Puppy Virtual + Training Overview
'Virtual +' Training Your Puppy Without Resorting To Treats Or ‘Might Is Right',
Puppy 'Virtual+' Training Table of Contents
Worried About The Effectiveness Of 'Virtual+' - Dog Training? (I Don't Blame You.)
Generally speaking, for most companion puppy or dog owners, their first impression regarding companion puppy or dog training is that anything ‘Virtual’ vs. in person will be less effective than in-home or group. However, the reality is that whatever the approach – a trainer in your home, a visit to a dog training facility, one on one, or group class – the actual contact with a trainer – is relatively limited vs. the time attempting to put into practice what you learn. In other words, the time you’ll be spending with your dog outside of a class.
The more relevant factors influencing whether you achieve your goals are really:
- The Quality Of The Trainer (Knowledge And Experience)
- The Support Available Outside Of That ‘Class’ Time
- Your Commitment
1. The Quality Of The Trainer (Knowledge And Experience)
There are very few companion dog trainers in North America that have trained companion puppies and dogs and their owners for over thirty years on a full-time basis. My background brings a very high level of knowledge, expertise, and experience. You can learn more about my experience training, teaching, writing, ‘pawdcasting’, seminars, and workshops by Clicking Here: ‘About John Wade.’
2. The Support Available Outside Of That ‘Class’ Time
As the over 80+ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Google reviews from past clients repeatedly indicate the level (and manner) of support included with your ‘Virtual+’ – Training with John Wade is superior to what you will find in a group, in-home, or any other virtual program you might find elsewhere.
Not only in the follow-up literature you will be provided, but your first critical month’s weekly check-ins. However, most valuable to you will be the videos you send after our Zoom session, showing your progress, areas of difficulty, and the detailed tutorials I send back based on what you and your dog are doing.
3. Your Commitment
Your commitment and or availability is the bit I have the least control over. There are two realities. One is that no puppy or dog is going to train him or herself, and your ‘Virtual+’ – Training session, or if you chose to go another route, will not include a magic wand. 😄
The second reality is one I understand all too well. There’s only so much of a person left over at the end of the day. The program I will be recommending based on your needs and wants, and our Zoom session is one you will need to incorporate into your ‘day-to-day’; and will be as ‘user-friendly’ as possible, combing interactions you’re alreg with your dog, but in a manner that contributes towards achiving your goals. It isn’t particularly time-consuming, However, I’m not going to lie. It requires a bit of effort on your part. While I can not make it ‘easy,’ you will find that my experience and knowledge go a long way to making it easier.
In the end, whether ‘Virtual+’ – Training, in-person, private, or group, it’s the time you spend or don’t spend without a trainer nearby that most influences your success.
Synopsis
What you find below will be information overkill and perhaps overload, but you will likely find that it will answer any questions you might have and provide answers to questions you perhaps should be asking but wouldn’t otherwise think to ask, but should before you chose a training path for you and your puppy. You can use the blue bar/button link to view my calendar and pricing at any time.
One of my passions and specialties is helping people get their puppies off to the right start. That means much more than a traditional puppy obedience class. It also means learning how to shape your puppy’s temperament and social behavior so that anxiety and fear issue don’t develop later in life. It also means learning how to crate train and house train.
Almost all companion puppy training offered still embraces a curriculum and an approach (method) to training that might make sense if the goal is to compete in an obedience competition where you stare at your puppy, treats in hand surrounded by unfamiliar people and dogs in a gymnasium setting.
However, most dog owners are companion dog owners and coercing their puppy to do geometric patterns around pylons, staying and coming for a treat while being stared at has very little to do with attempting to navigate the kitchen or stairs without tripping over a dog, randomly ringing doorbells and knocks etc. the day to day reality of a companion dog and dog owner. Or, the random appearance of children, squirrels, other dogs, bicycles etc. whilst out on walks.
This program is designed with the day to day reality of companion dogs and dog owners in mind and is founded on sound behavior and learning theory that companion dog owners and their dogs find far more enjoyable and successful than the traditional and flawed ‘All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free…’ treat, treat, treat and ‘Might Is Right’ approaches.
