PUPPY FUNDAMENTALS

Parenting a new puppy is so much fun and exciting! Puppy-breath kisses, those adorable faces with puppy dog eyes, watching them frolicking in the yard, attacking toys with the ferocity of a lion, marveling at how fast they grow–all of this encompasses the joy of puppy-raising. And then there’s the other side of it – shoes that get eaten, accidents in the house, chewing on you like you are the last bone on earth–those puppy teeth are sharp!–sleeping all afternoon and then becoming a whirling dervish between dinner and bedtime. The things that make us say, “Why did I say I wanted a puppy?”

Puppy FUNdamentals helps address all the challenges of puppy raising while keeping the process fun for you and the puppy! The goal is to set your puppy up for success and realize that each puppy, like every human, is an individual. While there are guidelines for raising a puppy, you want to see the puppy in front of you as the unique dog that he or she is, and realize that what works for one puppy, may not work for this particular puppy.

For puppies between 8-20 weeks of age, Puppy FUNdamentals covers the following:

• • Developmental stages – what is my puppy capable of learning at each stage, what can my puppy do physically at what age
    
  • Socialization – what is it, and why is it so important
  • How to handle “the witching hour”
  • How much time to spend training
  • Potty training
  • Getting comfortable with grooming, nail trimming and teeth brushing
  • Puppy classes, play dates, exercise and more
  • The nuts and bolts – what to use for leashes, collars, harnesses, safety while riding in cars, what grooming tools to use, appropriate toys, materials for enrichment

Your Puppy Consultation

Beth will meet with you in your home for an initial 1.5 hour consultation that will include assessing the puppy, reviewing puppy development, demonstrating training exercises, showing how to set up your living environment, learning how to successfully reinforce the behaviors we love and how to prevent the puppy practicing less desirable behaviors.

After the initial consultation, Beth will provide an individual behavior modification plan, as well as ongoing support via email and/or phone. A follow-up visit will be scheduled three to four weeks after the first visit, in order to address any questions that arise or challenges that might be occurring.

Beth relies on education-based, humane, ethical, positive reinforcement based training in order to best help her human and canine clients. Her goal is focused on helping build your dog’s confidence and improve communication between you and your dog. The emphasis is on treating the dog as a whole, encompassing physical and psychological well-being, and ensuring that you have an overall understanding of how best to meet your dog’s individual needs, allowing him or her not just to exist, but to thrive in your family and in the human world.