06/17/2026
🐩 Summer Fun or Limitation - which is it? ⛱️
Holy Cow, summer has come roaring in. It has the potential of a ton of fun with your dog.
But, if your dog does not already have the skills necessary for activities you want to do with your dog it can feel limiting, frustrating just not fun.
And it is so easy to get caught up in the negatives.
🐾 The embarrassment of your dog's last incident of unwanted behavior.
🐾 The neighbor’s shocked face while your pup barked and lunged on the leash
🐾 The mountain of training you still have to do
🐾 All the activities you cannot partake in because your dog isn't quite there yet...
Instead, we want to focus on POSITIVES.
🦴 What one thing can we do right now to set our dog up for better success.
That might include management. For example is your dog's recall is not strong enough yet to be successful with distractions, it might be your dog is on a 30-50 foot long leash instead. It has some increased freedom but it can't run off. But then you want to also grow your dog's skills so when your dog is reliable, management can be eliminated.
🦴 Compared to 1 month ago, 3 months ago, 6 months ago, is your dog's behavior improved? Yes, you have an improvement, Fantastic! Celebrate those wins. They add up! Just think where you will be next summer?
🦴 What can I teach my dog to grow its skill in the right direction?
Depending on the struggle you are having, depends of what new skills your dog needs. Think beyond the obvious. For example, teaching come or loose leash walking is more than the of getting your dog to come or walk on a loose leash. They also need to learn:
🐶 focus and engagement with you
🐶 disengagement
🐶 proximity (a love of being in your space)
🐶 and possibly
Whereas if your dog is reactive, fearful or it gets overly excited, it needs to learn:
🐶 arousal regulation
🐶 disengagement
🐶 confidence
🐶 calmness
❤️ And I'm here to help you with all of it. Hit reply and let us know what training questions you have.
