01/21/2025
Tell me if this sounds familiar:
After bringing your new 4 legged family member home at 8-12 weeks old and despite doing everything from early socialization to basic obedience training right the dog still started to develop some separation anxiety and is starting to pull on leash.
Then at 4 months old the dog needs to be "socialized" so we take the dog with us every where and let them meet everyone who comments on how cute they are, usually as the puppy excitedly pulls like a mule to the person then jumps on them as they receive pets and affection because they are "sooooooo cute" and over the coming months of this the dog starts to develop a preference for going with us, can't be trusted to be left alone and and expects pets and affection from everyone they see.
Fast forward to 1 year and now the dog can't be left alone because of separation anxiety, jumps on everyone that comes to visit and requires constant attention to manage and will only listen when there is a treat sometimes.
If this is you, don't feel alone. Every day I talk to pet owners who struggle some or all of these frustrations and despite their best efforts, nothing seems to work. The problem is that the modern standard practice as it pertains to dog training is most systems doesn't account for the deviation from Mother Natures recommended development plan when we take puppies away from their littermates right in the middle of the stage of development where they are learning from their mother and siblings and instead attempts to assimilate them to our lifestyle by making them sleep in a cage in an unknown place by them selves all night. Then during the day we make ourselves the center of their world by feeding them, letting them outside to potty, and showering them with unlimited affection.
Dog training isn't just rapid firing commands, its finding ways to rehearse productive routines by rewarding desirable responses and discouraging or redirecting the undesirable ones until the routines become habit. There is no shortcut or magic pill, only trial and error and along the way but the journey is much smoother when you don't start with flat tires.