Puppy Socialization Tips

Are you socializing your puppy properly? (Photo: Brown and white puppy making puppy dog eyes)

We all know that we need to socialize our new puppies, but everyone struggles with how to do this properly. 

The word socialize was probably a really poor choice, because it makes most pet parents think they should go to the dog park with their puppy before she’s fully vaccinated so that she can meet lots of dogs. Please do not take your puppy to a dog park. 

Socialization actually begins when your puppy is with her mother, her litter, and her breeder, so choose very, very carefully when selecting a breeder. Reputable breeders should be breeding for the betterment of the breed. They should be showing their dogs in conformation, putting titles on their dogs, and be health testing their dogs before breeding them. They should also know how to begin socializing the litter of puppies properly, bringing in calm people of various age, size, sex, race, etc. They should also be exposing the puppies to different sights, sounds, textures, smells, etc. and be teaching the puppies to simply be neutral around these things. 

Proper socialization begins with your breeder and your puppy’s mother. Choose wisely. (Photo: mother dog nose-to-nose with her puppy,)

So, socialization begins with the breeder and ends with you. This critical stage in development begins when the puppies are born and ends around three months of age (12 weeks old.) There is some debate over this timeframe, with many experts reporting that this critical stage ends at 16 weeks. So, what do you do if you adopt a puppy at 15 weeks of age? And what do you do if the breeder was a backyard breeder who didn’t socialize your puppy properly. Let’s talk about it, because this happens a lot. 

One of my clients adopted a puppy off of Kijiji and was originally told the puppy’s birthdate was April 20th. She was later told the birthdate was April 7th, meaning that she was going to adopt her puppy at 15 weeks of age. This made her extremely anxious because now she would only have one week to socialize her puppy. Like many pet parents, she thought her puppy had to be petted by lots of people and had to meet lots of dogs. How was she going to cram all of this into one stressful week, especially as a working mom? 

The other tricky piece of this puzzle is that the puppy the family adopted was quite fearful. 

There’s a lot of nuance to owning a fearful or shy puppy. In-home training sets you up for success from day one. (Photo: nervous Pomeranian mix)

The first few days didn’t start off well. The family had never owned a fearful puppy before. He bit people who reached their hand out for him to sniff (this is the wrong way to greet a dog, by the way, and we need to stop teaching everyone on planet Earth that it’s correct.) He growled at people who came into the home, the veterinarian (who referred the family to me for help,) nipped two children, and snapped at a Golden Retriever. This left the owners feeling very overwhelmed when they reached out to me for help. 

The goal for socialization is to teach your puppy to be calm and neutral around all of the things you would like them to be calm and neutral around as adults. In a nutshell, your job is to expose your puppy to all the crazy things on planet Earth that are normal to us humans, and teach the dog that these things are no big deal. That’s everything from sprinting children playing tag, to motorized scooters, and everything in between. Take a deep breath, because you can do it! And you need to be calm while doing it, so take another deep breath. 

Socializing your puppy is fun! Enjoy it! (Photo: Rottweiler puppy playing beside a swimming pool,)

We began our first session with a guest greeting that made their puppy feel safe. Greeting a fearful puppy or dog means putting their needs before your own. No touch, no talk, no eye contact is the key. Just because a nervous dog moves closer to you does NOT mean that they want to be petted. 

When we moved to the backyard, you could see that their puppy was afraid of the dog next door who was barking behind the fence. His go-to move had been to run to the back door and pray someone would let him in. By keeping him on a leash, we were able to show him how to relax and just be. Eventually he settled down on the ground to rest. The family did an amazing job guiding him past his fear. 

Here’s a list of some of the things this puppy was being socialized to simply by being in the family’s backyard during our first in-person session: 

-children running, playing, climbing, jumping

-children playing with remote control trucks and a loud toy lawn mower (note: they did a great job playing with these things nearby, but not rushing toward their puppy with the toys!) 

-a guest (me! haha!) 

-a barking dog

-patio stones, mulch, grass

-water (he LOVES playing in water) 

-a hose

-children pushing a wheelbarrow filled with tools

-children wearing hats (the cutest construction hat ever!) 

Teach your puppy to be calm and neutral around children. Distance is your friend. Focus on exposure, not being petted. (Photos: children playing with bubbles)

We also taught their puppy how to:

-follow them on the leash instead of pull

-come when called 

He also enjoyed time simply chewing on one of his toys. If any of you are struggling with your puppy always chewing on mulch, grass, weeds, and leaves, be sure to provide a chew toy as an alternative. 

Pro tip: 

When puppies refuse the chew toy and target mulch, weeds, fingers, and toes, it’s time for a crate nap. 

Near the end of our session, we let the puppy's leash drag on the ground behind him. Would he stay calm, or bolt for the back door as he’d been doing in the past? 

The first activity he chose was to play in the water. After that, he followed their daughter toward the back of the house. He watched her for a moment and then calmly returned to us.

No more running to the back door and praying someone would save him from the scary backyard. Success! 

Teach your puppy that he can look to you for direction, protection, and affection. (Photo: beagle calmly looking up at his handler)

If you have a new puppy and aren’t sure how to socialize him properly, you need a list of all of the things your puppy should be exposed to in this critical socialization window. Sign up at the bottom of any page on our website this week and I will send you my list. I love research. I have looked at every list I could find on the web. I have compiled tips from books, videos, and courses I’ve taken. I've also added to this list for years as I’ve worked with litters of puppies at the University of Guelph, my own puppy, client puppies, and rescue dogs who have missed this window completely. You need this list. If you’re reading this in the future and you would like the list, please email us with the word “List” in the subject line. If you are a current subscriber and you would like the list, please email us with the word “List” in the subject line.

If you’ve never owned a fearful puppy, you’ll want in-home sessions (or online sessions) as well to find out what to do when your puppy: 

• is afraid of your backyard

• refuses to walk on a leash

• pulls like crazy on the leash when you turn toward home

• growls at your houseguests

• freezes out of fear and/or tries to hide

• stops during your walk and refuses to budge

Don’t wait until you’re out of the critical window to get help. You don’t want more houseguests getting nipped and you don’t want to end up with a dog who pulls on the leash at people doing peoply things (bike riding, gardening, skateboarding etc.)  

Imagine having the peace of mind that you’re socializing your puppy properly. We’ve helped so many families through this confusing time who now have well-behaved family dogs they can bring anywhere. It’s your turn. You deserve it! 

