HELPFUL RESOURCES

Here you will find helpful resources and insight about your dog's needs as a dog. You may learn a few things that shed a bit of light on some of the trouble areas with your dog. Or find answers to questions you didn't even know you had.

CANINE INSIGHTS

The development of our canine friends moves very quickly.

Understanding the development stages of our dogs is one of the most important things we can do as a dog parent.

With just this little bit of insight, we can better understand how to support and educate our puppy, as well as understand why our rescue dog might be struggling with certain areas.

They are not broken. They are not a terror. They are not a bad dog.

They simply need an education they have not yet received, or to make up for things they missed at critical stages in life.

Did you know one of the most common age ranges to see in Animal Shelters is 6 - 12 months?

Dogs that age are going through SO much - Flight/Rebellion Stage,

A Dog's Life Development stage

Let's talk about Socialization. This misnomer is always a hot topic and is often mishandled. When we think of words like "socialize" and "socialization" we want to relate it to what it means to humans. But canines need a different definition, one that is appropriate and meaningful for their own species.

When mishandled or improperly built into life, like on the left, there are a host of issues that can arise. But one of the biggest issues, and a catch-all for just about all of those issues, is fear or anxiety based reactivity. Whether the dog barks at passersby with hats, or growls at other dogs, or pumps the brakes when being handled by a groomer or vet tech for a nail trim, or high-tails it the other direction when they see the garbage bins, something was missed during critical development periods when the dog was young.

We hear a lot of "oh, they must have been abused by someone in a hat because they bark at people with hats" types of conversations. In reality, that is probably not even close to what happened. The dog likely was not exposed enough, or at all, to people in hats.

We feel the better term here is EXPOSURE. Guided exposure if you want to get down to it. Let's move away from this improper terminology. Words matter and "socialization" is just the wrong one to most clearly discuss this critical development concept for our canine companions.

Aren't sure how to handle Guided Exposure (GE) for your new puppy? Or maybe now you're thinking some of the behavior issues you have with your dog, aren't really behavior at all but are based in a lack of understanding the world due to this "socialization" gone awry?

We have programs to help you and your dog better understand Guided Exposure and how to address potential problems. Our educational approach focuses on coaching both the dog and the owner, so you find more confidence through team work.

Socialization