Sherri's Page

About Me:

Growing up, I lived on a farm in Alberta. What farm kid
doesn’t wish for a puppy? When I was eight years old we
spent a day at the lake, and on the way
home I saw a “Puppies for Sale” sign. I
begged Mom to let me look. She
hesitated, knowing Dad would put up
a fuss because we already had a farm
dog, but we risked it.
Rascal, a Black Lab/Dalmatian cross,was
black with a white spotted chest and I adored him. He
followed me everywhere on our farm – a girl and her dog
doing chores,wandering happily through the
pasture, daydreaming,watching the clouds in the sky.
hey, I was young!
With my love for animals, I knew that I wanted a career
working with dogs. But I had a dilemma. As I saw it, I had
three options. I could be a dog breeder, a veterinarian or a
seeing-eye dog trainer. After giving the matter some
thought, however, I decided I couldn’t bring any more
dogs into a world where too many were already unwanted
and euthanized. I crossed breeder off my list. I didn’t like
the sight of blood, eliminating the veterinarian option, and
the seeing-eye dog training school was in Ontario – too far
from my home in Alberta and my mom. Hey, I was young!
My teacher hired me to take care of his animals while he
was away. For $3 a day I drove my motorbike through the
fields to his house.There I fed and watered twenty dogs
and ten cats along with chickens, geese and whatever
other animals this kind-hearted man kept on his acreage.
I loved the job.Most of the dogs were bigger than me –
Saint Bernards, Shepherds, a Great Dane, Setters and an
Old English Sheepdog. I would let them out of the shed,
feed them, let them run around a bit and then put them all
back in. I really don’t know how I managed to get them all
to behave.They were always happy to see me, and that
made me feel good.
When the girls at school were reading Nancy Drew or
romance novels, I was engrossed in all the dog stories I could
find. I was also reading dog training manuals and talking to a
professional about training pups to be seeing-eye dogs.
Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern
Grows were my favorite movies. I
began saving money so I could
meet the dogs and the movie
stars. I started to write my own
book about the adventures of a
girl named Sam who lived in the
mountains with her beloved dog.
(Too bad adolescence
set in. Later I threw the
unfinished project away.)
One day I noticed Rascal wasn’t near. As my brother and
I got on the snowmobile to look for him, I had a sick
feeling inside.We looked everywhere. Finally I spotted the
black form of my precious boy lying motionless on the
train tracks where he loved chasing rabbits. I will never
forget that day.My heart was broken. I abandoned my
career aspiration of working with dogs and turned my
attention to other things.My dilemma died along with my
beloved pup. If only I had trained him to stay off the tracks.
I am so sorry, Rascal. I failed you.
Life has a way of coming full circle. I was coaching a
woman who wanted a career change. She decided to sell
her dog-walking business. I introduced her to one of my
friends who also wanted a career change.My friend
bought the woman’s business. As I helped my friend with
her new business I remembered my career dilemma years
before and my huge love for dogs.
We both took a dog educator training course, bringing all
the dogs along. It was intense and eye-opening, both for
the knowledge I gained about dogs and the knowledge
about myself. It was fun adding dog coaching to my
people-coaching career.
When I turned thirty-eight I looked at my life goal list. It
said,“Get a puppy.” I longed for another puppy like Rascal,
and I had already checked off two other big items on my
list – “Live near nature” and “Work from home.” I had just
bought a small dream home near a huge off-leash park (I call
it my big backyard). If there ever was a time, it was now.
I almost chickened out, though. I don’t know if it was the
tremendous responsibility that I knew came with having a
dog in the city, or if it was the “what if” game I played
in my head.
“What if I get a big training job that requires travel?”
“What if I meet someone who doesn’t like dogs?”
“What if they take away dog access in my park?”
Unconsciously, I might have been afraid that my little heart
couldn’t take another loss like the one I had suffered with
Rascal. In my mind I kept reviewing old sayings about
fear, about taking a leap into the unknown, about loving
and risking.
“Feel the fear and do it anyway.”
“A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.”
“Better to love and lose than to never love at all.”
Finally I realized that I had to follow my heart.My own
philosophy of life is this: Be Courageous. Live Juicy.Amaze
Yourself. I took a deep breath and picked up the phone.