Schedule your free call now:  https://beyonddogtraining.ca/take-action

You want to be able to include your dog in big family gatherings like this one (Photo: people of all ages holding hands on a beach at sunset)

More free tips here: 

Check out our social media for videos and more tips on puppy socialization! 

GoBeyondDogTraining on Instagram and Facebook

BeyondDogTraining on TikTok 

Check out the story highlights on IG: pandemic puppies, prevention, and puppy tips. 

Thank you so much for reading the blog! 

Have a wonderful weekend, Dog Leaders! 

Alyssa

Photos by: Izabelly Marques @izamarques (Brown and white puppy making puppy dog eyes,) Jametlene Reskp @reskp (mother dog nose-to-nose with her puppy,) Upsplash Images (nervous Pomeranian mix),) Stephanie Cook @stephtcook (Rottweiler puppy playing beside a swimming pool,) Katherine Hanlon

@tinymountain (children playing with bubbles,) Jaroslaw Knapek @jr3 (beagle calmly looking up at his handler,) Tyler Nix @nixcreative (people of all ages holding hands on a beach at sunset,)

How You Can Help Your Fearful Puppy

How to help your fearful puppy gain confidence (Photo: Pomeranian mix with whale eye)

Is your puppy fearful? 

Does she jump twenty feet in the air when the garbage truck backfires? 

Does she back up when strangers approach? Hide behind your legs? 

Or perhaps she rushes toward strangers and visitors barking and growling…and then backs up. 

You’re beginning to worry about the way she behaves when guests come over. Your puppy is beginning to: 

-air snap (bite the air near people) 

-nip

-growl

-bite at people’s ankles 

-put their mouth around people’s arms, hands, legs, etc

If your puppy is older, you may have even stopped having visitors over because your puppy’s behaviour stresses you out so much. You’ve tried putting her on a leash and holding her collar, but that only seems to make her growl and lunge more.

Now, you’re locking her up in a bedroom or laundry room, which makes you feel terrible because you can tell she doesn’t like being in there. 

She paces. She howls. And now she’s starting to chew the baseboards and the trim. 

You want other people to see the puppy that YOU see — the sweetheart (Photo: boxer with his head, chest, and arms dangling out of a window beside a sign that reads beware of dog)

Let’s get your fearful puppy the help she needs. 

It’s time to build your puppy’s confidence. 

It’s also time to learn how to train a fearful puppy, because there’s a lot of nuance to it and it’s completely different than training a confident puppy. 

First, we need to make sure that we have trust and respect. 

Most owners who have fearful puppies haven’t earned their puppy’s trust yet. Don’t beat yourself up about it. You’re here to learn how. This is a safe space to build you up too. Breathe and believe. 

As human beings, we often apply human psychology to our dogs. We say things like “It’s okay” when it’s absolutely not okay, like after growling at one of your houseguests. We also tend to pet our dogs in this moment, accidentally showing them that we liked the growling. 

To build trust with your puppy, you’re going to: 

-stop saying the phrase “it’s okay”

-stop petting your puppy when she is tense, fearful, growling, etc (basically, we’re only going to pet and reward your puppy when she is calm because we want to see more calmness) 

-stop retelling her rescue story (this is keeping her stuck in the past and we are in the present) 

-show her what she can do instead of barking, growling, lunging, etc (we’re going to teach her the place command.) 

Learn more about the place command here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/what-is-the-place-command

and here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/place-command-construction-edition

How will the things on this list begin to build your puppy’s trust in you? 

Stopping those first three things on the list will help remove your soft energy. When we feel sorry for our puppy, they have to lead us. They are hardwired to follow calm and confident leadership. If we don’t provide it, they will fill the leadership role. Your fearful puppy doesn’t want this heavy burden, so we’re going to do the job from now on. You can do it. 

Teaching your fearful puppy the place command is going to provide her with a confidence boost. If she’s super fearful, she may be shut down and think she can’t do that task. While stepping up on a cot seems minuscule to us, it’s a lot of effort for a puppy who has no confidence. 

When you lead them through activities, they learn to trust you (Photo: Corgi mix sitting on top of a platform looking happy)

Some puppies are so fearful that you may need to flip the cot upside down to begin teaching the place command — and that’s 100% okay. Check out the video of Bandit the Australian Shepherd X Border Collie on my Instagram to see how suspicious he was of his new cot. He actually hid while it was being put together. Even the box moving around scared him. 

Your puppy will learn to trust you as she realizes that nothing bad happens when she steps on the cot. In fact, as you show her that this is her do-not-disturb zone, she will trust you even more to protect her space from other people.  

Pro Tip: Be sure to put the cot on a non-slip floor. The last thing you want for your fearful pup is for her to be brave enough to step on the cot, only to have the cot slide and make a noise that she finds scary. 

Fearful puppies are my absolute favourite to work with because they are so often misunderstood. To outsiders, they look aggressive, but when you peel off that layer of fear, you find an absolute sweetheart underneath — and you can feel their relief that someone finally speaks their language. 

I always say that at the client’s front door I’m having two conversations simultaneously — one with the owners and one with their puppy. The conversation and greeting are completely different. When we greet humans, we make eye contact, we talk out loud, and sometimes shake hands. When we greet puppies in this manner, especially puppies who are fearful, we completely overwhelm them. Dogs are a different species. If we remember that and greet them in a way that is natural to them, we can earn their trust immediately. 

Try using this formula when you greet a new puppy/dog and you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes in their energy. 

No touch.

No talk.

No eye contact. 

Post in the comments below if you know who succinctly summed this up for all of humankind.  

Need more tips on placework and want to see more fearful dogs overcoming their fears? Check out all of our videos here: 

On Insta and FB: Go Beyond Dog Training. 

On TikTok we are at Beyond Dog Training. 

You’ll see: 

-guest greetings go from barking and lunging to dogs sitting calmly beside their owners

-fearful dogs learning the place command, how to go in their crates, how to go into rooms they are afraid of, and more 

-Marley the fearful rescue dog who used to lay down and try to disappear (by closing her eyes) overcoming her fear of the garage

Thank you for reading the blog!

Have a wonderful weekend, Dog Leaders! 

Alyssa 

Photos by: Michelle Tresemer @mtresemer (Pomeranian mix with whale eye,) Don Agnello

@donangel (boxer with his head, chest, and arms dangling out of a window beside a sign that reads beware of dog,) Alvan Nee @alvannee (Corgi mix sitting on top of a platform looking happy,)

Help! My Dog Won’t let me Groom Him

Does your dog show you his teeth when you try to groom him? (Photo: Pomeranian wearing a pink towel on her head. Owner is holding a comb.)

