Welcome to the Pack: Hope

Hope is a 17 week old English Cream Golden Retriever!

And let me tell you, she is EVERYTHING you’d expect from a Golden Retriever puppy! Happy, lovable, wiggly, a little crazy, and EXTREMELY food motivated!

Hope’s owners have one simple goal. They just want her to grow up to be a good girl! And they’re doing one of the best things they can do by starting her training EARLY!

We’ll be working on all the basics! Recalls, impulse control, place command, distractions, leash walking, and building a solid foundation that will follow her into adulthood!

Today, we started with something that sounds so simple but is SO important. Name recognition and allowing your dog to THINK!

One of the biggest things I talked about with Hope’s owner today was how much we tend to talk to our dogs. We ask them to do something, and before they’ve even had a chance to process what we said, we’re already repeating ourselves!

“Hope! Hope! Hope! Hope!”

Here’s the thing. Dogs need time to process information, just like we do!

When we give a cue and allow our dogs a moment to think, we give them the opportunity to figure out what we’re asking. And when they make that connection and get rewarded for it, that’s where learning happens!

Sometimes, simply being quiet and allowing your dog to work through the puzzle creates learned behaviors MUCH faster than repeating ourselves over and over again.

It was fun watching her owner see those little connections start to happen, too! There were quite a few smiles and a couple of “Wow, that’s amazing!” moments as Hope started putting the pieces together.

We also introduced something I absolutely LOVE incorporating into puppy training. RESET BREAKS!

Hope is a happy, wiggly, busy little puppy, and expecting her to focus and train for an entire hour straight just isn’t realistic!

So we introduced a little game called “FIND IT!”

Here’s how it works!

• Give Hope a command.

• When she gets it right, mark with a verbal cue, toss a treat and tell her “Find it!”

• Let her use that adorable little nose to sniff out her reward!

• Once she’s finished, call her back to you, reward that recall, and repeat!

Why is this so beneficial?

Sniffing is a natural behavior that provides mental enrichment, helps dogs decompress, and gives their brains a little break from concentrating. Plus, we’re sneaking in some recall practice while making training FUN! By the end of our session today, Hope would start immediately sniffing when I gave her the “find it” command!

Remember, especially with puppies, training is about quality, not quantity! Sometimes a few good repetitions followed by a little mental break are far more productive than trying to push through an entire hour of nonstop obedience.

Hope was an absolute sweetheart today, and I can’t wait to watch this beautiful girl grow and learn!

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