Teddy, enjoying a nice snooze one afternoon. You know your puppy is comfortable if he sleeps like this.
If you know Teddy, you know Teddy. He is the friendliest puppy that I think I've ever met. His love of life is fantastic and he will never make you feel unwelcome. His owner signed up to help her understand how to train him to be polite and welcome into her friend's and family's homes. In five weeks, he learned how to sit, lay down, go to the crate, and stay. We also worked on combining these cues into a polite greeting that she could eventually take with her in the future. To be completely transparent, he's not ready yet but his owner feels more confident in understanding how to eventually reach the long-term goal.
During my time with clients, I try to tailor the training to help them reach their goals, and really what Teddy's owner needed was an understanding of how dogs think and how to implement the cues that she taught him. In the past, her husband took care of the training and so this was a new experience for her. The five weeks were frustrating at times but at the end of the day, learning did occur and we were both pleased with the progress. There is no day off in training and you have to commit to it if you decide to own a dog. They are just like kids, who need mental enrichment, exercise, and socialization. If one piece is missing, a dog can be difficult and quite unpleasant to own.
When I was growing up, I had no idea that dogs were this intelligent, but after a recent conversation with some colleagues, I came to understand that positive training has only been around for a short 20 years or so. That being said, research is being done on their behavior and it's very interesting to watch the news come out with more and more ways they can be useful. Teddy is a great example of a dog that could be used for therapy dog training; maybe not right now, but with time and a good amount of patience, willingness to change, and good ol' hard work, he could get there. Even if he doesn't become a therapy dog, he is still providing his owner with comfort, love, and a never-ending amount of kisses.
I am happy to have met him and I look forward to helping you with your dogs. If you are thinking about signing up but are having doubts, send me an email and I'd be happy to answer any questions or concerns that you have regarding how to get started.