Does your dog show you his teeth when you’re trying to wipe his dirty paws? 

Does he snap at you when you try to take a burr out of his fur? 

Are you scared to brush him? Terrified of clipping his nails? 

You’re not alone. 

Here are a few things that will help you begin to unravel this lack of trust. 

The first thing you need to check on is your dog’s health. Is he limping? Stiff and sore? Does he have an injury? Schedule a visit with your veterinarian to ensure that there’s no underlying health issue causing your dog to be guarded about certain areas of his body. 

If you get a clean bill of health, and the veterinary team said handling him was no problem at all (no snapping, growling, or showing teeth,) then there is a high probability that the issue lies within your relationship with your dog. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you, or that you don’t love him. Right now, the issue is trust (and possibly respect as well.) 

When your dog doesn’t trust you, activities like this are very difficult on both the dog and the owner (Photo: Golden Retriever getting a bath)

Make a list of any other times in the day when your dog shows you his teeth. 

For many people, the list will include: 

-when I ask him to get off the couch

-if he steals something (towel, cushion, slipper, sock, etc) and I try to get it back

-when I ask him to get off my bed

-when I walk past him when he’s eating 

-if I walk near him when he has a bone or special chew treat 

-if I need to move him out of my way and try to push past him

This is a great list to show your trainer. All of these issues need to be resolved, not just the grooming/handling piece of the puzzle. I shouldn’t have to mention this, but since one of my current clients recently had a “trainer” tell her to throw a bean bag full of metal bits near her dog to startle him out of growling at their cats and to carry Ziploc bags filled with water on her walks to stop leash reactivity (yes, to throw water on her dog), please find a trainer who will help you improve your relationship and build trust. 

If you are truly nervous, worried, anxious, and/or scared at the thought of touching your dog’s paws, removing a burr from his fur, or brushing him, definitely work with a professional to help you over your fear. Schedule your free call with Beyond Dog Training by clicking the button below.

Things you can do in the meantime to build trust with your dog: 

-wait for natural eye contact before going in and out of doors

-teach him something new (how to heel, a new trick, how to play fetch, how to lay down, the stay command, etc) 

-work on his recall inside your home (keep a leash on so he can’t ignore you - reel him in if he tries to blow you off) 

What about muzzle training? 

Teaching your dog to love wearing a basket muzzle may help you feel more confident as you work on your grooming goals with your dog. The muzzle provides you with peace of mind that your dog can’t bite you, so that you can practice handling and grooming activities. If you’re nervous about muzzle training, work with a trainer/behaviourist who can teach you how to condition your dog to love wearing a muzzle. 

Teaching your dog to love wearing a muzzle will help you, or a professional groomer to groom your dog. It will also reduce your dog’s stress. (Photo: black dog wearing an orange basket muzzle)

Is there anything you should stop doing which may be accidentally promoting mouthing/snapping behaviour? 

If anyone in the family allows mouthing behaviour during play, stop that behaviour because it is working against your goal. Waving your hands around your dog’s face is not only teasing the dog, it’s teaching him that mouthing and snapping are what you like. When you go to wipe his paws, he’s mouthing and snapping. This is all connected. What you allow, you agree with. Stop allowing rough play and choose a game like tug of war that has rules (no biting human body parts and drop it when I say.) Your relationship with your dog will improve very quickly. 

Are you confusing your dog? (Photo: a puppy biting his owner’s hand)

This blog post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning body language. Dogs are masters of reading body language. They don’t speak English. They are paying attention to the way our bodies move. One of my clients was struggling to wipe his new rescue dog’s paws. He said his dog would growl and snap at the towel and that he was afraid he was stressing him out too much. I asked my client to show me exactly how he wiped the dog’s paws. We didn’t use the dog because we didn’t want to set my client up for a growl or a bite in the face. This client was quite tall and he showed me how he would bend over at the waist to wipe his dog’s feet. Then, he would kneel down on the floor and lean over the dog to reach his back feet. Remember that when dogs show dominance to one another they put their head over the top of the other dog’s shoulders. My client was accidentally creating conflict between himself and his new rescue dog, when all he wanted to do was wipe his dog’s feet after a nice walk together. 

The other thing we looked at was the small space where he wiped the dog’s paws — a 3 foot X 2 foot area with the back door on one side and a few stairs leading upstairs on the other. Some spaces are really cramped, so you need to be even more mindful of what your body language is saying and what your new rescue dog’s body language is saying too. We solved this by practicing wiping his dog’s paws in larger spaces (the front hall had way more room, as did the covered porch.) Once his dog trusted him (because they’d built a relationship over time,) he could wipe his dog’s paws in the tiny basement entrance without a problem. 

Always be mindful of your own energy and body language (Photo: woman standing in a bathtub leaning over her Golden Retriever as she bathes him)

Relationships with dogs are built over time. If you accidentally taught your puppy not to trust you and he shows you his teeth, I would recommend working with a trainer who can help you repair that trust. 

Prevention. Prevent this behaviour from developing with your dog by calmly handling your puppy every day when he’s young. When you introduce calm foot wiping as part of your daily routine as a puppy, you’ll raise an adult dog who will happily stand still to have his paws wiped. 

We know how scary it can be when your dog shows you his teeth. If you’re nervous to try asking your dog to get off your couch or scared to brush him, schedule a free call with us. We’ve helped so many owners overcome this issue and go on to build amazing relationships with their dogs. You deserve to be next! Click the Take Action button and schedule your free call today. 

Have a wonderful weekend, Dog Leaders! 

Alyssa 

Photos by: Hayffield L @hayffield (pomeranian wearing a pink towel on her head. Owner is holding a comb.); Autri Taheri @ataheri (Golden Retriever getting a bath); Annie Spratt @anniespratt (black dog wearing an orange basket muzzle); Upsplash Images (a puppy biting his owner’s hand,) Autri Taheri @ataheri (woman standing in a bathtub leaning over her Golden Retriever as she bathes him);

SWIMMING TIPS

“Come on in. The water’s fine!” (Photo: two dogs enjoying a swimming pool)

Swimming is a great way to exercise your dog. A lot of people have an easier time teaching their dog to swim using a river or lake that has a sloping shoreline. Some dogs have trouble learning if there are large waves, so aim for a calm day if you’re on a very large lake or going to the ocean. 