The PROS Of 'Virtual+'- Training Your Puppy With John Wade
- 30 Years Of Full Time Experience
- Science-Driven Approach
- Reputation (Over 80 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Google Reviews)
How We Compensate To More Than Make Up For The Lack Of Face-To-Face
In a word – VIDEO. The obvious part is the use of Zoom, Skype, Google Meet etc for the face to face part of our working together but the the real key and benefit that this ‘Virtual +’ – Puppy Training brings is what happens afterwards.
Whether you meet face to face with a trainer in your own home or in their facility there’s only so much you can remember and waiting for an entire week for the next ‘lesson’ to ask questions, show how much you remembered or forgot can (and usually does) lead to a fair amount of frustration and discouragement. Amateur companion dog trainers are infamous for poor follow-up and overall accessibility.
As you’ll read below, the written notes, videos and overall accessibility this program provides is phenomenal. However, potentially the most powerful success tool the ‘Virtual +’ – Training Program provides is the opportunity to video your ongoing progress, send those videos and receive (at no additional charge) a personal video tutorial that is a break down of what you have forgotten (on average 50%), and tips to make moving forward even more smooth. In essence, it’s an examination of your ‘golf swing’.
You can send videos if you become frustrated with any area of your training, but you will receive a weekly reminder for the first month to review what is `Better/Worse/Same’ within the program that we tailored for achieving your goals and the invitation to send videos to show your progress, just to be sure you’re not missing something that my eye of thirty years experience might catch. Trust me, it’s more often the case than it’s not.
Science-Based Approach
First: What You Shouldn't Be Doing And Why
One of the main reasons so few people fail to accomplish their dog training goals isn’t due to motivation or a lack of time. It’s because what now passes for companion puppy and dog training is based on what is used for training Orcas and Dolphins in an aquarium with full-time trainers who’s entire workday revolves around the Orca or Dolphin. Often referred to as ‘All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free’ and by some, as, ignore bad behavior, reward (treats) good behavior, etc. Not exactly the model used by any loving authority figure among any higher order social species.
This is not to say that the `Might Is Right` approach sometimes referred to as ‘Yank and Crank’, being Alpha, Pack Leader, Dominant, using Alpha rolls, etc. is any more valid. It produces a different set of problems, such a submissive puppy or later in life, an aggressive dog.
What the amateur puppy and dog trainers that use the alleged ‘All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free…’ treat, treat, treat approach (it is rarely all positive in reality) do not understand is that while it may give themselves or a layperson the illusion that they are training, they are really only teaching tricks.
They are also creating an unsustainable foundation that will crumble in real-world settings with real-world distractions. Imagine if we motivated our children with candy over and over and then one day asked them what would they do if a stranger invited them into a car to share some candy? A heroin dealer has the power to influence behavior over the addict. Incredible power but this is not the model I recommend. We can do much better. Instead we develop a relationship in which they learn to see us as a loving authority figure.
Teaching/motivating a puppy to work for a treat aims at their tummies and not the best part of the puppy, the only species I know of bred to love and work for a human being.
In the context of the aquarium, the agility or obedience ring or the television or movie set, it is a legitimate methodology if the goal is tricks. But in the context of companion puppy and dog training for teaching real-life skills for real-world setting, it is a naive ideology. An ideology that will always fail in the context of real-world settings. It works (sort of) until a better offer comes along (squirrel,, etc.)
Ironically, the companion puppy and dog trainers offering ‘All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free’ claim it is based on science. Yes, there’s science to support (somewhat) IF it’s used in controlled environments such as the Orca’s aquarium, the rat’s maze, a dog’s obedience or agility ring, but none whatsoever in real-world environments.
Whereas, all the scientific literature (behavior and learning theory, ethology, evolutionary biology, and psychology, etc.) supports what you will be learning which is ’Fully Balanced Companion Dog Training’).
Second: What We Will Be doing and Why - Fully Balanced Puppy and Dog Training
Our approach to training is based on known rock-solid science that is based on how higher order social species teach, and their offspring learn real life-skills for the real world. It’s the approach shared by all higher order social species, dogs, wolves, apes, and human beings so it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn it doesn’t involve treats or brutality.
