The Doggie Diplomat

05/09/2026

&Ralph

23/08/2026

Some dogs are super social, others are selectively social and occasionally some dogs really don't have an interest in making any dog friends. Pay attention to your own dog and whether they feel happy and welcoming of an approaching dog, or if they are showing signs of discomfort and are not at ease with an approaching dog. Be your dog's voice and set boundaries as required.

&Ralph

“They just want to say hello” 😍
Do they?

We’re so keen to read that swishing tail as friendliness.
A little bounce towards, but then maybe a back off. Playing?
Quick, fast wee feet. Full of excitement?

We have a habit of focusing on what we really want to see, and then we may use a movement or one part of a dog’s body to confirm we were right.

The reality is, it’s tough to read sometimes.

Truly it is.

Those fast wee feet can happen because your dog is very unsure.
That wee bounce?
Same thing.

If you’re not sure, the majority “rules”.

Take a minute to look at everything.

Not just a moving body part, but the body as a whole.

The environment.
The context.
The interaction in its entirety.

And a dog backing away, scooching backwards?
Going behind your legs?
Hiding under that chair?

They’re not ready for their new “friend”.

If you have to force it?
It’s not what we want it to be, at all.

10/08/2026

What is better than one Schnauzer? Two, of course :) These 2 beautiful Schnauzers were a delight to be around.
I'm so thankful to be around beautiful dogs every day.

&Ralph

04/08/2026

Having a puppy is a journey; it takes time for puppies to learn how to interact with us and understand their environment.
If you would like help with your puppy's behaviour, get in touch.
Felicity 0434 189 452

🐶 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗣𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆

Every single day I see posts like…

❌ “My 10-week-old puppy won’t stop biting.”
❌ “My 12-week-old puppy still isn’t toilet trained.”
❌ “My puppy barks all the time.”
❌ “My puppy keeps digging holes.”
❌ “My puppy won’t settle.”
❌ “My puppy follows me everywhere.”
❌ “My puppy chews everything.”
❌ “My puppy won’t listen.”

And I often find myself wondering…

🤔 𝙳𝚘 𝚠𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚢𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎?

Somehow, we’ve started expecting babies to behave like fully trained adult dogs.

The reality?

A puppy 𝑖𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒．

⚠️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝.

🍼 8-10 weeks

Your puppy has just left everything they’ve ever known.

🫤Their mother.
🫤Their littermates.
🫤Their familiar environment.

They’re now living with complete strangers.

What is normal?

✽ Crying at night
✽ Following you everywhere
✽ Mouthing and biting
✽ Toileting indoors
✽ Sleeping 18-20 hours a day
✽ Exploring everything with their mouth
✽ Short attention span
✽ Easily becoming overtired
✽ Feeling overwhelmed by new experiences

〽️ What they need now :

• Predictable routine
• Plenty of sleep
• Gentle socialisation
• Toilet trips every 30-60 minutes when awake
• Safe chew toys
• Patience

Not punishment.

🦷 10-16 weeks

This is where many owners think something has gone wrong…

It hasn’t. 😜

Your puppy is simply becoming 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕.

You may see

❂ Harder biting during play
❂ Zoomies
❂ Barking
❂ Jumping up
❂ Digging
❂ Chewing furniture
❂ Picking everything up outside
❂ Stealing socks
❂ Short bursts of “forgetting” everything they’ve learned

✅ Their brain is developing rapidly.

Impulse control?

➡️ Almost non-existent.

Focus on teaching :

✅ Bite inhibition
✅ Appropriate chewing
✅ Recall games
✅ Calmness
✅ Sleep
✅ Positive exposure to the world

Not expecting perfection.

🦷 Around 4-6 months

Teething begins. 🦈

Imagine having sore gums for weeks…

🫤 Now imagine people telling you to stop chewing. Chewing helps with dental pain in puppies.

Normal behaviours

✔ Increased chewing
✔ Mouthing
✔ Frustration
✔ Difficulty settling
✔ Reduced concentration
✔ More interest in the environment than you

Offer lots of appropriate chews ❣️

Manage the environment ❣️

Don’t expect perfect obedience from a puppy whose mouth is uncomfortable ❣️

🌍 5-6 months

Your puppy starts becoming more independent.

This is healthy.🤗

It doesn’t mean they “don’t respect you.”

You may notice ⤵️

✔ Selective hearing
✔ More interest in smells
✔ Pulling on lead
✔ Testing boundaries
✔ Increased confidence
✔ Excitement around people and dogs

✅ This is the perfect time to continue rewarding behaviours you want.

⛔️ Not adding punishment because they’re becoming adolescents.

🎢 Around 6-8 months

Welcome to adolescence. 🫣

Many owners say…

“My puppy was perfect… then suddenly everything changed!”

Yes.

⚠️Because their brain is changing.⚠️

➿Hormones begin influencing behaviour.

➿Learning becomes less consistent.

➿Emotions become bigger.

You might see ⤵️

✔ Reduced recall
✔ More barking
✔ More excitement
✔ Frustration
✔ Fear of things they previously ignored
✔ Increased independence
✔ More energy
✔ Bigger emotional reactions

This is incredibly common.

