for there is still so much we can do via technology to help you get started.  Please consider enrolling today with the understanding that we will help as much as we can until we can see you in person and then honor every lesson you paid for when the restrictions are lifted.  In recognition of your flexibility and willingness to take a chance on a local, small business, I am offering 10% off your tuition if you enroll during the quarantine.  It’s not ideal, but I’m willing to make the best of a bad situation and find a way to help you through the screen.

If you or someone you know is in need of dog training help we find ourselves with knowledge to share a ton of time on our hands!  Thank you for your prayers and shares, go with my deepest affection and good thoughts.  We are all in this together.  Stay safe and wash your hands. 

Through no fault of their own, these little froggies find themselves in need of a forever home.  After their parents divorced it became too difficult to give them the time they truly needed and so some bad habits had formed.  Their Dad sent them to me to foster and train and has asked me to find a home for them to live and thrive forever. 

Their training program is 100% paid for meaning that they have a lifetime pack membership and support.  They’ve completed about half their training so the remaining needed lessons will follow them at no charge.  Cabernet is a 9-year-old, snuggly little man.  He’s happiest burrowed in and snoozing on the couch though once you see his little swagger you’ll be excited to take him for a walk!  Sauvignon is a 5-year-old sweet and sassy little girl who is currently on a health kick, working hard to get her beach body bikini ready.  They are very friendly, great with other dogs, not very vocal and we will be testing them with cats this week.

They are both crate trained, up-to-date on their vaccinations, fixed and microchipped.  The perfect home for them has someone home most of the day eager to take them on a structured walk of about 20-30 minutes a day and the occasional visiting child to play ball in the yard.  They both take their meal and nap schedules seriously and neither hates the bath. 

They each still have a few challenges so adopting them means accepting that they are works in progress!  Be assured that you have the support of Mia Semuta Dog Training and the entire pack of Zia’s Pups.  I think they would do best together.  Conditions of adoption include residing within 45 minutes drive of Harrisburg, to continue their training with private lessons for 4-6 weeks and attendance at group class or pack-sponsored playdates twice a month.

If you are interested in giving these cuties a wine rack to call their own please contact me via email: [email protected] to apply.  There will be a modest adoption fee to cover expenses beyond their training, it is negotiable.  Experience with French Bulldogs or a similar breed is preferred. 

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As the minutes tick away to the close of not only this year, but this decade, I am among the many who feel the need to reflect.  I’ve been struggling to sum up my feelings in a succinct yet profound way.  I like words, all of them.  I am told I have a knack for them.  My feelings about 2019 drawing to a close can be summed up in only two.

No, not those two.  Those two words work for other years.

As 2019 closes my overwhelming feeling is THANK YOU.

• Thank you to my family for supporting the beautiful chaos that is my life and for being of this earth.
• Thank you to my friends for showing up when the chips were down and allowing me to return the favor.
• Thank you to my assistant trainer who I didn’t realize I needed but now can’t imagine my business without.
• Thank you to my clients who have become another family and continue to help our pack grow.
• Thank you to my students for all the challenges and triumphs you provide.
• Thank you to my dogs who love me unconditionally and inspire me to become the person they think I am.
• Thank you to my body for pushing through 47 years of abuse to keep me putting one foot in front of the other every single day.
• Thank you to the tribe that keeps me afloat; body, mind and soul.
• Thank you to winemakers and modern pharmacology because obvi.
• Thank you to the very air that I breathe in freedom and liberty in the great US of A.
• Thank you to God for making all things possible.

Thank you.

May 2020 bring clear vision of the path to success.  Much love to one and all.

Guest Blogger, Abbie, is mom to two of the sweetest little girls in the pack.

I met my husband in 2015.  When I moved in, which is a story all its own, he had a dog named Tucker.  Fast forward to 2017, I had puppy fever.  I knew we were going to be a long-term family, and I was ready for our family to grow.  I had been asking and asking for a puppy, but I kept getting vetoed.