- Is the only companion dog life skill training for real-world contexts approach that has extensive supporting science. There is literally no science to similarly support ‘Might Is Right’ or ‘All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free…’ treat ideologies.
- It is almost always All Positive. Almost. It does not shy away from the reality that parents of all species occasionally draw upon the concept of “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.”, in a manner that is in keeping with the youngster/student’s ability to comprehend that they are not bad, the teacher isn’t bad, but the behavior itself is what is bad.
- Because it is essentially part of nature’s template, both companion dog owners and their dogs relate and subsequently learn and adapt to it far more quickly than ‘Might Is Right’ or ‘All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free…’ ideologies. Both dogs and dog owners love it.
- The results are amazing. Dogs learn to exert self-control without being subjected to the submission techniques of ‘Might Is Right,’ or the addictive focus, (until something more interesting appears) on treats as opposed to the strength of their love and relationship they have with their owner.
You will find it’s straightforward to implement for two reasons:
- Because you and your puppy are already hard-wired to teach and learn in this manner.
- I am a really, really good teacher. 🙂 Read my 80+ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Google Reviews!
Using Relationship To Motivate (Instead Of Treats Or Force.)
What we will be doing is teaching you to teach your puppy in a manner that reflects the way all higher order social species (dogs, wolves, apes, humans, etc.) teach skills that lead to the best quality of life. This is not through the expectation of treats or pain.
A puppy’s perception as to who is the teacher and who is the student can make training very hard or relatively easy. Even more so than how you train when you are training. Think of your experiences with substitute teachers. No one more motivated to do well and help students succeed, but we sent half home in tears questioning their career choices.
Arguably even more important than an approach to training, one of the greatest influences on training outcome is how a puppy perceives its relationship with its owner. Love is almost always a given. Respect is not. That should not be purchased with a treat nor through threat. It is earned.
The little things we do and don’t do during our time around our puppy has most of them thinking of us as roommates rather than teachers. As a result when it is time to encourage or discourage behavior we have to work far harder (treats and might) than we would if we learned to live with our dogs in a manner that led them to see us more as a loving parent or teacher rather than at best a substitute teacher.
Part of what will be covered in your program is how your puppy sees the world, determines who is the teacher and who is the student and how to incorporate this into how you live with your puppy. The impact is significant. Your puppy will be far more highly motivated to learn from and work for you than any treat or ‘Might Is Right’ approach can remotely approach.
The Application Of Common Sense
Involving The Entire Household (All adults and Children)
I highly recommend involving everyone that usually interacts with your puppy on a day to day basis, attend. Even if they aren’t expected to fully participate in the day to day, you will find that if they are present, they are far less likely to unintentionally undermine the accomplishment of your goals and far more likely to take an active role.
Children
I definitely encourage the involvement of everyone that normally interacts with your dog on a daily basis, but in the case of children and teenagers, sometimes more indirectly rather than directly.
I recommend using the following rule of thumb as a means for determining the level of involvement. If you feel that it would be unreasonable to expect the child or teen in question to responsibly care for a two-year-old without adult supervision themselves, for an extended period of time, than it would be better to embrace the approach of involving them more in the manner mentioned below rather than as hands-on as the adult members of the home.
When they’re very young, the problem isn’t so much with understanding what’s required, as I’ve found that the children that attend my sessions typically absorb far more of what is said, than we ever could, even when they’re permitted to come and go as even in other rooms they seem to keep an ear tuned. Later, they can be quite an asset to the adults as the child or children become walking, talking session referral notebooks.
The problem, and it’s not really a ‘problem’ so much as it is a practical acknowledgement is with the aspect of attention-span, consistency and follow-through. Having witnessed it personally with my own sons and the children of past clients, I’m a big believer in the positive impact a good dog can have on a child’s life experience and I prefer to emphasize that aspect of the relationship, rather than potentially setting either the child (or their dog) up to fail by burdening them with a potentially unrealistic level of responsibility with regard to training and behavior modification for dogs with behavior problems.
