Kelsey Racicot

Doing fun tricks with your dog is always a joy and can help build your relationship with them as well! The more relationship-strengthening activies you can do with your dog, the better. There is no such thing as spending too much time with your dog when it comes to training!

We can work on fun tricks such as spin (both directions), nose touch, touch objects (e.g., pushing the walk button at the crosswalk), weave through legs, speak on command, orbit around you, jump up onto something (i.e., park bench or picnic table), and much more!

This begins in the home! If your dog has no leash manners or pulls when they see certain triggers, this is for you. I have experience with my own dog who was previously reactive to other dogs (excitement driven), I also have experience with dogs who pull because they are frightened or anxious. Loose leash walking is complicated and it is important to evaluate your dog to determine the reason they are pulling on the leash (fear, anxiety, aggression to other dogs, excitement, disengagement with owner, etc). Once this is determined, it is much easier to work with the dog to teach them that walking beside their owner is much more rewarding than pulling ahead.

For puppies, the "socialization window" closes at ~14 weeks of age, so it is critical to expose them to as many sights and sounds as possible before this age. Despite that this critical period ends around 14 weeks of age, it is definitely possible to socialize any dog and any age. With this program, I would take your dog with me to public places (outside of busy parks, into pet-friendly stores, etc.) and help make these experiences very positive for them. This is especially useful to help with reactive dogs, as reactivity is a manifestation of overwhelming feelings to a particular stimuli that they are not equipped to deal with.