Start small. Play with your dog on the shoreline or a wading pool in your yard (Photo: two sleek grey dogs prance along the shoreline)

Magic learned to swim in a swimming pool. The tricky part about this, is that dogs don’t know there is a step in the shallow end. We know it’s there, so we expect them to simply hop down onto it and swim away, but dogs need to be shown that the step exists before they can learn to use it. 

Is there another stair over here? (Photo: Magic the Rottweiler stands on the top step of the shallow end of the swimming pool, reaching ahead of her with one paw)

In time, your pup will learn to use the step to rest and to exit the pool (Photo: Magic the Rottweiler swims back to the step in the shallow end carrying her ball in her mouth)

Here are a few tips to help your puppy or dog learn to love swimming with you: 

1. POSITIVE — You wouldn’t appreciate learning to swim by being thrown off the dock (this happened to my father’s best friend, and trust me, it wasn’t cool!) If you have a new puppy, take your time introducing them to water and make sure that the experience is positive. You can even begin with a wading pool at home. Use a few liver treats and their favourite toy to entice them into the water. They don’t have to swim on day one, they simply need to learn that water is fun. This also makes bath time a LOT better, so really take your time here and enjoy yourself. Your puppy will enjoy it too. 

2. SOUND — Humans use a lot of sound energy. We talk in excited voices and when we get impatient or frustrated it comes out in our voice too. The last thing you want to do is to teach your dog that water/swimming/bath time makes his human tense/excited/frustrated. Begin working with your dog around water when you are in a calm and confident state of mind. Your dog’s natural curiosity will draw them to you. If you wade along the shore, they will likely follow you and get their feet wet too. If you begin swimming, many dogs will simply follow along and join you. 

Dogs follow leaders (Photo: dog following a surfer toward the ocean)

3. DON’T PANIC — If you’re training your dog to swim in a swimming pool, do not panic if they fall in. Calmly and SILENTLY join them in the pool. By the time you react, they will likely already be above the water and attempting an awkward doggy paddle. A new puppy may require a hand under their belly as they figure it out, a new rescue dog may just simply begin swimming. Move calmly toward the stairs in the shallow end. Your puppy or dog will most likely feel the stairs beneath their feet and use them to get out. Don’t make a fuss. If you freak out, yank them out of the pool, repeatedly say “It’s okay baby. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” then you will teach them that water is something to be avoided at all cost. If you spend the rest of the day holding your breath every time they approach the edge of the pool, worrying that they may fall in again, you will begin cementing the idea that the pool is dangerous. 

If your dog loves fetch, you can use that to teach them to love the water (Photo: Irish Setter retrieving a tennis ball out of a lake)

If your dog is barrel-chested (Rottweiler, Boxer, Bulldog,) invest in a life jacket. Magic can swim without it, but over time gets lower and lower in the water as she returns with her ball. The life jacket allows her to swim much longer, which is awesome because I could happily play with her by (or in) the water for hours. 

Magic the Rottweiler playing fetch in a lake wearing her life jacket

Be patient with your dog as she learns to swim. You didn’t learn how to swim in one day either.

Good luck, be safe, and have fun!! 

Alyssa

Photos by: Alyssa Foulkes (Magic the Rottweiler swimming in a lake carrying her favourite toy,) Gayatri Malhotra (two dogs enjoying a swimming pool,) Nathalie SPEHNER (two sleek grey dogs prance along the shoreline,) Alyssa Foulkes (Magic the Rottweiler stands on the top step of the shallow end of the swimming pool, reaching ahead of her with one paw,) Alyssa Foulkes (Magic the Rottweiler swims back to the step in the shallow end,) Taylor Deas-Melesh (dog following a surfer toward the ocean,) Ryan Stone (Irish Setter retrieving a tennis ball out of the water,) Alyssa Foulkes (Magic the Rottweiler playing fetch in a lake wearing her life jacket.)

Edited: July 15, 2022

Practice Makes Progress

Keep practicing! You’ve got this! (Photo: smiling woman squats beside a mixed breed dog)

No matter where you are in your dog training journey, if you’re practicing and putting in effort every day, you’re going to see improvements. 

Sometimes dog owners get stuck in “fix it” mode. All they see are the things they want to fix in their dog’s behaviour. It can be all-consuming and it can feel very defeating. Imagine if all you kept tabs on were your least successful walks — the ones where your dog lunged at another dog. You’d feel pretty crappy as those stack up on you one after the other. 

If you read the blog post “Let it Go,” from two weeks ago, you know that feeding yourself a steady diet of negative thoughts isn’t doing you or your dog any favours at all. One of my varsity soccer coaches liked to say: “garbage in —> garbage out.” This was true for what we ate as athletes — put in crappy fuel and you won’t have the energy to play well (or think well.) This saying also held true for how we practiced. If you put in a lousy effort all week at practice (poor first touches on the ball, not communicating well to teammates, making wobbly passes, etc) how would you play on game day? Probably pretty lousy. Garbage in —> garbage out also applies to our thoughts. If we feed ourselves a steady diet of negative thoughts, we won’t feel well or produce positive outcomes in any area of our lives. 

Dog training is a lot like athletics. You get out of it what you put into it. 

There’s a lot of this, before this… (Photo: person dribbling a soccer ball along a street)

(Photo: professional soccer game with fans in the stadium)

And even more practice before this. (Photo: hands holding up the World Cup Trophy)

Dog training and athletics also both require lots of repetitions (practice) to build new skills. 

Here’s what we’re going to do: 

Positive in —> positive out 

Here are a few ways to help you put in positivity so that you’ll see more positive results. 

Put in positive thoughts — Read “Let it Go” to learn more: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/let-it-go

Set small attainable goals — Day one of heeling isn’t a 5 Km loop for anyone, not even dog trainers. Teach the heel in a distraction free environment and build up slowly. Keep sessions short and positive. End on a positive note. 

Put in the time — People live busy lives. Some worry that they won’t be able to find the time to train (especially if they already struggle to find time for the gym or eating lunch every day.) Here are two tips to help you find the time (because if you don’t put in any effort to train your dog, you won’t get the results you want): 

Your dog’s mealtimes make great training sessions. Work on things your dog already knows that will save their life. I call this “practice how you play.” This is the time to practice “come,” “leave it,” and “stay.” You can also teach new tricks that are just for fun, like spin or whisper. 

Another great time to train is during your walks. You’re going to walk your dog anyway, so dedicate a portion of that walk to training your dog not to pull on the leash. Throw in a few on-leash recalls while you’re at it. 