When they’re closer to or in their teens and depending on their personality, some are more likely to actively participate than others both from the perspective of ability and motivation. It’s case-by-case, and when in doubt as to their potential to be consistent and follow-through, better to err on the side of caution as to level of active participation. Instead, and it’s probably a good idea, particularly when there is or there’s potential for a serious behavior problem, they should be present for our appointment.
In the teen age range category the biggest advantage of having them there is so they know what you’re doing and why, and in the case of dogs with behavior problems what the stakes are if there isn’t consistent follow-through. That said, their involvement will be part of how to best move forward. Just in a slightly more creative way.
- At the 30 day mark, the puppy has a clearer idea of what’s expected life skill wise inside the home. (dinner/doorways/stairs etc.) The child will attach their own personal leash, alongside mom or dads and instruct the dog as they have seen mom and dad do for the past 30 days. With you as the backup, you will be able to gently transfer the authority you have collected in combination with a clearer understanding in your dog as to what’s expected, over to the child without burdening the child or confusing the dog with the actual training of the dog. Works great.
- For the first 30 days of training, if age appropriate, and the child wishes, I recommend allowing the child or children to monitor the progress goals we will be laying out.
Focusing On Practical Obedience VS 'Show' Obedience
When it comes right down to it, there are only three ‘No Matter What’ obedience skills required to provide a companion dog and owner with a wonderful life together. They don’t have to look ‘obedience ring’ pretty and finished either. The dog just needs to do them – ‘No Matter What.’
They are:
- While on a leash (‘Heel’) – indoors or outdoors, stationary, walking or running, the leash is loose – No Matter What
- ‘Stay’ means ‘Stay’ – indoors or outdoors – No Matter What
- ‘Come’ means ‘Come’ – inside the home, in the yard or in a field – No Matter What
In spite of this companion, puppy owners are almost always forced to over complicate training and subsequently quite often set up both themselves and their puppy for almost certain frustration and failure with aspects of obedience realistically only ever required to compete in obedience competition.
That is not the purpose of this program. The purpose of this program is as a bare minimum to teach the three exercises mentioned above in a ‘No Matter What’ manner that isn’t dependent on treats or subject to collapse if a better ‘offer’ comes along.
In any event, once a companion dog owner learns how to teach these three things, adding elements of ‘Sit,’ ‘Stand,’ ‘Down’ while heeling, staying or coming are straightforward enough.
Far better though to be able to put your head on the pillow at night and feel you’ve taken one step forward than two steps backward. It’s also far better to teach these core skills in conjunction with the ebb and flow of living with a puppy inside your own home and yard as opposed to in a foreign environment surrounded by distractions and complications better introduced once a foundation is in place. For example, you will learn to teach your puppy to:
- Remain on a mat while food and drink is being prepared, consumed and cleaned up, regardless of the room (‘Stay’ followed by ‘Come’)
- Calm behavior when someone is at the door or when leaving or when you are preparing to go for a walk with your puppy and when you return from that walk. (‘Stay’ followed by ‘Come’)
- Stairway safety and etiquette – indoors or outdoors. (‘Stay’ followed by ‘Come’)
- Coming when called, whether there’s a treat or not and no matter what, means that real exercise can become a reality.
- Staying off or waiting for an invitation to get on beds and other furniture. (‘Come’)
- Learning to safely wait to be told to get in or leave a vehicle. (‘Stay’ followed by ‘Come’)
- Learning what ‘Heel’ means in the home and yard before subjecting your puppy or yourself to the number and level of distractions that almost always result in reliance on then leverage of the treats and more likely training apparatus rather than the leverage of the puppy owner.
This approach makes an additional monumental contribution to your training success because of its peripheral manner it influences a puppy’s perception of the relationship.
As mentioned, many dogs see their owners more as roommates as opposed to loving parents/teachers. Because the exercises listed above are triggered by lifestyle events as opposed to taking particular time out of the day and because they are both short but more importantly frequent the teacher/student relationship is constantly being reinforced in a manner that reflects how dog, wolves, apes and human beings shape the behavior of their offspring. A little here, a little there, throughout the day, day in day out.
