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Your puppy has been doing pretty well most of the day. Maybe you had a good training session. They've taken a walk. They've played with their toys. They've gone outside to potty. Everything seems pretty normal. And then evening comes. Suddenly, you have a completely different puppy. They're running around the house. They're biting your hands. They're grabbing your clothes. They're jumping on the furniture. They're barking. They're chewing things they're not supposed to chew.

Ever wonder why your puppy keeps stealing shoes, chewing household items, raiding the trash, or struggling to settle down? You might think your dog needs more obedience training, but sometimes the solution is simpler: decluttering your home. As a professional dog trainer offering in-home puppy training in Huntsville and Madison, Alabama, I often help owners understand how their home environment affects their dog's behavior. A cluttered home can create unnecessary distractions

A lot of people believe that if you're going to get a dog, you need a house with a big fenced backyard. But do you really? I would say that you don’t. I have raised two of the best-behaved dogs while living in an apartment, without a fenced-in backyard. I know from personal experience that a backyard isn’t necessary to own a dog. A backyard can make some things easier, especially potty breaks. But having a backyard doesn't automatically make someone a better puppy owner, and

When your dog reacts to another dog or a person on leash, it can become very stressful, embarrassing, and exhausting. Many of the people I work with have leash-reactive dogs, and I have extensive experience addressing leash reactivity. It does take a long time to improve leash reactivity. It's not an overnight process. There's no quick fix. If your dog barks, lunges, freezes, growls, or completely loses their mind when they see another dog or a person, that is considered leas

Many new puppy owners think walking their puppy once per day or a few times per week is enough. It’s not! How can you or your puppy learn anything by doing it a few times per week? You can’t! I suggest 3-8 walks per day for effective leash training of the loose-leash walking techniques that I teach in my puppy training program. I got my dog, Spaulding, at 3 months old and had him for 12 years, until he passed in April 2020. I estimate we went on an average of 6 walks per day

Many people would love to have their dog walk beside them on a loose leash, never pulling or moving from side to side. Most dog owners never achieve this goal for a variety of reasons, including the wrong equipment, no formal training, and bad habits started early. It takes skill and practice to get your dog to walk on a loose leash and never react to anything. In my book “Leash Training Your Puppy,” I include a step-by-step process to achieve this goal. The book also include

Waiting for the puppy to tell you they need to go outside is the biggest potty training mistake that can cause more accidents than almost anything else. New puppy owners often expect their puppy to bark at the door, scratch the door. whine, pace around, or sit and stare at them. The problem is that most puppies don't know how to communicate that yet. They don't realize that the bathroom is outside. When they feel the urge, they simply go wherever they happen to be. Instead, o

Before bringing home a puppy, we all have this picture in our minds. We imagine cuddles on the couch, walks through the neighborhood, and a puppy that happily follows us around and quickly learns everything we teach. Then reality shows up. Your puppy is biting your hands, chewing on your shoes, peeing on the floor, barking at nothing, and somehow finding trouble every time you look away. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. Unrealistic Expectation #1: Puppies Naturally

If you like to do interactive things with your puppy to ultimately tire them out and help them calm down, then this is the article for you. Here are five simple ways you can easily add mental stimulation to your puppy's everyday routine without spending a lot of money or adding hours to your day. When people think of wearing out a puppy, they immediately think of exercise, longer walks, more playtime, more running around the yard. While physical exercise is important, it's on