After Bear (my Labradoodle/Retriever cross) came into my
life we began spending our days roaming through tall
grass in the hills, swimming in the river and enjoying my
huge off-leash park – a girl and her dog again, dreaming,
playing,watching the clouds and loving each other full out.
To love and be loved by a dog is to be blessed indeed.
But every time I took Bear to the park, I remembered
Rascal. It’s always tough meeting strange dogs in a new
park. Every time we met an unknown dog, nervousness
set in.Dog language is difficult to understand and
interpret – what are they communicating? I began to
think there had to be a better way.
While Bear and I were learning the ropes in our off-leash
park, I created that better system.That’s what this book is
about.The COOLdog tag and six commands at the heart
of this system decrease uncertainty and provide
unspoken communication between dog owners.The
COOLdog Method lets you know that the dog you are
meeting is trained, socialized and likely to be friendly.
This creates more peace of mind for owners, more safety
for dogs, and more fun for everyone.
This book provides basic training. It helps you take your
dog from the safety of enclosed obedience training to the
unpredictability of off-leash walking.The text shows you
how to have safe off-leash fun, and the how-to guide helps
you manage uncomfortable park situations. Part training
and part strategy, this book is all about ensuring maximum
fun with your dog.Think of it as a mini-survival guide – read
it to take the stress out of meeting other dogs in the park.
I’ve called the three main components of this book
COOLdog Method, COOLdog Experience, and COOLdog
and You.
COOLdog Method includes basic training for letting your
dog go off leash, plus six essential commands – three for
fun, and three for safety.This method provides more
overall control in the park and more peace of mind for
you, along with a decrease in conflict and increased
safety for dogs.The COOLdog Method lets you easily
create stress-free walks in any park.
Even better, when you train your dog in the COOLdog
Method and identify him with a COOLdog tag, others
know that your dog obeys the six commands and is well
socialized. COOLdog commands can minimize aggressive
behaviour because either owner can say a command that
both dogs know, increasing the likelihood of the trained
response in both dogs.The COOLdog Method includes
practical ideas to increase the fun factor and to solve
uncomfortable situations in the park. It helps off-leash
parks be safer and more fun for everyone.
My primary intention in writing this book is to help you
train your dog for off-leash walking.Off-leash parks full of
well-trained dogs are more enjoyable for everyone.The
COOLdog Experience envisions a total transformation of
the experience of meeting,walking and playing with dogs
across North America.
COOLdog Experience invites you to become part of a
culture where coolness creates community. Let us all work
together so that we can continue to enjoy walking our
dogs and having off-leash fun with them. Our canine
friends will continue to have places in nature to play and
run, and our parks will remain intact for everyone to enjoy
without added restrictions (some cities are decreasing the
number and size of off-leash parks, or restricting how
many dogs you can walk at one time).
The last part of the book, COOLdog and You, focuses on
dog owners.Written from the perspective of a life coach
(my other career), it will help you get out of your own way
and become an effective leader to your dog. COOLdog
owners are cool.They train their dogs, take care of their
parks and are just plain fun to be around.
Only when more dog owners adopt a consistent framework
will we be able to avoid those unfortunate situations in
which other people –who mean well – permit behaviour
from your dog that you don’t condone.COOLdog provides
a simple, effective method of training.The interactive
communication techniques give dog owners peace of
mind, and they give pups plenty of off-leash fun.
When other owners, dog walkers and dog sitters adopt
a COOLdog philosophy, your hard training work will
be reinforced.
This book stems from my wish for all dogs to be able
to safely run free.When you commit to the COOLdog
process, you will watch your dog thrive. Practice, patience
and consistency are the keys to success.

What Type of Doodle(s) do you have? What are their names? Tell us about your doodle(s) or any other pets you have!

Labradoodle/ Retriever: Bear

Where did you get your doodle(s)?

Rescue

Does your doodle(s) shed?

A little bit but nothing major

Relationship Status:

In a Relationship

Do you have a website of your own? If so, share it here:

http://www.cooldog.ca