Build Your Own Wish List
While ‘Stay,’ ‘Come’ and “Heel’ should be priorities you will no doubt have some priorities of your own that have accumulated and are based on your experience living with your puppy. When you book your appointment, you will receive a link to download a ‘Wishlist’ Template. Pop it on the fridge or someplace handy and as they come to mind write down things such as:
- I wish my puppy would learn to…
- I wish my puppy would learn to stop doing this …
- Good Lord, I hope my puppy never even thinks of doing this …
When we get together, we’ll review your wishlist and make sure all of your goals are addressed by building them into your personalized program.
Puppy Specific Focuses
Important Note: AVOID Puppy Socialization Classes
Every amateur companion dog trainer offers puppy socialization classes. These are always a bad idea. First, socialization (temperament formation) does not work that way. The science (Scott and Fuller’s work) made it clear that a puppy’s critical imprint period is between 3 – 12 weeks of age (+/- 1 week.) That means the classes offered to puppy owners occur only after the last set of inoculations which means the imprint period is passed.
So What’s The Harm?
Pups of various breeds (genetic drives), sizes, ages, personalities bouncing off of each other once per week can only have three outcomes:
- No notable impact on dog-to-dog socialization as that period is well past.
- The development of an expectation (fear) that they may be bullied when meeting dogs they are unfamiliar with.
- The notion that they can get away with bullying dogs they are unfamiliar (until learning sometimes the hard way that they cannot.
So Instead . . .
It will be part of your ‘Virtual +’ Puppy Training Program. Read the section below “Socialization and Temperament Stability (Formation and Troubleshooting)
Puppy Mouthing, Nipping, Biting and Jumping
Very likely the number one area people with puppies seek help. The most common and ironically ineffective and more importantly – harmful recommendations regarding addressing this fundamental developmental period/behavior in a puppy include, redirecting/rewarding good/ignoring bad/walking away/feigning pain/timeouts, etc. set people and their dogs up for future problems, some of which can be quite serious. Almost every trainer and veterinarian erroneously recommend this damaging strategy. Most claim it works because after 30 days they say, “See it worked.” However, this is a classic example of the ‘false cause’ logical fallacy based on an insufficient understanding of canine behavior from the perspective of evolutionary biology/psychology. The reality is that mouthing and nipping starts at a certain age with all puppies, for a reason and once the answers to the questions this behavior is intended to resolve have been ascertained, which (surprise) is usually about 30 days, and the behavior begins to dissipate with or without the strategy mentioned above. In other words, it’s not the ’training’ recommendation at all. It is worth emphasizing that while the behavior will (at least the worst of it) ‘go away’ within 30 days, it is imperative to your relationship with your puppy that you do not do not wait it out. Whether implementing the aforementioned ‘strategy’ or waiting it out rather than appropriately addressing it, will always make future training far more difficult on both the puppy owner and their puppy. I will be guiding you through the process on how to address, mouthing, nipping, biting and jumping. I wrote this article to explain the behavior from the perspective of the evolutionary biological purpose from which it stems. Puppy Mouthing, Nipping and Biting – Do Not Redirect – Redirecting Has Far-Reaching Negative Consequences And It Almost Always Sets You Up To Fail With Your Puppy – by John Wade
House Training Program - Teach 3X/day in one spot by 16 weeks
Many in the amateur dog training world have encouraged companion dog owners to teach their puppies to ring a bell as a means to alert their owners they need to empty out their bowel and/or bladder. Not only does this more often than not create a bell ringing nightmare (as puppies aren’t lacking in intelligence) it is a far less efficient way to go about house training than you will learn. Instead, you will be shown how to teach your puppy to expect 3 trips out for this purpose per day, to one spot (so there aren’t landmines all over your yard) by the time your puppy achieves 14 weeks of age. This is in keeping with reasonable bowel and bladder control.
Crate Training For Sanctuary Association And To Combat Separation Anxiety
Many puppy trainers and companion dog owners approach the use of a crate as a means to an end for accomplishing house training and to keep a puppy out of mischief at night or when owners aren’t home. It is undoubtedly a useful tool in that regard; however, a crate can be much more. More importantly, if introduced and used incorrectly (as just described) many puppies develop separation anxiety that time in the crate triggers and magnifies and instead of a crate tapping into a dog’s denning instinct and being perceived as a sanctuary it becomes ‘the enemy.’ You will learn to introduce and use a crate correctly so it can bring your puppy a sense of comfort which can come in handy later in life, during times of upheaval, moving, staying in hotel rooms, air travel, overnight veterinary stays, trips to the groomer, when crate rest is required to recover from injury, etc.