🔺It doesn’t mean training has failed.

🔺It means training needs to continue.🔺

So… 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙥𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙮𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙?

✅ Manage the environment instead of expecting perfect choices.

✅ Reward the behaviours you want to see.

✅ Prevent rehearsal of unwanted behaviours where possible.

✅ Ensure plenty of quality sleep.

✅ Meet their physical, emotional and mental needs.

✅ Keep training sessions short and enjoyable.

✅ Be consistent.

✅ Remember that development isn’t linear.

Some days they’ll amaze you.

The next day they’ll appear to have forgotten everything.

That’s completely normal.

The biggest mistake?

🤔 Expecting maturity before the brain is mature enough to deliver it.

🔻A puppy doesn’t know your house rules.

🔻They don’t understand furniture, shoes, gardens, electrical cables or expensive rugs.

🔻They have to be taught.

🧡Kindly.

🧡Patiently.

🧡Consistently.

❤️ Before bringing home a puppy, don’t ask…

“How quickly can I train them?”

Ask instead…

“Am I prepared to guide a baby through months of learning, mistakes, development and change?”

Because puppyhood isn’t about creating the perfect dog overnight.

It’s about building the foundations for the dog you’ll live with for the next 10-15 years.

And remember…

⚠️ The behaviours that frustrate us most during puppyhood are completely normal developmental behaviours.

The goal isn’t to stop a puppy from being a puppy.

💖 The goal is to help them grow into a resilient, confident, emotionally healthy adult dog.

21/07/2026

Introducing dogs in a public space and going for a walk, with distance between the dogs, is a great idea. If you have just got a new fur baby, I suggest building a friendship slowly. How long it will take your dog to build a friendship will vary.
Take note of your dog's body language to see if they are comfortable or stressed.

&Ralph

&Ralph

Oh this can go very wrong.😬
And afterwards we think we've figured out why.

"They just don't like the other dog"
Maybe.

But sometimes we've accidentally stacked those odds against them before they even met.

They aren't just meeting another dog.
They're also meeting an entirely new environment.

You know you're going to your friend's house at 12:30.
Your friend knows.
Your dog?
The other dog?

They have absolutely no idea what's about to happen.

A dog's home isn't just a house.
It's where they sleep.
Where they eat.
Where they relax because they know every sound, smell and exit.

Then suddenly.
An unfamiliar dog walks right through that door.

Now imagine the opposite.

Your dog walks into another dog's home.

Nothing is familiar.
They don't know the rules.
They don't know the exits.
They haven't had time to take in the environment in before they're encouraged to greet another dog.

Two dogs.
Two very different environments.
And two very different emotional experiences.

Sometimes the first meeting isn't just about the dogs.

It's also about where they're meeting.

And that environment?
It’s often dismissed as not the most important part.
But it’s often the key factor in successful meetings.

It can also be the main reason everything just went wrong

17/07/2026

Dog bites can be prevented. There are many behavioural cues this dog is giving, indicating it is a bite risk. Stillness is often mistaken for calmness and tolerance can be mistaken for consent.

&Ralph

&Ralph

08/07/2026

LOOK AWAY

Looking away is part of a group of calming signals of body language – used by dogs in an attempt to reduce tension or conflict, communicate peaceful intent or help themselves, other animals or people to feel calmer.

Just like a hard stare or prolonged eye contact may be a precursor to a dog that’s about to react, looking away is intended to calm a situation down.

As with most body language, context is always relevant. It’s always important to look at the specific situation and what the rest of the body is doing when deciphering body language.

Dogs also look away for other reasons—they may have heard a sound, caught a scent, or something else has caught their attention.

Body language can be subtle and fleeting, but with careful observation and knowing what to look for most of us can learn to recognize and interpret what our dogs are saying

Being able to understand a dog’s emotional state helps to predict behaviour, prevent potential problems before they happen or just allows us to enjoy observing their unique way of communicating.

The look away is the wisdom of a dog that chooses to create calm over conflict.

01/07/2026

What's getting in the way?
Being hesitant to change.
And that's often our challenge, not our dog's.

We all have habits.

We walk the same route.
Throw the same ball.
Visit the same places.
We expect the same routines.

Not because they're always the best choice.
Because they're familiar.

Sometimes helping our dog means changing what feels normal to us.

Taking a different route.
Allowing more time to sniff.
Choosing rest over another game of fetch.
Creating opportunities to explore instead of rushing from A to B.

None of those changes seem big on their own.

But calm is very rarely built from one big change.
It's often comes from lots of small ones.

The question isn't always "What does my dog need to do differently"?

Sometimes we need to ask ourselves

“What am I willing to do differently”?

30/06/2026

I'm so lucky to meet dogs every day. It is truly a dream come true. Sometimes I feel an affinity with particular breeds. This beautiful Bull Terrier is a breed that has stolen my heart.

&Ralph

20/06/2026

I so lucky to meet so many amazing dogs and puppies, guiding them to better behaviour. This is the most amazing view I have enjoyed during a training session. This session was at Molyullah.

&Ralph