Use your walks and your dog’s mealtimes as mini training sessions (Photo: woman walking her dog on leash beside sunflowers)

Teach — You need to teach your dog what to do instead of barking out the window, digging in the garden, or lunging at bikes/cats/strangers/dogs on your walks. When you become your dog’s teacher, they will look to you instead of making these mistakes. They need leadership and leadership takes practice. When you frame your thoughts in this way and look at yourself as your dog’s teacher, you’ll understand what your dog needs from you in order to give you what you want.

Have fun — Dog training is fun. If you’re not having fun, you may need a new trainer. Dog training is all about spending time with your dog, bonding, learning new things, building confidence, and enjoying yourself. 

Ask questions — I always ask my clients to send me videos with questions or to email me questions in between sessions. If you’re struggling with the homework or think you’re doing something wrong, ask for help. It’s what we’re here for. 

We want to hear from you in between sessions. Have a question? Please ask us! (Photo: dog sitting down and raising one paw as if he’s asking a question)

Write it down — Write down your goals. Once it’s written down, you can put checkmarks on your successes. It helps remind you that you are seeing progress. 

Special Note: If you write down a big goal, like: I want my human and dog reactive dog to be calm on a camping trip around dogs and humans, make a list of all the little things you’ll need to teach your dog in order to succeed at that big goal. Some examples would be: 

-teach my dog to be calm in the house (because right now he barks at people and dogs all day long) —> begin teaching the place command in the home 

-teach my dog to be calm on walks without distractions of unbalanced dogs around us 

-teach my dog a solid recall, so I can call him away from dogs and people 

-introduce my dog to my tent (reward calm behaviour) 

-socialize my dog around boats, paddle boards, people swimming (socialize means expose them to these things at a distance and reward them for being neutral) 

Training a new behaviour with your dog (eg. heeling, placework, stay, come, fetch, etc) is something that takes a few minutes a few times a day. Consistency is the key. 

So get out there and keep practicing and keep having fun. Be consistent and you’ll see amazing results very quickly. Dogs learn very, very quickly. Give them the opportunity to dazzle you and they absolutely will. 

Have a wonderful weekend, Dog Leaders! 

Alyssa 

Photos by: Jorge Salvador @jsshotz (smiling woman squats beside a mixed breed dog,) Kobe Amoh

@kobexamoh (person dribbling a soccer ball along a street,) Waldemar Brandt @waldemarbrandt67w (professional soccer game with fans in the stadium,)

Fauzan Saari @fznsr_ (hands holding up the World Cup Trophy,) Delphine Beausoleil @dbeausoleil (woman walking her dog on leash beside sunflowers,) Camylla Battani @camylla93 (dog sitting down and raising one paw as if he’s asking a question,)

NEW RESCUE DOG AND CANADA DAY FIREWORKS

Wondering how your new rescue dog will do with fireworks? Read on. (Photo: fireworks over the water)

Are you unsure of how your new rescue dog will respond to fireworks? Are you nervous about what might happen? 

Check out these tips to help enjoy Canada Day with your new best friend. 

#1. Stay home. I can’t tell you how many clients I have helped who have adopted a rescue dog, crated them, and left home on day one of the relationship. These clients struggled with crate training and separation anxiety issues because they left the dog alone before they earned their trust. If you have a new rescue dog, stay home on Canada Day and lay the foundation of your relationship. Next year, you can attend a Canada Day party, or maybe even host one, but this year you need to teach your dog how to be calm and neutral during fireworks. And yes, there’s a good chance that they will be completely unfazed by the fireworks. I have clients who sailed through the May 24 weekend with their brand new rescue dog. He didn’t bat an eye, so they all enjoyed a nice evening at home together. 

You will have an amazing Canada Day at home with your new dog. Promise! Get creative and have fun. (Photo: person holding a Canadian flag behind his body like wings)

#2. Don’t Host A Party. If you have a brand new rescue dog, don’t host a party until you have built a solid foundation with your new dog. The last thing you want to have happen is to overwhelm your dog with lots of people, especially if he isn’t crate trained yet. By “crate trained,” I mean he loves his crate and enjoys napping in there. The other thing you want to avoid is learning that your new rescue dog is scared of fireworks and Aunt Emily assures you that she’s the Dog Whisperer and cuddles your trembling dog all night. Not only will this teach your dog that fireworks are indeed something to be suspicious about, it’s a great way for Aunt Emily to get bitten by trapping the dog in an unwanted hug while it feels nervous and tense. This leads us back to #1. If you have a new rescue dog, stay home and train/lay a solid foundation of trust with your new dog. You will never regret missing a random Canada Day party. You will regret Aunt Emily getting bitten in the face, or Aunt Emily teaching your dog to be scared of fireworks.

You’ll never regret staying home, keeping it simple, and training your dog how to respond (calmly) around fireworks (Photo: two hands doing a cheers with sparklers)

#3. Stay calm. Our job as humans is to teach our dogs to be calm and neutral around things in the human world. We want them to be calm and neutral when we watch our kid’s soccer games; while we picnic in a busy park; and when our swimming pool is full of screaming children. You can build up to these three things gradually, using distance and patience as your guides. If you’ve adopted your rescue dog on July 1st (Canada Day,) then you don’t have much time to gradually introduce fireworks sounds (using videos on Youtube.) Don’t panic. Stay calm and neutral when the fireworks begin. Keep your dog on a leash in your home. Don’t overreact when they notice the fireworks. 

Extra Tip: 

Keep a radio on during the day and while the fireworks begin. This can mask some of the fireworks sound. 

You’re going to do great! (Photo: bright pink fireworks heart)

Will these tips help my rescue dog who is afraid of fireworks? 

Yes. We have used all three of these tools to help our clients help their rescue dogs over their fear of fireworks. Staying home with them and staying calm really does work. It isn’t easy, but nothing worth doing is easy. 

Happy Canada Day, Dog Leaders! 

Alyssa 

Photos by: Ray Hennessy

@rayhennessy (fireworks over the water,) Redd @reddalec (person holding a Canadian flag behind his body like wings,) Ian Schneider @goian (two hands doing a cheers with sparklers,) Jamie Street @jamie452 (bright pink fireworks heart.)

Let it go

Let’s let some things go today (Photo: woman dancing in the sunset with her arms spread wide)

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” —Henry David Thoreau

We dog leaders need lots of practice. Not only must we do physical practice and repetitions with our dogs (the homework we provide you with,) we must also create positive mental grooves. 