Socialization And Temperament Stability (Formation and Troubleshooting)
Why Is A Puppy’s Critical Socialization Period So Important?
Scott and Fuller’s very thorough research more than 50 years ago taught us much about the impact imprinting during a set period can have on a dog’s temperament and quality of life later in life. When you’ve met, go anywhere, do anything, go with the flow type dogs, genetics (nature) has played a role. However, an additional and hugely influencing factor is the context (positive/neutral/negative) of events experienced or left out between 3 – 12 weeks of age. By events, I’m referring to the sounds, sights, smells, textures, etc that a puppy in this age range encounters, or doesn’t encounter. Veterinarians, breeders and puppy, and dog trainers, as a rule, are either unaware of this period or fail to provide sufficient emphasis and investment, leaving too much to chance. I have been training dogs and puppies full time for close to 30 years and have worked with thousands of dogs with behavior problems varying from the significant to the severe. The vast majority could have been avoided had the breeder make more of an effort to both begin the imprinting and guide those taking their puppies into their homes and lives. If we develop a plan to provide positive associations with experiences such as; infants, crawling children, toddlers, pre-teens, the elderly etc., loud overhead sound (thunder, fireworks etc.), learning to spend time alone, we exponentially increase the chances that the temperament your puppy forms will be inoculated against not only future problems in these areas but for unanticipated issues. If the experiences we include are wide, varied and frequent, it appears that a useful by-product is that we also create an experiential malleability in the dog’s temperament as well. Meaning, the dog develops a go anywhere, do anything, go with the flow overall personalities. It won’t override genetics. In other words, guarding genetics are still guarding genetics. What it does do is make sure that the guarding genetics are triggered by fear or anxiety. If you are interested in learning more about puppy socialization, nitty-gritty you can read the book I wrote on the topic – Socialize Your Puppy For Everything (eBook) by John Wade If in your travels to find training for your puppy you have encountered offerings referring to ‘puppy socialization classes’ you may find the following interesting reading, and your confidence that you have found here the correct training for your puppy will no doubt increase.
What Socialization Is And Isn’t
True socialization – the sort that produces temperaments exhibiting wide-ranging confidence in an adult dog has two elements. The first is timing. A dog’s critical socialization period occurs from 3 – 12 weeks of age (+/- 1 week) and most classes for reasons associated with immunizations, occur well after that. Secondly, amongst many other things, a puppy’s critical socialization imprint period is by design intended to strengthen a puppy’s dog to dog socialization skills via interaction with ongoing daily contact with familiar dogs. The last thing a puppy needs to be socialized with is strange puppies or dogs, for one hour, once a week. Puppies that go to these weekly classes come out with one of three perspectives:
- Experiences that have no notable impact on dog-to-dog socialization as that period is well past.
- Experiences that may lead them to believe that unfamiliar dogs they meet in the future may bully them.
- Experiences that contribute to the notion that they can get away with bullying dogs that they only meet occasionally or are entirely unfamiliar.
