
04/16/2025
A confident dog doesn't happen in a day. It takes time, care, patience, and resiliency ⛰️
These two cuties Phoebe (red tri) and Chandler (blue merle) started training with me 2.5 months ago when they came to their home. I had worked with their older dog Joey 🦘 so on-boarding these two was a no brainer! From the get go, Phoebe was reserved and had shown some concerns about people, dogs and just lacking general confidence.
Lots of the work with these two has been little bits of obedience in their yard where it feels safe for them, and then exploring quiet trails and letting the pups choose where to go on our walks. We've done settle in quiet new environments, confidence building games in the woods, and advocating if one of the pups doesn't want to be pet that they can just watch and not need to be pet by strangers.
Today myself and "Noelle" ( ) had a HUGE breakthrough with Phoebe's confidence. Phoebe:
• Took food from Noelle, and wiggled up to her
• Interacted with a polite older dog (loose body, then opted out when she was done)
• Watched a group of frisbee golfers
• Explored, jumped, and climbed around new trails in the forest
• And offered loose leash walking!
Underconfident, anxious and fearful dogs are tough, and often a long emotionally exhausting road for owner and dog alike. So small victories are fantastic ways to log success!
Your fearful dog looked at a trigger and moves away without panic? Celebrate 🥳 Their tail isn't tucked and loose? Celebrate 🥳
As trainers, we strive to set up owners and their pups for success, and a lot of that success comes from working on this at home between sessions! 🙌
| Confident Dogs | Dog Trainer | R+ Dog Trainer |