On November 17, 2017 on my way home from work, I stopped by the Adams County SPCA.  They had just received a transport of dogs from Tennessee, and in this group of dogs, I found her.  There were two girls about 12 weeks old, sisters named “Thelma” and “Louise.”  I knew one of them was going to come home with me, I just couldn’t pick.  I asked my husband to stop by on his way home from work, along with a photo of me with one of the girls, and he begrudgingly agreed.  When he arrived, we got both of the girls in a room with us and discussed the pros and cons of a puppy (again) and if he had to pick one, which personality he liked better. Unbeknownst to us, another couple had already decided that they wanted to take “Louise” home that day, but that actually worked out for the best because, “Thelma” was our top choice.  My now husband knew that there would have to be an application, a visit with our existing dog Tucker, and that he was planning on using that time to talk me out of getting the puppy…  But lucky for both of us, that’s not how it worked out.  He did not know I had already completed an application and had it approved, months before.  The manager of the Adams County SPCA and my now husband actually know each other, and considering she knew him, she knew his dog Tucker, and the sister “Louise” was being adopted, the manager didn’t want 12 week old “Thelma” to be all alone at the shelter if she could have a good home to go to.  When I heard “you can take her home tonight, if you want…” I honestly stopped listening. I signed the paperwork in a blissful blur and took my new baby home.  And that’s the story of how we got Lexi!

On September 9, 2018, I married the love of my life.  The following week on our honeymoon, my brother who was dog sitting for us, called to tell me that the kids were playing, and Tucker yelped and hid under the table… and had since been limping – which was extremely odd.  When we returned, Tucker didn’t stop limping.  It seemed that he was changing paws, so we tried to give it time – he was kind of a drama king and would fake not feeling well for attention.  When the limping didn’t stop, we took him to the vet three times, before I went elsewhere for a second opinion.  The new vet did an Xray after noticing muscle atrophy in his right shoulder, and a lump above his elbow.  It was our worst fears coming to fruition. He was diagnosed with bone cancer… we discussed options, and on December 4^th, 2018 – the day before his 8^th birthday, after living the best few weeks of his life, Tucker crossed the rainbow bridge.

Lexi fell into a depression, and I would be lying if I said we didn’t also.  But Lexi had never been an only dog.  We adjusted to a new normal, but I knew eventually we would need to get a second dog again. Lexi started to get over excited every time she would see another dog.  She wanted to play so badly, and playing with her humans just wasn’t the same.  We did everything we could to give her a fulfilled life.  Lexi got to go to the beach with us, we tried to get her to dog parks (before we knew better).  And it was one time in the spring 2019, my husband and I took her to the dog park, that a shift happened.  No one else was at the dog park, Lexi seemed fine, but when a dog from the houses close by got loose and ran over to the outside of the fence, he saw Lexi light up for the first time since Tucker passed.  Her eyes were bright, her face was smiling, her tail was waggy, she wanted to play.  In that moment, my husband understood why I was again asking for another puppy, despite the loss of Tucker.  He told me that I could start looking.

Anyone that knows me, knows when I research, I really research.  And I obsess over it until I find my answer.  Well, with that green light, I spent all afternoon, night, and early morning, looking for adoptable rescues, putting in applications, trying to find the right baby for our family.  And then I found her.

Thanks to Facebook, a friend had shared a rescue page called K9 Crazy Puppy Rescue out of Camp Hill. They had a litter of boxer mixes from Mississippi that they called the “V” litter because all of the pups had given “V” names. I fell in love with their personalities that shown through in the photos, especially “Vienna.”

When my husband woke up on the morning of June 2, 2019 he said, “so what have you found?” and I responded, “do you want to go meet a puppy today?”  He begrudgingly agreed, and we went to Camp Hill, “just to look.”

When we arrived, we spoke with the woman who runs the rescue, and discussed with her my thoughts, what we were looking for, and that I was drawn to “Vienna.”  She brought “Vienna” out to the yard to meet us, and the pup immediately was so excited and happy that she started peeing, climbed my husband (still peeing), and kissed him like crazy.  We had been chosen, we didn’t have a choice. The woman that runs the rescue asked if we wanted to meet any of the others, but we declined – when you’ve been chosen, there isn’t a choice.  I signed the paperwork in a blissful blur and took our new baby home.  And that’s the story of how we got Sasha!

For as much as my husband didn’t want more dogs, he loves them and they love him.  And as much as I want to save every dog that comes across my path, I know that our family is currently complete.  With Lexi at 2 years old, and Sasha at 10 months old, I’m hoping that there will be a LONG time before anything happens to either of them.  They are the children we would otherwise not have, and they are our everything.