These classes are not worth the risk. They are also an indication that the person promoting them has an inadequate grasp of at least one aspect and quite possibly other aspects of canine development, learning theory, etc., and a huge one at that. These classes are almost always promoted by dog trainers that buy a puppy’s attention with treats. While treat-based training can influence behavior (think Shamu in the aquarium) the approach was never intended as the foundation for teaching or learning life-skills for real-world (non-aquarium) life scenarios. In other words, your home and neighborhood. Excellent for tricks, but I’m guessing you want more from your dog. Scott and Fuller’s research showed that dog-to-dog socialization imprinting occurs between 3 – 6 weeks of age in the litter, through interactions with their mother, and to a far lesser extent in some cases, regular pack members and littermates and NEVER unfamiliar representatives from their species but outside their day to day opportunities to interact. Were the opportunity available, exposing your puppy to stable, familiar puppies and adult dogs, day after day would be a very different story. Even after, the 3-6 week range passes, this sort of exposure contributes to the maintenance of dog to dog social skills. The path we chose depends on the current age of your puppy:
- Up To 12 Weeks Of Age
- Between 12 Weeks And 9 Months
If Your Puppy Is Under 12 Weeks of Age
Temperament development is so essential and the imprint period so short that I will not be waiting until we meet to get things moving in the right direction. The earlier the start on house and crate training the better as well. As a result, rather than wait until we meet I will be forwarding in in advance of our appointment:
- Puppy Socialization Cheat Sheet (based on my book, Socialize Your Puppy for Everything – John Wade (eBook)
- House Training Cheat Sheet (3X/day in one spot by 16 weeks) (Also based on one of my books – How To Housetrain A Puppy – John Wade (eBook)
- Crate Training For Sanctuary Association And To Combat Separation Anxiety – Cheat Sheet
You can use the provided cheat sheets as templates to immediately begin the positive imprinting, house, and crate training of your puppy, taking note of any areas where your puppy may need some attention. If you have concerns or questions you do not have to, nor should you wait to contact me. This is such an essential contributor to your puppy’s future life I will provide you with my full attention to equipping your puppy with a fantastic temperament, house training and a sanctuary association with his or her crate.
If Your Puppy Is Between 12 Weeks And 9 Months Of Age
If your puppy is now past 12 weeks of age and certain aspects of social imprinting were left out you may or may not notice any potential problems. Part of the service I provide and recommend is to proceed as if your dog were in its imprinting period. While we may not influence temperament from the perspective positive or neutral imprinting, we can in most instances get ahead of a path that more often than not leads to over-reactivity that ultimately impacts the quality of life. We’ll check for common areas where your puppy might have future social difficulties and by being proactive keep things from getting out of hand so that your puppy can still grow up to be reasonably confident in your home and be able to go out and about with you as frequently as possible when exposed to various social triggers.
Toys - Selection And Use That Encourages Constructive Chewing And Discouraging Destructive Chewing
Toys, in general, have two categories. Interactive, those being toys your dog will connect with the activities you do with your dog. A ball used for fetch, a rope used to play tug. (Yes it’s okay, and natural way to teach a dog to control excited states if the dog’s training is founded on ‘Fully Balanced Companion Dog Training’ as opposed to ‘All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free…’, or ‘Might Is Right.’) The second category is toys used to encourage constructive chewing. The vast majority of toys sold are as likely to encourage destructive chewing as constructive, so you’ll be learning which toys are the least confusing, the ideal number of toys and how to use those toys in a manner that maximizes their value to you and your puppy. The correct selection and use of autonomous chew toys will be used in helping your puppy understand what not to chew as well.
Learn To Enrich and Stimulate Your Puppy’s Mind And Body
The manner in which you will be learning to train your puppy (‘Fully Balanced Companion Dog Training’) will provide a fair amount of mental stimulation. However, it’s important to keep in mind that if left in a natural setting the amount and type of physical and mental stimulation a puppy receives from a full-time mother, litter mates and other pack members is often far more significant and varied than what happens when placed in a human home. It varies from puppy to puppy, but if the disparity between what they evolved for and the reality they end up in isn’t addressed, it can impact the behavior of a puppy from many perspectives. They can have a harder time focusing, learning and retaining information if their physical needs aren’t met. You will learn of ways to stimulate their bodies and minds in a manner in keeping with their quickly changing physical development.
Cost And Scheduling
The cost is an hourly rate which varies somewhat depending on a few variables which we’ll narrow down when you click the link below.
Puppy appointments take slightly longer than regular dog training appointments as there is considerably more to cover. On average you can count on approximately 2 – 3 hours one on one time with me. In addition, as mentioned above there is an extensive followup program in the days, weeks, and months to come for which there is no additional charge.
The link below will offer various options and is set up to make it easier for you to schedule the appointment that best matches your schedule and the schedule of others you would like to be involved in the training of your puppy.
You will find costs, my calendar and ‘How To Self-Schedule’ guidance HERE.
Fill in the bits and pieces (type of appointment, information about your dog, your goals, contact information) and you’ll receive by email a confirmation.