To do this, we must first stop reliving our worst moments.  

Hands up if you constantly relive your worst dog walks? The ones where your dog lunged at a child or a senior citizen, or bit another dog? 

Right now, these thoughts are dominating our lives. They are keeping us stuck. These thoughts we have right before our walk are setting ourselves and our dogs up for failure before we even pick up the leash. 

Thoughts like: “Here we go again,” and “She obviously doesn’t trust me since she runs away from me when I pick up her harness,” are preventing us from moving forward. 

Even saying things like: “Who are you going to lunge at today?” aren’t setting you or your dog up for success. 

We have to let these thoughts go. 

This week’s blog post is dedicated to helping dog leaders let things go. 

This week, we’re letting things go (Photo: child blowing a dandelion)

Humans are the only species on the planet that continue to punish ourselves over and over and over again for the same mistake. Other species touch the cactus, learn, and move on. Humans relive this over and over. Retell the story again and again. Call themselves foolish, let the people we tell the story to call us foolish. And then we believe this! It becomes our reality. 

Today, we are letting go. 

Think of that one crappy story with your dog. Feel the frown lines it caused you just now? Now, what did you learn from that experience? 

Perhaps you learned that your dog doesn’t like rude greetings from strange dogs when she’s on the leash. Maybe you learned that it’s okay to say “No, you can’t pet my dog,” because your dog doesn’t like being pet by strangers. 

Maybe you learned that you need to work on recall more using a longline, since your dog keeps chasing and jumping on bikes, joggers, wildlife, etc. 

Be proud that you learned something new and now, let that memory dissipate into the past where it belongs. It’s history. Only a drop in the bucket of your life experiences. A drop! It isn’t serving your mental health to keep it. So let’s let go of it together. 

I’d love to say delete it, but since we learned and grew from it, it can’t really be deleted. However, we can allow ourselves to smile and move on. To look ahead. Maybe you’ve just scheduled sessions with us. That’s a step to creating a new path. Once you have your assessment, you’ll get hands-on homework so that you can begin creating your new path forward with your dog. Dogs learns through repetition. The more you practice, the better a team you will become. 

Let’s pause and breathe a moment right now in the present. It feels good to be here. 

So stay awhile. Take more deep breaths. You need this. 

We’re always rushing toward the next moment, whether it’s driving the kids to activities, rushing back to work after a quick meal (that we ate standing up,) or hurrying to the supermarket so we can hopefully squeeze in time for a quick workout. 

It’s safe to slow down here. 

It’s okay to slow down and simply breathe (Photo: turquoise lake with mountains and trees)

It’s safe to use this new and positive experience with your dog as a healing moment for yourself. 

Take some time and just be. 

It’s time to pause and breathe. 

To plan. 

To get excited about making new grooves. New positive mental pathways. New physical pathways. 

Thoreau says: “To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” 

I challenge you to think these positive thoughts before your dog walks — before you even pick up the leash. 

Imagine a calm leash up. Imagine a calm exit out your front door. Picture the walk going well. Envision arriving home afterward and maintaining the calm vibe you’ve created. 

You can do it! 

Just as athletes envision their moves before their event or game, dog leaders can set themselves up for successful walks. 

Breathe. 

Let things go. 

Make space for new positive outcomes on your walks. 

Tell us your stories in the comments. We would love to hear what you’re letting go of! 

Thanks for including us in your journey to wellness. 

Have a wonderful weekend, Dog Leaders! 

Alyssa 

Photos by: Darius Bashar @dariusbashar (woman dancing in the sunset with her arms spread wide,) Ivan Dostál

@ivan_dostal (child blowing a dandelion,) Daniel Jacob

@dnljcb (turquoise lake with mountains and trees)

Fearful Dogs

How to help your fearful dog gain confidence (Photo: Pomeranian mix with whale eye)

Is your dog fearful? 

Does she jump twenty feet in the air when the garbage truck backfires? 

Does she back up when strangers approach? Hide behind your legs? 

Or perhaps she rushes toward strangers and visitors barking and growling…and then backs up. 

This is getting scary inside your home because you dog is beginning to: 

-air snap (bite the air near people) 

-nip

-muzzle punch (where they keep their mouth closed and bump people with their muzzles) 

-bite at people’s ankles 

-put their mouth around people’s arms, hands, legs, etc

You may have stopped having visitors over because your dog’s behaviour stresses you out so much. 

Or maybe you’re locking her up in a bedroom or laundry room, which makes you feel terrible because you can tell she doesn’t like being in there. 

She paces. She howls. And now she’s starting to chew the baseboards and the trim. 

You want other people to see the dog that YOU see — the sweetheart (Photo: boxer with his head, chest, and arms dangling out of a window beside a sign that reads beware of dog)

Let’s get your fearful dog the help she needs. 

It’s time to build your dog’s confidence. 

It’s also time to learn how to train a fearful dog, because there’s a lot of nuance to it and it’s completely different than training a confident dog. 

First, we need to make sure that we have trust and respect. 

Most owners who have fearful dogs haven’t earned their dog’s trust yet. Don’t beat yourself up about it. You’re here to learn how. This is a safe space to build you up too. Breathe and believe. 

As human beings, we often apply human psychology to our dogs. We say things like “It’s okay” when it’s absolutely not okay, like after growling at one of your houseguests. We also tend to pet our dogs in this moment, accidentally showing them that we liked the growling. 

To build trust with your dog, you’re going to: 

-stop saying the phrase “it’s okay”

-stop petting your dog when she is tense, fearful, growling, etc (basically, we’re only going to pet and reward your dog when she is calm because we want to see more calmness) 

-stop retelling her rescue story (this is keeping her stuck in the past and we are in the present) 

-show her what she can do instead of barking, growling, lunging, etc (we’re going to teach her the place command.) 

Learn more about the place command here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/what-is-the-place-command

and here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/place-command-construction-edition

How will the things on this list begin to build your dog’s trust in you? 

Stopping those first three things on the list will help remove your soft energy. When we feel sorry for our dog, they have to lead us. They are hardwired to follow calm and confident leadership. If we don’t provide it, they will fill the leadership role. Your fearful dog doesn’t want this heavy burden, so we’re going to do the job from now on. You can do it. 

Teaching your fearful dog the place command is going to provide her with a confidence boost. If she’s super fearful, she may be shut down and think she can’t do that task. While stepping up on a cot seems minuscule to us, it’s a lot of effort for a dog who has no confidence. 

