01/16/2022
DOWN STAYS. Even before I had boarders in my house my dogs were required to do down stays in my home, meaning they do not free roam while "loose" in my house. There are many reasons for this, a few of them being; a structured down stay is mental stimulation, it creates a huge sense of self control, it teaches coexistence, it prevents them from wandering and finding a place to go to the bathroom in my house (especially useful for puppies), it prevents them from destructive/dangerous behaviour etc. All of my board and trains are also required to do down stays in my home. This creates massive structure in their life, that especially with aggressive dogs, is necessary for positive results. Although Mila isn't aggressive, she is extremely excitable around other dogs and drags her owners around on walks to try to meet EVERYBODY. She also blows off known commands if there are any distractions. Teaching Mila to coexist and follow through on commands with my own personal dogs around is HUGE for her training moving forwards. As I've said before in my posts, dogs (even same household dogs) DO NOT need to play or even interact. All they need to do is coexist. That keeps everyone safe.