11/20/2025
Well said by my training partner 🐾
If you have took my class you probably have heard me make the comparison between raising my kiddo and raising dogs - it’s one I use frequently especially when talking about how rules boundaries and expectations change as they grow!
If you have spent any amount of time with puppies and toddlers, the similarities are wild. Zero impulse control, exploring everything, creating chaos the second you look away.
Here’s the truth: most of us would never raise our kids the way people unintentionally raise their dogs. We’d never leave a toddler in the house unattended and say “I trust you!” — but we give puppies full house access, let them rehearse chasing the cat, greet every stranger, and then we get frustrated when they make poor choices. I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I have had shoe chewed - not because I am blessed to perfect puppies but because I have management almost down to a science after all these years!
It’s important to remember puppyhood is childhood. Our job is to guide them, manage their world, and teach them how to handle distractions — not hope they magically figure it out.
Before getting frustrated with your puppy ask yourself
✨ What freedoms do they have?
✨ What behaviours have they been allowed to rehearse?
✨ Have we actually taught the skill, or just expected it?
Thoughtful upbringing creates thoughtful dogs. Puppyhood isn’t something to survive — it’s something to curate and adjusting your rules boundaries and expectations based on their age and development with help you substantially along the way! 💛🐾