When you lead them through activities, they learn to trust you (Photo: Corgi mix sitting on top of a platform looking happy)

Some dogs are so fearful that you may need to flip the cot upside down to begin teaching the place command — and that’s 100% okay. Check out the video of Bandit the Australian Shepherd X Border Collie on my Instagram to see how suspicious he was of his new cot. He actually hid while it was being put together. Even the box moving around scared him. 

Your dog will learn to trust you as she realizes that nothing bad happens when she steps on the cot. In fact, as you show her that this is her do-not-disturb zone, she will trust you even more to protect her space from other people. 

Pro Tip: Be sure to put the cot on a non-slip floor. The last thing you want for your fearful dog is for her to be brave enough to step on the cot, only to have the cot slide and make a noise that she finds scary. 

Fearful dogs are my absolute favourite to work with because they are so often misunderstood. To outsiders, they look aggressive, but when you peel off that layer of fear, you find an absolute sweetheart underneath — and you can feel their relief that someone finally speaks their language. 

I always say that at the client’s front door I’m having two conversations simultaneously — one with the owners and one with their dog. The conversation and greeting are completely different. When we greet humans, we make eye contact, we talk out loud, and sometimes shake hands. When we greet dogs in this manner, especially dogs who are fearful, we completely overwhelm them. Dogs are a different species. If we remember that and greet them in a way that is natural to them, we can earn their trust immediately. 

Try using this formula when you greet a new dog and you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes in their energy. 

No touch.

No talk.

No eye contact. 

Post in the comments below if you know who succinctly summed this up for all of humankind.  

Need more tips on placework and want to see more fearful dogs overcoming their fears? Check out all of our videos here: 

On Insta and FB: Go Beyond Dog Training. 

On TikTok we are at Beyond Dog Training. 

You’ll see: 

-guest greetings go from barking and lunging to dogs sitting calmly beside their owners

-fearful dogs learning the place command, how to go in their crates, how to go into rooms they are afraid of, and more 

Have a wonderful weekend, Dog Leaders! 

Alyssa 

Photos by: Michelle Tresemer @mtresemer (Pomeranian mix with whale eye,) Don Agnello

@donangel (boxer with his head, chest, and arms dangling out of a window beside a sign that reads beware of dog,) Alvan Nee @alvannee (Corgi mix sitting on top of a platform looking happy,)

Help! My dog Jumps up on…Everyone

How to stop your dog from jumping up on people (Photo: terrier jumping up)

Does your dog jump up on your houseguests? Strangers you meet out on your walks? Your kids? Your life partner? 

When dogs jump up on people, people can easily get injured. I’ve helped clients who have been enthusiastically bonked in the face leading to fat lips, sore jaws, and bleeding tongues. Not to mention the scratches that can be left behind when dogs jump up on people. 

Whether you’re teaching a small puppy not to jump up, or a new rescue dog, we’ve got tips for you. 

Let’s get into some tips to help prevent and teach our puppies and new rescue dogs not to jump on human beings. 

1. Clear Communication — If you don’t want your dog to jump on your grandma, don’t allow her to jump on anyone. Keep it simple and clear for your puppy/dog from day one. It’s the easiest way to clearly communicate what is allowed (four on the floor) and what is now allowed (jumping up on people.)

Be clear and consistent with your puppy (Photo: person kissing a Dachshund while it’s jumping up on them)

2. Leash on — Leave a lightweight leash on your puppy to prevent them from getting those paws up onto people, because you know what will happen next: the person that’s getting jumped on will likely start petting your puppy. This reinforces that jumping on people is awesome. We don’t want that, so prevent it with your leash.

This will make it more likely that your dog will jump up (Photo: Frenchie pulling on a harness in front of its handler)

This dog is engaged with his owner and looking at them for direction. This dog is less likely to jump up on someone (Photo: dog laying beside his handler looking up at the handler)

3. Consistency — If one family member allows jumping up, mouthing, and hyper behaviour, your puppy will become confused. This isn’t fair to the puppy. What happens next? The same person who allows the jumping is yelling at the dog for jumping on Great Aunt Eva or a stranger. This is also very confusing to the puppy. Be fair and consistent from day one with your puppy or new rescue dog and you’ll see great behaviour from day one.

4. Clear Communication Meets Consistency — Oftentimes when a puppy jumps up, owners are shouting “down.” If the puppy has learned to lay down, they are confused. They’ve never learned to lay down whilst having two paws on grandpa’s leg. Use the word “off” for “get your front paws off of that person/object.” Reserve “down” for “lay down.” Be consistent throughout all family members so your puppy doesn’t get confused.

Be clear to avoid confusing your dog (Photo: two Golden Retrievers laying down on the floor)

5. Neutral People — To help teach this behaviour, have a friend or family member help you. This needs to be a person who can completely ignore your dog. Baby talking makes puppies jump up. For some puppies it also makes them pee. A person who stands rigidly and holds their breath will not bring the right energy (before a fight, dogs slow their breathing and stand with a stiff posture.) Bring in a friend or family member who can simply pretend your puppy doesn’t even exist. This allows your puppy to learn that when guests come over, they don’t need to jump all over them, they can simply be calm.

Not this friend/family member…(Photo: person leaning over a leashed dog and holding both hands out toward the dog)

Choose a friend or family member who can ignore your dog while acting completely natural and calm (Photo: three people having a conversation making eye contact with each other)

Remember: what we allow, we agree with. If you allow jumping, you’ll see more jumping. 

When we are clear and consistent with our puppies and dogs, harmony comes that much faster into our homes. 

What else can help your puppy learn not to jump on your houseguests? 

Placework. 

We need to teach our dogs what we want them to do instead of jumping up on people. When we teach our dogs to go to their place, it gives them a job when someone knocks on the door. You can also use placework when you’re out and about.

Give your dog the job of calm to prevent them from choosing their own job as protector or excited door greeter (Photo: two people having coffee inside a café while a dog is outside the café on a bench)

Another great tool is the crate. When introduced properly, a crate represents a safe place for your dog to go and rest. You may wish to let your dog out of the crate when they are calm so that they can hang out in the same room as you and your guests. Use your leash when you bring them calmly into the group. Instruct your guests (this is the hardest part of all) to practice no touch, no talk, no eye contact until your puppy calms back down. This is the proper way to greet dogs because it honours their nose. Shrieking in a high pitched voice and shoving your hand toward a dog’s face is not the way dogs greet each other. It can be very frightening to some dogs who will bolt away from that sound and space invasion. For dogs who prefer to choose fight over flight, this can become a bite. 

