Call us at 520-266-3124 for our Holiday Specials for training booked before the end of the month.

The holidays can be stressful on our pets (as well as us!).  But what we can rationalize, may just be overwhelming to our dogs.  Think about creating time outs for your dogs to get them out of the way of people traffic and commotion.  For new puppies see the 1:2 formula.  Christmas can also be toxic to your dogs.  Puppies can be especially vulnerable.  Holly, Mistletoe, Yew, and Pointsettia are all toxic to dogs, as well as those Christmas goodies with raisins, grapes or chocolate.  Keep them safe, keep them exercised, and let them get away from it all from time to time.  Happy holidays all.

New Puppy tip, the 1:2 Formula:

Remember it's easy to overwhelm this young creature in it's first few days with you. Get started on the right foot by thinking about the magic formula of 1:2. One hour out for two hours in the crate. Puppies need lots of rest. Your puppy's crate -- large enough for puppy to stand up in without touching and stretch out fully in all directions, well bedded, with a hanging water dish (called coop cups) -- is his refuge from all the confusion of the people world. When you get your puppy out, take him straight out to potty. Then you get an hour to interact with your puppy, most of which should be focused movement exercises with a little bit of silly play. Right before you put your pup back in their crate, take him out to see if he needs to pee again. Then back in the crate for a nice 2 hour nap. Trust me, those hours add up -- you and pup will be glad for the rest periods!!!

You had a dog when you were a kid and you never "trained" him and he was great. So why all this training stuff??? Why can't we just live with Fritz. He'll figure it out....right?? Spot always did.

Yes, there are still dogs like that, and families with tons of time to spend with their dog - but the complexity of modern life, makes that increasingly rare. Back "then", in that mythical world where dogs trained themselves, many families had a stay at home Mom, who actually did things with the dog while everyone was gone. Plus, it is highly likely that Spot went everywhere with the kids, all over the neighborhood, with other kids and other dogs. So in reality, "training" went on for hours every day. Expectations were laid down and dogs were expected to follow them - the very foundation of training. It's just that we didn't call it training, we called it life. Dogs were "trained" in the cauldron of neighborhood life. Dogs that didn't cope with that were gotten rid of.

But in today's world of leash laws, diminished open space, and planned activities for children - not free neighborhood time, dogs don't interact with the world at large, buffering their behaviors in the process. Dogs live much more isolated lives in the cauldron of energy of a particular individual household. They still need the same level of skills and behaviors, but now the only person who is going to teach that to Fritz is you.

So why train your dog??

1. All living creatures crave stability.