How would you react to a stranger suddenly putting their hand in your face? Swat it away? Run? Your dog doesn’t appreciate their space being invaded either. Advocate for their space. Don’t allow your guests to invade your dog’s intimate space. 

It’s time to normalize no touch, no talk, no eye contact as the way to greet a dog we do not know. 

We need to stop teaching children that this is how we greet dogs because it can result in a bite (Photo: child making kissy lips and reaching his hand into a dog’s intimate space to be sniffed)

When your houseguests learn how to greet puppies and dogs in a way that is more natural, you’ll see an immediate decrease in your new rescue dog’s stress level and an immediate decrease in your puppy’s desire to jump. 

Happy training, Dog Leaders! 

Alyssa 

Photos by: Julian Hochgesang @julianhochgesang (terrier jumping up,) Anna Dudkova

@annadudkova (person kissing a Dachshund while it’s jumping up on them,) Jingjie wong

@jingjiewong (Frenchie pulling on a harness in front of its handler,) Tamas Pap

@tamasp (dog laying beside his handler looking up at the handler,) Gulyás Bianka

@repetaesmese (two Golden Retrievers laying down on the floor,) Mikita Yo

@mikitayo (person leaning over a leashed dog and holding both hands out toward the dog,)

Alexis Brown @alexisrbrown (three people having a conversation making eye contact with each other,) Ross Sokolovski @ross_sokolovski (two people having coffee inside a café while a dog is outside the café on a bench,)

Chen Mizrach @chenhanozel (child making kissy lips and reaching his hand into a dog’s intimate space to be sniffed,)

How to Stop Leash Pulling

Read on to learn how to stop this (Photo: large dog pulling on the leash)

Right now, walking your dog is a struggle. Not only do you dread walking your dog, sometimes you just don’t go. It’s that bad. 

Here’s a few of the things you’ve had to live through: 

Your dog stopped suddenly, sending you to physiotherapy for your shoulder. 

Your dog tripped you and you broke your hip. 

Your significant other has to walk your dog because he pulls you off your feet. 

The other day, your dog dragged you into the street and you almost got hit by a car. 

Not to mention how embarrassing it is to be “that crazy person with her out-of-control dog” that people cross the street to get away from. 

This doesn’t feel very fun. Read on. You can do this! (Photo:woman covering her face with her hands in embarrassment)

It’s time to stop being injured by your dog. It’s also time to prevent both of you from getting hit by a car. 

So how do you teach your dog to stop pulling on the leash? 

The question for so many of you isn’t the how, it’s where. Let me explain why. 

You know how to teach your dog to heel. You’ve either watched a lot of Youtube videos, trainers on Instagram, or you’ve been trained by yours truly in person. The struggle for almost all of my clients is to stop trying to teach their dog to heel in distracting environments. 

For example, if your dog is reactive to other dogs (lunging, barking, whining, pulling toward them,) you should not try to teach your dog how to heel around these distractions. For all of you who like to geek out on lingo, the other dogs would be called “competing motivators.” Other examples of competing motivators in this example would be the wonderful smells outdoors, squirrels, bunny poo, geese, bikes, etc.

Even if your dog is not reactive and you simply want to teach them how to follow you on leash and not pull, you should teach this in a distraction-free environment. 

The same goes for brand new puppies. Teach them new things in an area that has as few distractions as possible (like your hallway, living room, or kitchen) and then slowly add the distractions in. 

This does not mean you’re going to live inside your house and never go outside with your puppy/dog, but you are going to practice heeling a lot inside your home before expecting your puppy/dog to heel past a bunch of distractions (bikes, other dogs, rabbits, birds, strollers, garbage trucks, soccer players, etc.) 

This is what you’re working toward…(Photo: woman heeling with her dog. Her dog is looking up at her. Great engagement!)

And this is where you begin teaching your dog how to walk nicely on the leash (Photo: white and brown dog sitting in a living room. He is wearing a cute bowtie)

If your dog is reactive, don’t set them up for failure by taking them to narrow trails. Set them up for success by teaching them how to heel in a distraction-free environment (your house) and then building up to heeling in your backyard, in your driveway (when there are no triggers around,) and in an empty parking lot. 

You need to stop skipping steps and going on busy trails where you feel you have to wrap your dog’s leash around a post or a tree and pray no other dog gets close. Off-leash dogs are everywhere nowadays. Don’t set your dog up to fail. Being wrapped around a tree prevents flight. Your dog’s only option is fight (if the other dog ignores his avoidance signals.) 

There’s a reason we don’t send children to Wonderland every day for school. It’s hard to learn new things when you’re overstimulated. 

Not the easiest place to learn your times tables or memorize lines for a play ;) (Photo: people on a rollercoaster)

Would you expect your child to learn a new song on the piano when the television and the radio are on? 

Would you try to teach your child her times tables while you’re at the beach while all the other kids are playing in the water and making sand castles? 

Have you ever been to a continuing education class for work? Those usually take place in a classroom setting, not outside during a fireworks display. Even small distractions can disrupt our learning. A great example of this is when there are people in the workshop who are whispering to each other instead of paying attention. 

Just like us, dogs and puppies have an easier time learning new things where there’s not a lot of distractions going on. 

Set your dog up for success by teaching them to follow you in a calm, quiet environment with as few distractions as possible first, before teaching it around huge outdoor distractions. 

When you teach your dog in this way, you’ll find it fun and relaxing. When you try to heel through an off-leash area with your reactive dog before they are ready and before you are ready, you’ll feel stress. Stress travels right down your leash. 

Ditch the stress and have fun with your dog instead. 

Need help teaching your dog to be calm and follow you on walks instead of pulling? 

Schedule your free call here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/take-action

It’s time to enjoy your walks again. 

it’s time to enjoy your walks again. Dream big. (Photo: person heeling their dog beside lots of sunflowers)

Happy training, Dog Leaders! 

Alyssa 

Photos by: Sumeet Singh @rolcye (large dog pulling on the leash,) Julia Taubitz

@schwarzeweissheitenfotografie (woman covering her face with her hands in embarrassment,) Jenn Simpson

@sassygreenboots (woman heeling with her dog. Her dog is looking up at her. Great engagement!) André Noboa @andrenoboa (white and brown dog sitting in a living room. He is wearing a cute bowtie.) Stephen Hateley @shateley (people on a rollercoaster,) Delphine Beausoleil @dbeausoleil (person heeling their dog beside lots of sunflowers)